The Cowboy’s Claim by Sinclair Jayne

Sinclair Jayne, one of my favorite writers and Window guests, joins us today. I love her take on things, and today's post is no exception to that rule. Be sure to comment for a chance at a free book from Sinclair! - Liz

Thank you so much to Liz for inviting me back to her blog. She and I discussed the theme of endings for a couple of reasons. First, I was thinking of endings because both my kids are graduating from college and heading out to new adventures, and I feel like they are really young adults now, and so that is an ending of sorts, and yet also a beginning, a new way of being for me, my kids and me and my husband as parents.

I’ve also been dwelling on endings because my new release, The Cowboy’s Claim, that drops Tuesday, June 18th is the last in a five-book series about former Special Forces Soldiers who arrive in Marietta, Montana in order to fulfill a task or make an amend for their fallen team leader.

In The Cowboy’s Claim, Calhoon Miller is tasked to solve a mystery that his friend, Jace McBride, was determined to solve when he got home after fifteen years in the army. But Jace perishes only weeks from going home. Calhoon has very little information, and yet he is determined to honor his vow. Accompanying him on his investigation is his retired military dog, Kai, and a locums doctor Jory Quinn, who just might have the key to the puzzle. His four other "brothers"—men from his team, have all kept their vow to Jace and have now settled in Marietta and will support him if needed.

Writing the last book in a series is always exciting, and yet for me it’s also poignant—sometimes almost painfully so. With each new book in a series, I build my world bigger—layering in new characters, developing a new romance and HEA for the couple—envisioning a life for them so that by the last book I have three or four committed couples, maybe a marriage, or a baby on the way. They feel so real to me. And they also appear in each other’s books so that by the end, I feel like I too live in the life I built for them. And I find it so challenging to say goodbye.

Writing can be isolating as it does take a long time, or a deep, sustained amount of focus. Doubt is always part of the journey. You need to walk alongside it but keep it from running ahead. I welcome doubt because it keeps me sharp, questioning but happiness and connection are also part of the journey. So, saying goodbye becomes harder the longer the series continues.

I have written three series set in Marietta, Montana, a Tule Publishing created town as well as several other books there in multi-author series so I do get to cheat my goodbyes on occasion. When I head back to Marietta to write a book or set a new series, I can pull in some of my favorite characters. Colt Ewing—now Colt Wilder since he discovered his origins and family appeared in the third book I ever wrote. The book, Seducing the Bachelor, was part of a Bachelor Auction series and then I wrote a series around it, and he is one of my favorite heroes, so I drag that hot, fabulous and busy man into almost every book set in Marietta.

So maybe I cheat goodbyes. I am sort of adding an honorary sixth book to the series—Christmas for the Texas Cowboy, releasing this October where the new team leader of the Montana Coyote Cowboys, Wolf Conte, heads home to Texas to fulfill a promise he grudgingly made to Jace. This will be book four of a series I wrote long ago, The Wolf Brothers of Last Stand, and I bet you can guess why he didn’t want to head home….

What are your feelings about endings? Do you embrace them and the new opportunities and challenges or dip your toe in the chilly water of “next,” and hover for a moment like me before diving in? What book or series was the hardest for you to let go of? I’ll gift a signed print book and some swag to a couple of responders.

Thanks for hanging with me,

Sinclair Jayne

A former journalist and middle school teacher, Sinclair Sawhney lucked into a job as a developmental editor with Tule Publishing nearly ten years ago and continues to enjoy working with authors. As Sinclair Jayne, she’s published over twenty-five romance novels and counting. She loves her cowboys, small towns and HEAs. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s often hosting wine tastings with her husband of over twenty-seven years in the tasting room of their small vineyard Roshni, which means light filled, in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Cheers.

Find out more about Sinclair and order her books at https://tulepublishing.com/authors/sinclair-jayne/