This morning author Julianne MacLean stops by to chat about Taken by the Cowboy, her new self-published romance that hits releases today. Get a special look at one of sources of inspiration and find out where you can pick up this new read!

I’m a romance writer, and I love my job. Want to know why? I get to do research, and some of it is mind-blowingly enjoyable.

Today I am releasing a new book called Taken by the Cowboy, and it’s a time travel romance, where a contemporary heroine is flung back to the Wild West. As soon as she gets there, she dodges bullets and squares off with a gorgeous, hunky, gunslinging sheriff in a black hat who makes her heart go pitter-patter.

What kind of man is he? I will now turn the stage over to YouTube for a visual demonstration, and I highly recommend that you click on the link and enjoy yourself. Seriously. Watch this. It doesn’t matter that it’s a Monday morning. In fact, that is all the more reason to watch it. Trust me, you’ll thank me afterward.

Watch The Video >>

This is Tim McGraw performing “A Real Good Man” in front of a live audience, and when it comes to cowboy sex appeal, he should be in the Oxford Dictionary.

I could of course describe it for you in vibrant, pulsating terms -because I am a romance writer, and that’s what I do - but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and quite frankly, I get a bit tongue-tied and frazzled when I watch this, and I lose my ability to convey the message I intend to convey.

My critique partner Michelle used to come running whenever this video came on: “Don’t you just want to jump on him, and rip his shirt off?”

Um… Yeah. I broke out in a sweat this afternoon while I watched it. (Did I mention it was research, and that I love my job?)

Seriously. Watch it. You don’t even have to be a country music fan to enjoy it. You just have to be a woman.

And this, my friends, is where I find inspiration. Taken by the Cowboy is all about a real bad boy, who can also be a real good man. It’s about undeniable destiny and the awesome passion and power of true love - because I believe in happy endings, and I love a man in a cowboy hat. I always have.

What would you do if your car spun out of control and you woke up in the Wild West of 1881?

Dressed in skinny jeans, sexy red pumps – and frustrated by a troublesome lack of cell phone reception – fitness columnist Jessica Delaney soon finds herself dodging bullets. Before the night is out, she’s thrown into jail for a murder she didn’t commit, and if things don’t seem complicated enough, the hot-looking sheriff in charge of her arrest has danger written all over him – and a sexy swagger to die for.

Jessica knows she needs to get home, but when ruggedly handsome Sheriff Truman Wade gives her a taste of the real Wild West, she begins to wonder … what’s her hurry?

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of Tim McGraw in this video, or share with me the title of your favorite western romance novel. I’ll be reading everyone’s comments today!

- Julianne MacLean

Want to pick up your own copy of Taken by the Cowboy? It is now available online at Amazon and Smashwords!