Happily Ever After Romances with Z.A. Maxfield, author of MY COWBOY PROMISES

The amazingly talented Z.A. Maxfield joins us on Fresh Fiction to happily ever afters, the importance of family, and her favorite authors.

Jen: Hi, Z.A. Thank you so much for joining us at Fresh Fiction!

Z.A. Thanks so much for inviting me!

Jen: The My Cowboy Series is M/M romance, which is a growing, and exciting, subgenre in romance. How do you see M/M romances evolving as they’re moving away from a niche market and into mainstream?

Z.A.: I have always seen the romance genre as romance first, and niches second. So it’s nice to see readers catching up.

And why not?

Everyone loves a love story. In stories where the characters have a built-in cultural conflict—whether it’s feuding family, as in the case of Romeo and Juliet or the class conflict of Cinderella or the so-called “forbidden” love of a man for a man or woman for a woman—external pressure pushes on the characters, and the emotional stakes rise that much higher. When we meet people in books and we learn to love them, we yearn to see them to have a happily ever after. The more they must overcome, the more we care.

I think that’s very compelling.

Jen: You have underlying themes of building community and family. MY COWBOY PROMISES is strongly centered on family, and what a family can be, and finding a community to put roots down in. Why do you think community is essential for HEA’s?

Z.A.: I think I write family like that because it’s essential for me. I need my family. I have tribe. I like knowing I’m not alone even when I am entirely by myself on the road or at the doctor’s office or in the dentist’s chair. Humans have a deep-seated need to belong, although for some people, it might only be belonging to one’s self in one’s own space.

So in my books people either have families or build them. I think that resonates with readers as much as it does with me.

Jen: For readers who may be new to M/M romance, what authors and titles would you recommend, and why? (Obviously, they’ll have already picked up all four titles in the My Cowboy Series!)

Z.A: I love so many books. From the PsyCop series (and anything) by Jordan Castillo Price, to the Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon to Belinda McBride’s Fantasy Uncommon Whore series and James Buchanan’s Deputy Joe series.

Jordan L. Hawk, KJ Charles, Joanna Chambers, Heidi Cullinan, Marie Sexton, KC Burn, Kindle Alexander, LA Witt, Anna Zabo, Rhys Ford, Mercy Celeste. Way too many to name. In fact, those are the ones I can think of but I’m sure I’ll kick myself later for leaving out a friend’s good read. Speaking of which, there’s an m/m romance group at Goodreads, and thousands of fans there to give you recommendations. Enjoy!

Jen: What’s in store for your readers? Can we look forward to more in the My Cowboy Series series or will you be trying something new?

Z.A.: I’ve got more cowboys, they’re in the works! And stay tuned for some whimsy next year: another book in the Bluewater Bay series, and some ghosts of my own.

Jen" One last question, what’s on your summer reading list?

Z.A.: I am looking forward to books by all the writers I mentioned, and I read traditional and historical romance. I’ll probably squeeze in a couple of good cookbooks, too, including SWEET SURVIVAL by Laura Zinn Fromm. I like cookbooks full of photos and essays. The dinner table connects us. Great cookbooks are like travelogues and diaries and I don’t even have to actually cook from them to enjoy them.

About Z.A. Maxfied

Z. A. Maxfield started writing in 2007 on a dare from her children and never looked back. Pathologically disorganized, and perennially optimistic, she writes as much as she can, reads as much as she dares, and enjoys her time with family and friends. If anyone asks her how a wife and mother of four manages to find time for a writing career, she'll answer, "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you give up housework."

Her published books include Crossing Borders, Epic award finalist St. Nacho's, Drawn Together, Physical Therapy, Blue Fire, Fugitive Color, and Jacob's Ladder from Loose Id, The Long Way Home, from Aspen Mountain Press, ePistols at Dawn from Samhain Publishing, and Notturno, Stirring Up Trouble, and Vigil from MLR Press.

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About MY COWBOY PROMISES

To become the man he’s meant to be, one cowboy will have to be the man he never wanted anyone to know he was…

Ryder Dent is a true-blue cowboy. A devoted son, husband and father, but one who is living a costly lie. When they were both young, Ryder and his closest female friend Andi thought they’d found the perfect solution to both their problems— she was single and pregnant, and he was secretly gay—so they got married and raised Jonas together.

When Ryder gets hurt at a party, his son’s new pediatrician comes to the rescue. The connection between Ryder and Dr. Declan Winters is sudden, powerful, and undeniable. Ryder loves Andi and the family they’ve created together—but they both need more. Can they pursue their hearts’ desire without destroying the life they’ve built and losing the son they love?