Red Dirt Heart by N.R. Walker Blog Tour, Excerpt, Giveaway & Review!

Hello boys and girls look what I am bringing you today… a hot Australian Cowboy and a sexy American Cowboy *shiver* two delicious cowboys finding love against a harsh backdrop. N.R. Walker and her newest release Dirt Red Heart is hitting the spot with all those Cowboy lovers out there so don’t miss your chance to get your hands on a copy of this book… and to give you a helping hand there’s a chance to win your very own copy *happy dance*. Now I am going to leave you to it so you can have a good shufty (look) at the excerpt and review and click the Rafflecopter link, and while you do that I am gonna find somewhere to hide for when Cat realizes I reviewed a cowboy book LOL ~Pixie~ 

Red Dirt Heart Walker

RED DIRT HEART

By N.R. Walker

BLURB:

Welcome to Sutton Station: One of the world’s largest working farms in the middle of Australia – where if the animals and heat don’t kill you first, your heart just might. 

Charlie Sutton runs Sutton Station the only way he knows how; the way his father did before him. Determined to keep his head down and his heart in check, Charlie swears the red dirt that surrounds him – isolates him – runs through his veins.

American agronomy student Travis Craig arrives at Sutton Station to see how farmers make a living from one of the harshest environments on earth. But it’s not the barren, brutal and totally beautiful landscapes that capture him so completely.

It’s the man with the red dirt heart.

EXCERPT:

Red dirt heart300Just on sundown, I got off the motorbike, kicked the stand down so the bike stood upright without me and closed the gate. I’d been out all day in the South paddocks doing a final check of fences and water trough pumps before we bought the cattle down from the North. I’d seen the ute back at the homestead as I came in so I knew George was home.

George was my leading hand. He was in his fifties, with greying hair and sun-hardened skin. He’d worked here for as long I could remember, but he was more than a loyal employee. He was my friend, and in a lot of ways, more of a dad to me than my own old man ever was.

He’d been out all day, left before sun-up and headed into Alice Springs. We were a good three hours from the nearest town, and with a list as long as his arm from the Station cook, Ma—who also happened to be his wife—he needed a few hours in town before heading out to the airport to pick up the real reason for his trip: an American agronomy student by the name of Travis Craig.

When my father ran this farm, or station as we called it, every year we’d have people from another country come and spend a couple of weeks as part of some Diversification exchange program. My old man always said it was a good way to source out what other countries were teaching, but really I think he just liked the extra pair of hands at the finish of the dry season. And when we’d had a phone call back in July to ask if we’d be interested in hosting another student, and given it’d been a few years, I thought it seemed like a good idea. Now I couldn’t help but wonder if this Travis Craig would be a help or a liability.

I rode the bike into the yard and pulled up in the shed. I figured they’d know I’d arrived, having heard the bike, so I headed straight for the house. Like most homesteads built almost a hundred years ago, it was a weatherboard home, with an old iron roof and a veranda around four sides to try and keep it cool.

I kicked the red dust from my boots on the veranda steps and tried to brush the same from my jeans, took off my hat before I opened the door and walked inside. There was a suitcase and a duffel bag near the front door and voices at the back of the house.

“In the kitchen,” George called out.

I followed the sound of chatter and the smell of something good to find a meeting of sorts in the old country-style kitchen. The worn, solid wooden table that graced the middle of the room was covered with plates of scones and trays of cups and tea, and three people were in chairs around it—my right-hand man, George, his wife the cook, Ma, and a stranger with short light-brown hair and pale blue eyes.

George was the first to his feet, and the man beside him soon followed. “Here’s the boss, Charles Sutton,” George said, introducing me formally. “Charlie, this is Travis Craig.”

Travis looked about twenty-two years old, not much younger than me. Whereas I was a stockier build, with dull brown hair and boring brown eyes, he was taller than me by a few inches and muscular and lean. He held out his hand and smiled. “Mr Sutton. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His accent was strange to hear at first, but his smile was warm and wide.

I wiped my hand on my shirt and held it out for him to shake. “Travis,” I said with a nod. “Please, call me Charlie.”

 

Contact Information:Rd Dirt HeartTour Badge

Website: nrwalker.wordpress.com.

Facebook: N.r. Walker (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003907957620)

Facebook Fan Page: N.R. Walker Author https://www.facebook.com/N.R.WalkerAuthor?

Twitter: @NR_Walker 

Email: nrwalker2103@gmail.com

About N.R. Walker

Who am I?

Good question…

I am many things: a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer.

I have pretty, pretty boys who live in my head, who don’t let me sleep at night unless I give them life with words.

I like it when they do dirty, dirty things… but I like it even more when they fall in love.

I used to think having people in my head talking to me was weird, until one day I happened across other writers who told me it was normal.

I’ve been writing ever since…

For a chance to win just click the Rafflecopter link: a Rafflecopter giveaway or at Pride-Promotions: http://pride-promotions.com/wordpress/book-tours/red-dirt-heart/ 

N.R. Walker - Red Dirt Heart1Title: Red Dirt Heart

Author: N.R. Walker

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novella (110pgs)

ISNB: 9781311959355 & B00IKGXWYC

Publisher: N.R. Walker (20th February 2014)

Heat Level: Moderate – Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ – 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: ~~ Welcome to Sutton Station: One of the world’s largest working farms in the middle of Australia – where if the animals and heat don’t kill you first, your heart just might. ~~

 

Charlie Sutton runs Sutton Station the only way he knows how; the way his father did before him. Determined to keep his head down and his heart in check, Charlie swears the red dirt that surrounds him – isolates him – runs through his veins.

American agronomy student Travis Craig arrives at Sutton Station to see how farmers make a living from one of the harshest environments on earth. But it’s not the barren, brutal and totally beautiful landscapes that capture him so completely.

It’s the man with the red dirt heart.

Purchase Link: US: Amazon

UK: Amazon

Smashwords: Smashwords

ARe: All Romance Ebooks

Review: Charlie owns Sutton Station in the Australian Northern Territory, and runs it the way his father did. Charlie knows that he will probably never find love especially being isolated by the red dirt that surrounds him and the rarity of his visits anywhere off his land. When an American, Travis, arrives as part of a Diversification program Charlie finds his life turned upside down by his feelings. Travis is visiting Sutton Station to see how Australians farm one of the harshest environments on Earth, but he never expected to find the owner so appealing and with only four weeks to spend on the station will he be able to crack the shell that surrounds Charlie’s heart and will he be able to love the beautiful harsh land that has hold of Charlie.

This is a wonderful story that speaks of the beauty and harshness of the Australian territories and two men who discover love. Charlie is a great character who buried a part of himself when he returned to the station after his father died; haunted by the words his father hurt him with. Travis likes what he sees when he meets the owner of Sutton Station and feels Charlie out to see if the attraction is mutual, but their brief affair looks to be doomed with Travis going home to Texas and Charlie fearful of being discovered as gay. There are many emotions that fly about this story with confusion, lust, want, fear, anger and love being just some of them.

I was extremely impressed with the descriptions of the setting, the harsh beautiful and deadly territories, the reality of living so far from civilisation and the dangers of everyday life on a station in the Australian Territories were incredibly well written; I could picture it in my mind and it reminded me of a near forgotten TV drama The Flying Doctors so I could actually imagine the sheer size of the station with some confidence. Remembering that Australian drama also let me visualise the characters better and understand the circumstances that Charlie finds himself in. Being a station owner, working in harsh conditions and knowing that you have to trust the people you work with, well admitting you are gay has you fearing more than just having someone swear and spit at you.

The relationship between Charlie and Travis is sweet but didn’t quite spark for me, Charlie is quickly talked into a short fling but Travis pushes all of Charlie’s hot spots and it isn’t long before Charlie is dreading the day that Travis will leave. You don’t really get a good feel for what Travis wants until near the end, but being honest by that time I’d found Travis just a bit off putting, he didn’t seem to be as invested in Charlie until it was time for him to leave, if we could have seen things from his perspective a couple of times I am sure I would have warmed up to him sooner rather than near the very end where Travis has to convince Charlie to put his fears aside and accept the love he offers. We also get a bit of excitement when Travis’ horse returns without him, bringing to the fore the dangers of where Charlie lives and bringing home to Charlie just how much he cares for Travis. The secondary characters, especially George and Ma, were great additions to the story supporting Charlie at all times but especially when he needed it most.

I recommend this to those who loves Australian cowboys finding love, an American cowboy discovering home, beautiful backdrops, overcoming fear and taking a chance on love.

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