Welcome, to Coffee Time Romance, Lucy Naylor Kubash. We’re here to learn all about your newest release, Chance’s Return, and your upcoming North Star Legacy series. First, tell us a little about the story, Chance’s Return.
Tagline: Like the blue lupine, love blooms in the summer wilds of Wyoming, but will two broken hearts heal?
Chance’s Return tells the story of Casey Girard and Chance McCord, who meet when she and her little boy, Jamie, travel to the North Star Ranch in Wyoming. They are grieving the sad loss of her husband and Jamie’s dad and hope a change of scene will help. They meet Chance McCord, a former rodeo champion and prodigal son of the North Star. For Casey and Chance, it’s not love at first sight, but the attraction between them is undeniable.
Chance’s Return was previously published by The Wild Rose Press some years ago, but in this new, revised version, I dig deeper into the story and the conflicts Chance and Casey face.
Where did the idea come from?
One of my all-time favorite movies is The Electric Horseman, in which Robert Redford plays a washed-up rodeo cowboy who wants to escape the circuit. The story intrigued me. After we traveled to Wyoming on vacation, I fell in love with the Grand Tetons. So, I had to set a story there. It just seemed to follow that my hero would be a man who’d lived the rodeo life but now needs to find his way back home. Unlike the movie, I wanted my story to have a happy, romantic ending for him and for Casey, the young widow who captures his heart.
You’ve always been fascinated by cowboys. Why?
I think it started when I watched TV westerns on Saturday afternoons with my dad. I was pretty young, but the fascination stayed, and I’ve always loved westerns. I realize much of what we see in movie westerns is a part of what I call “the cowboy myth,” but for me a cowboy still represents a unique way of life. And besides, there is just something about those hats…
Why do you write Romance?
Someone else once asked me that, and I said, because there is enough real life in real life. I like stories with happy, or at least relatively happy, endings. I like love stories. I enjoy figuring out the dynamics of two people falling in love. My husband and I have been married over 50 years, so I have a lot of experience. Lol!
What in your opinion makes good chemistry between your leading characters?
A definite strong physical attraction, but also, they realize something special exists between them besides having the hots for each other. They “get” each other like maybe no one else does. And they’re willing to set aside differences to make a relationship work. I think that’s what Chance and Casey do in my story.
How is your approach to Western Romance different from other books in the genre?
While I write romantic stories, I also like to include a bit of realism in my books. I want the characters to face real-life problems and obstacles, because I want to see how they resolve the issues. My son lived in Wyoming for ten years, so I’ve learned from him what life in the West is like, and how it’s different from my home state of Michigan. I hope I’ve incorporated some of those struggles in my stories. The West is a beautiful place to live but comes with its own set of dangers and difficulties.
What other stories are planned for the North Star Legacy series?
Tetons by Morning, North Star Legacy book two, will release from The Wild Rose Press on January 19, 2026. It picks up where the first book leaves off and follows Casey and Chance through the first year of their marriage and explores all the issues that arise from their decision to marry. Conflict from Casey’s family’s not wanting to accept Chance causes problems, as she learns to live in a new place that is nothing like what she’s used to, with a man who is very different from her first husband. Chance wants to protect Casey and Jamie but has to accept the responsibility of the ranch and keep the North Star Legacy alive. Even though they love each other, Chance and Casey must face the ghosts from their tragic pasts before they can carve out a new future together.
Fire in the Heart, North Star Legacy book three, introduces a new character. Megan Sanchez comes to the North Star looking for help with the wild horse she’s adopted. When Chance turns over the mustang’s training to his head wrangler, Roy Silver Wolf, all sorts of fireworks erupt. Megan and Roy soon share a pretty intense attraction, but many secrets and surprises await them and the rest of the McCord family. I love this story because it also explores the relationship between two very different people. And it’s about wild horses. What more can I say? Fire in the Heart is still in edits, but watch for a release date sometime next year.
Tell everyone about your love for horses and the sanctuaries that accept those that are homeless.
Going along with my love of westerns, I’ve always had a great love for horses. We had a horse for ten years, but he was a pretty chill little Arab and very different from a wild horse. I found out about the sanctuaries on Facebook and started following them and the wild horse advocates, so I could learn more about mustangs. I knew I wanted to write a story that would explore the problems wild horses face just trying to survive. My husband drove me to a sanctuary in South Dakota, The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, on the banks of the Cheyenne River (don’t you just love all those western names?), where I met some of the wild horses that live there. We also went in search of wild horses that still live on the range. Those were some of my most exciting trips out West. My heroine Megan is a wild horse photographer, and that is part of her conflict with Roy in book three. But they both believe wild horses need our protection, as they are true icons of the American West.
What inspired you to become a writer?
I’ve always loved to read and have collected a huge number of books. I was inspired to write my own stories when I wanted to create characters like those I admired in the books I was reading. I just think it’s fun to come up with characters, throw hard problems at them, and see what happens. While I’d like to say I enjoy having control over them, any writer will tell you, the characters have the control and often do just what they want to do.
How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
In developing the character of Casey, I thought about how I would feel in her situation and put a lot of my own emotions into her actions. As I mentioned, I’ve been married a long time and that certainly helped me in writing the second book where they are navigating that crucial first year of marriage.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve written for most of my life, making up stories in my head when I was little, and then writing them down around middle school age. I was first published in 1983 when I sold a short story. That’s a long time!
Are you a disciplined writer with a strict schedule?
Not really. I usually write in the afternoon, as I’m not an early-riser anymore, but if I’m on a deadline or the words are flowing, I’ll work into the evening. I’m part of a Zoom writing group that meets in the afternoon, so that helps keep me motivated.
What does writing do for you? Is it fun, cathartic, do you get emotional?
All of the above! I write for the sheer enjoyment, but writing has often been a means to get through difficult times. I get emotional, especially if I’ve created a scene where my characters are feeling a loss or facing a dilemma. I try to craft a scene at the end of each book that will (I hope) leave the reader feeling emotional, too.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I would like to say thank you to Coffee Time for having me here. I’d also like to thank The Wild Rose Press for publishing my stories. I hope readers enjoy the North Star Legacy books.
Thank you very much, Lucy Naylor Kubash, and best of luck with Chance’s Return.
Please include the following links and an author picture:
Website: www.lucynaylorkubash.com
Blog: www.lucynaylorkubash.blogspot.com; www.thezekechronicls.wordpress.com
Email: lucynaylorkubash@gmail.com
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