The Coyote Ridge Universe

Sometimes, I get so engrossed in the stories and the characters that have taken up residence in my head that I forget how they actually came about. One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is how I came up with the Walker brothers. It’s a good question.

It’s funny; I can still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I came up with the Walker brothers. It was in November of 2012. It was dark outside; I remember that much. We’d already had dinner, and I was sitting in my office, writing Seduction (Club Destiny, #3), when suddenly I stopped typing and stared at the whiteboard on my office wall. Right then and there, I knew I wanted to create a series with some hot alpha males, unlike the ones I was writing about. While my Club Destiny characters are the alpha, suit-wearing, wealthy businessmen, I wanted characters who were a little more laid back, with that sexy Texas twang, sporting cowboy hats and boots. And I wanted them to be just as alpha, just as sexy, but maybe a little more rowdy.

Now many people ask me why there are seven brothers. Well, that’s simple. Seven is my lucky number. So, that same night, when the idea came to me, I pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote down the names of the seven brothers: Travis, Sawyer, Kaleb, Brendon, Braydon, Ethan, and Zane. In that order. The name Walker just sounded right. I put it down on the paper after each of the brothers’ names, and it seemed to fit perfectly, so it stuck.

With my sheet of paper in hand, I went into the living room where my husband was watching television, and I told him my idea. I told him that I needed a job for them to do. Something sexy and masculine that would allow them a little freedom—you can’t very well have a good book when the characters are always at work— and we started talking about construction stuff. My husband mentioned demolition, and I ran with it. I also told him I needed a fictional town name—I gave him an overview of how I envisioned the town: small, close-knit, one-stoplight. It took us a few days, but we eventually settled on Coyote Ridge.

From that point on, the Walker brothers just took off. I started with Kaleb’s book and ended with Brendon’s, concluding the series for the brothers. But I didn’t stop there. When it comes to the Walkers, it’s all about family.