Character on the Couch: Kim Turner’s Wyatt McCade

Howdy, y’all, and welcome to this month’s second installment of Cowboy Characters on the Couch! I’m excited that I’ll have a cowboy for you on the other Thursdays in April as well.

Today we get to meet Wyatt McCade, whose book just released yesterday. Yeehaw! I’m really excited about this one because the heroine is a doctor.

Will a bounty hunter risk it all the save the woman who walked away?

Bounty hunter Wyatt McCade is taking down outlaws one at a time. He’s been in love with Tess Sullivan for years, but she refuses to give in to her feelings. Reeling from the rejection of his marriage proposal, he chases bounties with little concern for his own safety. When word reaches him that Tess never left for Boston, he rides for Cheyenne to confront her. Instead, he is ambushed and left for dead.

Doctor Tess Sullivan shattered her heart by refusing Wyatt McCade’s marriage proposal and making the biggest mistake of her life, by holding onto a secret. Pining for his return, she blames herself when he arrives in Cheyenne near death. Forgiveness comes quickly in his arms, but she finds herself a pawn in a deadly game of revenge.

When McCade lands are threatened, Tess is caught in the balance. On the bounty hunt of his life, Wyatt will risk everything to rescue the woman he loves.

If your character were to go to a psychologist – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? Yes, a court order is a valid answer.

Wyatt wouldn’t be as receptive [as Sawyer was]. He’s stubborn and hardheaded, but he has a kind heart. He might play along for a minute but not take it seriously. He would tire quickly of sitting idle and he would be skeptical. When Tess turns down the proposal in the beginning of his story he leave home on a mission to get himself killed by taking down the worst outlaws all alone. It might be Sawyer who had to bring him in with his hands tied behind his back. LOL

Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself?

Wyatt is in a bad way at the opening of the story. He’s left town with the broken heart Doc Tess gave him by turning down his proposal. So he is out trying to take down bounties and not worried about getting himself killed. But he has a forgiving heart and loves the Doc not matter anything. He has anger issues and is hot headed, quick with a fist.

It’s always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Doesn’t see why he needs to be here, reluctant to sit. Ready to move on to something else. He is busy and likely has ADD. Not good at sitting still. He’d prune a bit, his nails or something.

Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be? What will he or she say first?

Angry and not talking until you dig a bit. Quick to cut you off with fast, honest answers. Has no hesitation in talking about Doc Tess being the only woman he’s ever loved, even if she walked away. “Not sure just why my brother sent me here, needs to keep his mouth shut on things not of his business.” Sawyer would have made him go. Ha.

Your character walks into the bar down the street after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she order? What happens next?

Wyatt would order whiskey and then make it a double to drown out missing Tess. He’d likely mouth off or end up in a fight.

When you’re building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

Because I’m a panster [someone who writes without an outline], there isn’t a lot of figuring them out with written questions and stuff. A lot is in my head about who they are, but I build their world as I go and they grow a bit more with the edits and fluff.

You can find Wyatt’s Bounty on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and other ebook retailers.

If you want to meet Wyatt’s brother Sawyer, who also happens to be the sheriff, check out last week’s Characters on the Couch. Yep, a sheriff and a bounty hunter in the same family. Those have to be some interesting dinner conversations.

Kim Turner writes western historical romance, and discovered her passion of writing at the age of eight by writing poems, short stories and journals. Kim graduated from Clayton State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and holds a Master’s Degree in Adult Education from Central Michigan University. Working as a registered nurse educator for over twenty-seven years, she enjoys studying the medical treatments of the old west as well as keeping up with the latest western movies and television series. While she loves reading anything from highlanders to pirates, she claims to have an unquenchable thirst for the American Cowboy when choosing her reads. Kim lives south of Atlanta with her husband and calls her greatest accomplishment the birth of one daughter and the adoption of another from China-neither of which came easy. Kim is a member of Romance Writers of America and Georgia Romance Writers and calls her critique group from Southside Scribes the best thing that ever happened to her writing, that and a pretty wonderful group of beta readers. Kim’s Motto: It’s All About A Cowboy and the Woman He Loves.

You can find out more about Kim on her website kimturnerwrites.com.

 What do y’all think about our theme month so far? What theme would you like for future months? Comment below and tell me!