Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 85

Story Sample Sunday: Becoming an Outlaw is Too Easy (Scene from The Stagecoach Bride)

Today I’m going to do another sample from The Stagecoach Bride.

In this scene, Lillian finds out the man she was supposed to marry has accused her of stealing from him (something that isn’t true) and now she’s an outlaw.  This scene starts out with a fight she’s having with Wade who is Mic’s (the hero’s) brother.  Noah is also Mic’s brother.  Charles was the man she was supposed to marry.  And Robert is just someone you’ll have to find out about when you read the book.  I can’t give away everything.  ;-)

Book Stephannie Beman and I are working on.

“If I’m such a burden, then why are you keeping me here?” Lillian asked Wade.  ”I didn’t ask to be here.  I didn’t ask to be kidnapped from a stagecoach.  You wanted your money so badly you just couldn’t resist taking an innocent woman and forcing her to this place.  If money is all you care about, then go to find something Charles will actually pay for since I’m so useless.”

“She can’t go,” Noah said.  “Caleb said the reward money was too much for anyone to ignore.”

Wade released her and she stepped away from him, glad for the distance between them.  “Reward money?” She glanced at Mic.  “He meant the ransom, doesn’t he?”

Mic glanced away from her, looking uncertain.  “No.  Charles’ answer to our request was to…” He met her eyes and pulled the folded paper she’d asked about that second day.  “His answer was to make you an outlaw.”

Lillian accepted the paper as Mic held it out to her, hesitating to unfold it since she already knew she wasn’t going to like what she’d see.

Mic continued to talk, his voice low, almost soothing. “Charles accused you of stealing from him and offered a reward of $1000 for your capture.” He motioned to the paper.  “If I’d known he’d go that far, I would have thought of another way.”

“What other way was there?” Wade snarled.

“I could have given him what he asked for!”

“No!  It’s not an option.  Do have a death wish, Mic?”

She slowly unfolded the paper, the arguing around her drowned out by the sudden rush of fear crashing into her.  At the very top was “Wanted” and below that was a very accurate drawing of her.  The face wasn’t bad.  She had a common enough face, the kind that could blend into a crowd.  Even her name ‘Lillian Christian’ wasn’t enough to draw attention to her since she’d made it up before she hurried out of Virginia.  But her hat was another matter.  The ‘V’ etched into it next to the rose was a dead giveaway that Robert would recognize.  It’d been the symbol in her family, and now it was the very thing that made her an easy target.

She looked between Mic and Wade who were still arguing.  “Who will see this?”

“Everyone,” Wade snapped.  “They post them at every jail house.  It’s only a matter of time before the area knows, then the territory.  The longer you hide, the farther it spreads.”

Too disturbed by the hat in the picture, she ignored Wade’s tone.  Everyone?  So it was only a matter of time before people back East would see it?  If that was true, then she wasn’t safe anywhere.  People all over would be looking for her.  Who could resist $1000?  It would only be a matter of time before they took her to Charles, jail or, worse, Robert.

And Robert knew she was worth a whole lot more than $1000.  He was probably already looking for her.  With the size of the country, she felt safe.  He could spend his whole life looking for her and never find her as Lillian Christian.  She’d been so careful before she left, making sure she left no traces of her new life.  Except for one thing.  The hat.  How could she have known that something so small could be so important?

“Lillian!  Are you coming?” Mic called.

She looked up from the poster, unaware that the three had already made their way to the cabin.  She glanced back at the poster and folded it.  “Yes, I’m coming.” Later.  There was no sense in making rash decisions.  She’d decide what to do about this later.

Update on the Giveaway (One Just Done and One that Will Be Up Next Week)

Regarding the last giveaway I just did for the Regency books, out of the ten people I emailed, two have not replied and I want to make sure they got my email.  

Krysteen Damon and Barkha Rani, please check your inbox or spam folder.  I sent you an email on Monday announcing that you won the ebook His Reluctant Lady (to be gifted when it is released).  I didn’t get an email back saying my email did not go through, so I know it went through alright.  Could you please get back to me?  I am making a list so I have all the winners in a file for easy reference for when the book comes out.  It’s easier for me if I can have the winners listed and ready to go because I have a ton of different files to keep track of and need to organize the lists I have as soon as possible so I don’t forget.  I’d like to say I have an awesome memory, but between kids, trying to answer emails, getting my books ready for publication, and writing more books, I have a hard time keeping everything straight without those lists.  :-)

Next Giveaway Will Be Announced on Tuesday

Jan and I worked on this during the week, and we have all the books and gifts together.  There will only be three winners on this one since there’s so much involved in them.  We have four authors being featured all together.  There’s me, Jan, Melanie Nilles, and Rose Gordon.  In addition to that, we bought some items from the Cracker Barrel restaurant and another from a local crafts fair from a woman who makes jewelry.  We wanted to do something a little different, and it’s more elaborate than what I usually do.

The details will be posted on Tuesday so be sure to stop here on that for more information.  :-)

I decided to offer Eye of the Beholder, His Redeeming Bride and Loving Eliza for my part.       The more books I get out there, the harder it is to make a decision on what to offer for a giveaway unless there’s a theme to go by.  Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions.  I’ll keep the Native American Series and future Regencies in mind for future giveaways.  For this time around, I thought I’d stick with historical westerns.

***

That’s it for now.  I wanted to post an interview from the characters of The Stagecoach Bride, but I ended up much too busy and am behind on my edits so I just didn’t get around to it.  On a good note, Stephannie and I are currently on Chapter 17 so things are moving along great.  We’re hoping for an August release.  *fingers crossed*

Which of My Books Would You Like to Win?

I’m about to run another giveaway next week and want to know, which of my books would you like to win?  (I will do up to four paperbacks, so which ones do you like best?)

Winners of the Regency Giveaway Announcement

His Reluctant Lady’s Release Date is Going to be Delayed

I need to inform you that His Reluctant Lady’s release date will be pushed back to some time in August (I’m going to try for August 6) because I received an offer to put it in the Apple iBookstore under pre-order status.  This means you can order it ahead of time at the iBookstore, but you won’t get it on your device until it’s officially release.  I’ve never done this before and thought I’d give it a shot.  I’ll be doing the same with His Abducted Bride (it looks like July 23 for that one).  I haven’t done this before, but I figure I’d try it and see how it goes.

What this means for this giveaway:

For those of you winning His Reluctant Lady, I will offer you an option to either wait for it to come out and I’ll gift it to you when it’s out or I will gift you another ebook of your choice ($4.99 or less) by any author or I can gift you another one of my ebooks.  So there are three choices.  I’ll restate this in the email when I sent it out.

The Winners

Okay.  Now for the winners.  I’ll be emailing you guys right after I finish this blog post, so be sure to check your inbox (and spam in case it got sent there).  Three winners got the paperbacks and ebook while seven winners got the ebook.  Winners were selected by using random.org.

Paperbacks (The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife, Her Counterfeit Husband, and A Most Unsuitable Earl) + Ebook (His Reluctant Lady or any other ebook at $4.99 or less):

1. Twyla Alder

2. Lauralynn Elliott

3. Donna Ramsey

His Reluctant Lady ebook (or another ebook at $4.99 or less):

4. Lu Sellers

5. Toni Whittier

6. Diana Culpepper

7. Alvia Thomas

8. Gonzalo Oritz

9. Krysteen Damon

10. Barkha Rani

***

I will be doing another giveaway next week.

A couple months ago, Janet Syas Nitsick and I decided to run a summer giveaway, and we finally have everything we need to do it.  We are hoping to post the giveaway information early next week.  In that one, we’ll have some of our books plus books by Rose Gordon and Melanie Nilles and a couple of fun prizes.  This Wednesday, Jan and I will get together to organize everything.  I’ve been promising Rose and Melanie that I’m going to put their books in a giveaway for months now, so I need to get to it.  :-)

Which of my paperbacks would you like to win?

By the way, I have not decided which of my books I’ll be offering in the next giveaway.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Which books would you love to win?  Now that I have over 30 books, it’s hard to choose.

Story Sample Sunday: The Stagecoach Bride

Today, I thought I’d share a sample from The Stagecoach Bride that Stephannie Beman and I are working on.  We are almost at 40,000 words now (Chapter Fourteen), and this has been such a fun book to write.  It’s amazing how the story shapes as we’re going along.      What the hero says and thinks in the book comes from her, and what the heroine says and thinks comes from me.  We write this book while chatting, so we get to have our characters respond immediately to what the other says.

I’m going to post the first chapter.  I tried to decide which segment of chapter 1 to post, but I couldn’t decide where to take the sample from so I am going to post the whole thing.  Tomorrow, I announce the winners of the Regency giveaway, so maybe on Tuesday or Wednesday, I bring Lillian (the heroine) and Mic (the hero) in for an interview.  We’ll see how things go.

(This is the first draft.)

The bandit referred to as “first man” (the one who rides with Lillian) is Mic.  He’s also the one who opens the stagecoach door.

Book Stephannie Beman and I are working on.

Chapter One

June 1868

South of Larmie, Wyoming

What was she thinking when she agreed to be a mail-order bride?  Lillian Christian rubbed her head, willing the persistent pounding away, but it was no use.  After days on the a couple different trains, she thought the stagecoach would be a refreshing change.  Instead of being stuck in a small seat in crowded train car, she only had one companion, a young lady sitting next to her.  She met her as they paid the fare for the rest of their trip.

The final stretch of her journey should have gone faster than the rest of it.  She had come all the way from Ohio, after all.  But the stagecoach ride seemed even longer, and the constant swaying from side to side, didn’t help.

“Oh, those mountains are absolutely breathtaking,” the woman beside her gasped in awe.  “Don’t you think they’re absolutely breathtaking?”

Focusing on the window, she saw the mountain range lining their path.  Peering up, she had to admit the sight was impressive.  They seemed to disappear into the sky.  “They are lovely.”

“Where are you going?”

“Medicine Bow.  And you?”

“The same place.” With an excited smile, the pretty young blonde added, “I’m Maggie Jefferson.”

“Lillian Christian.” The stagecoach hit a dip in the road and she bumped into the blonde.  “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

She picked up the drawstring purse that had fallen off her lap.  Her hat almost fell off, so she quickly straightened up and adjusted the pins so the hat would stay firmly on her head.

“That’s a remarkable shade of red,” Maggie said.

Her eyebrows furrowed.  “Pardon?”

“Your hair.  I’ve never seen such a deep shade of red.  In fact, I don’t remember seeing anyone with red hair.”

“It’s not a common color.” And that was why Lillian hated it.  Certain colors didn’t look good on her, and her skin was pale, burning easily in the sun if she wasn’t careful.  She tried to hide it as much as possible under her hats or bonnets.  With an uncertain smile, she smoothed her new green dress and asked, “What are you going to Medicine Bow for?”

“My parents are no longer alive, so I’m going to help my uncle and his kin at their ranch.”

Lillian inspected the faded floral pattern on the blonde’s dress.  “Where did you come from?”

“Minnesota.  I took care of some cattle out there, so I have some experience.”

“Are you looking forward to living here?”

“I think so.  It’s certainly breathtaking.” She touched her arm and nodded toward the mountains.  “Did I mention how breathtaking those are?”

“Yes,” Lillian replied, amused by her enthusiasm.  She wished she could share it, but starting a new life wasn’t going to be easy.  Not that she had anything worth going back to, but that didn’t matter .

“So, what are you going to Medicine Bow for?”

“I came to marry Charles,” she struggled to remember his last name, “Gray.” Right.  It was Gray.

His name was like the color of storm clouds.  She didn’t know why she came up with that analogy, but it was the first thing she thought when she answered his ad.  Her heart went out to him when she read about his deceased wife and three-year-old son who needed a mother.  How could she not come out for a struggling rancher with young son?

“So you’re a mail-order bride?” Maggie asked, her eyes wide.  “You’re brave.  I couldn’t marry a man I’d never met.”

Before Lillian could assure her that bravery had nothing to do with it, a gunshot rang through the air.  The two women shrieked, ducking from the windows as another gunshot echoed.

“What’s going on?” Maggie asked, fear in her voice.

“I-I don’t know.” She didn’t dare look up through the window to see.  “Do Indians live around here?”

“I don’t know.”

The two huddled together as the stagecoach came to an abrupt halt.  Horses neighed, men shouted, gunshots were exchanged.  The whole thing was terrifying, and all Lillian could do was squeeze her eyes shut and hold a shaking Maggie who prayed that they’d somehow survive this attack.

“Throw your guns aside and no one will get hurt!”

Lillian stiffened at the gruff voice that came from behind the stagecoach.  Goodness!  Did he mean her and Maggie?  She dared a tentative peek out the window and saw the man, along with a few others, pull up beside the stagecoach.  They had bandanas over their noses and mouths.  Their hats were lowered over their eyes.  It was impossible to even tell what they looked like, but they had their guns pointed at the driver and the gun man who was supposed to protect them along this untamed wilderness.  Judging by the fact that there were five attackers, she suddenly didn’t feel very protected.  Two men against five?  Those weren’t good odds.

“Throw your guns aside!” the attacker repeated, impatience in his tone.

“Can’t do that, son,” the gunman sitting next to their driver said.  “We have nothing of value.”

“You have something we want,” a second man yelled.

Lillian gulped.  What did he mean by that?  Between her and Maggie, they were just two helpless women.  She shivered and held onto Maggie who was huddled on the floor of the stagecoach.  She closed her eyes, willing the driver and gunman to give the men whatever they wanted so they’d go away.

“It ain’t worth it, Jim,” the driver told the gunman.  “Let them take what they want and go.”

“What’d ya want?” the gunman demanded.

After a tense moment of silence, the first attacker barked, “First, put down your guns!”

Lillian held her breath, both hoping the driver and gunman wouldn’t and that they would.  She didn’t know which was the better option.  But in the end, she heard two heavy thuds on the dirt and knew they had dropped their guns.  She squeezed Maggie.  Now the attackers would come to get whatever they wanted.  She just hoped they would take their things and let them continue safely on their journey.

But she didn’t hear the sound of someone hopping on top of the stagecoach to grab the trunks.  Instead, the door flung open.  She let out a startled cry, her eyes flying open.  A huge man stood before them, the wind blowing his duster.  Her eyes went to the revolver in his hands.  Beside her, Maggie cried and buried her face in Lillian’s shoulder.

He quickly slipped the revolver into the holster at his hip.  “No one will hurt you, ladies.”

Surprised by the tenderness in his tone, her gaze went from his gun to his eyes, the only feature she could see on his face, thanks to the red bandana covering the rest of him.

“I need you to come out of the coach now,” he continued, his voice soothing.

Though she sensed a struggle in his stormy blue eyes, as if he wasn’t happy to be doing this, she gave a slight shake of her head and tightened her hold on Maggie.

“Everything will be alright,” he urged, extending his hand forward.

“Hurry up!” the second man, still on his horse, called out.  “We got to get out of here.”

The first man glared at him.  “They’re scared enough without you adding to it. We have time before Charles Gray comes looking for his missing bride.”

Charles Gray? His missing bride?  Lillian’s lower lip trembled.  They wanted her?  But why?  She couldn’t recall upsetting anyone.

The man on the horse huffed and moved his horse closer to the coach.  “Which one do you think it is?”

“Be careful,” the first man said.  “You’re scaring them.”

The second man rolled his eyes.  “This is taking too long.” He urged the horse toward the back of the coach where Lillian heard him pull at the ties holding the luggage.

She wanted to ask the first man why the second one was going through the luggage when they said they came for Charles Gray’s bride—her.  Oh God, what did they want to do to her?  And why?

The first man sighed and reached for Lillian and Maggie.  “Come on.”

Lillian shook her head, but when he made a move to step into the coach, she forced out, “We’ll do it.  Just give us a moment.  Please.”

He nodded, stepping back.  “What’s your names, Miss?”

Lillian glanced at Maggie and swallowed the lump in her throat.  Still holding to each other, the two women emerged from the stagecoach.  Lillian’s knees felt unbelievable weak and had she not been leaning on Maggie, she would have collapsed on the ground.  She glanced at the driver and gunman who were still as a stone while one of the men pointed a gun at them.  She couldn’t blame the driver or gunman.  They were as helpless as she and Maggie were.

“Hurry up!” another one of their attackers hissed as he scanned their surroundings for any sign of trouble.

A loud thud, followed by another, drew her attention to the luggage.  Another bandit joined the second man and gathered around the luggage and ripped into them.  She wanted to protest, to plea with them to stop because that was all she and Maggie had, but her throat constricted.  She could hardly breathe, let alone talk.

The first man stepped over to her and studied her for a long moment before he tilted hat to the side and brushed a lock of red hair that had fallen from her bun.  “Nice color.  Distinct.”

She jerked away from him, nearly knocking poor Maggie over.  “You have no right to touch me!”

The others stopped looking through the baggage at her outburst.

He grinned.  “Spirited too.  How did a girl like you get mixed up with a man like Charles Gray?  He’d crush you without a thought otherwise.”

“My dealing with Charles Gray is none of your business.” Really!  Who did he think he was?  “What do you want with his bride anyway?”

“That’s where you are wrong, darlin’.  Charles Gray is my business and now so are you.”

“I don’t have anything to do with you.” She glanced around at the other four bandits then back to him.  “I don’t know any of you.”

The second man grunted and threw her undergarments on the ground. He stormed over to her and pried her away from Maggie.  “Now stop it!  We have work to do.”

He tried to force her hands behind her back, but she kicked at his shin, gaining enough advantage where she could gave him a good whack across his head.  He reached for her hands, but she fought against him with everything she had, her arms flailing, hoping she could scratch him or remove his bandana, but she only managed to knock off his hat, revealing dark brown hair pressed down with sweat.  Encouraged, she grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled as hair as she could.  Letting out a loud roar, he shoved her away.

She stumbled away from him and collided into a pair of strong arms.  When she realized it was the first man and he had her restrained against him, she screamed at the top of her lungs, her sole remaining defense.  She struggled to free herself from him, but he tightened his hold to the point where she had no choice but to remain still.

The second man swore and stomped over to her, hands clenched at his sides, his breathing heavy.  “You’re not worth the trouble.  We ought to leave her here to rot!” He motioned to the part of his hair where he was missing some hair.

Surprised, she glanced at her closed fist and saw the big lump of hair in it.  Cringing, she dropped the hair and shook her hands to free herself of the annoying strands.  Like she wanted to hold on it.

“That’s what you get for being rough with her,” the first man growled.  “She was scared.  She didn’t need you doing all that just now.  Tie her up so we can get this over with.”

The second man glared at her and took the rope at his side and wrapped it around her wrists.

She winced at the force he used.

“If you keep it up, I’ll tan your hide,” the first man warned.

The second man’s actions grew gentle, though he muttered something under his breath about obstinate women.

Lillian glanced at Maggie who was being held the bandit who was still scanning the area around them.  No one tied her hands together.  No one mentioned wanting her.  No.  They wanted Charles Gray’s intended.

“What are you going to do with me?” Lillian asked, directing her attention to the man holding her.  At least he seemed nicer than the one knotting the ties around her wrists.

He didn’t answer her.  Instead, he led her to a horse another man was holding for him.  She dug her heels into the ground, but since her boots weren’t suitable for the outdoors, one of her heels broke, causing her to stumble against him.  She managed to regain her balance before he had to embrace her again.  She really didn’t want anyone but her intended to hold her in such a familiar way, even if there was nothing romantic about it.

“Now see here,” the gunman called out, “you can’t do that.  Mr. Gray’s expectin’ her and there will be hell to pay.”

“I expect so,” he said, mirth in tone. “We’re counting on it.”

She glanced from the gunman to her abductor.  “What do you mean by that?”

Ignoring her question once again, the man lifted her as if she were no lighter than a feather and settled her on the saddle.  When he touched her legs, she kicked at him, but he held them down to stop her from hurting him.

“You have no right to touch me so intimately,” she hissed.  Oh of all the liberties this man was taking with her when he had no right!

He placed a steadying hand on her waist.  “Put your right leg over the saddle horn, it’ll keep you from falling off.”

Not seeing any other choice, she obeyed.  He mounted the horse in one fluid movement, evidence that he was accustomed to riding it.  She briefly noticed the way his body conformed to hers.  Her face grew warm and tears stung her eyes.  This was a disgrace.  No man should be handling her like this.  It just wasn’t right.  She was a lady, not a whore.

“No!” Maggie cried, trying to free herself from the man holding her.  “You can’t do this!  You can’t take an innocent woman and…and…”

Lillian understood what she was saying.  Neither one knew what would happen, and quite frankly, they didn’t want to explore the possibilities.

“Did you give them the letter?” her abductor called out as he shifted behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

She grimaced, hating the close proximity of this situation but worrying it would only get worse once he had her at his place…wherever that was.

One of the bandits nodded and gave an envelope to the driver who slowly took it.  Looking at her abductor, he yelled out, “Don’t you hurt her!”

Another bandit picked the guns off the ground and pointed them in his direction.  “You make sure Charles gets that.  If you don’t, she will be hurt.”

The man holding her, gestured to the luggage.  “Which is yours?”

“Uh,” she swallowed back her tears, “the brown trunk.”

He gestured to the four bandits.  “Let’s get out of here.”

“Finally,” the second attacker grumbled as he heaved the trunk on a horse.

She blinked back more tears, barely aware that the driver was calling out that the bandits wouldn’t get away with this or that a bandit let go of Maggie so he could hop up on his horse.  The whole thing seemed like a blur.

Suddenly the attackers were hustling around to get on their horses, and before she knew it, they were galloping away from the stagecoach.  The man kept a firm grip on her waist to keep her steady, and she was so scared of riding such a large beast that she held onto the saddle horn with all her strength.  She didn’t have time to look back at the stagecoach or even have time to contemplate her future.  Whatever was going to happen, she just hoped she’d survive it.

Updates on What I’m Working On

I’m happy to say that I am now officially done with the first drafts for His Reluctant Lady and His Abducted Bride!  

Besides the titles being similar, I noticed a couple other similarities in these books.  Both heroes are rather cocky.  I don’t usually deal with the cocky hero, but both of these guys were determined to prove a point–this point being that the heroine loves them and can’t bear to be without them.  LOL  The heroines, however, aren’t the kind that admit any such thing at first, though they both had a different way of responding to their guys.  Sandy was more willing to give in to Gavin while Agatha pretty much ended up in a contest of wills with Christopher through most of the book.  When I started out writing these books around the same time, I didn’t plan the similarities.  They just happened.  I thought that was fun.  I can’t recall a time when two books I wrote at the same time paralleled each other so well in this way.

His Abducted Bride might be the one I get out first.  I was originally going to do His Reluctant Lady first because I was gaining momentum stronger on that one, but since I actually finished His Abducted Bride first, I think I’ll get that one out around July 1.  Plus, since it’s shorter, I will be able to go through the editing process on it faster.  This book will finish the Across the Stars Series.  I don’t plan to do any more books in the series.

His Reluctant Lady won’t be far behind.  I plan to also have it out in July.

We already know this book builds up to Perry’s book:

Perry’s romance is the next Regency I’ll write, and Christopher is going to help set up the scandal that will get Perry married.  I do leave a lead-in for Christopher to do this at the end of His Reluctant Lady.  The Earl’s Scandalous Wife begins right after His Reluctant Lady ends in the Regency timeline.

I plan to start The Earl’s Scandalous Wife either late in July or early August, which makes it a possible late 2013 – early 2014 release.

In addition to The Earl’s Scandalous Wife, His Reluctant Lady has led to two other books I want to write in the future.  You see, there’s a wager that I mentioned in His Reluctant Lady that leads to Christopher managing to secure Agatha’s hand in marriage.  This wager took place between Lord Pennella and Lord Davenport, and they agreed that whoever married Miss Giles first won the other gentleman’s estate and money.  This is the wager that has led to two other story ideas.  One is going to be Lord Pennella’s story, but I haven’t come up with a suitable plot yet.  I have a vague idea for one but nothing definite enough to mention.

However, this is my idea for Lord Davenport’s book, and I already have the cover!  I’ve decided to call it The Earl’s Secret Bargain.

The basic plot will be Lord Davenport arranging a marriage of convenience with Miss Giles (this is after the wager is discovered and she’s been disgraced).  I’m really excited about this one.  I’m not sure about the details of this bargain that the two reach, but I’ll figure it out as I write it.  There are some things I won’t know about a book until the characters tell me, and they won’t tell me until I’m writing their book.

I expect this book to be out next year, but I don’t know when.

***

Okay so those are books that I recently finished and plan to work on.  (And I haven’t forgotten Kent Ashton’s Backstory and Lassoing Her Groom.  Those are still on my “Word In Progress” list.  I just haven’t done anything with them for a few weeks so there’s nothing new to report.)

 Now for the books I’m co-writing.

Historical Western Romance that Stephannie Beman and I are working on.

This one is going fast.  We’re already at Chapter 12.  I love the way everything is coming together.  I’ll have to give a sample scene on Sunday to give you an idea of what this book is about.

The Anthology Janet Syas Nitsick and I Are Working On

Jan and I finally have titles and a plot for our novellas.  I still need to tweak on my description though.  (My novella will have a “steamy” heat level and Jan’s will have a “sweet” heat level.)

My novella: “A Wife for Pete”

I went with the deaf hero option.   In my novella, “A Wife for Pete,” the hero’s brother (and everyone else in the area) thinks the hero (Pete Kelly) is deaf.  His brother pays her brother to send her to Nebraska after seeing the ad her brother placed to sell her.  (And yes, the heroine Ada Wilcox, is pissed at her brother for doing this, but it’s not as dubious as it sounds.  Her family is so poor that the only way her brother can think of providing for her is to marry her to a man who can put food on the table.  So in his own way, her brother is doing what he believes is best for her.)  What her brother didn’t know is that the man she’s been arranged to marry is one that everyone believes has less-than-average intelligence.  So when Pete’s brother arranges the marriage, he is looking for someone to take care of Pete (as a mother would care for a child).  So the marriage does begin out as being platonic.  But as the story progresses, Ada starts to wonder if her husband is deaf and that people have mistaken his inability to hear and communicate with them, thinking he has a low IQ when he really doesn’t.

I can speak from experience on a point here.  I’ve had a couple people come up to me and tell me my deaf kid is “retarded”  or “isn’t right in the head” when they assume his inability to talk or understand what they speak means he’s incapable of understanding them.  I explain to them that he’s deaf and is smart enough at this point in his 8-year-old life to know when people don’t know signs.  If people don’t know signs, he won’t even try to sign to them because he’d be wasting his time.  I see the hero in this novella having the same situation.  The hero has been mislabeled for so long that he’s given up on trying to communicate with anyone.  Then Ada comes along and his world finally opens up.  :-)

Janet Syas Nitsick’s novella: “She Came By Train”

She came by train to a desolate land.  With mixed feelings, Opal Preston steps onto the platform to meet her employer, Alexander Boyer.  She accepts his hand and climbs into his wagon to begin her role as the governess to his two children.  As she executes her duties, she wonders how she’ll cope without the finery she left behind.

Soon two men are vying for her affections.  Alex can’t imagine his life without her and looks for a way to convince her to stay in Nebraska.  But a preacher from Virginia is also smitten with her and offers to take her back home.  She came by train, but only her heart can determine if she’ll return the same way.

Lord Roderick Gets a Swell Head Because of a Promotion at the Apple iBookstore

With word reaching Lord Roderick (aka Nate) about The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife being part of the promotion featuring free bestsellers and free series starters in the Australian and New Zealand iBookstores, he has gotten a very swell head.  Here’s the direct link  to the Australian iBookstore and here’s the direct link to the New Zealand iBookstore if interested in checking it out.

The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife is the first book in the Regency Collection.  (I realize some of you know this, but there will be those reading this post who don’t so I just wanted to clarify this to avoid any confusion.)

Anyway, the other characters from the Regency Collection are not delighted by Nate’s sudden ego trip.  In fact, they demanded to come on here to put him in his place.

Nate practices looking “hot” for his adoring fans.

Nate: They’re not delighted because they’re jealous.  I can’t help it if I’m popular.  The public has spoken, and out of the other characters in the Regency Collection, I’m their choice.

Mister Christopher Robinson: Your popularity, as you call it, has nothing at all to do with you.  It all has to do with the fact that you happen to be the hero of the first book in the Regency Collection.

Nate: But I was the hero of the first book because I am the best character.  Every author knows they have to put their best foot forward.  In this case, that means Ruth Ann Nordin had to put the best hero in the first book in the series.

Christopher: I believe the expression is, “Save the best for last.” Every author knows they improve with each book they write.  Therefore, you were the weakest attempt.

Nate: That’s not true.  If it wasn’t for me and how wonderful I turned out, Ruth never would have written another Regency.  She would have gone straight back to her historical westerns and contemporaries and never looked back.

Christopher: You wish that was true, but it’s not.  She already knew she was going to write my book while she was writing yours.

Nate: But she didn’t write your book next, did she?

Christopher: She’s writing it now.  It’s called His Reluctant Lady.

Nate: But she would have written it sooner if you’d been good enough to write about.  Let’s face it, Lady Richfield, the heroine in His Reluctant Lady, is the only reason your book won’t bomb.  I actually feel sorry for her.  You pretty much forced her to marry you.  Marriage that begins with the threat of scandal never work out.

Claire (Lady Roderick): Excuse me?  Nate, our marriage started out because of a scandal.  We were caught in a rather compromising position.

Nate: Ah, but there was no threat of a scandal.

Claire: No, there actually was one.  For all the things you give Christopher grief over, at least he had the sense to get married without embarrassing his bride.

Nate: You think I embarrassed you?

Claire: It was humiliating to be on the ground with you in front of everyone at the ball.  It wasn’t even my fault.  Come to think of it, it was the worst thing that ever happened to me.

Christopher: Besides marrying Nate, right Claire?

Claire: I didn’t say that, Christopher.

Christopher: Come on, Claire.  We all know you were thinking it.  Just think, if it hadn’t been for him, you would have married Perry.

Perry wondering if he’ll ever get his own book.

Perry (Lord Clement): Since you all brought me up, I’d like to know when I’ll get to be the hero in a Regency Collection romance.

Nate: You won’t if Christopher turns his book into a flop.  You really should have been in the book right after mine.  I gave you such a great lead.  Because of me and my book, people want to read your story.

Perry: I can’t control the order Ruth writes the books.

Ruth Ann Nordin: For the record, Perry was almost the hero in The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife.  Claire would have been very happy with him.

Nate: Say it isn’t so!

Ruth: I’m afraid so, Nate.  But if she ended up with him, then there would have been no book.  I needed someone anal enough to create a conflict.

Nate: Anal?

Christopher: Skeptical that Nate is the Best Regency Hero

Christopher: *laughs*

Ruth: Anal might not be the right word.  I needed a hero she couldn’t fall in love with right away, someone she would get into some exciting arguments with.

Christopher: *laughs harder*

Nate: I don’t see what’s so funny about this.  Perry was the first choice?

Ruth: No because there wouldn’t have been a story with him.   Perry got along too well with her.

Christopher: So Nate, you were chosen for this book because you wouldn’t get along with the heroine.

Ruth: Not right away.  It was fun to see the sparks fly because he and Claire didn’t along at first.  It made for some great tension.

Nate: Tension?  Conflict?  Arguments?  Is that all you authors ever care about?

Perry: Apparently since I got tossed out of that book.

Ruth: You were in the book, Perry.

Perry: As a glorified extra.

Christopher: Well, I tried to rescue Claire from her miserable marriage.  If I had succeeded, she might have ended up with you.

Ruth: She’s better off with Nate.

Christopher: I don’t see how.

Ruth: Read the book.

Christopher: I did.  It was a travesty.  I can’t believe you bother showing your face online after writing it.  People aren’t reading it because Nate’s popular.  They’re reading it to find out how bad it is.

Nate: Take that back!

Claire as she wonders why the focus is all on Nate and not her.

Claire: I don’t think it’s fair to say that people want to read this book because of Nate.  I was in the thing too.

Nate: Your part was important.  You were there so I could have a main role.  The title is about me.

Claire: No, it’s about me.  I’m the focus of it.  I’m the wife.

Nate: But I’m the earl you’re married to.

Claire: The only reason I married you was because you bumped into me.

Nate: Bumping into you?  You threw yourself at me.

Ruth: See what I mean, Perry?  That’s why they had to be together.  You never would have given her the difficulty Nate does.  Well, due to the length of this post, I’m going to end it here, but before I go, I will answer some questions some of you might have.  :-)

***

Will Nate’s ego ever get back to its normal size?  I doubt it.  The guy seems pretty smug in the other books.

Will Perry ever get his own book?  Yes, it will be called The Earl’s Scandalous Wife, and I plan to start it before the end of this year.

Is Christopher’s book going to be better than Nate’s?  Only you can make that decision when you read His Reluctant Lady (due out next month).

Is Claire happy with Nate?  Yes, though she doesn’t mind doing a couple of things he might not approve of behind his back.  (You’ll have to keep reading the books in the Regency Collection to find that part out.)

***

Photo credits

Nate (Lord Roderick): © Aleksandar Todorovic | Dreamstime.com

Perry (Lord Clement): © Aleksandar Todorovic | Dreamstime.com

Christopher (Mister Robinson): © Vanessa Van Rensburg | Dreamstime.com

Claire (Lady Roderick): © Mirmoor | Dreamstime.com

Celebration Giveaway for The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife (and the other books in the Regency Collection)

This Sunday, I’m doing something different from the story sample I usually do.  I’m doing a celebration giveaway!

With The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife (which is free) doing so well in the Australian iBookstore at this link, I thought it would be fun to do something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now: offer a giveaway from my Regency Collection.  

To date, I have The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife, Her Counterfeit Husband, and A Most Unsuitable Earl available.  The fourth book, His Reluctant Lady, is due out next month (but I have no set date on that one yet).

For anyone not familiar with the books, I’m going to offer a brief description of them.

Book 1: Caught in a scandalous situation, Lord Roderick marries a lady he believes tricked him into marriage. Miss Claire Lowell hoped her first Season would result in a marriage based on love, but her new husband hates her. Can she convince him she didn’t trick him into marriage or will she be confined to the loveless marriage she fears?

Book 2: In an act of desperation, the Duchess of Watkins and the butler bury her dead husband in secret. On their way back to the manor, they find a stranger who has been beaten and left for dead. And he looks just like her husband. Dare they replace her husband with a counterfeit? And if they do, what consequences will come as a result of their lie?

Book 3: Ethan Silverton, the Lord of Edon, prides himself on his notorious reputation as a rake because it frees him from having to get married. But one little lie and a meddlesome mother forces him into a situation where he has to marry the most boring lady he can imagine.

Book 4:  From the moment Mister Christopher Robinson meets Lady Richfield at a ball, he is determined to marry her.   Agatha Lyons, however, has no desire to enslave herself to another cold husband.  But nothing she says or does dissuades him from his relentless pursuit of her.  Then the unthinkable happens.  He discovers her secret.  Will she marry him or risk a scandal?

***

Now for the giveaway

What do you win?

3 people will win:  the autographed paperbacks of The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife, Her Counterfeit Husband, and A Most Unsuitable Earl + an ebook version of His Reluctant Lady when it becomes available

7 people will win: the ebook version of His Reluctant Lady when it becomes available

When will the winners be announced?

Monday: June 10 (this is in the United States, so this can be June 11 for those of you a day ahead of those of us in the US)

I will list the winners here on this blog then contact the winners directly in an email.

How to Enter

Fill out the form below.  :-)

I want to keep all emails private so I use this form for people entering my giveaways.  I will only use the emails to contact you if you win the giveaway.  I will not spam you or add you to any email list.  Your email address will be confidential.

[contact-form]

Bride by Arrangement (the Anthology Janet Syas Nitsick and I Are Working On) And Possible Story Ideas I Can Do

We have a title and cover.  :-)  It’s Bride by Arrangement.  This is an anthology of novellas (one by me and one by her).  We’re basing the format off of what we’ve seen Harlequin do.  They have two or three authors who write novellas with a similar theme or same world environment with different plots.  I don’t know how to explain it better than that.

Jan already has her story idea.  Her heroine, Opal, is going to be a governess for a boy and a girl of a wealthy widow, and there’s going to be a struggle as she chooses between him and his brother.  I don’t want to say much more than that because the story still needs to be fleshed out.

As for my novella….

I still need to come up with a plot for my novella that will go in this book.  I’m brainstorming ideas.  I got a couple possibilities.

One would be a woman being arranged for a marriage to a man out west and finding out that the man’s brother (maybe two) did it as a joke or maybe because they didn’t want to take care of him.  The hero of this book would be deaf, but people would assume he’s mentally retarded.  I’m not sure if the brother(s) motives would be good or bad.  I can’t know until I work on the book.

Another idea I have is the woman who think she’s going out to marry a man with a young child, but what he really wanted was help with the house on his farm.  This would be a misunderstanding in communication between the hero and her brother.  So when she gets there, instead of meeting this guy she believes is going to want a wife, she comes across a widower who had such a bad first marriage that he doesn’t want to be married again.

Got any preferences?

Take Our Poll

Since this book takes place in Nebraska, I’m trying to determine if I can fit a character from the Nebraska series in the story, but I can’t make any promises.

Updates on What I’m Writing

Quick note: If you email me, I probably won’t be answering you for a few days.  My kids are sick, and I’m trying to get some writing done while taking care of them.  Needless to say, that makes it hard to do any emails.  And I have to do my monthly newsletter on my other blog before the 1st.  It’s going to be a busy week.  :-)

***

Well, I was going to post a rebuttal from Nate and Perry about the scene Christopher wrote yesterday, but my mind just isn’t into it so I’m going to let it go.  Suffice it to say that Nate and Perry didn’t like it (for obvious reasons) and Dave Larson was miffed that Christopher dared to compare His Reluctant Lady to Eye of the Beholder.  Yeah, we all know Dave’s just as biased as Christopher so that argument is a stalemate.  :-)

So today, I’m just going to give updates on what I’m writing.

His Reluctant Lady

I’m in Chapter 22, rounding the final “lap” of the first draft.  :-)

Two Books that Came From This One and Another That Might

I have a couple more scenes to go to finish it up.  I try not to leave unopened questions, but there’s a couple I have to leave dangling because I’d like to address these in future books.  For one, Perry’s book stems from it.  Two, an unexpected book (The Earl’s Secret Bargain, which I’ll address in a future post) stems from it.  And I believe Agatha’s sister might also get her own book based off events in this one.  The dilemma is how much to close up and how much to leave open.  The main plot, however, will be resolved.

What I learned from writing His Reluctant Lady:

I will never write scenes ahead of time again.  I did that for His Reluctant Lady, hence the jigsaw puzzle struggle I’ve been having.  I’ve already revised several scenes, but there’s probably one I’ll have to toss out.  Yes, I did save it aside for a future book, but who knows if that scene will ever fit a certain story because every book is unique and certain characters need to be together for a certain scene to work out right.  Scenes aren’t a “insert X into slot A” type of thing; they are specific to the dynamics in that specific book.

So lesson learned.  I will not write ahead again.  My characters will change something on me 99% of the time.  And yes, Christopher and Agatha have changed things on me several times in the course of this book.  I can’t think of a single story I’ve done where the characters did everything like I expected them to.  It’s always better their way, but I can’t predict where their way is going to take me.  LOL

With all that said, I am very pleased with how this book is turning out.  I had my apprehension at first.  I started this book to give more background to Perry (because it needs to be written before his book is ready).  As it turned out, this has been of the most fun stories I’ve done. It’s not a comedy, but the constant “battle of wills” between Christopher and Agatha is fun to watch.  (Why did I say “watch” instead of write?  Because most of the time, I don’t feel like I’m writing.  I feel like I’m watching a movie and just writing down what happens.  It’s hard to explain, but if I can’t visual my story ideas as a movie, then I don’t write them because there’ll be something lacking in them.)

His Abducted Bride

This is temporarily on hold.  It’s been that way for about a month now.  I’m waiting for the characters to tell me how to proceed.  I’m at a pivotal point where the villain has just made his move.  Ironically, there are probably only 3-4 chapters left.  It’s just what comes before the final chapter that is the problem.  I will not write the final chapter and go back.  Who knows if things will change?  I learned my lesson in His Reluctant Lady.  :-)

***

Kent Ashton’s Backstory and Lassoing Her Groom is also on Hold

This is primarily because I’m nearing the completion of His Reluctant Lady.  When I get near the end of a book, I do tend to focus on it.

***

The Stagecoach Bride (by me and Stephannie Beman)

This one is zooming along faster than I thought it would.  (A lot of late nights.)  We’re at Chapter 6-7.  I’ll talk about this more in another post, but suffice it to say, I’m very happy with the way story’s going.

***

Untitled At This Point (by me and Janet Syas Nitsick)

I’m leaning toward Marriage by Arrangement for the title, and I think I have a suitable cover, but I need to check with her and see what she says.   Since I’ve been so focused on His Reluctant Lady, The Stagecoach Bride, and my children who are sick (believe me, you don’t want to know the details), I haven’t worked on it.  All I’ve done is created a mock cover and had Stephannie Beman fill in the text to make it pop out so it doesn’t get lost in the woman’s skirt.  But as I said, I don’t know if it’ll work so I’m going to hold off on showing it.