Rosanne Bittner's Blog, page 42
February 2, 2015
Outlaw Hearts - Teaser #2
She opened her eyes and managed a weak smile. “You have a son,” she whispered.
No. He couldn’t think about that. He couldn’t really have a son of his own. It was all so unreal. Maybe if he didn’t look at the kid, this would all just go away. “You hang on, Randy. Don’t you dare leave me with a kid to raise on my own. You know I can’t do it.”
She smiled more. “Yes, you can.”
He put his hands to either side of her face and bent down to kiss her forehead. “You listen to me. I love you like I never thought I could love another human being.” He felt a lump rising in his throat, a desperate fear at the thought that he could lose her. “I need you, Randy, and you know all the reasons why. Don’t you go and die on me, you hear? If I lose you I’ll go right back to that old life. You don’t want me to do that, do you?”
“You talk … big, Jake,” she whispered. “Don’t … mean it … got to take care of our little son.”
He brushed her cheek with his own, tears forming in his eyes. “Damn it, Randy, don’t you leave me. Don’t you dare leave me!”
“Come and see your son, Jake.” Mrs. Anderson touched his arm.
Jake straightened, looking over at the cradle … finding it difficult to picture a child of his own lying in it. Why did he dread this? What if he really did love the child? … That meant he couldn’t bear for anything to ever hurt the child, especially not his past.
The sins of the father are visited upon the son. He remembered hearing a street preacher shout that once back in Missouri, recalled how he had applied those words to his own father. And look how he had turned out, just as mean and unfeeling and murderous as his father. To think his own past could somehow scar his son …
Available June 2, 2015Pre-Order!
United by chance, bound by fate, consumed by passion.
Miranda Hayes has lost everything-her family, her husband, her home. Orphaned and then widowed, desperate to find a safe haven, she sets out to cross a savage land alone...until chance brings her face-to-face with notorious gunslinger Jake Harkner.
Hunted by the law and haunted by a brutal past, Jake has spent a lifetime fighting for everything he has. He's never known a moment's kindness...until fate brings him to the one woman willing to reach past his harsh exterior to the man inside. He would die for her. He would kill for her. He will do whatever it takes to keep her his.
Spanning the dazzling West with its blazing deserts and booming gold towns, Jake and Miranda must struggle to endure every hardship that threatens to tear them apart. But the love of an outlaw comes with a price...and even their passion may not burn bright enough to conquer the coming darkness.
January 26, 2015
Today's Outlaw Hearts Teaser
He closed his eyes and stretched out beside her, kissing her hair. “I’m no good, Randy. There’s no future with a man like me.”
She ran a hand inside his shirt and leaned closer to kiss his chest. “We don’t know that, yet. And you are good, Jake.”
He wrapped his fingers into her hair and rolled on top of her. “If I was really good, I would never have let things go this far with you. You mean too much to me, and if you stay with me you’re going to suffer, Randy. You’ll always be running, always wondering when someone might find out who I am and come gunning for me. Life is hell with me, believe me –“
She touched his lips again. “Tell me you can take me to Nevada now and just leave me there and ride off without me. Can you do that, Jake?” His only reply was to meet her mouth in a savage kiss.
Available June 2, 2015Pre-Order!
United by chance, bound by fate, consumed by passion.
Miranda Hayes has lost everything-her family, her husband, her home. Orphaned and then widowed, desperate to find a safe haven, she sets out to cross a savage land alone...until chance brings her face-to-face with notorious gunslinger Jake Harkner.
Hunted by the law and haunted by a brutal past, Jake has spent a lifetime fighting for everything he has. He's never known a moment's kindness...until fate brings him to the one woman willing to reach past his harsh exterior to the man inside. He would die for her. He would kill for her. He will do whatever it takes to keep her his.
Spanning the dazzling West with its blazing deserts and booming gold towns, Jake and Miranda must struggle to endure every hardship that threatens to tear them apart. But the love of an outlaw comes with a price...and even their passion may not burn bright enough to conquer the coming darkness.
January 12, 2015
Historical Research
Anyone who writes about history must, of course, do plenty of research. I am very particular about getting my facts straight because doing so brings much more realism to my stories. I have at times even brought real historical characters into my books, as with a young George Washington in INTO THE WILDERNESS. Some people might dread the research. NOT ME! I enjoy reading for research more than general reading, and always, whatever I am researching not only helps me with facts I need for the book I am working on; but it also leads me to a wealth of new ideas. So the research only helps me find plot for future books.
Most of my hundreds of research books come from the University of Nebraska and the University of Oklahoma, where you can find information on just about anything and everything you’d ever want to know about America’s “Old West” and Native Americans. And I do use books most of the time, not the internet. I know exactly which book to turn to for whatever I am working on. And every book has been read, highlighted, underlined, dog-eared – you name it. The Time/Life books on the Old West are fantastic, as is ANYTHING by Alan Eckert. He takes history and beautifully brings it to life.
I couldn’t begin to name all my favorite reference books. There are too many. I will say, though, that for a chronological history of our Native Americans, you can’t beat BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown. My own paperback copy is falling to pieces, but I have a hard cover copy that Mr. Brown signed for me at a western writers’ conference. I truly treasure that book!
January 5, 2015
Born To Write
I am sitting here thinking about the fact that I have written 60 books over the past 30 years. That’s an average of two books a year, and I have no memory of when or how I did that. Each book takes about six months to write, some less, some more. That does not include the edits and re-writes that come back once the book is finished and sent in, so it’s a constant procedure of writing, reading, editing, writing, reading, editing, writing …
I have written a minimum of SIX MILLION words, based on 60 books at 100,000 words. However, most of my books ranged closer to 120,000 words, so I’d better up that to a total of SEVEN MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND words. And again, that’s just first drafts. And it doesn’t count all the blogs and magazine articles and proposals I have written over the years. And of course there is the research, probably thousands of hours of research. I have hundreds of research books in my personal library, and I have read pretty much every one of them. They are all filled with highlights, underlining, hand-written notes and dog-eared pages. I don’t remember when I did all that either.
More than that, a good share of those books were written while I worked full time and was raising two small boys, spending 45 minutes a day just driving, doing all the untold things working mothers with kids have to do, running sons to football practice and the movies and friends’ houses, grocery shopping, doctor visits, graduations, weddings, on and on. And during all this time I’ve had brain surgery, two other forms of hospitalization surgeries, and two broken wrists. And there have been other family traumas I won’t even mention. You know the kind – problems with kids, having to take care of elderly parents, all of that.
And so it goes. If you want to write, you have to be ready to turn twenty-four hours into forty-eight hours. You have to be willing to sleep 3-5 hours a night, ready for back and neck problems, swollen legs, and household chores that don’t get done. Most of all, you have to absolutely love writing … not just the art of it or the thought of seeing your name on a book shelf. You have to LOVE YOUR GENRE, LOVE YOUR SETTINGS, LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS. You write because you can’t NOT write. It’s not for the money, not for fame. It’s because you have characters and stories inside of you that eat at you to write their story. It’s because you are totally in love with what you write. The characters have to be so real to you that you feel like you’re living with them. You think about them every waking moment, in the middle of the night, while you’re cooking supper, while you’re at work doing other things, while you’re watching TV, even while you’re having a conversation. There they are, in front of you, beside you, in your head … and (the fun part) sometimes in your bed! You have to love your hero so much that you are jealous of his fictitious wife or partner. You don’t think of them as fictitious. You think of them as REAL. You don’t look at them from the outside. You ARE them! You write them not as an author telling a story, but as THEM telling their story. You hurt with them, you laugh with them, you make love to them, you worry about them, you take care of them.
So often I hear other writers talking about “finding” time to write, or setting aside special times or places to write. I don’t get it. My problem is finding time to do everything ELSE! Writing has always come first for me. If you aren’t absolutely crazy about the book you are working on and the characters in it, you aren’t going to bring that “real” feeling to your story. The remarks I get most often about my books are, “The characters seem so real.” Many times readers have asked if my characters really existed. THAT’S how real your characters need to be. After I finished IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAINS, readers wrote me wanting to know where the monument the heroine built in her father’s name was located. The book was about the birth and growth of Denver, Colorado, and the heroine’s father was prominent in the story. I had to tell readers the monument she builds and dedicates to her father (in the book) does not exist because the heroine and her father were fictitious characters; but I wrote them so real that people thought they really existed.
Of course, some characters are going to be favorites and stand out in your mind and memory and heart more than the others. For me that would be, of course, Zeke Monroe (Cheyenne Zeke) from my 7-book SAVAGE DESTINY series. The books are over 30 years old and are still selling, especially now that they are available for Kindle. And Zeke and his wife Abbie seem to remain favorites of most of my readers, some of whom have read the series numerous times because they can’t get enough of it.
Amazon.com Widgets
Now comes Jake Harkner, the outlaw in OUTLAW HEARTS – a lawman in DO NOT FORSAKE ME. OUTLAW HEARTS is 20 years old, but Sourcebooks is reissuing the book in June of this year with a gorgeous new cover to be followed in July by its sequel – a brand new book from me called DO NOT FORSAKE ME. I dreamed about the sequel for years, so when I sold it, I sat down and poured out almost 600 pages in about two months! Now I’m hoping the publisher will agree to a third book, because I am truly, totally, madly in love with the hero Jake and I don’t want to leave him or his family, who are on their way to Colorado at the end of Book #2.
Jake is the first hero out of all my books who has come along to challenge Zeke Monroe for my heart. I guess you could divide them up and say that Zeke is my favorite INDIAN character – and Jake is my favorite WHITE MAN/OUTLAW character. That way I can keep both of them in my heart. I have been working with DO NOT FORSAKE ME for months now, and it’s finally going into production, but it will take a long time for me to get Jake far enough out of my heart to not think about him 24/7. It will probably never happen because to this day I can think about Zeke Monroe and feel all mushy all over again. I miss Zeke, and I wrote him 30 years ago.
If you are born to write, you won’t have to “find” time to do it. You will write in every nook and cranny of every day, and sometimes you will write half the night, even if you know you need to get up early and get kids to school and yourself to work. That’s just how it is for a writer. You will write even though you haven’t even sold a book yet. You will go on to another and another and another. I wrote nine books before I finally sold one, and that was the NINTH book. Since then I sold only one of those other eight books. They were a learning experience. I went on to new stories, and each new story brought me more ideas. For many of my books I didn’t even have an outline. I just started the book and let the characters take me into their lives. That’s my favorite way to write. I don’t WANT to know what’s going to happen. It just “happens” as I write.
To all of you out there who love to write, whether sold or not, keep at it – but only because you love your genre and love the art of writing. Don’t do it for fame and fortune because most writers don’t see either one. Do it because you can’t wait to share your stories. And do it because you were BORN TO WRITE! You don’t CHOOSE to write. Writing CHOOSES YOU. It’s either in you or it’s not, and all the education in the world and all the efforts to “find” time to write won’t help. Writing should never be a struggle for you. The words should flow through your fingers like gentle water, and whatever feeds the stream will never end.
All my best to all of you!
I have written a minimum of SIX MILLION words, based on 60 books at 100,000 words. However, most of my books ranged closer to 120,000 words, so I’d better up that to a total of SEVEN MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND words. And again, that’s just first drafts. And it doesn’t count all the blogs and magazine articles and proposals I have written over the years. And of course there is the research, probably thousands of hours of research. I have hundreds of research books in my personal library, and I have read pretty much every one of them. They are all filled with highlights, underlining, hand-written notes and dog-eared pages. I don’t remember when I did all that either.
More than that, a good share of those books were written while I worked full time and was raising two small boys, spending 45 minutes a day just driving, doing all the untold things working mothers with kids have to do, running sons to football practice and the movies and friends’ houses, grocery shopping, doctor visits, graduations, weddings, on and on. And during all this time I’ve had brain surgery, two other forms of hospitalization surgeries, and two broken wrists. And there have been other family traumas I won’t even mention. You know the kind – problems with kids, having to take care of elderly parents, all of that.
And so it goes. If you want to write, you have to be ready to turn twenty-four hours into forty-eight hours. You have to be willing to sleep 3-5 hours a night, ready for back and neck problems, swollen legs, and household chores that don’t get done. Most of all, you have to absolutely love writing … not just the art of it or the thought of seeing your name on a book shelf. You have to LOVE YOUR GENRE, LOVE YOUR SETTINGS, LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS. You write because you can’t NOT write. It’s not for the money, not for fame. It’s because you have characters and stories inside of you that eat at you to write their story. It’s because you are totally in love with what you write. The characters have to be so real to you that you feel like you’re living with them. You think about them every waking moment, in the middle of the night, while you’re cooking supper, while you’re at work doing other things, while you’re watching TV, even while you’re having a conversation. There they are, in front of you, beside you, in your head … and (the fun part) sometimes in your bed! You have to love your hero so much that you are jealous of his fictitious wife or partner. You don’t think of them as fictitious. You think of them as REAL. You don’t look at them from the outside. You ARE them! You write them not as an author telling a story, but as THEM telling their story. You hurt with them, you laugh with them, you make love to them, you worry about them, you take care of them.
So often I hear other writers talking about “finding” time to write, or setting aside special times or places to write. I don’t get it. My problem is finding time to do everything ELSE! Writing has always come first for me. If you aren’t absolutely crazy about the book you are working on and the characters in it, you aren’t going to bring that “real” feeling to your story. The remarks I get most often about my books are, “The characters seem so real.” Many times readers have asked if my characters really existed. THAT’S how real your characters need to be. After I finished IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAINS, readers wrote me wanting to know where the monument the heroine built in her father’s name was located. The book was about the birth and growth of Denver, Colorado, and the heroine’s father was prominent in the story. I had to tell readers the monument she builds and dedicates to her father (in the book) does not exist because the heroine and her father were fictitious characters; but I wrote them so real that people thought they really existed.
Of course, some characters are going to be favorites and stand out in your mind and memory and heart more than the others. For me that would be, of course, Zeke Monroe (Cheyenne Zeke) from my 7-book SAVAGE DESTINY series. The books are over 30 years old and are still selling, especially now that they are available for Kindle. And Zeke and his wife Abbie seem to remain favorites of most of my readers, some of whom have read the series numerous times because they can’t get enough of it.
Amazon.com Widgets
Now comes Jake Harkner, the outlaw in OUTLAW HEARTS – a lawman in DO NOT FORSAKE ME. OUTLAW HEARTS is 20 years old, but Sourcebooks is reissuing the book in June of this year with a gorgeous new cover to be followed in July by its sequel – a brand new book from me called DO NOT FORSAKE ME. I dreamed about the sequel for years, so when I sold it, I sat down and poured out almost 600 pages in about two months! Now I’m hoping the publisher will agree to a third book, because I am truly, totally, madly in love with the hero Jake and I don’t want to leave him or his family, who are on their way to Colorado at the end of Book #2.
Jake is the first hero out of all my books who has come along to challenge Zeke Monroe for my heart. I guess you could divide them up and say that Zeke is my favorite INDIAN character – and Jake is my favorite WHITE MAN/OUTLAW character. That way I can keep both of them in my heart. I have been working with DO NOT FORSAKE ME for months now, and it’s finally going into production, but it will take a long time for me to get Jake far enough out of my heart to not think about him 24/7. It will probably never happen because to this day I can think about Zeke Monroe and feel all mushy all over again. I miss Zeke, and I wrote him 30 years ago.
If you are born to write, you won’t have to “find” time to do it. You will write in every nook and cranny of every day, and sometimes you will write half the night, even if you know you need to get up early and get kids to school and yourself to work. That’s just how it is for a writer. You will write even though you haven’t even sold a book yet. You will go on to another and another and another. I wrote nine books before I finally sold one, and that was the NINTH book. Since then I sold only one of those other eight books. They were a learning experience. I went on to new stories, and each new story brought me more ideas. For many of my books I didn’t even have an outline. I just started the book and let the characters take me into their lives. That’s my favorite way to write. I don’t WANT to know what’s going to happen. It just “happens” as I write.
To all of you out there who love to write, whether sold or not, keep at it – but only because you love your genre and love the art of writing. Don’t do it for fame and fortune because most writers don’t see either one. Do it because you can’t wait to share your stories. And do it because you were BORN TO WRITE! You don’t CHOOSE to write. Writing CHOOSES YOU. It’s either in you or it’s not, and all the education in the world and all the efforts to “find” time to write won’t help. Writing should never be a struggle for you. The words should flow through your fingers like gentle water, and whatever feeds the stream will never end.
All my best to all of you!
December 19, 2014
Christmas Giveaway!
It's the week before Christmas, and I've got a special gift for all my fabulous Readers! Starting tomorrow, December 20th, enter the giveaway below for a daily chance to win a copy of my Brides Omnibus! Then, on Christmas day I'll draw a name for the Grand Prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!
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The West is wild, but it’s the people that are untamed in Roseanne Bittner’s smoldering Bride series.
"Time after time, Rosanne Bittner brings a full-blown portrait of the untamed West to readers. Her tapestry is woven with authenticity, colorful characters, intense emotions and love's power over every conceivable obstacle."—RT BOOK REVIEWS
In OREGON BRIDE, the unexplored frontier is where one woman tries to put her past behind her, and discovers that she still may be able to fall in love. In TEXAS BRIDE, the relentless heat is nothing compared to the love of a schoolteacher and a mysterious man. In TENNESSEE BRIDE, a dangerous passion puts two people in harm’s way, but may their only hope at salvation.
TEXAS BRIDE was named one of ROMANTIC TIMES' All-Time Favorites, but all three books feature the strong heroines and unending passion that have made Roseanne Bittner one of romance’s most beloved authors.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iTunes
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December 1, 2014
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I can’t believe we are headed into Christmas. It seems summer always disappears suddenly and without warning. And the way the weather has turned, I am already looking forward to NEXT summer! I am especially anxious for the Romantic Times conference next May in Dallas, Texas, because there I will be pushing my 60th published book, DO NOT FORSAKE ME, a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS, which will be reissued and published next June, right before the sequel. The covers for these books are outstanding {what do you think!?!}, and I am planning some wonderful promotional events for these two books, which I absolutely loved writing.
I am so grateful for how my writing career as suddenly taken off again, after about ten years of virtual hibernation. For a while I was thinking of just hanging it all up. No one wanted Rosanne Bittner any more, at least as far as what publishers were telling me. But I kept getting feedback from you, my readers – where is Rosanne Bittner? When will Rosanne Bittner have something new published? Is Rosanne still writing?
Yes, I was still writing, but I was working on things other people told me I should try, as well as writing in a different style, especially when it comes to point of view for my characters. And I was being told I needed a synopsis and first three chapters of a book for submission. I kept thinking – why? I’ve had over 50 books published. Why can’t a publisher take it for granted they will get a good book from me without me having to go into every detail about it? I don’t write that way. I literally DO NOT KNOW what will happen in my stories until I start writing them.
Finally I decided to just write a book – finish it – and THEN submit it, rather than a synopsis and first three chapters. Well, that book sold – PARADISE VALLEY. And you know what? I had no outline for that story and didn’t know a damn thing about what would take place other than how I would open the story. And I also quit worrying about the “proper use” of point of view. I went back to my favorite kind of writing – off the cuff and getting into more than one character’s head – sometimes paragraph to paragraph. And it worked!
The minute I started writing the way I like to write – (and, by the way, I HATE formula writing. I don’t like being told how I have to design my story – so I threw that out the window, too) is when the stories started flowing out of me again – fast and furious. I went on to DESPERATE HEARTS and then – dream of dreams – I was asked to write a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS. Going back to Jake Harkner after twenty years was easy, because a sequel had been dancing around in my head all those twenty years. I am absolutely, positively, totally in love with Jake, and DO NOT FORSAKE ME came pouring out like water over a damn. My editor already wants a third book, and that, too, is already mostly written in my head.
What this all boils down to is – WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE. WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO WRITE. WRITE THE WAY YOU WANT TO WRITE. WRITE WHAT COMES NATURALLY. I call it “breaking all the rules,” and it’s exciting and invigorating. I know you will love these books, coming next summer. I am so excited, and you will see all kinds of promo for these stories about Jake Harkner and his wife Miranda and their family and all the love and chaos and gritty western action that takes place in these stories. At times they won’t be easy reading. I definitely do not write “fluff.” I love realism – real history – real events – real locations – and characters that come alive on the pages and in the hearts of my readers. That’s what you will definitely get with OUTLAW HEARTS and DO NOT FORSAKE ME.
In the meantime, I have a wealth of back issues you can find on Amazon – both in print and as e-books, so if you want to gift a book this year for Christmas, check out Rosanne Bittner. Currently you can get my three “Bride” books – TENNESSEE BRIDE, TEXAS BRIDE and OREGON BRIDE – as an e-book boxed set – all three stories for only $9.99! And if you want a print book autographed for yourself or before you “gift” it, just e-mail me privately at rbamericanhistory@parrett.net for mailing information, and I will pay the postage to send the signed books back to you! MERRY CHRISTMAS, everybody!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo
I am so grateful for how my writing career as suddenly taken off again, after about ten years of virtual hibernation. For a while I was thinking of just hanging it all up. No one wanted Rosanne Bittner any more, at least as far as what publishers were telling me. But I kept getting feedback from you, my readers – where is Rosanne Bittner? When will Rosanne Bittner have something new published? Is Rosanne still writing?
Yes, I was still writing, but I was working on things other people told me I should try, as well as writing in a different style, especially when it comes to point of view for my characters. And I was being told I needed a synopsis and first three chapters of a book for submission. I kept thinking – why? I’ve had over 50 books published. Why can’t a publisher take it for granted they will get a good book from me without me having to go into every detail about it? I don’t write that way. I literally DO NOT KNOW what will happen in my stories until I start writing them.
Finally I decided to just write a book – finish it – and THEN submit it, rather than a synopsis and first three chapters. Well, that book sold – PARADISE VALLEY. And you know what? I had no outline for that story and didn’t know a damn thing about what would take place other than how I would open the story. And I also quit worrying about the “proper use” of point of view. I went back to my favorite kind of writing – off the cuff and getting into more than one character’s head – sometimes paragraph to paragraph. And it worked!
The minute I started writing the way I like to write – (and, by the way, I HATE formula writing. I don’t like being told how I have to design my story – so I threw that out the window, too) is when the stories started flowing out of me again – fast and furious. I went on to DESPERATE HEARTS and then – dream of dreams – I was asked to write a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS. Going back to Jake Harkner after twenty years was easy, because a sequel had been dancing around in my head all those twenty years. I am absolutely, positively, totally in love with Jake, and DO NOT FORSAKE ME came pouring out like water over a damn. My editor already wants a third book, and that, too, is already mostly written in my head.
What this all boils down to is – WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE. WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO WRITE. WRITE THE WAY YOU WANT TO WRITE. WRITE WHAT COMES NATURALLY. I call it “breaking all the rules,” and it’s exciting and invigorating. I know you will love these books, coming next summer. I am so excited, and you will see all kinds of promo for these stories about Jake Harkner and his wife Miranda and their family and all the love and chaos and gritty western action that takes place in these stories. At times they won’t be easy reading. I definitely do not write “fluff.” I love realism – real history – real events – real locations – and characters that come alive on the pages and in the hearts of my readers. That’s what you will definitely get with OUTLAW HEARTS and DO NOT FORSAKE ME.
In the meantime, I have a wealth of back issues you can find on Amazon – both in print and as e-books, so if you want to gift a book this year for Christmas, check out Rosanne Bittner. Currently you can get my three “Bride” books – TENNESSEE BRIDE, TEXAS BRIDE and OREGON BRIDE – as an e-book boxed set – all three stories for only $9.99! And if you want a print book autographed for yourself or before you “gift” it, just e-mail me privately at rbamericanhistory@parrett.net for mailing information, and I will pay the postage to send the signed books back to you! MERRY CHRISTMAS, everybody!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo
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October 27, 2014
Haunted Open House Blog Hop!
Glad to jump into this Haunted Open House Blog Hop for Halloween in support of one of my favorite writers, Nancy Gideon! For more Tricks and Treats, visit Nancy's Haunted Open House - She'll be there all week with special guests and fun Halloween activities.
My all-time favorite movie is THE HAUNTING – the old 1950’s b&w version, not the newer one. That movie doesn’t need a screamer mask or bloody murders to be scary. I much prefer the “unseen” spirits that lurk dark corners or only as cold vapors. To me that is much more frightening.
In THE HAUNTING, you never see the ghostly spirits. You only hear muffled voices – and the scariest part for me is when you can hear a spirit’s booming footsteps as it stomps up and down the hallway outside the bedrooms in the haunted mansion – and when that huge bedroom door starts bowing inward, as though the spirit is trying to get inside, that is absolutely chilling and great food for nightmares.
I BELIEVE IN GHOSTS, so to this day that movie scares the crap out of me! As far as scary TV shows, it would have to be SLEEPY HOLLOW. I have always loved the story of The Headless Horseman! My dream is to someday write a really good ghost story!
My Treat!
I'm giving away a copy of Paradise Valley and Desperate Heartsto one lucky winner - Good Luck!
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Now let's see what everyone else is talking about!
October 14, 2014
The Ideal Hero
After 35 years of writing, even more years of reading, and having completed 60 novels, I’ve come to the conclusion that most female readers’ ideal hero (and yes, male readers, too) is the alpha male who is tough and able on the outside, but vulnerable and tender on the inside. I absolutely love the “tough guy” persona, a man who’s strong and brave and can handle weapons and fists … but a man who would never dream of laying a hand on the woman he loves.
For me that boils down to a man who cherishes the woman in his life. He doesn’t just love her – he holds her up as precious for loving him when he feels unlovable. He respects the fact that she sees in him what others don’t see, that she understands his deepest dreams and convictions … and his demons. One of my favorite lines is from my up-coming novel, DO NOT FORSAKE ME (a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS coming next July). The hero is former outlaw/now lawman Jake Harkner. After a reporter witnesses an intense and violent altercation between Jake and a young man who dared to challenge him, it’s obvious Jake is in a very dark mood. Jake walks off with his wife, and when the reporter asks Jake’s son-in-law (Dr. Brian Stewart) if Jake’s wife will be all right, Brian frowns and asks him what he means. The reporter mentions Jake is in a very bad mood. Will he take it out on his wife? The son-in-law grins and tells the reporter that Jake Harkner would rather slit his own throat than to raise a hand or even his voice to his wife, whom he literally worships and who is Jake’s rock and his strength.
That’s my kind of hero. The worst of the worst hesitate when it comes to going up against the likes of Jake Harkner, but his family absolutely worships the ground he walks on, and visa-versa. Jake’s family, wife – daughter – son – and yes, in Book #2 even grandsons, are his whole life. Because of a horrible childhood of his own, Jake refuses to ever physically discipline a child and would never harm his wife. In one instance Jake’s youngest (and very stubborn and sometimes naughty) grandsons goes running up the street to his grandpa right in the middle of a showdown with outlaws! It creates real havoc and a wild shootout that leaves Jake wounded. But is Jake angry with his grandson? No. He later says that what the boy did was out of love. He just wanted to run to his grandpa for a hug. He’s little, and he had no idea what was going on or that it could cause so much chaos.
We all know that the ideal hero rarely exists in real life, but some men come pretty darn close. We don’t live in those wild times, but some of us know men who truly would stand in harm’s way for their family, and of course our true heroes today are soldiers and policemen and firemen and those who do risk their lives for others. I think most women want a man who is strong – not necessarily physically, but strong in his convictions and willing to back up those convictions against all odds. We all want a man who considers us his equal and his true partner, a man who respects us as the woman who loves him in spite of all his faults and who understands what makes him tick. The man in turn should respect our needs and wants, respect our bodies and love us for having his children and helping support the whole family and for loving him unconditionally.
In DO NOT FORSAKE ME, Jake's wife, Miranda, fully understands this very complicated man and loves him in spite of all his faults because she knows that on the inside he’s a desperate little boy wanting to be loved and accepted – something he never got as a horribly abused child. Jake lives with a past he regrets and wishes he could change – and he blames himself for things that were never really his fault. An abusive father led him to feel worthless, and he blames himself for every bad thing that ever happens in his life or to his family. In DO NOT FORSAKE ME, a traumatic and climactic moment involving Jake’s grown daughter forces him to face his demons and learn about forgiveness and redemption.
I just love DO NOT FORSAKE ME, and for me Jake Harkner is the ultimate alpha man with a tragic past that makes all women love him and want to hold him and tell him everything will be all right … even though this same man can be absolutely ruthless toward any man who would dare to hurt or even threaten anyone in his family – or any other innocent person, for that matter. When it comes to dealing out justice, Jake Harkner rules with an iron fist and a flaming Colt .45 … but he’s a patsy at home, where his kids and grandsons and sometimes even his wife can walk all over him and never fear retribution.
As the reporter in this story mentions in one conversation … Jake is an enigma. Jake replies that yes, he is … and that he doesn’t even understand himself. In the words of Jake’s son – “There is a war going on in my father’s heart.” That is so true – and the devoted love Jake shares with his son and daughter is so touching. But most touching is the relationship between Jake and Miranda. By the time the story in DO NOT FORSAKE ME takes place, they have been together for 26 years, but their love has only grown over those years.
I always try to write the ideal hero, and most of the time that really comes through in my books. There is Colt Travis in THUNDER ON THE PLAINS, Zeke Monroe in my 7-book SAVAGE DESTINY series, Clint Brady in WHERE HEAVEN BEGINS, Cole Parker in UNTIL TOMORROW, Luke Fontaine in WILDEST DREAMS, Will Lassater in THE FOREVER TREE, Caleb Sax in my BLUE HAWK trilogy, Mitch Brady in my newest book DESPERATE HEARTS, and so many others. All of them are very rough around the edges and need the love and taming of a good woman … and all of them find that in my heroines. But they never lose their tough edge or brave countenance, and that’s what the heroines love the most about them.
And that’s what I love about them, too!
For me that boils down to a man who cherishes the woman in his life. He doesn’t just love her – he holds her up as precious for loving him when he feels unlovable. He respects the fact that she sees in him what others don’t see, that she understands his deepest dreams and convictions … and his demons. One of my favorite lines is from my up-coming novel, DO NOT FORSAKE ME (a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS coming next July). The hero is former outlaw/now lawman Jake Harkner. After a reporter witnesses an intense and violent altercation between Jake and a young man who dared to challenge him, it’s obvious Jake is in a very dark mood. Jake walks off with his wife, and when the reporter asks Jake’s son-in-law (Dr. Brian Stewart) if Jake’s wife will be all right, Brian frowns and asks him what he means. The reporter mentions Jake is in a very bad mood. Will he take it out on his wife? The son-in-law grins and tells the reporter that Jake Harkner would rather slit his own throat than to raise a hand or even his voice to his wife, whom he literally worships and who is Jake’s rock and his strength.
That’s my kind of hero. The worst of the worst hesitate when it comes to going up against the likes of Jake Harkner, but his family absolutely worships the ground he walks on, and visa-versa. Jake’s family, wife – daughter – son – and yes, in Book #2 even grandsons, are his whole life. Because of a horrible childhood of his own, Jake refuses to ever physically discipline a child and would never harm his wife. In one instance Jake’s youngest (and very stubborn and sometimes naughty) grandsons goes running up the street to his grandpa right in the middle of a showdown with outlaws! It creates real havoc and a wild shootout that leaves Jake wounded. But is Jake angry with his grandson? No. He later says that what the boy did was out of love. He just wanted to run to his grandpa for a hug. He’s little, and he had no idea what was going on or that it could cause so much chaos.
We all know that the ideal hero rarely exists in real life, but some men come pretty darn close. We don’t live in those wild times, but some of us know men who truly would stand in harm’s way for their family, and of course our true heroes today are soldiers and policemen and firemen and those who do risk their lives for others. I think most women want a man who is strong – not necessarily physically, but strong in his convictions and willing to back up those convictions against all odds. We all want a man who considers us his equal and his true partner, a man who respects us as the woman who loves him in spite of all his faults and who understands what makes him tick. The man in turn should respect our needs and wants, respect our bodies and love us for having his children and helping support the whole family and for loving him unconditionally.
In DO NOT FORSAKE ME, Jake's wife, Miranda, fully understands this very complicated man and loves him in spite of all his faults because she knows that on the inside he’s a desperate little boy wanting to be loved and accepted – something he never got as a horribly abused child. Jake lives with a past he regrets and wishes he could change – and he blames himself for things that were never really his fault. An abusive father led him to feel worthless, and he blames himself for every bad thing that ever happens in his life or to his family. In DO NOT FORSAKE ME, a traumatic and climactic moment involving Jake’s grown daughter forces him to face his demons and learn about forgiveness and redemption.
I just love DO NOT FORSAKE ME, and for me Jake Harkner is the ultimate alpha man with a tragic past that makes all women love him and want to hold him and tell him everything will be all right … even though this same man can be absolutely ruthless toward any man who would dare to hurt or even threaten anyone in his family – or any other innocent person, for that matter. When it comes to dealing out justice, Jake Harkner rules with an iron fist and a flaming Colt .45 … but he’s a patsy at home, where his kids and grandsons and sometimes even his wife can walk all over him and never fear retribution.
As the reporter in this story mentions in one conversation … Jake is an enigma. Jake replies that yes, he is … and that he doesn’t even understand himself. In the words of Jake’s son – “There is a war going on in my father’s heart.” That is so true – and the devoted love Jake shares with his son and daughter is so touching. But most touching is the relationship between Jake and Miranda. By the time the story in DO NOT FORSAKE ME takes place, they have been together for 26 years, but their love has only grown over those years.
I always try to write the ideal hero, and most of the time that really comes through in my books. There is Colt Travis in THUNDER ON THE PLAINS, Zeke Monroe in my 7-book SAVAGE DESTINY series, Clint Brady in WHERE HEAVEN BEGINS, Cole Parker in UNTIL TOMORROW, Luke Fontaine in WILDEST DREAMS, Will Lassater in THE FOREVER TREE, Caleb Sax in my BLUE HAWK trilogy, Mitch Brady in my newest book DESPERATE HEARTS, and so many others. All of them are very rough around the edges and need the love and taming of a good woman … and all of them find that in my heroines. But they never lose their tough edge or brave countenance, and that’s what the heroines love the most about them.
And that’s what I love about them, too!
September 12, 2014
Don't Try To Be God
At the MMRWA's June meeting the discussion of omnipotence came up, and I have been thinking about that ever since because it’s a problem I had earlier in my writing years. Being the dense person I can be sometimes – as well as writing back when there was no help of any kind in this business and no opportunity to learn through others, I thought I’d share an article about this problem many writers have had, or still do have. I know it took me a while to catch on to what all this meant and if there is anyone out there who isn’t sure what omnipotence is all about, I thought I’d offer some help.
Back in my “old days” of writing, when I had no clue what I was doing, I made a lot of mistakes for which today’s publishers would probably have scolded me. However, I trudged through them and my books were published and … well … after 60 books and over 30 years of writing I truly have not had one reader complaint that involved even one thing an editor or my agent would have complained about. That proves my point that writing a damn good story trumps making “new writer” mistakes.
HOWEVER, this is not to say that you shouldn’t worry about what you are doing wrong, and I have learned about my biggest flaws the hard way. Readers are far more forgiving of our mistakes than editors and agents, and in order to get your book out there to the public, someone has to buy it and publish it first, which means you still have to deal with your flaws and work on them. If you seem to never learn with each new book, an agent or editor will eventually give up and take no more books, so … as much as we sometimes think it doesn’t matter, we have to listen to the experts on where we can improve our writing, and we have to work on making those improvements. Don’t let your feelings get hurt. It’s much better to be criticized BEFORE your book gets published than by readers and critics AFTER it’s been published! That kind of criticism can affect sales, and break your heart.
The main flaw I continue to struggle with (but I have improved tremendously) is redundancy – repeating things I already said, especially in describing someone’s feelings or perhaps their past. I used to try way too hard to make SURE the readers understood a character’s thoughts/feelings/past/reasons for what they do and say. I’m sure there were times when a reader thought, “OK, I get it. Enough already!” - but apparently they liked the stories so much that they shrugged off that concern because I never heard one complaint. The only ones who brought it to my attention were my agent and editors. I have worked very hard on that and am much better today at keeping track of how often I refer to a particular thought or feeling.
The other flaw I have fought to improve on is passive voice. I was really bad at that in my early years, and I probably didn’t try hard to change that because readers seemed to love my books just the way they were. But eventually a good scolding from my agent woke me up, and since then I have realized that there is a strong connection between PASSIVE VOICE and OMNIPOTENCE.
Passive voice is when we use too much “has” – “have” – “had been” – “has been” – “was” – “were” etc. - and we tend to do that when we try to explain to the reader what has already happened to lead up to where we are in the story – or try to explain what has happened to the character up to this point because of things that took place in a previous book (if what you are writing is a sequel or another book to a series). By passively explaining previous events, we are being omnipotent, which can make a story boring. Being omnipotent is also akin to just plain being lazy – ie. – rather than find an active way to get my point across, I’ll just “tell” the readers what’s going on.
Omnipotence is being “god-like.” You are the God of your book and you will decide what happens, and as “God” – looking down on your characters and their story – you will tell the readers what is happening because you think you need to explain it to them. But this type of writing can make for boring reading, and it can take the life out of a story. Passive and omnipotent can go hand-in-hand. Following are some examples, which are from my up-coming book DO NOT FORSAKE ME. These are NOT from the final finished book (don’t want to give anything away!) – and this is NOT how I wrote it. I am just changing things to show you the difference between passive/omnipotent and active voice.
I could have said … (ho-hum) - Jake wasn’t as bad as people thought. Once he rescued his wife, before they were married, from a place where the wagon train had left her dying from a snake bite. Jake found her there and risked his life to take her out of there. Then he nursed her back to health. (Yawn)
Instead, Jake and Miranda have just made love (yummy, active love scene!) and they are talking about their newly-married son Lloyd and are joking about how he and his new wife probably made love six times that night to their one time. Jake says “Remember those days?” Miranda answers – “I remember something better. I remember you rescuing me from that filthy trading post where I was dying from snake bite. I remember hearing your voice and feeling you lift me into your arms and promising me you’d never let me out of your sight again. I remember how gentle you were …” and so on.
Now this memory has become something active as well as romantic – part of a conversation that informs the readers what happened without me, the author, taking an omnipotent as well as passive attempt at explaining something that happened in the past – something that helps the reader understand the kind of man Jake really is, but doing it in an active way that doesn’t seem repetitive and boring.
There are many, many areas in this book wherein I could have just tried to explain things that happened in the past or tried to tell readers Jake’s inner struggles in a boring, omnipotent and passive way. However, I used conversations with others to bring this out. In my book, a young reporter from Chicago is in town trying to convince Jake to let him write a book about him, something Jake is determined not to allow because he wants no “dime novels” full of lies written about him. But this reporter proves his worth and things happen that cause Jake to begin to trust and befriend this reporter.
Using the reporter in his attempts to learn more about the “real” Jake really helped me keep stories about Jake’s past very active and exciting reading! We learn a lot about Jake from Book #1 through conversations the reporter has with Jake’s family members, mainly his son Lloyd and also with Jake’s wife – and by doing so, I can bring in much more emotion.
i.e. – Rather than me “telling” the readers that Jake killed his own father and has always suffered emotionally over it, I bring this out in conversations between the reporter and Lloyd, and not only do these conversations show the kind of man Jake is deep inside, it also brings out the very, very close relationship and love shared between Jake and his son. One comment Lloyd makes to the reporter … [“There is a war going on inside Jake Harkner, Jeff, between his father’s rotten, cussed mean blood – and his mother’s goodness. Pa says she was beautiful, and he still wears a Crucifix that was hers.”] We see by this that Jake’s son understands his father well and knows what makes him tick. By the time the conversation is finished, the readers feel plenty of empathy for both Jake and his son, whose eyes show tears before this conversation is over. Jake has been injured and Lloyd thought he would die, so he’s feeling very emotional at this time anyway.
Another example: I could have just passively told the readers that … [Lloyd stayed right at the house for hours after the doctor finished with Jake. He never even went home to clean up and change.] That would be me, the omnipotent author, telling the readers what Lloyd did, and by doing so I’ve created a passive explanation with no action – taking the lazy way out. Instead, Jeff (the reporter) visits later to see how Jake is doing and Lloyd is the one who opens the door. Jeff thinks to himself how worn out and upset Lloyd looks. And through Jeff, we learn what happened, plus we get a description of Lloyd through Jeff rather than me passively describing him … i.e.
[Jeff felt as nervous around Lloyd as he did around Jake. He was as tall and dark, and when in fighting mode, just as dangerous looking. He noticed Lloyd’s shirt and pants were covered with dried blood. Apparently he’d never gone home to clean up and change after Jake was hurt. He’d stayed right with his father this whole time.]
Later after Lloyd haltingly describes how badly his father was wounded, Jeff detects tears in his eyes. Some very touching and emotional words and actions take place here as Lloyd unloads his father’s guns. In another quiet conversation Lloyd tells Jeff, [“I’m not ready to lose my father, Jeff. I just got him back only a year and a half ago. I still have a lot to make up for.”]
There is another part of the story where Jake learns his wife could have cancer. He has already described her to Jeff as “the center of my universe” and “the only thing that keeps me sane.” When he finds out she could be dying, it would have been easier (and lazy of me) to try to just describe Jake’s devastation i.e. [Jake felt his whole world crumbling and felt like crying.] Instead, I end this chapter with …
[He walked into the bedroom and watched her for a moment, thinking how beautiful she looked with her honey-blond hair spread out on the pillow. He removed his shirt and pants and wiped his dusty feet on a braided rug before easing into bed beside her. He moved an arm around her and in her sleepy state she curled against him. He quietly wept.]
Simple … touching … and in three words we know how Jake feels.
Another example of how to reveal past events from a previous book is, again, through conversation involving another person. Rather than me telling, or Jake “thinking” certain important facts, I brought them out through others. i.e. – Jake and the reporter are talking and the reporter (Jeff) asks – “Tell me what keeps you and your wife together. Twenty years or more, I’m told.”
“Twenty-six.” (Jake answers)
“From what I’ve observed, the two of you couldn’t be more … well … different.”
Jake finally grinned. “Different is an understatement.” Later Jake says … “I actually tried once or twice to get rid of her … for her own good, not because I didn’t love her.” By using this statement, readers realize how much Jake loves this woman. Jeff knows how much Jake loves his wife, yet he’d suffer living without her if he thought she’d be happier without him. (Jake has a real problem with feeling worthy of Miranda’s love and with having such a beautiful family who loves him. He’s never felt he deserved these things.)
There are so many places in this story where family closeness is evident, and it’s all done through action and dialogue. And when it comes to describing characters, remember to always let the description come from someone else’s observation or spoken words. You should never passively “describe” a person or a room or anything else. In this book Jeff, the reporter, observes what Jake’s home is like inside. Through his thoughts and notes he writes down, we learn all kinds of things in an active way.
It took me a long time to understand what my agent meant about being omnipotent. It was when she was helping me edit SONG OF THE WOLF that I finally “got it.” In one scene I have the heroine looking at her lovely hands, their smooth dark skin (something like that) – and my agent finally got through to me that I, the omnipotent author, was describing this woman’s hands for the readers – and in a dumb way – i.e. the character was describing her own hands. After editing and finding ways to improve the story, SONG OF THE WOLF ended up being a RITA nominated book.
I hope I’ve helped newer writers understand passive vs. active and how it all relates to omnipotent writing. I have always preached writing a book from the inside-out – through the eyes and hearts of the characters themselves and not from the outside looking in – i.e. the omnipotent author just telling a story and “seeing” the characters and “telling” the story rather than just letting it tell itself through your characters and their actions and words.
Enjoy your writing! Be confident and enthusiastic. Most of all remember – active, active, active. Keep the story moving and use action and dialogue to keep your readers awake and involved. Don’t be the God of your story. Stay OUT of the story. Let the characters and their actions and dialogue with others keep the story flowing, and use those things to keep the readers alert and excited and keep the pages turning!
Now let's see what everyone else is talking about:
September 3, 2014
Review of DESPERATE HEARTS by Long and Short Reviews!
DESPERATE HEARTS received a 4 Star Review from Long and Short Reviews!
Available Now!
Amazon and Barnes & Noble
SHE'S A WOMAN WITH A SECRET
Elizabeth Wainright is on the run. Accused of a murder she didn't commit, she has no choice but to cut ties with her old life and flee West. The last thing she wants is attention, but when her stagecoach is attacked, she suddenly finds herself under the fierce protection of one of Montana's famed vigilantes ... whether she likes it or not ...
HE'S A MAN WITH A CODE
Lawman Mitch Brady is sworn to uphold justice in the wilds of Montana. He's never met a man he's feared, and he's never met a woman more desperately in need of his help. Something's shaken the secretive Elizabeth, but as he gets to know the beautiful city belle, he finds the only thing he wants more than her safety is her trust. - Elizabeth longs to give herself to Mitch, but when her past finally catches up with her, can she truly trust the vigilante who's stolen her heart ... with her life?"
DESPERATE HEARTS is set in 1880's Montana and is packed with "wild west" action, a good share of humor, and lots of romance!
She’s just eighteen and she’s already running from a man…
Ms. Bittner writes a mean western. She is historically accurate (she must have had a gunslinger in her family!) and she believes in true love. Those combinations add up to a good read. I’m going to have to go find some more of her work.
Elizabeth Wainright is going as far as she can away from her stepfather. He killed her mother and lusts after the gem filled necklace heirloom and the girl herself. She can’t stop him from taking what he wants if she stays, but she can run with the necklace and she does. She never anticipated getting caught in a stagecoach robbery. She also has no experience with the bad men of the west. She grew up in New York and that’s a long way from Montana. It doesn’t take her long to realize just what they want to do to her. All the men on the stage are dead and she’s there all alone. While she’s anticipating the worst, someone shows up to her rescue. He looks like an outlaw himself and she’s not sure that she’s in a better situation. However, he informs her he’s the local lawman. He also asks her if she’s a whore…
It doesn’t get better in town. It’s a town with few women and lots of men. Elizabeth knows she’s attractive, but she never drew much notice in New York. Here, she’s the main attraction. It’s a good thing she has the sheriff for a bodyguard.
This is a busy tale of men out for revenge as well as a story of love. Sheriff Mitch Brady falls in love with her and her with him. Her stepfather is still coming after her. He wants the necklace and plans to kill her. The wife of one of the men hanged by the sheriff is coming after him along with her ranch hands. It’s a rough world out there in early Montana.
I enjoyed the story and worried about the main characters. This author has a talent for drawing you into the story and keeping you there. I like that; it makes the book more worth reading. Now to find some more by her…
Available Now!
Amazon and Barnes & Noble
SHE'S A WOMAN WITH A SECRET
Elizabeth Wainright is on the run. Accused of a murder she didn't commit, she has no choice but to cut ties with her old life and flee West. The last thing she wants is attention, but when her stagecoach is attacked, she suddenly finds herself under the fierce protection of one of Montana's famed vigilantes ... whether she likes it or not ...
HE'S A MAN WITH A CODE
Lawman Mitch Brady is sworn to uphold justice in the wilds of Montana. He's never met a man he's feared, and he's never met a woman more desperately in need of his help. Something's shaken the secretive Elizabeth, but as he gets to know the beautiful city belle, he finds the only thing he wants more than her safety is her trust. - Elizabeth longs to give herself to Mitch, but when her past finally catches up with her, can she truly trust the vigilante who's stolen her heart ... with her life?"
DESPERATE HEARTS is set in 1880's Montana and is packed with "wild west" action, a good share of humor, and lots of romance!
