Rosanne Bittner's Blog, page 45
January 6, 2014
The Hero Who Never Was
I am wondering how many writers besides me live with a particular hero in their heads but never tell his story. I have lived with and loved Ben Colter for a good 20 years now. He’s the hero from the contemporary I have never written because I don’t feel confident writing contemporaries. More than that, though, it’s because I can’t pin the man down as far as who he really is. He is this “being” that haunts me almost constantly, asking me to tell his story, yet I don’t know what that story is, and this character is so special that I don’t want to mess things up by getting his story wrong.
I have decided that another reason I’ve never written Ben’s story is because doing so would mean I would have to let go of him, and I don’t want to. I selfishly and jealously want him only with me, in my head and in my heart. I don’t want to share him, or to let him slip away by having his story printed so that it’s no longer just mine.
My readers already know I’m a bit nuts. What I just wrote here proves it, I guess. But I have a feeling there are other writers out there who totally understand what I’m saying and feeling.
I want Ben to be the supreme alpha hero, but in a contemporary. Because of that I keep changing him – oh, not his basic character, which is a Native American, but he keeps shifting from Apache to Lakota – back and forth – and if I added all the elements to this man that I’d like to add, he’d be too good to be true. I can’t even say here what all those elements are because I can just hear those who read this laughing at my crazy conception of this man. He’s good, yet he’s a bad-ass who always stands up for what he believes. In one scenario, that particular quality costs the life of his young wife and nearly his own in an assassination attempt.
Ben is extremely talented, intelligent and accomplished. He’s a Yale graduate and an attorney who deals in D.C. over causes for his people – but are those people the Apache on a reservation in Arizona that has a ski resort – or is he Lakota, fighting (for his people) to hang on to what is left of the Black Hills? In both cases, powerful and wealthy factions outside the reservations are trying to get their hands on Indian land, and so Ben risks his life daily in being staunchly against letting go of any of it. Those he fights against are perfectly capable of hiring someone to get Ben out of the way. Therein lies the danger – and because Ben doesn’t let that stop him, therein lies his bravery.
Then there is the problem of what to do with the heroine. Who the heck is she? I only know that she’s a beautiful blonde from New England of all places, but how does she end up getting involved in the life of a modern-day “warrior” Native American? And why would he give her the time of day? I’ve gone through 3-4 scenarios of how and why these two meet, and because I like ALL the ideas, I will probably never decide because I like to live these stories in my head.
I really, really want to write Ben’s story, but I have a feeling I never will. I guess the man is too perfect. I’m not sure. I actually did start writing the story a few years ago. I called it A FIRE IN THE WIND , because Ben is a fiery character and in that story he’s Apache and it takes place in Arizona. Then I thought about changing it to LAKOTA PASSIONS and made him a Sioux man defending the Black Hills. Then I thought maybe THE POWER OF LOVE , after the song, because it would be a powerful love story.
The hardest part to get across to readers without them rolling their eyes ??? … Ben is a singer. No, not the nightclub type – that wouldn’t fit him. He has a powerful tenor voice and works with the young people (whether as Apache or Lakota) on his reservation – teaches music and a pride in their heritage – teaches them the ancient Native American songs and dances – and he raises money to support the expense of fighting through the court system (as an attorney for his people, remember) by putting on demonstrations of Native American dancing – and by singing, with the young people as his back-up choir – traveling all over the country to put on these concerts, spending his own money for a bus and other things that are needed. These concerts are Ben’s way of instilling pride in the hearts of reservation youth, raising money, and bringing awareness to the outside world about the ongoing battle yet today that Native Americans face in keeping what land is left to them.
Ben’s story could go in a thousand directions, and I will probably never tell it – at least not on paper. The purpose of this blog is to let readers know that most writers have special characters who live in their imaginations but can’t quite escape through the fingers onto a keyboard and to a screen and eventually onto the printed page or as an e-book. I feel kind of sorry for Ben, because he really wants to march out of my head and into the hearts of my readers. I keep him prisoner in my mind because I am terrified I might offend either the Lakota or the Apache if I tell his story wrong. I wish I knew a way out of this dilemma, because Ben is … wow … he’s just magnificent. He is everything a writer dreams of in a hero and probably too much so. And so I guess I’ll have to keep him with me always … and never let him go.
I have decided that another reason I’ve never written Ben’s story is because doing so would mean I would have to let go of him, and I don’t want to. I selfishly and jealously want him only with me, in my head and in my heart. I don’t want to share him, or to let him slip away by having his story printed so that it’s no longer just mine.
My readers already know I’m a bit nuts. What I just wrote here proves it, I guess. But I have a feeling there are other writers out there who totally understand what I’m saying and feeling.
I want Ben to be the supreme alpha hero, but in a contemporary. Because of that I keep changing him – oh, not his basic character, which is a Native American, but he keeps shifting from Apache to Lakota – back and forth – and if I added all the elements to this man that I’d like to add, he’d be too good to be true. I can’t even say here what all those elements are because I can just hear those who read this laughing at my crazy conception of this man. He’s good, yet he’s a bad-ass who always stands up for what he believes. In one scenario, that particular quality costs the life of his young wife and nearly his own in an assassination attempt.
Ben is extremely talented, intelligent and accomplished. He’s a Yale graduate and an attorney who deals in D.C. over causes for his people – but are those people the Apache on a reservation in Arizona that has a ski resort – or is he Lakota, fighting (for his people) to hang on to what is left of the Black Hills? In both cases, powerful and wealthy factions outside the reservations are trying to get their hands on Indian land, and so Ben risks his life daily in being staunchly against letting go of any of it. Those he fights against are perfectly capable of hiring someone to get Ben out of the way. Therein lies the danger – and because Ben doesn’t let that stop him, therein lies his bravery.
Then there is the problem of what to do with the heroine. Who the heck is she? I only know that she’s a beautiful blonde from New England of all places, but how does she end up getting involved in the life of a modern-day “warrior” Native American? And why would he give her the time of day? I’ve gone through 3-4 scenarios of how and why these two meet, and because I like ALL the ideas, I will probably never decide because I like to live these stories in my head.
I really, really want to write Ben’s story, but I have a feeling I never will. I guess the man is too perfect. I’m not sure. I actually did start writing the story a few years ago. I called it A FIRE IN THE WIND , because Ben is a fiery character and in that story he’s Apache and it takes place in Arizona. Then I thought about changing it to LAKOTA PASSIONS and made him a Sioux man defending the Black Hills. Then I thought maybe THE POWER OF LOVE , after the song, because it would be a powerful love story.
The hardest part to get across to readers without them rolling their eyes ??? … Ben is a singer. No, not the nightclub type – that wouldn’t fit him. He has a powerful tenor voice and works with the young people (whether as Apache or Lakota) on his reservation – teaches music and a pride in their heritage – teaches them the ancient Native American songs and dances – and he raises money to support the expense of fighting through the court system (as an attorney for his people, remember) by putting on demonstrations of Native American dancing – and by singing, with the young people as his back-up choir – traveling all over the country to put on these concerts, spending his own money for a bus and other things that are needed. These concerts are Ben’s way of instilling pride in the hearts of reservation youth, raising money, and bringing awareness to the outside world about the ongoing battle yet today that Native Americans face in keeping what land is left to them.
Ben’s story could go in a thousand directions, and I will probably never tell it – at least not on paper. The purpose of this blog is to let readers know that most writers have special characters who live in their imaginations but can’t quite escape through the fingers onto a keyboard and to a screen and eventually onto the printed page or as an e-book. I feel kind of sorry for Ben, because he really wants to march out of my head and into the hearts of my readers. I keep him prisoner in my mind because I am terrified I might offend either the Lakota or the Apache if I tell his story wrong. I wish I knew a way out of this dilemma, because Ben is … wow … he’s just magnificent. He is everything a writer dreams of in a hero and probably too much so. And so I guess I’ll have to keep him with me always … and never let him go.
January 4, 2014
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«Wildest Dreams«
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Sourcebooks
Read Chapter 1Genre: Historical Western Romance
Length: 561 pages
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Lettie MacBride knew that joining a wagon train heading West was her chance to begin anew, far from the devastating memories of the night that had changed her forever. She didn’t believe she could escape the pain of innocence lost or feel desire for any man…until she meets Luke Fontaine.
Haunted by his own secrets, Luke could never blame Lettie for what had happened in the past. One glance at the pretty red-haired lass was enough to fill the handsome, hard-driving pioneer with a savage hunger.
Against relentless snows, murderous desperadoes, and raiding Sioux, Luke and Lettie will face a heartrending choice: abandon a lawless land before it destroys them, or fight for their…Wildest Dreams.
«««««
Wildest Dreams Book Trailer
“Power, passion, tragedy, and triumph are Rosanne Bittner’s hallmarks. Again and again, she brings readers to tears.” — RT Book Reviews
“Excellent, a wonderful, absorbing read, with characters to capture the heart and the imagination…belongs on that special keep self; it’s a romance not to be missed.” — Heather Graham on Outlaw Hearts
«Thunder on the Plains«
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Sourcebooks
Genre: Historical Western RomanceLength: 528 pages
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: July 3, 2012
In a Land of Opportunity
Sunny Landers wanted a big life—as big and free as the untamed land that stretched before her. Land she would help her father conquer to achieve his dream of a trancontinental railroad. She wouldn’t liet a cold, creaky wagon, murderous bandits or stampeding buffalo stand in her way. She wanted it all—including Colt Travis.
All the Odds Were Against Them
Like the land of his birth, half–Cherokee Colt Travis was wild, hard, and dangerous. He was a drifter, a wilderness scout with no land and no prospects hired by the Landers family to guide their wagon train. He knew Sunny was out of his league and her father would never approve, but beneath the endless starlit sky, anything seemed possible…
«««««
“A hero to set feminine hearts aflutter…western romance readers will thoroughly enjoy this.”— Library Journal
December 23, 2013
The Writing Slut
Yes, that’s what I am. When it comes to writing, I’m a slut – I can’t get enough of writing itself, I can’t get enough of the genre I write – the Old West and its magnificent landscape and explosive growth – the Native American – the iconic cowboy - and I can’t get enough of my heroes. I am crazy about the mega-alpha hero, which is why I enjoy writing historicals because there were places and time periods wherein men could be men and reap their own vengeance, which is crucial to my heroes.
Amazon.com Widgets
Anyone who has read my books knows the kind of heroes I write, and probably the most “mega” alpha hero I ever wrote was Zeke Monroe from my Savage Destiny series. Jake Harkner from Outlaw Hearts runs a very close second, and he’s tied with Zeke’s son Wolf’s Blood and his Cheyenne brother, Swift Arrow. Oh, gosh, I can’t leave out Colt Travis from Thunder on the Plains or Luke Fontaine from Wildest Dreams . Then there is Sage Lightfoot from my newest published book Paradise Valley – and in the book I just finished ( Desperate Hearts - coming out next September) the hero is a Montana vigilante. Yup. An alpha man.
I don’t know what happens to me when I write these stories, but I fall madly in love with my heroes. I joke that I’ve written 59 books so I’ve had 59 affairs, but 43 would be a closer figure because Zeke was in 6 books ( Savage Destiny ), Caleb Sax in 3 books ( Blue Hawk Trilogy ) and Rising Eagle was in three books (Mystic Indian Trilogy). Now I’ve given you the names of a couple more of my alpha men.
I write this blog for other writers who might wonder how to become so engrossed in their stories that they can forget about all the “do’s” and “don’ts” of writing, all the worry over motivation and conflict and goal of the story – because I can tell you straight out that everything your story needs will come naturally if you FALL IN LOVE WITH THE HERO – and if YOU ARE THE HEROINE. If you’re a male writing the story, then I suppose it should be the other way around. Either way, you have to personally be passionately in love with your characters. They have to be so real to you that you cry over them, you dream about them, you long for them, you’re loyal to them, you hate ending your book because it means leaving them, and you NEVER FORGET THEM – EVER!
Yes, I have slept with every one of my heroes. In the three inspirational books I wrote for Harlequin ( Where Heaven Begins , Walk by Faith and Follow Your Heart ) I of course couldn’t include love scenes. Gosh, that about killed me. In Where Heaven Begins I made the long trip all the way to the Yukon with my hero and couldn’t sleep with him! Oh, I’m such a slut. I wanted to cancel my contract so I could sleep with this guy all the way to Canada! I was miserable having to keep my hands off of him.
I can’t stress enough that if your hero and heroine aren’t totally real to you – so real that you sometimes wonder if they really did exist – and if you don’t absolutely love what you are writing and love your characters, you’ll never enjoy the writing process and you probably won’t write a page-turner.
Currently I am re-reading Savage Destiny because the books have been converted to a version that can be used by all types of e-readers. Usually lots of glitches come through because of the software used for these conversions, which means I have to proofread the books again. Well, this is about the sixth time I’ve had to re-read these books (for various reprints), and believe me, it’s killing me! For one thing, I can’t put my own books down, so I am reading, reading, reading (have to go through all 6 books in a matter of days) – and to read these books rapidly back to back is torture.
I am again absorbed emotionally in Zeke and Abbie’s lives, and these books are so passionate and Zeke is such a powerfully passionate man, his and Abbie’s love for each other so strong, that I feel worn out. I’ve watched the West grow, watched the horribly sad demise of the Plains Indians, lost loved ones, watched my children grow and suffer the pain of carrying mixed blood, and I’ve slept with Zeke over and over again. The guy is so good at what he does that I’m worn out! Holy cow, I had no idea when I first wrote these books how much savage passion I gave this man. I was 30 years younger and more able to handle him then, I guess. LOL!
I love my heroes, and I think that because I love them, my readers love them. To this day, after 30 years, readers still make the most comments on Zeke Monroe from Savage Destiny as far as a memorable hero – and his and Abbie’s love story left a lasting impression on most of my readers, so much so that the books are hard to find because readers don’t want to turn them in to used book stores. Honestly, the writing itself leaves a lot to be desired, because these were my first books and I was bad about using a bit too much passive voice and about repeating some things too much and putting too many words in my characters’ mouths. It doesn’t bother me at all to admit the writing itself could stand improvement. I’ve learned so much since those books and would love to re-write them, but alas, working with conversions doesn’t allow that. You can only make small changes here and there. I have to let the books be printed pretty much as-is – and yet that doesn’t seem to matter to my readers. To this day the only comments I get are what a great love story this series is, and how much they love Zeke and Abbie. No one mentions the poor writing, because in spite of it, the stories are exciting and move fast and are full of real history, action, adventure and passionate, passionate romance.
My agent pinned down exactly what kind of a writer I am – I am not literary – I am a story-teller. I am not the least bit offended when people say I’m not a literary writer. I don’t want to be a literary writer. I don’t want my readers to struggle with big words and complicated plots and wordy descriptions that go on for pages. I want them to get excited, turn the pages, fall in love, be afraid, be elated, laugh and cry with my characters. If important characters die (and they do in my books because real history dictates it) I want my readers to mourn with the characters left behind. I want them to feel emotional and physical pain right along with the characters.
As I scan through the 59 books I have written, I realize that pretty much all of them involve the alpha man – always a man who is either Indian or outlaw or lawman or scout or Texas Ranger. In The Forever Tree the hero was a logger. They are always brawny, rugged survivors, and of course always handsome, usually tall and dark but sometimes have lighter coloring but great bodies. If you love the alpha man, read my books. But these men also always have a vulnerability that the heroine discovers and latches onto. There is always a reason for why they are the way they are, and the heroine has a way of bringing that out of the alpha man, a way of touching him deeply and forcing him to face the softer side that he keeps deeply buried for personal reasons.
Oh, I’m such a slut. My husband understands I have to be in order to write great heroes. Besides, I take my slutty needs out on him. He can always tell when I’ve just written a hot love scene. Obviously, he doesn’t mind! Why would he? He enjoys filling in for the hero! In real life there has only been one man in my life for 48 years now, but that’s a little bit because elements of my own husband can be found in my heroes. He’s always been a very honest man who is solidly built, devoted only to me, and he’s a “take no prisoners” kind of man. I love that about him. He’s not romantic like some of the heroes we write – as far as fancy words and all that. What’s romantic about my husband is that he is so blatantly honest and loyal, protective and able, a hard worker and a good provider. Never once in our marriage have I had to wonder if he loved me or if I could trust him. And never once have I cheated on him … except when I’m writing.
So, here I sit getting ready to proofread Savage Destiny #6. Oh, gosh, I don’t want to read this one again because it is such a devastatingly emotional story. I balled my eyes out writing it 30 years ago, and every time I have to read it again, I sob all over again – literally. By book #6 Zeke and Abbie are as real as me and my husband. Their family is my family, and their losses and grief are mine, too, as well as their triumphs and joy. #6 is a climax of about 30 years together, and it’s not an easy read emotionally. I hope this is the last time I have to re-read these books, because they take so much out of me. I guess if you read them the first time without knowing what is going to happen, it’s not quite so bad, but you’ll still cry. My problem is that I KNOW what’s going to happen and I don’t know if I can go through this again because I am Abigail Monroe and I have to feel her pain and her loss and her aching heart. I have to help her go on with her life without the very core of her strength – Zeke. That’s why I ended up writing a 7th book (EAGLE’S SONG). I couldn’t quite leave this family, and there were still some unfinished stories there, plus I could go into the lives of Zeke’s children and grandchildren, prove to myself that Zeke lived on in his descendants.
My point here is that the more in love you are with your story, your genre and your characters, the easier your story will unfold before your very eyes. I wrote all 7 of my Savage Destiny books without any kind of synopsis or outline. I had no idea what would happen. I didn’t want to know. I just “lived” with my characters and let their stories unfold for me. Other characters came into the stories and somehow I tied all these people’s lives together through 30 years of settling Colorado, a bit like Michener’s Centennial . If you’ve never watched that TV mini-series, order it and watch it. Savage Destiny is very much like it as far as the settling of Colorado and what it did to the Cheyenne. It always breaks my heart to think of what America did to its Native Americans in its quest for land and gold and progress. I have included that in many of my books because I want readers to know the truth about what happened to our Native Americans.
Alas, although it will be very difficult for me to write it, I’ve decided there has to be an 8th Savage Destiny book – a contemporary involving yet another one of Zeke’s descendants. The main reason I want to do #8 is because it will help my heart. I just can’t get away from this family. Writing about a descendant of Zeke is a way to keep my beloved Zeke Monroe (Lone Eagle) alive. As one writing friend recently put it, Zeke was my “first love” in writing, and we never forget that first love. I had never thought of it that way, but it’s true. After all the stories I’ve written, all the heroes I’ve loved, every one of them has had a little bit of Zeke’s personality and fierce passion in them, as well as Zeke’s idea of true justice. Hey – don’t mess with the man or anyone he loves! I own a very a big Indian knife with a buffalo jaw bone handle, in a beaded sheath made of rawhide. It’s an Indian artifact, and I’m convinced that it used to belong to Zeke Monroe because he really did exist in Colorado in the 1800’s … didn’t he?
Amazon.com Widgets
Anyone who has read my books knows the kind of heroes I write, and probably the most “mega” alpha hero I ever wrote was Zeke Monroe from my Savage Destiny series. Jake Harkner from Outlaw Hearts runs a very close second, and he’s tied with Zeke’s son Wolf’s Blood and his Cheyenne brother, Swift Arrow. Oh, gosh, I can’t leave out Colt Travis from Thunder on the Plains or Luke Fontaine from Wildest Dreams . Then there is Sage Lightfoot from my newest published book Paradise Valley – and in the book I just finished ( Desperate Hearts - coming out next September) the hero is a Montana vigilante. Yup. An alpha man.
I don’t know what happens to me when I write these stories, but I fall madly in love with my heroes. I joke that I’ve written 59 books so I’ve had 59 affairs, but 43 would be a closer figure because Zeke was in 6 books ( Savage Destiny ), Caleb Sax in 3 books ( Blue Hawk Trilogy ) and Rising Eagle was in three books (Mystic Indian Trilogy). Now I’ve given you the names of a couple more of my alpha men.
I write this blog for other writers who might wonder how to become so engrossed in their stories that they can forget about all the “do’s” and “don’ts” of writing, all the worry over motivation and conflict and goal of the story – because I can tell you straight out that everything your story needs will come naturally if you FALL IN LOVE WITH THE HERO – and if YOU ARE THE HEROINE. If you’re a male writing the story, then I suppose it should be the other way around. Either way, you have to personally be passionately in love with your characters. They have to be so real to you that you cry over them, you dream about them, you long for them, you’re loyal to them, you hate ending your book because it means leaving them, and you NEVER FORGET THEM – EVER!
Yes, I have slept with every one of my heroes. In the three inspirational books I wrote for Harlequin ( Where Heaven Begins , Walk by Faith and Follow Your Heart ) I of course couldn’t include love scenes. Gosh, that about killed me. In Where Heaven Begins I made the long trip all the way to the Yukon with my hero and couldn’t sleep with him! Oh, I’m such a slut. I wanted to cancel my contract so I could sleep with this guy all the way to Canada! I was miserable having to keep my hands off of him.
I can’t stress enough that if your hero and heroine aren’t totally real to you – so real that you sometimes wonder if they really did exist – and if you don’t absolutely love what you are writing and love your characters, you’ll never enjoy the writing process and you probably won’t write a page-turner.
Currently I am re-reading Savage Destiny because the books have been converted to a version that can be used by all types of e-readers. Usually lots of glitches come through because of the software used for these conversions, which means I have to proofread the books again. Well, this is about the sixth time I’ve had to re-read these books (for various reprints), and believe me, it’s killing me! For one thing, I can’t put my own books down, so I am reading, reading, reading (have to go through all 6 books in a matter of days) – and to read these books rapidly back to back is torture.
I am again absorbed emotionally in Zeke and Abbie’s lives, and these books are so passionate and Zeke is such a powerfully passionate man, his and Abbie’s love for each other so strong, that I feel worn out. I’ve watched the West grow, watched the horribly sad demise of the Plains Indians, lost loved ones, watched my children grow and suffer the pain of carrying mixed blood, and I’ve slept with Zeke over and over again. The guy is so good at what he does that I’m worn out! Holy cow, I had no idea when I first wrote these books how much savage passion I gave this man. I was 30 years younger and more able to handle him then, I guess. LOL!
I love my heroes, and I think that because I love them, my readers love them. To this day, after 30 years, readers still make the most comments on Zeke Monroe from Savage Destiny as far as a memorable hero – and his and Abbie’s love story left a lasting impression on most of my readers, so much so that the books are hard to find because readers don’t want to turn them in to used book stores. Honestly, the writing itself leaves a lot to be desired, because these were my first books and I was bad about using a bit too much passive voice and about repeating some things too much and putting too many words in my characters’ mouths. It doesn’t bother me at all to admit the writing itself could stand improvement. I’ve learned so much since those books and would love to re-write them, but alas, working with conversions doesn’t allow that. You can only make small changes here and there. I have to let the books be printed pretty much as-is – and yet that doesn’t seem to matter to my readers. To this day the only comments I get are what a great love story this series is, and how much they love Zeke and Abbie. No one mentions the poor writing, because in spite of it, the stories are exciting and move fast and are full of real history, action, adventure and passionate, passionate romance.
My agent pinned down exactly what kind of a writer I am – I am not literary – I am a story-teller. I am not the least bit offended when people say I’m not a literary writer. I don’t want to be a literary writer. I don’t want my readers to struggle with big words and complicated plots and wordy descriptions that go on for pages. I want them to get excited, turn the pages, fall in love, be afraid, be elated, laugh and cry with my characters. If important characters die (and they do in my books because real history dictates it) I want my readers to mourn with the characters left behind. I want them to feel emotional and physical pain right along with the characters.
As I scan through the 59 books I have written, I realize that pretty much all of them involve the alpha man – always a man who is either Indian or outlaw or lawman or scout or Texas Ranger. In The Forever Tree the hero was a logger. They are always brawny, rugged survivors, and of course always handsome, usually tall and dark but sometimes have lighter coloring but great bodies. If you love the alpha man, read my books. But these men also always have a vulnerability that the heroine discovers and latches onto. There is always a reason for why they are the way they are, and the heroine has a way of bringing that out of the alpha man, a way of touching him deeply and forcing him to face the softer side that he keeps deeply buried for personal reasons.
Oh, I’m such a slut. My husband understands I have to be in order to write great heroes. Besides, I take my slutty needs out on him. He can always tell when I’ve just written a hot love scene. Obviously, he doesn’t mind! Why would he? He enjoys filling in for the hero! In real life there has only been one man in my life for 48 years now, but that’s a little bit because elements of my own husband can be found in my heroes. He’s always been a very honest man who is solidly built, devoted only to me, and he’s a “take no prisoners” kind of man. I love that about him. He’s not romantic like some of the heroes we write – as far as fancy words and all that. What’s romantic about my husband is that he is so blatantly honest and loyal, protective and able, a hard worker and a good provider. Never once in our marriage have I had to wonder if he loved me or if I could trust him. And never once have I cheated on him … except when I’m writing.
So, here I sit getting ready to proofread Savage Destiny #6. Oh, gosh, I don’t want to read this one again because it is such a devastatingly emotional story. I balled my eyes out writing it 30 years ago, and every time I have to read it again, I sob all over again – literally. By book #6 Zeke and Abbie are as real as me and my husband. Their family is my family, and their losses and grief are mine, too, as well as their triumphs and joy. #6 is a climax of about 30 years together, and it’s not an easy read emotionally. I hope this is the last time I have to re-read these books, because they take so much out of me. I guess if you read them the first time without knowing what is going to happen, it’s not quite so bad, but you’ll still cry. My problem is that I KNOW what’s going to happen and I don’t know if I can go through this again because I am Abigail Monroe and I have to feel her pain and her loss and her aching heart. I have to help her go on with her life without the very core of her strength – Zeke. That’s why I ended up writing a 7th book (EAGLE’S SONG). I couldn’t quite leave this family, and there were still some unfinished stories there, plus I could go into the lives of Zeke’s children and grandchildren, prove to myself that Zeke lived on in his descendants.
My point here is that the more in love you are with your story, your genre and your characters, the easier your story will unfold before your very eyes. I wrote all 7 of my Savage Destiny books without any kind of synopsis or outline. I had no idea what would happen. I didn’t want to know. I just “lived” with my characters and let their stories unfold for me. Other characters came into the stories and somehow I tied all these people’s lives together through 30 years of settling Colorado, a bit like Michener’s Centennial . If you’ve never watched that TV mini-series, order it and watch it. Savage Destiny is very much like it as far as the settling of Colorado and what it did to the Cheyenne. It always breaks my heart to think of what America did to its Native Americans in its quest for land and gold and progress. I have included that in many of my books because I want readers to know the truth about what happened to our Native Americans.
Alas, although it will be very difficult for me to write it, I’ve decided there has to be an 8th Savage Destiny book – a contemporary involving yet another one of Zeke’s descendants. The main reason I want to do #8 is because it will help my heart. I just can’t get away from this family. Writing about a descendant of Zeke is a way to keep my beloved Zeke Monroe (Lone Eagle) alive. As one writing friend recently put it, Zeke was my “first love” in writing, and we never forget that first love. I had never thought of it that way, but it’s true. After all the stories I’ve written, all the heroes I’ve loved, every one of them has had a little bit of Zeke’s personality and fierce passion in them, as well as Zeke’s idea of true justice. Hey – don’t mess with the man or anyone he loves! I own a very a big Indian knife with a buffalo jaw bone handle, in a beaded sheath made of rawhide. It’s an Indian artifact, and I’m convinced that it used to belong to Zeke Monroe because he really did exist in Colorado in the 1800’s … didn’t he?
December 2, 2013
The Power Of The Alpha Hero And Falling In Love With Him
My Savage Destiny series (7 books) will soon be available as e-books for ALL types of e-readers. Up to now they were only available for Kindle. Well, that means proofing the books all over again, because a different conversion program is used when converting a book for all types of reading devices.
Amazon.com Widgets
Oh, my! Believe it or not, I didn’t want to have to read these books all over again because they are so emotionally draining for me. They were when I wrote them – when I proofed them the first time 30 years ago – when I had to re-read them in order to write the 7th book in ’96 – when I read them again for the Kindle conversion – and now I have to read them again.
Folks, this blog is not to brag, because the writing itself could definitely be improved upon, at least in that first book because I wrote it 32 years ago and I was brand new and didn’t know what I was doing. I only knew I wanted to write this story. In fact, I didn’t even plan to make it a series. It was the publisher who asked if I could make into four books. I agreed, with no idea what the heck would happen in any of them. Those four books turned into six – and after that I realized the story still wasn’t finished. At the end of Book #6 the heroine, Abigail Monroe, by then a grandmother, is planning a family reunion. I had to write that seventh book, getting all of Abbie’s children and grandchildren together for the first time in years. And that’s how I ended up with 7 books.
I made the comment about bragging because every single time I read these books again, I am totally lost in them again, they are such good stories. I didn’t say they were great WRITING – just damn good STORIES. I have never boasted of being a literary writer. I’m not. I’m a story-teller. That’s how I got my agent, who has been with me since day-1. She felt that being a good story TELLER is far more important than being LITERARY. That first book, SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION, could stand some improvement on the writing – hero Zeke Monroe does a little too much explaining sometimes – which was actually my “new writer” mode thinking I had to explain history to my readers and explain what Zeke was thinking and feeling. I didn’t know how to do that in a few words. I thought I had to make sure readers understood where Zeke was coming from and what made him the man he was. I’ve learned how to do that in far fewer words now … but you know what? It doesn’t seem to matter in this book. There is just something about Zeke Monroe that keeps you reading … and reading … and reading. Yes – I wrote the books, and after several reads I can read them all over again with complete rapture. I get the same comments from my readers. “I’m reading SAVAGE DESTINY for the tenth time, the twelfth time” – whatever. The stories never get old for me, and they have never gotten old for my readers. They are hard to find in used-book stores because readers don’t want to let go of them.
The other reason I get completely lost in my own books all over again is because of Zeke. OMG, what a man! I think the reason women love writing romances (and reading them) is because the heroes are the epitome of everything women love about a man. If men would read romances, they would truly understand what women want in a man, and it isn’t all about sex (although our heroes are usually pretty good at that too!) Personally, I (and I think most women) prefer a damn good love story – powerful, enduring, loyal, devotional, “I’d die for you” love. And that’s what you get in Zeke and Abbie Monroe. The attraction, sex, devotion, passion never wanes, even as they age. It’s just “there,” and it gets them through some truly heart-wrenching, traumatic experiences as they settle in Colorado and endure all the hardships pioneers had to put up with. Theirs is even more difficult because Zeke is half Cheyenne, and that Indian side of him keeps pulling him in two directions as he tries to livein the “white man’s way” for his Abbie, who is white.
Of all 58 stories I have written, I am still most in love with Zeke Monroe, and so are most of my fans. After 30 years, all 7 books are still selling, and they are the stories about which I receive the most mail and most comments. That’s because Zeke and Abbie are so, so REAL. I AM Abbie, and Zeke is the man I love with all my heart and soul. I can see him clearly. I can smell his buckskins and his manly scent. I can feel his strong arms around me. In all my books, Zeke and Abbie are the characters about whom I receive the most comments as far as readers telling me how real they seem, how they laugh and cry and ache right along with them as their story unfolds over roughly fifty years. They become involved in their children and grandchildren, as I bring in their stories also – 3 generations torn by wars and prejudice and the shockingly rapid growth of the American West and how it affected our Native Americans and a family that understands both sides.
SAVAGE DESTINY is my version of Michener’s CENTENNIAL, which became a television mini-series. Too bad they don’t do those anymore, because every fan who has read SAVAGE DESTINY wants to know when it will become a movie or a mini-series. Alas, I don’t have sales in the zillions. That’s what movie companies want to see before they will consider movie options. If only I could find the right person at just the right time who is in that business and who sees the movie potential of these books. Actually, I sold the first book because of that – the right editor at the right time – who bought that first book in 1982 for Kensington Publishing (Zebra Books) because of ONE SCENE in the story that made her cry. I won’t tell you what that is, but she said she had to get up and close her office door so others wouldn’t see her crying. She bought the book and wanted a series because she became so attached to the characters she didn’t want to let go of them.
And you know what? I WROTE those sequels because I didn’t want to let go of them either. I am even thinking of writing a contemporary story that involves one of Zeke and Abbie’s descendants. I think anyone who reads the original series will jump on an eight book. Meantime, here I am – reading the stories all over again and becoming completely lost in them – MY OWN BOOKS! I am crying, laughing, and experiencing the kind of love only Zeke Monroe can give a woman. I literally “feel” him with me in spirit, and I wonder myself sometimes if maybe he really did exist – if maybe I WAS Abbie and I really did live down on the Arkansas River in southern Colorado with a half-blood Cheyenne man who touched my very soul. Maybe I really did witness that happened to the Cheyenne and so many other plains Indians as the West was settled.
By the time you get to the 7th SAVAGE DESTINY book (EAGLE’S SONG), you will be worn out emotionally – and you’d better have the Kleenex ready. The love Zeke and Abbie share will blow you away. For 30 years they have lived in my heart and soul. Only one other hero truly runs a very close second to Zeke Monroe, and that’s Jake Harkner from my novel OUTLAW HEARTS. Oooh, I love that man! I’m working toward getting that book reissued again as an e-book, because I want all my new readers to read about Jake and the love of his life, Amanda, and what they go through because of Jake’s outlaw past. What a love story! Zeke and Jake are with me constantly, and in some ways they are bits and pieces of my own husband, who is a very loyal, honest man who loves me unconditionally – and who has never backed off from what he knows is right and would fight and die for me in a second. After 48 years of marriage, I have no doubts. He was tough as nails when we were younger, built solid, took no shit from anyone, worked hard, and was known as an unbeaten arm wrestler in our area for years. There has never been any hesitation on his part to do the right thing or to defend his family if need be. He was sometimes a bit hard on our two sons, but they turned out to be hard-working, strong young men who are also devoted to their families and who also “take no shit.” (Pardon the language, but I don’t know how else to put it.) I guess that’s why I write the same type of traits in my heroes.
I’m a fan of the alpha male – the “man’s man.” I know women today think they can be strong and independent – and they can. Actually, I’m strong and independent myself. But behind all that, no woman can tell me she doesn’t sometimes need strong arms wrapped around her, protecting her, telling her everything will be all right. No woman can tell me she doesn’t want a man in her bed at night – even when they get older. When you’re old the sex isn’t always so great or so often, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that the man is “there,” holding you, loving you, and still determined to protect you if need be. It’s knowing that if you end up in a wheel chair or having a breast cut off because of cancer or your body isn’t smooth and firm any more, he loves you anyway, and he’ll stay with you till the very end and then miss you afterward. I can totally understand why there are times that when an old woman dies, her husband dies shortly thereafter – or visa-versa. That’s because after a lifetime together the two have become one and one can barely breathe or cope without the other. It has nothing to do with being left with plenty of money, or being an independent business woman and go-getter even in old age. It’s a spiritual thing, a connection that does not go away after death … something that can’t be replaced.
That’s what comes through in SAVAGE DESTINY. And I think that’s why it’s such a memorable story. Write all the “Fifty Shades” and erotica books you want. Nothing sells like eternal love – and the really, truly, emotional, spiritual connection that comes with sex between two people totally devoted to each other – two people who might be in their sixties but only see their partner as the twenty-year-old they fell in love with. That’s what happens in SAVAGE DESTINY. Abbie is only fifteen in the first book. And it’s that young Abbie Zeke loves and sees throughout their years together.
How I love writing a male character that no one else wants to “mess with.” Believe me, no one in his right mind “messes with” Zeke Monroe. He’s tough and resilient and good with weapons and fists and determined and brave … yet, as you will see in the very first book … one small, fifteen-year-old girl can bring him right to the ground. Abbie can turn that man into a puppy dog. It’s fun to read once, twice, ten times. And the history in these books becomes so real. They are a lesson in “How The West Was Won,” and what that did to the Native Americans.
I have to get back to my reading. I’m supposed to quickly “scan” these books for typographical and conversion errors, but dang it, I can’t do that. I end up reading word for word, line for line, completely lost in the stories again and taking longer to proofread them than I should. I try hard to just quickly go over them, but Zeke and Abbie draw me right back into their lives and their world of 1800’s Colorado (my favorite place on earth), its pioneers, it’s Native Americans, its history and its magnificent landscape. If you’ve ever watched the musical movie version of THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, you’ve heard the hero sing, “Colorado, My Home.” Every time I hear him sing that song, I cry. I was born and raised in Michigan, but my heart belongs in Colorado. That’s why I sincerely believe I did live there once, maybe even as a Native American.
Meantime, Zeke, here I come … right back into your arms. (Big sigh)
Amazon.com Widgets
Oh, my! Believe it or not, I didn’t want to have to read these books all over again because they are so emotionally draining for me. They were when I wrote them – when I proofed them the first time 30 years ago – when I had to re-read them in order to write the 7th book in ’96 – when I read them again for the Kindle conversion – and now I have to read them again.
Folks, this blog is not to brag, because the writing itself could definitely be improved upon, at least in that first book because I wrote it 32 years ago and I was brand new and didn’t know what I was doing. I only knew I wanted to write this story. In fact, I didn’t even plan to make it a series. It was the publisher who asked if I could make into four books. I agreed, with no idea what the heck would happen in any of them. Those four books turned into six – and after that I realized the story still wasn’t finished. At the end of Book #6 the heroine, Abigail Monroe, by then a grandmother, is planning a family reunion. I had to write that seventh book, getting all of Abbie’s children and grandchildren together for the first time in years. And that’s how I ended up with 7 books.
I made the comment about bragging because every single time I read these books again, I am totally lost in them again, they are such good stories. I didn’t say they were great WRITING – just damn good STORIES. I have never boasted of being a literary writer. I’m not. I’m a story-teller. That’s how I got my agent, who has been with me since day-1. She felt that being a good story TELLER is far more important than being LITERARY. That first book, SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION, could stand some improvement on the writing – hero Zeke Monroe does a little too much explaining sometimes – which was actually my “new writer” mode thinking I had to explain history to my readers and explain what Zeke was thinking and feeling. I didn’t know how to do that in a few words. I thought I had to make sure readers understood where Zeke was coming from and what made him the man he was. I’ve learned how to do that in far fewer words now … but you know what? It doesn’t seem to matter in this book. There is just something about Zeke Monroe that keeps you reading … and reading … and reading. Yes – I wrote the books, and after several reads I can read them all over again with complete rapture. I get the same comments from my readers. “I’m reading SAVAGE DESTINY for the tenth time, the twelfth time” – whatever. The stories never get old for me, and they have never gotten old for my readers. They are hard to find in used-book stores because readers don’t want to let go of them.
The other reason I get completely lost in my own books all over again is because of Zeke. OMG, what a man! I think the reason women love writing romances (and reading them) is because the heroes are the epitome of everything women love about a man. If men would read romances, they would truly understand what women want in a man, and it isn’t all about sex (although our heroes are usually pretty good at that too!) Personally, I (and I think most women) prefer a damn good love story – powerful, enduring, loyal, devotional, “I’d die for you” love. And that’s what you get in Zeke and Abbie Monroe. The attraction, sex, devotion, passion never wanes, even as they age. It’s just “there,” and it gets them through some truly heart-wrenching, traumatic experiences as they settle in Colorado and endure all the hardships pioneers had to put up with. Theirs is even more difficult because Zeke is half Cheyenne, and that Indian side of him keeps pulling him in two directions as he tries to livein the “white man’s way” for his Abbie, who is white.
Of all 58 stories I have written, I am still most in love with Zeke Monroe, and so are most of my fans. After 30 years, all 7 books are still selling, and they are the stories about which I receive the most mail and most comments. That’s because Zeke and Abbie are so, so REAL. I AM Abbie, and Zeke is the man I love with all my heart and soul. I can see him clearly. I can smell his buckskins and his manly scent. I can feel his strong arms around me. In all my books, Zeke and Abbie are the characters about whom I receive the most comments as far as readers telling me how real they seem, how they laugh and cry and ache right along with them as their story unfolds over roughly fifty years. They become involved in their children and grandchildren, as I bring in their stories also – 3 generations torn by wars and prejudice and the shockingly rapid growth of the American West and how it affected our Native Americans and a family that understands both sides.
SAVAGE DESTINY is my version of Michener’s CENTENNIAL, which became a television mini-series. Too bad they don’t do those anymore, because every fan who has read SAVAGE DESTINY wants to know when it will become a movie or a mini-series. Alas, I don’t have sales in the zillions. That’s what movie companies want to see before they will consider movie options. If only I could find the right person at just the right time who is in that business and who sees the movie potential of these books. Actually, I sold the first book because of that – the right editor at the right time – who bought that first book in 1982 for Kensington Publishing (Zebra Books) because of ONE SCENE in the story that made her cry. I won’t tell you what that is, but she said she had to get up and close her office door so others wouldn’t see her crying. She bought the book and wanted a series because she became so attached to the characters she didn’t want to let go of them.
And you know what? I WROTE those sequels because I didn’t want to let go of them either. I am even thinking of writing a contemporary story that involves one of Zeke and Abbie’s descendants. I think anyone who reads the original series will jump on an eight book. Meantime, here I am – reading the stories all over again and becoming completely lost in them – MY OWN BOOKS! I am crying, laughing, and experiencing the kind of love only Zeke Monroe can give a woman. I literally “feel” him with me in spirit, and I wonder myself sometimes if maybe he really did exist – if maybe I WAS Abbie and I really did live down on the Arkansas River in southern Colorado with a half-blood Cheyenne man who touched my very soul. Maybe I really did witness that happened to the Cheyenne and so many other plains Indians as the West was settled.
By the time you get to the 7th SAVAGE DESTINY book (EAGLE’S SONG), you will be worn out emotionally – and you’d better have the Kleenex ready. The love Zeke and Abbie share will blow you away. For 30 years they have lived in my heart and soul. Only one other hero truly runs a very close second to Zeke Monroe, and that’s Jake Harkner from my novel OUTLAW HEARTS. Oooh, I love that man! I’m working toward getting that book reissued again as an e-book, because I want all my new readers to read about Jake and the love of his life, Amanda, and what they go through because of Jake’s outlaw past. What a love story! Zeke and Jake are with me constantly, and in some ways they are bits and pieces of my own husband, who is a very loyal, honest man who loves me unconditionally – and who has never backed off from what he knows is right and would fight and die for me in a second. After 48 years of marriage, I have no doubts. He was tough as nails when we were younger, built solid, took no shit from anyone, worked hard, and was known as an unbeaten arm wrestler in our area for years. There has never been any hesitation on his part to do the right thing or to defend his family if need be. He was sometimes a bit hard on our two sons, but they turned out to be hard-working, strong young men who are also devoted to their families and who also “take no shit.” (Pardon the language, but I don’t know how else to put it.) I guess that’s why I write the same type of traits in my heroes.
I’m a fan of the alpha male – the “man’s man.” I know women today think they can be strong and independent – and they can. Actually, I’m strong and independent myself. But behind all that, no woman can tell me she doesn’t sometimes need strong arms wrapped around her, protecting her, telling her everything will be all right. No woman can tell me she doesn’t want a man in her bed at night – even when they get older. When you’re old the sex isn’t always so great or so often, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that the man is “there,” holding you, loving you, and still determined to protect you if need be. It’s knowing that if you end up in a wheel chair or having a breast cut off because of cancer or your body isn’t smooth and firm any more, he loves you anyway, and he’ll stay with you till the very end and then miss you afterward. I can totally understand why there are times that when an old woman dies, her husband dies shortly thereafter – or visa-versa. That’s because after a lifetime together the two have become one and one can barely breathe or cope without the other. It has nothing to do with being left with plenty of money, or being an independent business woman and go-getter even in old age. It’s a spiritual thing, a connection that does not go away after death … something that can’t be replaced.
That’s what comes through in SAVAGE DESTINY. And I think that’s why it’s such a memorable story. Write all the “Fifty Shades” and erotica books you want. Nothing sells like eternal love – and the really, truly, emotional, spiritual connection that comes with sex between two people totally devoted to each other – two people who might be in their sixties but only see their partner as the twenty-year-old they fell in love with. That’s what happens in SAVAGE DESTINY. Abbie is only fifteen in the first book. And it’s that young Abbie Zeke loves and sees throughout their years together.
How I love writing a male character that no one else wants to “mess with.” Believe me, no one in his right mind “messes with” Zeke Monroe. He’s tough and resilient and good with weapons and fists and determined and brave … yet, as you will see in the very first book … one small, fifteen-year-old girl can bring him right to the ground. Abbie can turn that man into a puppy dog. It’s fun to read once, twice, ten times. And the history in these books becomes so real. They are a lesson in “How The West Was Won,” and what that did to the Native Americans.
I have to get back to my reading. I’m supposed to quickly “scan” these books for typographical and conversion errors, but dang it, I can’t do that. I end up reading word for word, line for line, completely lost in the stories again and taking longer to proofread them than I should. I try hard to just quickly go over them, but Zeke and Abbie draw me right back into their lives and their world of 1800’s Colorado (my favorite place on earth), its pioneers, it’s Native Americans, its history and its magnificent landscape. If you’ve ever watched the musical movie version of THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, you’ve heard the hero sing, “Colorado, My Home.” Every time I hear him sing that song, I cry. I was born and raised in Michigan, but my heart belongs in Colorado. That’s why I sincerely believe I did live there once, maybe even as a Native American.
Meantime, Zeke, here I come … right back into your arms. (Big sigh)
November 25, 2013
The Perils of Heroines and Due Dates
Blogging about writing today. I am ¾ finished with my latest book, DESPERATE HEARTS, and now I can’t decide what will happen next – plus there about 3 different ways this story could end. I have a hundred other things to do this holiday season, so too many distractions. I will never time a due date that is close to the holidays again. And right after the holidays my husband and I head west for several weeks, so I have no choice but to get this book done SOON. Actually, it’s due now, but publishers usually don’t mind if an author takes a couple of extra weeks to turn in a book. They just don’t want it to take a couple of extra MONTHS.
The basic plot of DESPERATE HEARTS, which takes place in the little gold town of Alder, Montana in the 1860’s, is a woman running from a powerful, rich man who has the ability to send her to prison for something HE did. Her stagecoach is attacked by thieves, and along comes lawman/vigilante, Mitch Brady, who not only rescues the heroine, but decides it’s his job to look out for her after that. She’s a greenhorn from New York City and is now thrown into a wild, unruly, rugged lifestyle with which she is totally unfamiliar. Of course, the man she’s running from (NOT a husband or boyfriend, by the way) will eventually find her in Alder, and therein lies my decision of what to do about it and end the story.
What happens when I am writing a new book is that it often takes to just about this point in the story for me to suddenly get totally involved with and fall in love with the hero. The heroin’s role is easy because most romances are based around the drama/troubles/dangers a female character is experiencing, and being a woman myself, it’s easier for me to identify with what the heroine is feeling and thinking. Then along comes the hero, usually someone a bit dangerous with an unknown past, who helps in some way and, of course, they fall in love. Writing the love scenes is the fun part!! But because even I don’t know exactly where this guy is coming from at first, the hero’s back story kind of “develops” as I write. I love not knowing much about my characters when I start a book. I often don’t even know what will happen (hate outlines/synopses!) I’d rather let the story unfold all on its own. I usually always know how it will end. I just don’t always know how I will get to that point! That way the story is a bit unpredictable, which you want it to be for readers, too … i.e. if I don’t know what’s going to happen and I want to keep writing to SEE what will happen – then my readers will keep READING to see what happens!
Back to my problem – making up my mind what will happen in the next seven or eight chapters and choosing which ending to use. It gets easier here because now I am in love with the hero, and I know my heroine much better, so they are now real to me and when that happens I can write like a fiend. There is, of course, a “bad guy” who has to get his due – but will the hero take care of that? Maybe it should be the heroine. She’s the one who truly wants this bad guy gone from her life – and I don’t like the standard “hero rescues heroine” storyline. I like strong women who find a way to rise above their situation, maybe with the hero’s help in the way of emotional support – and maybe because she knows he has her back if she fails – but in the long run, I like her to be the one to solve her own problems.
Well, I guess I’ve answered my own question in one respect, because as I write this I realize now that it’s the heroine who will be the one to actually take care of the bad guy – but I have to do it in some way that doesn’t take away from the hero’s strength and expertise. I guess all of you will just have to wait and read the book next summer to decide if I ended it the right way!! Remember, it’s called DESPERATE HEARTS (unless, of course, the publisher – Sourcebooks – changes the title on me!)
The basic plot of DESPERATE HEARTS, which takes place in the little gold town of Alder, Montana in the 1860’s, is a woman running from a powerful, rich man who has the ability to send her to prison for something HE did. Her stagecoach is attacked by thieves, and along comes lawman/vigilante, Mitch Brady, who not only rescues the heroine, but decides it’s his job to look out for her after that. She’s a greenhorn from New York City and is now thrown into a wild, unruly, rugged lifestyle with which she is totally unfamiliar. Of course, the man she’s running from (NOT a husband or boyfriend, by the way) will eventually find her in Alder, and therein lies my decision of what to do about it and end the story.
What happens when I am writing a new book is that it often takes to just about this point in the story for me to suddenly get totally involved with and fall in love with the hero. The heroin’s role is easy because most romances are based around the drama/troubles/dangers a female character is experiencing, and being a woman myself, it’s easier for me to identify with what the heroine is feeling and thinking. Then along comes the hero, usually someone a bit dangerous with an unknown past, who helps in some way and, of course, they fall in love. Writing the love scenes is the fun part!! But because even I don’t know exactly where this guy is coming from at first, the hero’s back story kind of “develops” as I write. I love not knowing much about my characters when I start a book. I often don’t even know what will happen (hate outlines/synopses!) I’d rather let the story unfold all on its own. I usually always know how it will end. I just don’t always know how I will get to that point! That way the story is a bit unpredictable, which you want it to be for readers, too … i.e. if I don’t know what’s going to happen and I want to keep writing to SEE what will happen – then my readers will keep READING to see what happens!
Back to my problem – making up my mind what will happen in the next seven or eight chapters and choosing which ending to use. It gets easier here because now I am in love with the hero, and I know my heroine much better, so they are now real to me and when that happens I can write like a fiend. There is, of course, a “bad guy” who has to get his due – but will the hero take care of that? Maybe it should be the heroine. She’s the one who truly wants this bad guy gone from her life – and I don’t like the standard “hero rescues heroine” storyline. I like strong women who find a way to rise above their situation, maybe with the hero’s help in the way of emotional support – and maybe because she knows he has her back if she fails – but in the long run, I like her to be the one to solve her own problems.
Well, I guess I’ve answered my own question in one respect, because as I write this I realize now that it’s the heroine who will be the one to actually take care of the bad guy – but I have to do it in some way that doesn’t take away from the hero’s strength and expertise. I guess all of you will just have to wait and read the book next summer to decide if I ended it the right way!! Remember, it’s called DESPERATE HEARTS (unless, of course, the publisher – Sourcebooks – changes the title on me!)
November 20, 2013
Places We Hold Sacred
I was recently looking at our Rand McNally maps to check out the surroundings of the town that is the setting for my current work in progress, set in Alder, Montana, just west of Virginia City. That led me to the location of the Crow Indian reservation … and that led to seeing the Little Big Horn River … and that led to finding the Custer Battlefield on the map, which lies within the Crow reservation. I’ve been to that battlefield, and finding it on the map brought it all back, and my chest actually hurt at the memory.
There are places in this country that will always, always be held sacred, and the Custer battlefield is one of them … places where you just get the chills when you stand there, places where people whisper even though they don’t need to … places that have a church-like affect on a person. I am always fascinated and find it a bit surreal to be standing where some monumental historical event took place. It makes me feel small and insignificant, just one person who will be here today and gone tomorrow and not remembered much … not like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull and Geronimo and Ben Franklin and America’s founding fathers and … well, the list goes on and on. When you step foot in a place where a key event in American history took place, you want so much for our young people to understand what it took to grow this country, to respect those who went before us and got us where we are today.
Standing there on that battlefield, hearing the wind blow across those rolling hills, seeing where those men of the 7th Cavalry all died just makes me so grateful that I was able to go there and see that sacred place. Some say Custer deserved what happened, and those of you who know how much I respect our Native American history know that I probably agree with that, but that’s not my point here. My point is that we need to remember all the fantastic events that took place as this country suffered growing pains. I wish every young person in America could see some of these places that bring history alive and teach respect for our pioneers and for our Native Americans.
Sacred places – like the Alamo. I’ve been there, too. That little mission that once was the only blip on an endless horizon and now is buried amid high-rise hotels and offices … that tiny mission that, thank God, our government preserved and has kept restored so that it is another place that gives you the chills and makes you whisper. Walking into that place where so many brave and famous men died for the freedom of others is something you can only experience by being there. Once inside, people whisper, and some cry. You can’t help it. When you stand inside the Alamo it hits you that – oh, my gosh – this place is real! The fight at the Alamo really happened, creating the war cry – “Remember the Alamo!”
And there were famous Indian battles – the long struggle by soldiers to bring in Geronimo, that daring Apache leader who caused so much havoc and who seemed to be able to hide by changing himself into dust or wind. That same Indian leader was so brave and daring that his name is used even today as a word that means those very things – bravery and daring. Soldiers jump out of a plane and yell – “Geronimo!”
Sacred places. I’ve seen the house where the famous “unsinkable” Molly Brown lived in Denver. Again, when you go there it hits you how real that piece of history is. Molly Brown. Wow – what an exciting life she led. Imagine being so historically famous that Hollywood makes movies about you.
I’ve also been to the ancient stone medicine wheel at the top of Medicine Mountain in the Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming. There lies a formation of rocks built by Native Americans in the shape of a wheel with spokes that lead to a central cairn. No one knows for certain who actually built the medicine wheel, but all agree it’s a sacred site where some Native American tribe likely held religious rituals. There is a fence around it now, on which are tied various sacred prayer symbols, such as feathers. What is most fascinating about the site is that on the top of a nearby mountain is a stone arrow that points to the medicine wheel - built when as far as we know there was no such thing as an airplane. So why the arrow? Who could see it? Did whoever built these things simply believe there was a God above who needed their directions, or were those ancient people aware of visitors from another world? I’ll let you wonder about that. I’ve been there twice, and my Mystic Indian trilogy is based on the Medicine Wheel.
Sacred places … there are so many - famous Civil War sites … places where the Pilgrims first landed … key sites and battlefields vital to the Revolutionary War … and more recently – Pearl Harbor, and the 9-1-1 memorial, where two of the tallest buildings in the world once stood.
My husband and I have traveled the west extensively for a good 30 years now. I have been to just about every location mentioned in my 58 books, and I feel fortunate to have been able to do so much traveling. All these places are symbols of men and women sacrificing their lives for the preservation of their country and for freedom, and freedom is the seed planted on our shores when the first Pilgrims arrived. It is the cornerstone on which America was built, and my admiration for those brave souls who trudged and fought their way from the Atlantic to the Pacific is why I write what I write.
Oh, the magnificent history of these United States! It has taken me 58 books to cover just some of it. It would take 500 or more books to do justice to the countless people and events and places that played a vital role in the growth of this country.
There are places in this country that will always, always be held sacred, and the Custer battlefield is one of them … places where you just get the chills when you stand there, places where people whisper even though they don’t need to … places that have a church-like affect on a person. I am always fascinated and find it a bit surreal to be standing where some monumental historical event took place. It makes me feel small and insignificant, just one person who will be here today and gone tomorrow and not remembered much … not like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull and Geronimo and Ben Franklin and America’s founding fathers and … well, the list goes on and on. When you step foot in a place where a key event in American history took place, you want so much for our young people to understand what it took to grow this country, to respect those who went before us and got us where we are today. Standing there on that battlefield, hearing the wind blow across those rolling hills, seeing where those men of the 7th Cavalry all died just makes me so grateful that I was able to go there and see that sacred place. Some say Custer deserved what happened, and those of you who know how much I respect our Native American history know that I probably agree with that, but that’s not my point here. My point is that we need to remember all the fantastic events that took place as this country suffered growing pains. I wish every young person in America could see some of these places that bring history alive and teach respect for our pioneers and for our Native Americans.
Sacred places – like the Alamo. I’ve been there, too. That little mission that once was the only blip on an endless horizon and now is buried amid high-rise hotels and offices … that tiny mission that, thank God, our government preserved and has kept restored so that it is another place that gives you the chills and makes you whisper. Walking into that place where so many brave and famous men died for the freedom of others is something you can only experience by being there. Once inside, people whisper, and some cry. You can’t help it. When you stand inside the Alamo it hits you that – oh, my gosh – this place is real! The fight at the Alamo really happened, creating the war cry – “Remember the Alamo!”
And there were famous Indian battles – the long struggle by soldiers to bring in Geronimo, that daring Apache leader who caused so much havoc and who seemed to be able to hide by changing himself into dust or wind. That same Indian leader was so brave and daring that his name is used even today as a word that means those very things – bravery and daring. Soldiers jump out of a plane and yell – “Geronimo!”
Sacred places. I’ve seen the house where the famous “unsinkable” Molly Brown lived in Denver. Again, when you go there it hits you how real that piece of history is. Molly Brown. Wow – what an exciting life she led. Imagine being so historically famous that Hollywood makes movies about you.
I’ve also been to the ancient stone medicine wheel at the top of Medicine Mountain in the Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming. There lies a formation of rocks built by Native Americans in the shape of a wheel with spokes that lead to a central cairn. No one knows for certain who actually built the medicine wheel, but all agree it’s a sacred site where some Native American tribe likely held religious rituals. There is a fence around it now, on which are tied various sacred prayer symbols, such as feathers. What is most fascinating about the site is that on the top of a nearby mountain is a stone arrow that points to the medicine wheel - built when as far as we know there was no such thing as an airplane. So why the arrow? Who could see it? Did whoever built these things simply believe there was a God above who needed their directions, or were those ancient people aware of visitors from another world? I’ll let you wonder about that. I’ve been there twice, and my Mystic Indian trilogy is based on the Medicine Wheel.
Sacred places … there are so many - famous Civil War sites … places where the Pilgrims first landed … key sites and battlefields vital to the Revolutionary War … and more recently – Pearl Harbor, and the 9-1-1 memorial, where two of the tallest buildings in the world once stood.
My husband and I have traveled the west extensively for a good 30 years now. I have been to just about every location mentioned in my 58 books, and I feel fortunate to have been able to do so much traveling. All these places are symbols of men and women sacrificing their lives for the preservation of their country and for freedom, and freedom is the seed planted on our shores when the first Pilgrims arrived. It is the cornerstone on which America was built, and my admiration for those brave souls who trudged and fought their way from the Atlantic to the Pacific is why I write what I write.
Oh, the magnificent history of these United States! It has taken me 58 books to cover just some of it. It would take 500 or more books to do justice to the countless people and events and places that played a vital role in the growth of this country.
October 15, 2013
Take a Walk on the Wild Side!
I wonder how many of you remember and still listen to Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band – big in the 70’s – great old-fashioned rock & roll – the kind of music that makes you want to jump on the back of a Harley and take off across the country with a burly, bearded biker. Yes, I, Rosanne Bittner, actually said that! Don’t most of us have that bit of a wild side way down inside that dreams about letting loose sometimes? Seger’s song “Roll Me Away” always wakes up that side of me. I close my eyes, put my head back, and I’m winding through the Rockies on a Harley, drinking in the awesome landscape and leaving all my cares behind me. If you’ve never heard that song, download it to your phone or MP3 or however you listen to music. Another good one is “Like A Rock,” where a man reminisces about when he was young and strong and feared nothing. Heck, all of Seger’s songs bring back memories of being young and wild – like his song about climbing into the back seat of a Chevy to make out.
My husband and I (ahem) can identify with that – and he was a muscled young man when we met and married – had a reputation clear into his thirties as being unbeaten at arm wrestling. He was also once one of those bearded bikers. We had a purple Harley Roadster (the kind where the front tire extends out in front of the bike). That was when we were both about 30 pounds lighter and my hair hung to my waist. That bike wasn’t the best model for long trips. If you rode it for very long, you arrived with a numb butt and unable to hear anything because the roaring engine caused a ringing that lasted for hours! But those were fun times and created fond memories.
I guess what I’m saying is there will always be that brave and wild side down deep that has always and will always affect my writing. I think it’s why I like to write about rugged men who wear guns and take no prisoners, and the kind of strong women it took to keep up with them – sometimes even tame them a little. Sorry, but short contemporary romances about babies and pets and running bakeries and flower shops do nothing for me. I’ll take a man in buckskins who carries weapons he damn well knows how to use – a man who can survive in the wilds and who won’t hesitate for one second when it comes to protecting his own, whether it be his woman, his child, his land or just his horse!
People who read my books will see a lot of similarities in my heroes. I try to write short to average height heroes with blond hair, but they always ends up tall and brawny and dark. And if Native American blood runs in their veins, that’s even better. The hero in the book I am currently working on is – yes – tall and brawny, but he has sandy hair and blue eyes. That’s unusual for me, but I figured I had to give it a change once in a while. Still, he has all the qualities of all my heroes. He’s a lawman/vigilante without an ounce of cowardliness in his blood and yes, he takes no prisoners. (Well, when he does, they end up getting hung!) Woe to the man who threatens or abuses the heroine in this story, because he’ll have to answer to Mitch Brady, and no man in this little gold town in Montana wants to do that. This “work in progress” is called DESPERATE HEARTS , and right now it’s scheduled for July 2014. Of course I have to finish the book first, but I’m working hard at it. I know all you Bittner fans will enjoy it.
The wisdom and common sense that come with age cause us to bury that wild part of our hearts, but it’s still there. It’s just that at 68 a person begins to think of ways to keep from risking life and limb (like getting on the back of a Harley)! Now I think about watching where I walk, drive an SUV because I feel safer in it, and I do what I can to preserve what is left of my strength and energy and health (which happens to still be excellent), mainly because I want to be around for as long as possible for my 3 grandsons. I’m sure they could get along without me, but I like to think they couldn’t. Right now they are young enough to also think so, but I know the day is coming when visiting grandma will be the last thing on their minds; but I still want to “be here” for them just in case they need me, especially with the way things are in the world today.
Getting old is difficult to describe to younger people, because most of them think they will never be that old. It’s always something far off in the future that they can’t begin to imagine. I was thinking the other day about when my father died in ’91. My mom seemed so old to me then, and I thought she’d need taking care of. Then when I figured out her age at that time, I realized SHE WAS MY AGE!! I don’t think of myself as old at all as far as living an active life and being perfectly capable of handling my own life. I’m busy and full of energy and have absolutely nothing wrong with me and no aches and pains (yet). I feel very blessed in that respect. But when I realized mom was my age when dad died, it really hit me how my grandchildren, and probably even my sons, see me as an old woman. On the inside, I’m not old at all, and certain songs carry me right back to when I was physically young and vital – back to when I could turn a 24 hour day into a 48 hour day because of all the things I could get done. I could write a book about the kind of days I used to put in when I worked full time and my boys were little.
I’m rambling here. My intention was to address that “wild side” in all of us and (for those of you who want to write) how you can use those urges and fantasies to create kick-ass characters. A lot of people tell me that my characters are so “real” that they want to know if they really lived. I think that’s because when I am writing, I AM the heroine – sometimes even the hero. I don’t write from the outside looking in – but from the inside looking out at the world as it was at that time … and I am still young enough on the inside to know how those younger characters would think and act and behave and love. When I write, I am not “telling” or “watching” the story. I am “living” the story. That’s what makes memorable characters.
Yes, this old gal might spend a lot of time in her back yard enjoying her new rose garden and the peace it brings, but sometimes when she closes her eyes, she’s flying along a winding road through Colorado or Wyoming or Montana on the back of a Harley. Maybe she’s even walking across the prairie, admiring the rugged, buckskin-clad guide who is taking her through dangerous country. For all you younger readers, don’t underestimate what’s going on in the back of grandma’s or grandpa’s mind. Yes, they were young once, and they might look old on the outside, but they never change on the inside! “Young at heart” isn’t just a phrase to be used in a song. It’s a state of being.
My husband and I (ahem) can identify with that – and he was a muscled young man when we met and married – had a reputation clear into his thirties as being unbeaten at arm wrestling. He was also once one of those bearded bikers. We had a purple Harley Roadster (the kind where the front tire extends out in front of the bike). That was when we were both about 30 pounds lighter and my hair hung to my waist. That bike wasn’t the best model for long trips. If you rode it for very long, you arrived with a numb butt and unable to hear anything because the roaring engine caused a ringing that lasted for hours! But those were fun times and created fond memories.
I guess what I’m saying is there will always be that brave and wild side down deep that has always and will always affect my writing. I think it’s why I like to write about rugged men who wear guns and take no prisoners, and the kind of strong women it took to keep up with them – sometimes even tame them a little. Sorry, but short contemporary romances about babies and pets and running bakeries and flower shops do nothing for me. I’ll take a man in buckskins who carries weapons he damn well knows how to use – a man who can survive in the wilds and who won’t hesitate for one second when it comes to protecting his own, whether it be his woman, his child, his land or just his horse!
People who read my books will see a lot of similarities in my heroes. I try to write short to average height heroes with blond hair, but they always ends up tall and brawny and dark. And if Native American blood runs in their veins, that’s even better. The hero in the book I am currently working on is – yes – tall and brawny, but he has sandy hair and blue eyes. That’s unusual for me, but I figured I had to give it a change once in a while. Still, he has all the qualities of all my heroes. He’s a lawman/vigilante without an ounce of cowardliness in his blood and yes, he takes no prisoners. (Well, when he does, they end up getting hung!) Woe to the man who threatens or abuses the heroine in this story, because he’ll have to answer to Mitch Brady, and no man in this little gold town in Montana wants to do that. This “work in progress” is called DESPERATE HEARTS , and right now it’s scheduled for July 2014. Of course I have to finish the book first, but I’m working hard at it. I know all you Bittner fans will enjoy it.
The wisdom and common sense that come with age cause us to bury that wild part of our hearts, but it’s still there. It’s just that at 68 a person begins to think of ways to keep from risking life and limb (like getting on the back of a Harley)! Now I think about watching where I walk, drive an SUV because I feel safer in it, and I do what I can to preserve what is left of my strength and energy and health (which happens to still be excellent), mainly because I want to be around for as long as possible for my 3 grandsons. I’m sure they could get along without me, but I like to think they couldn’t. Right now they are young enough to also think so, but I know the day is coming when visiting grandma will be the last thing on their minds; but I still want to “be here” for them just in case they need me, especially with the way things are in the world today.
Getting old is difficult to describe to younger people, because most of them think they will never be that old. It’s always something far off in the future that they can’t begin to imagine. I was thinking the other day about when my father died in ’91. My mom seemed so old to me then, and I thought she’d need taking care of. Then when I figured out her age at that time, I realized SHE WAS MY AGE!! I don’t think of myself as old at all as far as living an active life and being perfectly capable of handling my own life. I’m busy and full of energy and have absolutely nothing wrong with me and no aches and pains (yet). I feel very blessed in that respect. But when I realized mom was my age when dad died, it really hit me how my grandchildren, and probably even my sons, see me as an old woman. On the inside, I’m not old at all, and certain songs carry me right back to when I was physically young and vital – back to when I could turn a 24 hour day into a 48 hour day because of all the things I could get done. I could write a book about the kind of days I used to put in when I worked full time and my boys were little.
I’m rambling here. My intention was to address that “wild side” in all of us and (for those of you who want to write) how you can use those urges and fantasies to create kick-ass characters. A lot of people tell me that my characters are so “real” that they want to know if they really lived. I think that’s because when I am writing, I AM the heroine – sometimes even the hero. I don’t write from the outside looking in – but from the inside looking out at the world as it was at that time … and I am still young enough on the inside to know how those younger characters would think and act and behave and love. When I write, I am not “telling” or “watching” the story. I am “living” the story. That’s what makes memorable characters.
Yes, this old gal might spend a lot of time in her back yard enjoying her new rose garden and the peace it brings, but sometimes when she closes her eyes, she’s flying along a winding road through Colorado or Wyoming or Montana on the back of a Harley. Maybe she’s even walking across the prairie, admiring the rugged, buckskin-clad guide who is taking her through dangerous country. For all you younger readers, don’t underestimate what’s going on in the back of grandma’s or grandpa’s mind. Yes, they were young once, and they might look old on the outside, but they never change on the inside! “Young at heart” isn’t just a phrase to be used in a song. It’s a state of being.
September 16, 2013
The Joy Of Life … And Change …
The weather is changing. I “feel” it and I can even “smell” it. Still nice and warm today, but a crispiness to the air, a bluer sky, cold mornings, and wind. I love the wind. Even that sounds different, has kind of a howl to it that you don’t hear in summer. The leaves rattle more because they are getting very dry, even though most of them are still green.
I’m so glad to live in a place where there are significant changes in the seasons. Too much of the same thing gets a bit boring after a while, and each new season brings excitement and joy for change. Winter brings a time for all things to rest, not just plants and hibernating animals but also people, because there is less to do outside so we spend more time on the couch enjoying a good book and a fire. The winter holidays are always special and full of parties and gifts and fun. Then in the spring everything wakes up and colorful blossoms are everywhere. Ugly brown grass and barren trees change into beautiful greens again. In summer everything “fills out” and becomes even more beautiful, with roses blooming full force and Hastas exploding into fat leaves and tall purple stalks and corn fields high with green corn. Then comes autumn, my favorite. Leaves turn a rich red and yellow and orange. Pumpkins abound. Hot summer nights become cool and you can open your windows and get rid of stale air-conditioned air, replacing it with clean air that smells like piles of leaves and fresh apples. The corn is harvested, apple trees are heavy with their red fruit, and – of course – there is football!!
I am feeling grateful today for so many things … the beautiful weather – the fact that my books are selling well and Amazon will soon come out with my Blue Hawk Trilogy for e-books – I am 100 pages into my next new novel – my grandsons are playing football – my #1 grandson, who broke his leg almost 2 months ago, is almost 100% healed – and I’m thinking of baking a pie when I get home.
Most of all I am grateful to live in “small town” America, where people pray and sing hymns and neighbors know their neighbors … where there is a church every couple of blocks and one of them plays hymns on its church bells every day at Noon … where people still say “under God” when they say the pledge of allegiance … and where friends abound, some of them I’ve had since high school fifty years ago!
Life can hand you some bad stuff sometimes … and it can also be very good. A lot of it depends on how you look at life to begin with. Making good choices helps, acting on hobbies that you love helps, opening your heart and sharing your joys with others helps, having a lot of faith helps, and keeping your family close also helps. World news can sometimes knock you for a loop, so you have to narrow your world down to those around you, perhaps just your neighborhood if you live in a big city, or the small town you live in. Sometimes it helps to shut off the news and shut out the rest of the world, if just for a while. Getting on your knees and praying helps, as well as forgiving those who sometimes make you angry and resentful. If they want to be the way they are, you won’t change them, so you just have to let them live their lives and not allow their thinking to affect yours.
I think living in small town America helps me write good love stories and helps me be better able to envision what life was like in the 1800’s. Some of that old fashioned way of living and thinking can still be seen and felt here in my little town … manners, respect, true love. Oh, we have a lot of the “bad stuff,” too, but overall it’s a good place to live and here you are surrounded by neighbors and loved ones who would rush to help you out in any time of need, just like in the old days when neighbors would gather together to help another neighbor build a barn or help him get his crops in. We still have picnics and parades and queen contests and cherry spitting contests and fund-raising events. My home is surrounded by family farms, some of which have been in the same family for as far back as I can remember.
I’m not sure of the purpose of this particular blog other than to share my joy and hope it brings joy to those who read it. In this day and age of oppressive news stories a person has to remember the good and concentrate on that, blocking out the bad as much as possible and praying for those whose way of life hardly allows for good thoughts and joy. Recently I took great joy in working extremely hard physically to create a rose garden out of about half of my back yard just off the patio. It took a lot of sweat and sore muscles, but I turned weedy grass into a beautiful private garden, and now it is my own little “get-away” when I am troubled. Maybe someday there really will be peace in this entire world, but for now we have to settle for the peace of our churches and small towns and our own back yards … and the peace of prayer.
I’m so glad to live in a place where there are significant changes in the seasons. Too much of the same thing gets a bit boring after a while, and each new season brings excitement and joy for change. Winter brings a time for all things to rest, not just plants and hibernating animals but also people, because there is less to do outside so we spend more time on the couch enjoying a good book and a fire. The winter holidays are always special and full of parties and gifts and fun. Then in the spring everything wakes up and colorful blossoms are everywhere. Ugly brown grass and barren trees change into beautiful greens again. In summer everything “fills out” and becomes even more beautiful, with roses blooming full force and Hastas exploding into fat leaves and tall purple stalks and corn fields high with green corn. Then comes autumn, my favorite. Leaves turn a rich red and yellow and orange. Pumpkins abound. Hot summer nights become cool and you can open your windows and get rid of stale air-conditioned air, replacing it with clean air that smells like piles of leaves and fresh apples. The corn is harvested, apple trees are heavy with their red fruit, and – of course – there is football!!
I am feeling grateful today for so many things … the beautiful weather – the fact that my books are selling well and Amazon will soon come out with my Blue Hawk Trilogy for e-books – I am 100 pages into my next new novel – my grandsons are playing football – my #1 grandson, who broke his leg almost 2 months ago, is almost 100% healed – and I’m thinking of baking a pie when I get home.
Most of all I am grateful to live in “small town” America, where people pray and sing hymns and neighbors know their neighbors … where there is a church every couple of blocks and one of them plays hymns on its church bells every day at Noon … where people still say “under God” when they say the pledge of allegiance … and where friends abound, some of them I’ve had since high school fifty years ago!
Life can hand you some bad stuff sometimes … and it can also be very good. A lot of it depends on how you look at life to begin with. Making good choices helps, acting on hobbies that you love helps, opening your heart and sharing your joys with others helps, having a lot of faith helps, and keeping your family close also helps. World news can sometimes knock you for a loop, so you have to narrow your world down to those around you, perhaps just your neighborhood if you live in a big city, or the small town you live in. Sometimes it helps to shut off the news and shut out the rest of the world, if just for a while. Getting on your knees and praying helps, as well as forgiving those who sometimes make you angry and resentful. If they want to be the way they are, you won’t change them, so you just have to let them live their lives and not allow their thinking to affect yours.
I think living in small town America helps me write good love stories and helps me be better able to envision what life was like in the 1800’s. Some of that old fashioned way of living and thinking can still be seen and felt here in my little town … manners, respect, true love. Oh, we have a lot of the “bad stuff,” too, but overall it’s a good place to live and here you are surrounded by neighbors and loved ones who would rush to help you out in any time of need, just like in the old days when neighbors would gather together to help another neighbor build a barn or help him get his crops in. We still have picnics and parades and queen contests and cherry spitting contests and fund-raising events. My home is surrounded by family farms, some of which have been in the same family for as far back as I can remember.
I’m not sure of the purpose of this particular blog other than to share my joy and hope it brings joy to those who read it. In this day and age of oppressive news stories a person has to remember the good and concentrate on that, blocking out the bad as much as possible and praying for those whose way of life hardly allows for good thoughts and joy. Recently I took great joy in working extremely hard physically to create a rose garden out of about half of my back yard just off the patio. It took a lot of sweat and sore muscles, but I turned weedy grass into a beautiful private garden, and now it is my own little “get-away” when I am troubled. Maybe someday there really will be peace in this entire world, but for now we have to settle for the peace of our churches and small towns and our own back yards … and the peace of prayer.
September 3, 2013
Western Romance - The "Cowboy" Hero Lives On!
My latest book, PARADISE VALLEY (July 2013) is another western historical romance, and (as some tell me) written only as Rosanne Bittner can write the “American West.” It is my 58th published book over the past 30 years, and 95% of those have been western historical romance, my favorite, favorite subject. The rest are also American historicals, some about the French & Indian wars, the American Revolution and the Civil War. But I dearly love America’s Old West! As my title states, no matter which genre is currently popular, the cowboy hero never dies and is always in demand. My husband and I have traveled the western terrain for over 30 years now, visiting just about every location in my books. And because I love the western landscape so dearly, you will always find vivid descriptions of some of the most beautiful places in this country, from the magnificent Rocky Mountains, to the endless horizon of plains and prairie. I have visited the ancient stone medicine wheel on top of Medicine Mountain in northern Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains twice. It’s fascinating to see, and the medicine wheel is the key theme in my Mystic Indian trilogy (MYSTIC DREAMERS, MYSTIC VISIONS and MYSTIC WARRIORS).When you read a Bittner book, you will be reading about real locations and real historical events. I like to teach some history in an entertaining way, so I just mix my fictitious characters and their personal story into the fantastically exciting events that happened in this country as it was settled. You will find adventure and lots of romance in my stories, and when sex is involved, I try to handle it tastefully – and it’s almost always between a man and woman truly in love. I believe in great love stories, where it’s the love the hero and heroine share that keeps them strong and holds them together through the many dangers and tribulations of settling in untamed country.
I was first published in 1983, with the first book of my 7-book SAVAGE DESTINY series, SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION. All 7 books are now available on Amazon for Kindle, as are many, many more of my 58 novels. Amazon has often featured my books as recommended reading, and over these 30 years I have won numerous writing awards, including a “Legends of Romance” award from Romantic Times , and a Willa Award from Women Writing the West. My next book has the working title of DESPERATE HEARTS and takes place in a gold town in 1880’s Montana. It will be published in July 2014.
PARADISE VALLEY, my most current book, is set in western Wyoming, mostly along the famous Outlaw Trail. Maggie Tucker has lost her husband and her pride to outlaws who attacked her camp and murdered her husband. Along comes Sage Lightfoot, owner of a vast ranch called Paradise Valley, who helps Maggie and who is searching for the very men who attacked her. Determined to play a part in catching the men who so wronged her, Maggie insists on accompanying Sage on his search, which leads them into adventure and eventually romance, as the love that grows between them helps them face the dangers of the Outlaw Trail. I love this kind of story, and the ending will leave you wanting to read more about Sage and Maggie. (The picture on the right is of Jay Tavare, an actor whom I think most resembles Sage.)
August 5, 2013
History – Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow
I have started my “next” book (#59) – DESPERATE HEARTS – a western romance set in a little gold town in 1880’s Montana. People ask me how I come up with so many ideas, and I just tell them that so much happened in the early years of America’s growth that it all provides an unending supply of food for plot. The gradual growth from Jamestown to California; the political upheavals (especially when the Civil War divided us); the era of carpetbaggers; the great discoveries (gold, silver, oil and more); the transportation advances (first the journeys by riverboat and covered wagons; then the Pony Express; then the telegraph; then the Transcontinental Railroad); the gradual change from lawless places to civil towns with schools and churches; years and years of wars with Native Americans and how our growth affected them; the gradual changes in women’s rights; the Emancipation Proclamation; the list goes on and on.
I like to take real history and real locations and put my fictitious characters right in the middle of it all, telling history in an entertaining way. It’s kind of like today’s generation living through Kennedy’s assassination or the horrific 9/11 disaster. We are always “living” in history, because every new day makes yesterday a part of history. In 30 or 40 years a story set around 9/11 will be considered an historical novel. The author can create fictitious characters and wrap them into that disastrous, historical day, giving them a personal story that might be full of drama, intrigue, maybe even someone getting away with murder! It would have been so easy if they were directly involved in the disaster. Maybe they were in some kind of terrible trouble and chose that day to make an escape and disappear forever. Maybe someone could show up years later – someone everyone else thought had been killed that day. Why did they wait until years later to come back and set the record straight?
Well, now I’ve given away a good plot that some other writer might pick up and run with. If I don’t get to the story first, that is probably what will happen. For now I’m just showing you how a writer’s mind works, and when writing historicals he or she has tremendous freedom to “invent” characters and plots because there is so much exciting background information to work with. As opposed to writing a futuristic novel wherein the author has to come up with some twisted plot for something that has never really happened (yet) – something that could happen – or maybe something so impossible it couldn’t really happen at all but readers and movie-goers still want to read it or see it … writing historicals simply requires knowing your history, letting it excite you, and asking yourself – “what if” my characters were involved in this?
I think the key to telling real history well is to tell it from the very personal points of view of the characters. Just as we don’t realize today that we are actually involved in tomorrow’s history, people back then didn’t realize it either. They just went about their daily lives, and those lives become affected by what is happening around them. The author shouldn’t “tell” the story as though teaching a history lesson. He or she should let the story happen naturally as history unfolds for the characters within their story.
If you read my Savage Destiny series, you will realize that by the last book I have taught the readers the history of Colorado and the Cheyenne. Every major Native American event in those books is true, like the Sand Creek massacre and the disaster at Fort Robinson (in book #6). It involves the history of Denver, and although they live in Colorado, I get some of my characters involved in the Civil War. Why? Because that’s how it was. It didn’t matter where you lived or if you were directly involved in that war as a soldier. Everyone, men, women, children; people living in the North, the South, out West, and even in territories that were not states yet, were affected in some way by that war.
And there is your food for plot. I seldom study a particular location and historical time period for what I am working on at the moment without coming across yet another idea for a different book, because I’ll inevitably learn something I didn’t know before and think, hmmmm, this could be a good story. Sometimes characters move into my stories that become so important that they begin taking the limelight from my hero and heroine, so I write them right out of the book and give them a story of their own.
And so the ideas are never-ending. I hope to stay healthy and sound of mind enough to write many, many more stories. I only need 41 more books to reach my goal of 100! It’s a challenge, but one worth trying for. All I know is, I won’t have any trouble coming up with 41 more plots!
I like to take real history and real locations and put my fictitious characters right in the middle of it all, telling history in an entertaining way. It’s kind of like today’s generation living through Kennedy’s assassination or the horrific 9/11 disaster. We are always “living” in history, because every new day makes yesterday a part of history. In 30 or 40 years a story set around 9/11 will be considered an historical novel. The author can create fictitious characters and wrap them into that disastrous, historical day, giving them a personal story that might be full of drama, intrigue, maybe even someone getting away with murder! It would have been so easy if they were directly involved in the disaster. Maybe they were in some kind of terrible trouble and chose that day to make an escape and disappear forever. Maybe someone could show up years later – someone everyone else thought had been killed that day. Why did they wait until years later to come back and set the record straight?
Well, now I’ve given away a good plot that some other writer might pick up and run with. If I don’t get to the story first, that is probably what will happen. For now I’m just showing you how a writer’s mind works, and when writing historicals he or she has tremendous freedom to “invent” characters and plots because there is so much exciting background information to work with. As opposed to writing a futuristic novel wherein the author has to come up with some twisted plot for something that has never really happened (yet) – something that could happen – or maybe something so impossible it couldn’t really happen at all but readers and movie-goers still want to read it or see it … writing historicals simply requires knowing your history, letting it excite you, and asking yourself – “what if” my characters were involved in this?
I think the key to telling real history well is to tell it from the very personal points of view of the characters. Just as we don’t realize today that we are actually involved in tomorrow’s history, people back then didn’t realize it either. They just went about their daily lives, and those lives become affected by what is happening around them. The author shouldn’t “tell” the story as though teaching a history lesson. He or she should let the story happen naturally as history unfolds for the characters within their story.
If you read my Savage Destiny series, you will realize that by the last book I have taught the readers the history of Colorado and the Cheyenne. Every major Native American event in those books is true, like the Sand Creek massacre and the disaster at Fort Robinson (in book #6). It involves the history of Denver, and although they live in Colorado, I get some of my characters involved in the Civil War. Why? Because that’s how it was. It didn’t matter where you lived or if you were directly involved in that war as a soldier. Everyone, men, women, children; people living in the North, the South, out West, and even in territories that were not states yet, were affected in some way by that war.
And there is your food for plot. I seldom study a particular location and historical time period for what I am working on at the moment without coming across yet another idea for a different book, because I’ll inevitably learn something I didn’t know before and think, hmmmm, this could be a good story. Sometimes characters move into my stories that become so important that they begin taking the limelight from my hero and heroine, so I write them right out of the book and give them a story of their own.
And so the ideas are never-ending. I hope to stay healthy and sound of mind enough to write many, many more stories. I only need 41 more books to reach my goal of 100! It’s a challenge, but one worth trying for. All I know is, I won’t have any trouble coming up with 41 more plots!
