Happy November!

 It's National Novel Writing Month!

Every year I attempt to get a novel finished for NaNoWriMo and every year I fail.  So far this time it's off to a great start. I'm working on Rimrock Book 3 and it's coming along nicely. I can't imagine how many rewrites I'll be doing after it's finished but I'm making great progress.

If you've read Promise of Spring, (Rimrock Book 2) I introduce Clu and Aleena in that book. I always planned a story for them but was struggling. Now it has taken off and taken them in a direction I wasn't expecting.  Their adventure begins in Rimrock and a family tragedy sends them to Saint Louis. Clu's father death was no accident and his brother's life is in danger. Orphan Aleena will do whatever she has to do to help save the family she wants to be a part of.

In this book readers that read Promise of Tomorrow, (Rimrock Book 1) will find out what happened to Anya after she was kidnapped along with Shyfawn. Anya will have her own story as well. I have several Rimrock Spinoffs planned. Ha! I'd get more done if my brain focused on one thing at a time.

I hope anyone else participating in NaNoWriMo is getting lots done!

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Wild Deadwood Reads

Deadwood, South Dakota never disappoints.

Over the years I've been to many events there, or just driven there for dinner. It's always a good time. 

Wild Deadwood Reads has to be my favorite event. Even if this year was the first time I attended.  I have been wanting to go for the past few years but always have to work that weekend. This year I took vacation time and was happy to spend a few days among some great authors.

I had a great talk with Laura Scott and Lori Handeland. I by chance sat next to them at the bar while having dinner. Naturally, I had a ton of author questions for them. (They humored me well) They gave great advice and were some awesome gals.

I met a lot of new people and finally got to meet several that I've been hoping to meet one day. I was horrified when I was driving home and realized I never made it back around to several tables to get signed books to match my kindle books. (I had to run to the car for more money and got sidetracked when I came back in)

But I still came home with a bunch of books. I was glad this event brought so many great authors to one location near me. A few of the cover models attended as well.

I was so thrilled to finally meat Shanna Hatfield and Pam Crooks!!!   I wish we could have had more time to talk. I probably could have chatted with them for hours.

Meeting Gunner Quinlin and Jenna St. Clare was an unexpected treat. A great couple that does audiobook narration. I'm definitely interested in having them narrate some books I have planned in the future under a pen name.

Wild Deadwood Reads is something I plan on attending again. Maybe next time I'll have a table there as an attending author.

new novella

 Got a little side tracked again. Instead of working on the next Rimrock book, I'm playing with a Wild Love novella.

As usual, I liked a sub-character in Outlaw's Redemption. A sub-character that was never meant to have his own story. But my brain started wondering about him and soon a story developed.

Hank Donavan's story takes place after Guarded Hearts.

A life of solitude in the mountains above Rimrock suited Hank Donavan.

Until Lilly Kingston arrived at his cabin claiming to be his mail order bride.

Chanticleer Conference Win!!!

  After three years I was finally able to attend the Chanticleer International Book Awards!! As always, the conference didn't disappoint. There were so many great classes and so much to learn. Kiffer Brown and her team did an amazing job putting the conference together and making everything go smoothly.

  This year was a lot of firsts for me. It was my first time sitting on a panel to talk about genre boundaries. My first time standing on a stage and talking into a microphone. I got to announce the winners of the Shorts: Collections and Novellas. It was all worth fighting my natural panic of being the main focus and talking in front of people. Hopefully I can do it again some time.

   When awards time came, it was great to hear the name of friends announced as First in Category for their genre. The atmosphere was so uplifting and the cheers all over the room was thrilling.

   Guarded Hearts got First in Category for the Laramie and I was on cloud 9. I was so happy for my fellow Laramie winners; all are great people. Many of my fellow Laramie winners couldn't attend. I was excited to send messages about their win to them.

It was a big surprise when Guarded Hearts was announced for the Laramie Grand Prize. I wasn't expecting it, so I had no speech prepared and have no idea what I said. But it was an amazing experience and I'm still in shock over it.

  I'm excited to go back again next year. I won't have a book done in time for the Laramie Contest, but I still plan on going to Bellingham for the conference. There is always more to learn and more great authors to meet. I was thrilled to see old friends this year and make new ones. Hope to see them all next year as well. 

Guarded Hearts

Book Talk

   I had a great time at the Hulett, Wyoming Library doing a book talk. I was thrilled that so many people came and enjoyed it. I talked about how I got started writing and the self-publishing process. 

   The questions afterword were great and I have a few ideas for adding a couple extra things in the back of the books. I loved the request for a family tree diagram in the book. You know your readers are serious when they make notes in the book about your characters. I loved it! 

  I confess it was my very first public speaking engagement and I was terrified! Never in my life have I stood before people to talk. I was pleased that I didn't panic and made it through just fine. It's something that I would like to do again sometime. Being an introvert, I shocked myself when I agreed to do it! I had a blast, but now I'll have to hide at home for three days to recover. Ha!

  It was a wonderful learning experience for me, and I hope that my audience left knowing more about self-publishing. Hopefully some of them will look into it and publish their own work.

Countdown to Bellingham.

I'm counting the days until the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Both Guarded Herts and Outlaw's Redemption made the Finals!

 

   The conference in Bellingham, Washington is such a great experience. I haven't been able to go for the past three years and I'm so excited to go this year. There are so many great authors there and it will be great to see them again. I'm anxious to meet (in person) several new author friends I've made over the past couple years. 

   The last weekend of April can't get here soon enough!

   It will be the first trip I've taken in three years and am looking forward to the road trip to Washington. I have a list of things to stop and see along the way and get some book research done as well. Lots of new book ideas floating around in my noggin.  I'm still working on book 3 of the Rimrock Series, but progress has been slow. I'm hoping to get Wild Love book 4 finished this year as well.

  

2023 off to a great start

 So far 2023 has been good to me in the author department.

Guarded Hearts won the Best Indie Book Award for Historical Romance and was an honorable mention in the Book Fest Awards.

The Wild Love Series has been so much fun to write, and I love all the characters. There are many books to come in the series and I can't wait to share the stories with you. Each book in the series is a stand-alone, but the characters in one book will appear in another book. So to get a better feel for the characters, reading them in order helps but isn't necessary. 

Outlaw's Redemption and Guarded Hearts have made the semi-finals in the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Guarded Hearts is up for the Laramie Award. It made the long list for Paranormal and we'll see if it advances. Outlaw's Redemption won the Laramie Award last year and is in the running for the Chatelaine Award. We will see if they advance to the Finals.

I'm honored to be a semi-finalist! There are a lot of books entered in this contest and to get this far is awesome. I know many of the authors on these lists and have read their books. To be among them is an achievement.

I'm also making good progress on the next Rimrock Book. Book three is about Clu Bodine and Aleena Richardson. If you've read Promise of Spring, you are familiar with the characters. Clu is the mayor and operates the local freighting company. A man with inner struggles that cause him to drink too much but hiring Aleena to work for him is slowly healing him. Orphaned Aleena comes to work at the fright office and over time becomes Clu's housekeeper as well. She has loved him for years, but he only sees her as the kid he hired to keep her off the streets. Events lead them to love and to St. Louis. His family is in danger and the family business is in jeopardy. With Aleena by his side, he knows he can face any challenge. Aleena will do whatever is takes to save the family she has always longed for.

Check out my website for all book links to your favorite e-book platform. Print books available at Amazon and LuLu.

Upcoming events

                    Book signing in Hulett, Wyoming at the Library in March  (more info to come)

                    Heading to Bellingham, Washington in April for the Chanticleer International Book Award conference. Always such a great time.