Last summer, I attended the RWA conference in Denver and attended several sessions on book covers. By the time the conference ended, I was convinced my book covers could be better even though I liked the covers I had. The question became, how do I improve them? I'm not an artist and I don't think visually so I went to Amazon and studied book covers. At the same time, my roommate at the conference, Carmen Crowley, decided her covers needed changing. Within weeks she had redesigned her book covers for her sweet romance series. I was surprised. I liked her covers. Her new covers highlight couples, and I think they do tell the reader more about the content of the books.

A good photo or picture is worth a thousand words is a cliché but so true. When we write our books, covers are usually far from our minds except for titles. We writers are usually good at giving word descriptions of scenes and people, but I don't think we have the visual images artists possess.

A cover sets moods and gives the reader an idea of what will come without being specific. We hope the potential reader will open our books and flip pages. How hard is that? Very.

We do think about titles, sweat over titles, often do not like our titles, but we don't do this with the actual covers regarding colors and scenes and tone of book.

Unfortunately, most cover artists do not read our books so don't get a feel for them. They don't know our voice, our theme, our plot, our characters.  Our covers end up "generic." I can't think of a better word and I know the artists can't read all our books.  What are we to do? I don't have an answer.  I hope, if you read this, you may have one. 

Titles are important, maybe as important as the cover. In a series, I think using one word throughout the series helps. Tina Newcomb writes a series about a place called Eden Falls. All of her titles carry the word Eden. CK Albers who also writes series, uses the word Promise. I can't think of a better way to tell the reader the book is part of a series. Irene Bennett Brown in her Nickel Hill Series has great covers. I especially like Miss Royal's Mules with a young woman riding a mule.  I write single titles and I try to use no more than two words and one if I can get away with it. For my next book, I know what I want to portray on the cover. So far, I haven't found a photo of what I have in mind for Footprints on the Wall. Note, the title has four words. I may need to change it.

When you read this, I would love to hear your ideas about covers and how you make a final decision.  Covers do sell books.

  

Personally, I think knowing what should be in the first chapter of my books is extremely difficult. I've mulled over the statement, "Start with the moment a person's life is going to change because of the decision she or he has made. How difficult is that? Very. Too many times as an author I think I need to lead into this with backstory, introduction of characters and their biographies, which have nothing to do with when the action precisely begins that will lead my character or characters in ways that will change them for life. Because I do this over and over again, I can say truthfully it is extremely difficult to admit I need to toss my first chapter. Sometimes I have to toss the first two chapters because I'm giving to much background and taking too long to get into the action. Why? Because I think everyone needs to know about the person or persons I'm writing about and what makes them tick.  Even though I know, sprinkling in little details about my characters is a much better way to write. In other words, I need to avoid information dumps at the beginning of the book. It is my belief, readers are more interested in the here and now, not the backgrounds of characters.  

Presently, I'm writing a mystery set in a small town. For once, I think I've started in the correct place, with a murder. When I read mysteries, I'm captured the minute the action starts not after I've been told about the characters and what makes them tick and why they live in a small town where nothing happens.  The book I'm currently reading, A STUDY IN DEATH,  by Anna Lee Huber, lets me know in the first chapter something sinister is about to happen. I know nothing about the lives of either character, and I don't care. I'll find out as I read, but in the first chapter, I'm interested in the characters because of the way the author foreshadows some kind of happening that will hurt one of the characters and take the other on a new and dangerous adventure.

When I write, I'm a punster, but I do have a good idea the beginning, the plot, the theme, and how the book will end. In my present book, I'm trying something new. I've started in the right place. I'm writing in the first person and I feel I have a good flow to the mystery.  My writing is faster and I'm two-thirds finished with it. The title is MURDER IN STOP OVER. 

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​     Denver, Colorado native, Linda Wommack, lives ten block from her childhood home which may explain her interest in Colorado History. She has written eleven books about Colorado with some self-published and some traditionally published. Two books are in the works and under contract for publication in 2019.
     Linda is a board member of Women Writing the West and is the Downing Journalism Awards Chair.
​     When not writing, her favorite activities are camping, boating and fishing with her husband. 
​

1.  Do you have an occupation outside of writing?
     No. I left my full-time employment two years ago to write full-time. It is very hard work, but I manage to make a living        at it. I, also, write monthly for three national magazines and three local publications. 

2.  When did you start writing?
     My first published piece was in 1990 and my first published book was in 1992. 

3.  Do you write fiction or nonfiction?  
     I write nonfiction. My book subjects vary but are based on Colorado history. I do have an on-going theme with works          involving Landmark Preservation such as Colorado Landmark hotels, Colorado's Historic Mansions and Castles, Colorado's      Historic Churches and Colorado's Historic Schools coming out next year.

4.  How long does it take you to write a book and do you have a writing schedule?
     I write everyday and research for months, even years on any given subject. My writing is done in my home office and          my research wherever the subject may take me. I call it my "history treks."

5.  What is your latest book?
     My latest book is Haunted History of Cripple Creek and Teller County.  This is the first book that the publisher actually              came to me and asked me to write it.  It has been such fun to interview folks in Teller County, Colorado who have                actually had experiences with the paranormal. I have been in buildings and houses all over the county that are said to        be haunted. It is fascinating to research to the extent that one can. I can't say that I had a supernatural experience,            but there is that possibility.

Home to the last gold rush, Teller County attracted a slew of peculiar characters. Many never left. A Victor Hotel regular named Eddie met his untimely death wen he stumbled down the elevator shaft. A female apparition clad in Victorian clothing appears on the stairs of the Palace Hotel. A closed tunnel on Gold Camp Road is said to echo with the sounds of screaming children and lingering spirits are still prisoners at the old Teller County jail.

Linda willingly gives talks on the history of Colorado. To invite her, go to her web page:  LindaWommack.com 

 

1.  Where did you grow up? Where do you live now?
     I grew up in Miami, Florida. My father was a musician who also taught junior high school. My mother was an abstract artist. I became a high school English teacher. As an only child, my life was about books, playing my flute and being a happy kid. Today, I call Arizona my home.

2.  Do you have a writing schedule? What genre do you write?
    I don't have a writing schedule even after writing seven novels. It seems ridiculous. I wait until summer and bury myself in some quiet place where I can hide from the Arizona summer heat. I hammer out a solid rough draft that I can bring home and polish throughout the year. I have written the only satirical series about Scottsdale; however my interest lies with Historical Fiction for now and the future.

3.  How important is research to you before starting a book?
    Research is where I have the most fun. I love finding my way through papers, archives, travel to find treasures that bring a story to life. HIDDEN ONES is based on a true story of a grandmother arrested during the Inquisition in the New World that I found in archives. It was shocking to me so I knew I had to explore further. I spend as long as a few months gathering materials, maps, personal accounts, recipes, paintings, academic papers and more.

4.  How long does it take you to write a book?
    The average is three years, although some move along faster if research is complete. PAPER CHILDREN - an Immigrants Legacy required translating letters from Polish and High German, finding ship manifests and interviewing relatives to tell a fictionalized story of my grandmother's life. It took five years.

5.  Do you incorporate some of your own life experiences into your characters?
    Of course! I'm the young girl, Ivy in PARIS LAMB. It's impossible to write characters without putting so much of ourselves in them. Most are based on composites of people I've known.

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     Early on the morning of the third day a cavalry of Spaniards kicks up dust as they ride past us, the rhythm of hooves hitting the hard ground, alerting us to their authority. Where are they going with such haste?
     The soldiers' feet are shoved into wooden stirrups with leather casings as their heels urge horses to ride faster. They wear Kuerasi,  a leather vest to protect them from Indian arrows. 
      I shield myself behind a tree to view their wagons. A few soldiers wear jackets, buttons gleaming in the sun, hats with expansive plumes. Swords, lances and pistols bounce against their hips, an impressive display of force, I think.  I know they are looking for me, an accomplice to a crime. Cold shivers bristle up my spine. I thrust my guilt aside, but the jailor knows my face and Mariel's.

      Marsha Fine's books have won so many awards, it's hard to mention all of them. Her book, PAPER CHILDREN, has been a finalist for three national prizes. 
       HIDDEN ONES, has won first prizes in Historical Fiction and Multicultural as well as Honorable Mention from AZ authors. In 2018, at the Women Writing the West Conference, the book won the prestigious Willa Award over 2700 entries for five categories. The award is named after Willa Cather who won the Pulitzer Award in 1923.  To read more about Marsha, visit her website at www.marshafine.com. ​

1.  Where did you group up? Where do you live today? What are your favorite activities when not writing?
I was born in Topeka Kansas. When I was nine my family moved to Oregon's Willamette Valley where I grew up and live today. My favorite activities include curling up with a good book, taking long walks in the fresh air, and exploring historic Places.

2.  Tell us about your family. Do you have an occupation outside of writing?
I have a large, wonderful, close family.  We get together often, at the youngest teacher/daughter's art shows, our music teacher/grandson's concerts, holiday celebrations, picnics, reunions.  And the list goes on. I do not have an occupation outside of writing-no time for anything else.  

3.  When did you start writing? Why do you write? What genre or genres do you write? Who is your publisher?
I knew from a young age, reading HEIDI and LITTLE WOMEN, that I would be a writer. I began writing newspaper features, columns, children's and young adult books. Writing is hard, not writing is impossible. Most of my 20 books, for both young people and adult readers are historical or period novels. I have one small memoir, CHAFF 'N CHATTER. In the children's field I've been published by Atheneum, Scholastic, Viking Penguin, E.P. Dutton, and David McKay, Ballantine and Five Star/Cengage have published my novels for adults. I've indie published two contemporary mysteries, WHERE GABLE SLEPT and WHERE DANGER DANCED and a historical novel, THE BARGAIN.

4.  Do you write series or single title books?
I write both. My latest book, a historical western, MISS ROYAL'S MULES is the first in the Nickel Hill Series released from Five Star/Cengage in November, 2018. Second book in the series is with the publisher now. My earlier series, The Women of Paragon Springs, is about a group of women who decide to build there own town on the raw Kansas plains as a way to survive. This 4-book saga takes the women from the 1870's sod house days to their part in the birth of aviation in Kansas 40 years later. Single title books include my historical novel, THE PLAINSWOMAN, a Spur Award finalist, and an Oregon historical, HAVEN.

5. Where do your ideas come from?
Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere, often from fascinating tidbits discovered in nonfiction books, old diaries, and such.  Another example: a few years back I reread my award winning YA novel, BEFORE THE LARK, about a young girl, Jocelyn Belle Royal, who has a facial disfigurement. To escape from taunting in the city, ill grandmother in tow, she takes them to her father's abandoned farm in Kansas. Always real to me, I wondered what might have happened to her after the ending of BEFORE THE LARK? Ten years later and now a grown woman, I wrote about her in MISS ROYAL'S MULES.

6. How do you create your characters?
In creating a main character, I often make a character sketch with a strong goal rising out of time and place with monumental obstacles.  I create her fears, her flaws, her personality, and how she relates to others. Action and reactions to her problem(s) builds the plot. When writing MISS ROYAL'S MULES, I had much of this from the earlier YA novel. I knew Miss Jocey well. 

7. How do you research your books?
I have a huge collection of books about Kansas--the sate's flora and fauna, major events of the real West such as cattle drives from Texas to Dodge City and Abilene; Carrie Nation with her ax, beating up saloons in response to prohibition. Schoolmarms and not so gentle women. Books with information about what people did for pleasure, deprivations, idiosyncrasies, tall tales, and humor. I joke I have more books about Kansas than anyone else in Oregon.  Teamed with the internet, I can almost always find what I need. I find museums helpful. 

8. How long does it take you to write a book? Do you have a writing schedule , a place set aside for writing? 
A book takes as long as it takes, normally a year and a half to two years, from the germ of an idea through research, outlining, writing draft after draft, to polished manuscript. I don't need a schedule. I'm called to writing each morning. I have a writing room with book shelves, two desks, and a computer. I, also, have a computer in the laundry room. I keep notes all over the place and I outline.  A brief synopsis may grow to 10-pages or more as plot twists, new characters, and surprises occur to me. 

9. Do you instill some of your own life experiences into your characters?
I'm more apt to use family history. The town of Skiddy, Kansas is where my grandmother was born in l886. Skiddy is now a ghost town but I revived it in MISS ROYAL'S MULES.  An uncle was a rodeo contestant.  My father was an artist, my mother as a young woman farmed with mules.  All of that went into the new book.

10. What do you hope readers will take away from your books?     
I want them to be happier at the end of the book than when they chose it. Excited by Kansas history new to them. I hope they like what they've read so much they are anxious for the next book, the next, and the next. I want to please my readers in any way possible. Recently I came across an old letter from a young boy whose school I had visited. It began, "You'll probably remember me. I'm the one who almost broke my ribcage getting your autograph..." Can't beat that.

In 1900 a steadfast and feisty young woman, Jocelyn Belle Royal, joins a mule drive to earn back her Kansas, Flint Hills farm lost to the bank.  Entanglements over the mules, outlaws, a women's suffrage, and a disagreement over the governor's mansion, test her mettle to the limit. Jocelyn can't give up if 'home' will ever again be more than a few belongings in a shawl, all that she owns.

                                                                                       MISS ROYAL'S MULES
                                                                                                       by 
                                                                                        Irene Bennett Brown
 
     Dusk was descending as Jocelyn Royal slipped into the darker interior of the Emporia livery stable. Moving through patchy shadows on the ground floor, she held her breath, worried that the liveryman might wake from his doze in his corner office chair. She gripped the weathered wood of the ladder to the loft and, hanging onto to bundle of possessions, climbed slowly, quietly.  Below her, horses in their stalls snuffled and blew; some shifted restlessly, God willing covering any sounds she made.  She was not a child. How, in the name of old Hannah, had she plummeted into this predicament?
     Seconds later, nestled deep into the mounds of sweet smelling hay, hungry, tired, and exasperated beyond measure, tears burned behind her eyes. 

Heidi grew up on a ranch in eastern Montana where she rode horseback with her dad gathering cattle. When not on her horse, she worked haying and harvesting grain. Today she lives in Chino Valley in north-central Arizona which she says reminds her of Montana. Her favorite pastime is hiking the many trails through the Granite Dells of the Prescott area. 
Her occupation besides writing is doing freelance editing for other authors. She has been published with Twodot/Rowan-Littlefield, and has recently venture into self-publishing with Sun Catcher Publications. 

1.  When did you start writing?  I was born with ink in my veins and have written since I was a kid. After receiving a journalism degree from the University of Montana, I worked in the newspaper business and freelanced for magazines. When I started writing fiction, I wrote western histories with strong, independent women characters based on family history.

2.  Do you write series or single title books, fiction or non-fiction?  I write both. My grandmother rode bucking stock in rodeos during the 1920's in Montana. She was my inspiration for my first three novels in a series. COWGIRL DREAMS, FOLLOW THE DREAM and DARE TO DREAM and my non-fiction book, COWGIRL UP: A History of Rodeo Women.  My mother who emigrated from Germany after WWII was the basis for my last two novels, SEEKING THE AMERICAN DREAM and FINDING TRUE HOME.

3.  How long does it take you to write a book?  I'm a "panster" not an outliner, but I have an outline of sorts in my head based on the timeline and events of family history, and I keep notes as well.  It takes at least a year to write the first draft and then go through multiple revisions.  I belong to a critique group which is invaluable for feedback, support, and help in moving forward and making my stories better

4.  Do you instill some of your own life experiences into your characters?  Oh yes, most definitely.

5.  How do you research your books?  I research by reading books and history from the time period and also from stories that my dad told me about growing up with rodeo parents.

6.  What do you hope readers will take away from your books?  I hope they are entertained and inspired and realize they can have a dream and follow it too, no matter where in life they are.

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It's been ten years since Anna Moser immigrated to Montana from Germany for love and hopes of a better life in the "land of milk and honey."  Instead, she's found harsh winters and searing summers, sacrifice and back-breaking work. After all these years, she still perceives neighbors looking down their noses with distrust at this "foreign woman."  Did she make a mistake in following her heart to marry Neil and build a ranch and family with him?  Yet, after her first visit back to Germany, she finds she no longer belongs there either.

In spite of hardships, loss, and near-death illness, will the love of Neil and her children help Anna find her true home?
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                                                                                             Chapter One  

     The summer sun highlighted the clear blue sky and warmed Anna Moser's heart as she drove the mile and a half from their ranch to the Horse Creek Store for groceries.  She breathed in the fresh clean air and smiled.
     She'd been smiling a lot since she and the kids returned home from her first trip back to Germany after coming to America ten years ago when WWII ended.  Anna had come for a better life. . .and for love.
     She had missed her Mutti terribly not having seen her family for so long.  Finally, this past summer she'd gone back for a three-month visit.  Because life had been so difficult, trying to make a living farming and ranching in eastern Montana, she'd come to think perhaps she'd made a mistake by immigrating, that America wasn't the "land of milk and honey" she'd envisioned.  But Germany was no longer her home.  Her birthplace had changed, and so had she.
     Montana was her home---in spite of its harsh climate, sacrifice, and hardships in being accepted.  Neil was her home. She came back, once again for love.
     Humming, she went into the store with her list, eight-year-old Monica and two-year-old Kevin in tow.
     Mrs. Mitchell, one of  the neighbor, stepped from behind an aisle "There's the world travelers.  You sure were gone a long time.  My, you folks must've had a wonderful calf crop last fall to be able to afford a three-month vacation in Europe."
     Her words stung like a bullwhip lash.  Surely that wasn't what the neighbors thought, that she'd gone off on some expensive luxury vacation, just for the heck of it.  All these women had their mothers and sisters, their brothers and fathers within thirty miles.  She forced a smile.  "It has been ten years since I saw my family.  It was time to go."
     "Oh.  Well then.  Must be nice."
     Anna's neck and face burned.  She wanted so badly to march up to snooty Mrs. Mitchell and tell her to wake up, that there were other people in the world besides her.  She took a long breath and turned away.  Finishing her shopping, she left the store, her earlier euphoria deflated like a sad, week-old balloon.

                                                                             Facebook@authorHeidimthomas
                                                                                        Twitter@Heidiwriter
                                                                             http://www.heidiwriter.wordpress.com

people giving her a broad education.  She has battle-weary stories about catching the freezing bus at 6:30 in the morning to go to school. Her parents told her about "walk-to-school-five-miles-in-the-snow" tales. She used her stories on her "kid." Today she lives in the sticks outside of Portland, Oregon with a grade-school, general store and a bar with a full-sized stuffed buffalo.

1.  When and how do you write?
     Someday, somewhere someone will do a study and confirm that a full moon affects certain brains.  I'll proudly wear the button that says, "I wax and wane with the moon."  It is common to find me in the thin hours of the night at the keyboard under a bright moon. The house is quiet. The crows are quiet, and my surroundings are dark, so I can't see dust or laundry or the nagging chores I should be doing. I wear headphones and play instrumentals to match the scenes I'm working on. But NO LYRICS. I can't think while lyrics play in the background.  I'm trying something new. I have inspirational pictures taped around me: a hidden lair, an eagle talons-out, a face full of joy, reminders to go a little deeper, tap into more to get it on the page. 

2.  What do you write about?
     Change. Not because it's a personal creed, but because it's always stomping and kicking the slats out from under me.  I frequently bumble adapting to it. My first series was "The Stories of the Lutheran Ladies Circle."  The women argue their way through every event. I couch the traditions, change and getting along in humor.  Letters came to me from readers telling me they knew the women in my stories, worked with the women, and at times were these women. The books are written under Kris Knorr. For the Two Pan series, I used my name, B.K. Froman. The stories are set in ranches in eastern Oregon and are about developing vacation only homes and how the culture is changed with the mix of the community with lots of humor and my secret addiction - cusswords.  My dad had a lyrical quality and creative syntax in his cussing.  I hear it in my stories. It's a struggle because my mother scorched my brain saying intelligent people found more descriptive words. I don't use C-words, F-words, or use the Lord's name. Thankfully, my editor slashes my drafts and not to many curses make it to the final version.

3.  How long does it take you to write a book?
     Haha hahhahahaha!  This is the best question yet. I have two drafts in a drawer. They may NEVER see the desktop again. I've written to others during National Write a Novel in a Month. Wow, they were full of holes. It forces a person to write.  It broke that nasty witch-voice in my head that likes to visit at night and taunt, "Nobody wants to read about this" of "This is crap" or "There so many better writers out there. Why are you doing this?" I love research and spend quite while on it. Some books take longer than others. Like everyone else, I have crazy busy times and slower times.  The more I take care of myself, the more things I learn and the more I write. I'm often kinder and less critical of others than I am to myself. That, too, is changing.  

4.  What do you want readers to take away from your books.?
     HOPE.  That's it. That's all. I try to put readers in a situation to learn something new they didn't know before, but with every book that's been published, I send up a prayer. "May this find the person who needs it and give them what they need."  I think we're all on the same road--and we're all learning to deal with change. We're together in this. 

5.  What do you do when you're not writing?
      I stand around a lot, looking at things. That's the most accurate summary. I look at my garden and wonder what possessed me to plant so many tomatoes. And where are those boogery squirrels coming from to raid my spinach?  Are crows and jays cursing or laughing at the plastic snakes I've put in the berry patch? I look at my house and tell other people I have too much to do to go to another committee meeting. It doesn't seem to merit any sympathy from committee members.  My husband and I like to stand around an look at stuff in other countries. We hiked for 15 days from one side of England to the other, and walked 92 miles of the Cotswolds, looking into backyards, barns and pubs. We stayed longer in the pubs than the barns.

                                                                                   GOOD NIGHT OREGON
             GROWING-UP. MOVING AWAY. COMING BACK. A comical thought-provoking, head-banging journey.

In 1997, Rain, Oregon native Sophia Bolton wants to fulfill her lifelong goal of saving humanity. To do so, she knows she needs to escape Rain and its quirky collection of buried secrets, the convent, a jailbird, a buffalo, and crazy neighbors. Though her family---and their collective, perpetual messes---keep pulling her back, Sophia is certain she can overcome the obstacles in her way to finally finish a college degree.

One night, in order to vent her frustrations with the constant struggle she walks, Sophia makes a secret broadcast on the campus radio station. The secret becomes an obsession and the airwaves soon become her own verbal diary, offering unseen listeners advice on how to survive the crazy, comical trials in growing into a functioning adult. What does becoming an adult mean? Why can't she stop pirating the airwaves? And who is really listening?
 
                                                                                      GOOD NIGHT OREGON
                                                                                                 An excerpt

       Then on evening in 1981, my confidence changed again.
       My family entered my fourth-grade room. Dad stared, mumbling, "Ho-ly donkey crap!"
      Mama screwed her elbow into his ribs so hard he grabbed his side with an uff.  He'd been warned. Before we'd entered Montgomery Elementary School on open house night, Mama had set clear rules. "No cussing. No jokes. And don't raise your voice louder than a whisper.
      My classroom was filled with parents and kids, but still smelled of the typical school droppings: eraser rubbings, lunches left in desks, and art projects stowed in corners along with chalk dust. Usually, Dad didn't come to school conferences because he was at the mill or cutting site. And when he was at home, he'd declare, "Why would I spend time with a buncha eraser lickers? I've got the smartest girl in class right here."
        He'd pull me to his chest, his fingers circling the base of my ponytail, twitching it back and forth as I'd try to pry loose. If he hadn't had a chance to shower, I'd hold my breath against his musk of grease, sweat, and sawdust.
       Tonight, I smelled his Hai Karate cologne as he leaned his head next to mine. "Sweetie, you don't have to look at that ol' gal after lunch, do you?
       My eyes flitted from my teacher, Miss Gardner, to my black sneakers that looked like Keds, but weren't.
      Melinda Kutcher was staring at us. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and a pixie nose whose primary function was to make her look cute.    
       The biggest problem was--she was smart. And that was my realm. It was all I had going for me. Miss Gardner usually called on Melinda. I figured it had to do with her just-right-everything. 
      My parents and I stood in a loose line of people, waiting to talk to my teacher. "That is one ugly woman," Dad whispered. "And I've seen some biddies who could, honest to Pete, scare the bark off trees. But your teacher..."
       I laughed, my hand quickly covering my mouth. When I saw people looking at me, my attention flicked back to the floor tiles the custodian had polished to a gleam. 
        Ignoring Mama's scowl, Dad leaned closer, wearing a lop-sided grin. "You only see hair like that on a poodle-dog."
       "Tonk…" The tone of Mama's voice prickled with layers of past lectures. She didn't have to worry. I knew what Dad was doing. He was king of busting up solemn occasions and best behaviors. 
        Dad took Mama's arm, snugging it under his. "Hon, no wonder Stiks has stomach problems, if she has to watch this permed Bigfoot after lunch."
        Melinda's father turned and looked at my dad. He stood a head taller. His purple-collared shirt had a logo over his heart, Cumbria Investments. He wore real leather shoes with thin laces. He didn't say anything. Just looked at Dad.
         The corner of Dad's mouth kicked ever higher, but his smile didn't touch his eyes. He began telling Mama one of his stories, yet his focus stuck on Melinda's father. "Did I tell ya I recently met a woman who had an eyeball that spun like a merry-go-round?"

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Website  http://barbarakayfroman.com

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Anne Schroeder's love of California and the West was fueled by stories of bandits and hangings, of her great-great grandfather and his neighbors working together to blast the Norwegian Grade out of solid rock, of Indian caves and of women who made their own way.

A voracious reader from childhood, she credits an early library card with sparking a desire to write fiction. Her early influences were Zane Gray, James Michener, LaVyrle Spencer and a lifetime of people watching.

Anne has served as President of Women Writing the West, WILLA Award Chair and category judge for Western Writers of America SPUR Award. Her short stories and essays have appeared in print magazines, and are in a collection,  Gifts of Pottery.  She now lives in Southern Oregon with her husband, dogs, and several free-range chickens. Her interest include traveling in the West, museum hopping and hiking in the Oregon woods.

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In l870s California, young Virginia Nugent's privileged life ends with the death of her mother and her father's guilt-ridden descent into addiction. She is torn between her love of the ranch and her need to escape---until a Southerner friend of her late mother arrives with a plan that will change her destiny. But can she trust anyone to accept help?

If you like sweet romances than you will like this sweet romantic story of hardscrabble American settlers in remote California in an era of earthquakes, bandidos and landgrabs. Part of the Central California Series that follows a white and a Salinan (Mission) Indian family during the Spanish, Mexican and American conquest of California. 

http://anneschroederauthor.com
​www.facebook.com/anneschroeder

Carmen Peone, married to Joe, mother of four sons, and grandmother to ten, had been writing fiction for fifteen years but put it aside when her children were in middle and high school and concentrated on non-fiction instead. When her youngest son went to college, she returned to fiction and finished her first book published by Tate Publishing. They went out of business and she turned to Indie publishing concentrating on young adult fiction. So far, she has published six historical young adult novels and one contemporary young adult novel. All but one book are trilogies.  

For the past three decades, she has resided on the Colville Confederated Reservation near Colville, WA with her husband who is a tribal member.  She was born in Colville but grew up in the Spokane Valley camping and horse riding. Family attitudes and beliefs are reflected in her work.  As a writer, she draws from her personal experiences - horse racing, competitions, what she knows about horses, history told to her by tribal leaders, and from her mentor and Salish language teacher, the late Marguerite Ensminger.

A few years ago, she retired from her job with the school system to write fulltime. Since she had worked with youths for years, she decided to write about common issues youth entail in their daily lives. Historical fiction was her choice because she wanted to include elements of tradition and culture practiced in the past that continue into the present among the Salish people. Her settings are from her photos taken of animals and nature on the Colville Reservation. With a writing schedule of three hours a day usually in the fall and winter when there is three feet of snow and she can't ride, it takes her a few months to write the first draft of a book and few weeks to edit. Although she takes notes, she considers herself a pancer claiming she  knows her characters and main events but her imagination and creativity do the heavy lifting. When not writing, she rides horses with her grandchildren.

She hopes readers will take from her books the knowledge of the Colville Reservation, its culture and traditions, the love of Native people, and themes like forgiveness and hope. 

ONE GIRL, BROKEN BY DEATH, HAUNTED BY HER PAST, LIFTED UP BY A HEALER​

After fighting with her sister, Spupaleena bolted from their Sinyekst lodge into the dead of winter. She didn't know where she was going but knew she could no longer live at home. Haunted by the deaths of her mother and baby brother, she ran until she'd run too far.

Upon discovering Spupaleena's body, Phillip Gardner, a trapper, brings her home to his cabin. His wife, Elizabeth, does her  best to help heal Spupaleena, although with a broken heart and a mangled body, she is not likely to survive. But when Phillip doesn't return from a trip into Hudson Bay's Fort Colville, a pregnant Elizabeth and a weak Spupaleena are forced to find strength in each other. In this story of hardship, grief, and eventual hope, Spupaleena learns all she needed was a change of heart.

     Spupaleena gathered moss for the diapers to absorb waste and stuffed the handfuls into her coat pockets before going to the barn. Once inside, she checked the hay supply. It was evident Bunker had added to the pile. "Lim lumt."
     Bunker started a small fire. "You're welcome." He sat cross-legged on his wool blanket, adding kindling a stick at a time.
     Spupaleena tipped her head. "You know what I said?" She made her way to the corrals and leaned against them. The fire popped, its heat warming her legs.
     He nodded. "Don't know many words, but I've picked up one or two at the Falls."
​     "Why did you not tell me?"
     "You were too busy whoppin' me with that stick of yours." He nodded to her walking stick and grinned.
     Spupaleena fiddled with her skirt, wishing she was dressed in her buckskin. "Do you trade there?"
     Bunker nodded. "Pelts for guns. Ammunition. Beads. Knives. Whatever I can get my hands on." He rubbed his palms over the flames.
     "My mistum and I fish and trap there. We sell the pelts at the Falls. I do not recall seeing you there."
     "There are a lot of folks in those parts. How could ya?" he said. "How'd you end up here?" His gaze traveled to her broken leg. "What happened?"
     She shrugged. "I do not remember everything...but Phillip told me he was trapping on the other side of the river. A place he calls Twisted Pine Canyon."
     Bunker nodded. I know the place."
     How did he know? Had he followed them? Was he the footsteps she'd heard before Phillip found her? Why was he really here? Had her father sent him? Was he spying? She stiffened. Had he killed Phillip and Hal? And was now after them? But why?

You may contact Carmen at the following: website, https://carmenpeone.com
 Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/CarmenEPeone, Pinterest, https://www.Pinterest.comCarmenPeone,
Twitter, https://www.Twitter.com/Carmen and Instagram, https://www.instagram.comJCPeone

1.  Tell us about your sister and you.
   
     My sister who is no longer living and I were lucky to grow up in Fort Collins, Colorado. I now live in Monument, Colorado with an incredible view of Pike's Peak out my window. For several years my sister and I went our separate way but always stayed in touch. After attending Colorado State University where I met my husband Bill, I taught Home Economics and English in middle school in Denver until I joined my husband in operating  a greenhouse business for thirty years in Littleton, Colorado. We grew carnations and later potted plants and bedding plants. Today, we manage rental properties located in Colorado Springs and live near our son, his wife, and three grandchildren. Fortunately, our daughter lives in Castle Rock with her husband and four children.
     In 2012, my sister and I attended a national RWA conference with the idea of writing a book together as a team.  Did we ever learn a lot and I mean a lot about writing sweet contemporary romance. We continued to attend conferences for the next five years.  At the same time, we began writing our first book. It took us five years to co​mplete but we did it. Carol wrote constantly. She'd start writing and write for hours. I'd follow, adding to her plot about twin sisters. We decided to write a series we would self-published, but wanted to complete the next two books in the series before delving into the business of self-publishing. Sadly, Carol passed away in 2016 from pancreatic cancer before the books were published. I promised her I would publish them and I did. Book One in the series came out in 2016 not long after her death. The first two books are about twin sisters who search for lasting relationships. The third book redeems a negative character in the first book. The fourth book's main character  has retired from playing NFL football and is trying to decide what to do with his life.

2.  Do you have a writing schedule, a special place set aside for writing, your techniques for planning the book?

     I write better in the evenings. Carol made a general outline of the books she had in mind and I'm using the outlines and her notes to continue our books.  We used our life experiences in all the books we wrote together and the books I'm doing now.  We hoped and I still do, the books will make readers smile and laugh.

 3.  What are your favorite activities when not writing?
 
       Spending time with my grandchildren is high on my list. Of course, since I'm a writer I love to read romance novels.  I crochet hats in all sizes and take them to craft fairs. My husband and I love to travel.  

Blurb - AN UNEXPECTED AFFAIR - Book Four of the Affairs of the Heart Series

      While doing geological field work in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Hannah Connors, a beautiful geology professor, sees Cameron Dalton fall down the side of a mountain and rescues him---saving his life!
     Cameron, a former pro football player and entrepreneur, has recently given responsibilities of managing his company, Dalton Sports, to his younger brother, Warren, and is living in a luxurious, secluded cabin in western Colorado.
     The ex-football star needs someone to take care of him while he is recuperating from a broken arm and a concussion. Hannah steps in to help---not realizing major complications will result including posing as his fake fiancée!
      Despite all this, will Cameron and Hannah fall in love? Will Hannah win his heart or will Cameron's ex-fiancée and famous actress, Kate Woodward, win him back? 

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     Someone screamed! Hannah Connors jerked her head up from her laptop and couldn't believe her eyes. A man tumbled down the side of the mountain into a ravine. Earlier, while she sat on a bolder studying the rocks around her, she had watched him climbing with his dog on a steep outcropping of rocks. And now this.
     Terrified that the man could be badly injured, she quickly closed her laptop, zipped open her daypack, took out her yellow, light weight jacket, and shoved in her laptop. As she closed her daypack, wind-driven raindrops started to splattered onto the top of her blond head. She spun around, frantically searching the area of rocks, and found a space under a crevice covered by a  boulder to protect her daypack from the rain.
      "Great. Just great. My daypack will probably end up soaked and muddy," she complained aloud to herself. She looked up at the menacing, dark-gray sky as if it could hear her displeasure and pulled out her jacket. The warm, summer temperature must have dropped twenty degrees with the incoming rain. She shivered in her jacket, her red-and-blue plaid, long-sleeved shirt, red tank top, and khaki shorts not enough to keep her warm.
      Hannah raced to the spot where she thought she had seen the man fall. His dog whined and pawed his feet in the dirt, nervous about his master. Looking down at the black, short-haired dog, she asked, "Where is your master?" The dog's brown eyes looked at her in anguish. "Don't worry, I'll find him," she said, to comfort the dog and assure herself.
       At last, she sighted him lying on the ground at the bottom of the ravine about fifty years from them. She scrambled down the hillside as fast as she could manage without tumbling herself. His dog ran down the hill close to her.
       When she finally reached the man, she did not think he was too badly hurt. He had managed to push himself up off the ground and was walking toward her---well, stumbling was more like it. She could see he was young but looked somewhat older than she---probably late twenties. He was athletically built with broad shoulders and a tall stance---taller than her five foot nine inches. His reddish-brown hair had streaks of light-blond, undoubtedly bleached from being out in the sun.
      She yelled, "Are you okay?"​
      Oh! No! She could see rivulets of blood starting to cover what looked to be a handsome face. As he came closer to her, her body shivered not only from the cold wet weather but also from something radiating from him---an irresistible attraction. What an amazing reaction to seeing his face for the first time and he being injured! She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of these feelings. Men were her friends---her colleagues---and she kept them all at a safe distant. Her heart had been broken several times and was still mending.
      "I think I broke my arm!" he bellowed as he collapsed onto his back, wincing and holding his right arm that she could now see was at an odd angle. He was hurt more than she had assumed---especially when she saw the amount of blood on his tan-colored polo shirt and the gash on his bloodied forehead. Hopefully, his jeans prevented cuts on his legs, but he probably had substantial bruising from the fall. His black dog wandered around him whining.
      As she approached him, the dog sat back on his hind legs an wagged his tail. Relief flooded over her as the dog looked anything but vicious. "Okay, dog. I'm friend. I'm here to help your master---he's hurt," Hannah said louder than normal, hoping the dog wouldn't lash out at her. The dog whimpered and stood as a sentinel over him
      The man's dark-brown eyes, filled with pain, flickered open. "Jack, Jack---this lady is going to help us. Be nice . . ." He was barely able to get the words out before his eyelids closed and his head fell back. 
      Please, no! He appeared to be unconscious. She bent down close to his head. "Hello? Can you hear me?"