Sunday, July 21, 2013

Book lovers, you're in luck! July 22-26 is the Blogger Book Fair. #BBF


Love books?  Let's party!  

The Blogger Book Fair features dozens of authors and terrific books in nearly every genre.

Check out my author blog where I'm featuring five authors this week--and I'll be hosted on their blogs, too!  Free books every day this week.

Ah, those Cowboys!

Also, don't forget the
Western Roundup Giveaway Hop.  
You could win the entire Hearts of Owyhee  series!  Just leave a comment on my
Awesome good scenery, there, too, if you get what I mean. :)

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Free books! Western Roundup Giveaway Hop #westernroundup

Western Roundup
Giveaway Hop!

Stunning

romantic novels 
of the 
Old West

Including my series
Lots of books will be given away.  Check the Linky below for even more!  And visit Romancing The West again for more offers on even-numbered days, plus one commenter will win the entire series at the end of the blog hop.

Ah, Those Cowboys
What is it about the rough and tumble men of the Old West that inspires a bad case of twitterpation amongst the ladies?

That Voice
Sam Elliot
It doesn't matter what role Sam Elliot plays, as soon as he opens his mouth and growls those baritone words, we ladies are goners.  His voice is like pouring hot fudge on ice cream.  

The Scenery
Clint Walker
The scenery isn't all that bad, either.  Real men with actual testosterone.  Okay, I admit that Clint Walker was my first love.  I was four years old, and to this day, I haven't seen any man in the movies or real life that can hold a candle to him in the scenery department.  He could sing well, too, and recorded several albums.  When I met him, he looked even better, if that's possible, up close!  Be still my four-year-old heart.

Mystery
Clint Eastwood
Man With No Name
Oh, yes, the man with dubious morals but whatever mysterious code that is, he sticks to it.  He's hardnosed and doesn't say much, but we don't mind!

More, More, More!
The Western Roundup Giveaway Hop lasts until July 31.
Check RTW often for more chances to win Free Books.

Yes, there are Prizes!
Check back on each even-numbered day for more prizes!  Today, I'm giving away a Kindle copy of:

Much Ado About Marshals
by Jacquie Rogers
Hearts of Owyhee 
Kindle | Print

5 stars from LKGlover: Need a break? This is a FUN book (seriously--when's the last time you read a laugh-out-loud book?)! Turn off the iphone, kick off yer boots (or Jimmy Choos) and let Jacquie Rogers provide that mini-vacation you KNOW you need!

Daisy Gardner wants to be a detective, just like her dime novel heroine, Honey Beaulieu. She does not want to be a farm wife, but that’s what her parents want. So what better solution to her dilemma than to marry the new marshal?

Cole Richards is honest, forthright, and stuck in a situation where he must lie and deceive or he and Bosco might end up as honored guests at a necktie party. That’s why he plays along with being the town marshal. He didn’t count going toe to toe with a lady detective who has marriage on her mind.

5 stars from romantchick: Nancy Drew meets William Shakespeare ...hilarious characters, memorable colloquialisms, a clever, engaging plot and fine writing. All of which recommends Roger's Much Ado About Marshals as everything to do about a charming, well-written romp.

Enter to Win
All you have to do is tell me who was your first cowboy crush.  C'mon, I told you mine! :)  Be sure to include your email address with your comment.  All drawings will be held on July 31.  All who leave comments any time during the Western Roundup Giveaway Hop will be entered to win the grand prize... all three books in the  Hearts of Owyhee  series!

Be sure to visit all the blogs in the event!


Sunday, July 7, 2013

James J. Griffin: New Beginnings (Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie) #western


New Beginnings
by James J. Griffin
A short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek: Book 6


This week Romancing The West features the July 2 release, Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie. It's an anthology of seven short stories, all featuring characters in or connected to the Wolf Creek series, and offering  in-depth understanding of your favorite Wolf Creek residents.  There'll be giveaways on each post, so please check back each day.

  • Monday: Troy Smith discusses his character, Marshal Sam Gardner, and his role in Wolf Creek.
  • Tuesday: In Drag Rider, Chuck Tyrell has some fun with Billy Below--how'd this character get his name?
  • Wednesday: Clay More tells us about doctoring in the Old West and in his story, The Oath, how Wolf Creek's Dr. Logan Munro deals with the conflicts his oath.
  • Thursday: Cheryl Pierson's story, It Takes a Man, gives us an in-depth look at Derrick McCain.
  • Friday: Jerry Guin tells us how his character, Quint Croy deals with his new job as a lawman, and how Asa Pepper ended up owning a bar in the rough part of Wolf Creek, called Dogleg City in Asa Pepper's Place.
  • Saturday: Jacquie Rogers penned a guest appearance by a special guest in her story, Muleskinners: Judge Not, that runs concurrent with Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail.
  • Sunday: In New Beginnings, James J. Griffin gives us insight into the past of the town's blacksmith, and how a surprise changes his life.

If you're not familiar with the Wolf Creek series, you're missing out! Written under the house name Ford Fargo (the house name for Western Fictioneers), each book is the collaboration of some of the best western writers in the business, steered by Troy Smith, who also writes two WC characters. Links to all the Wolf Creek books are at the end of this article, just above the contest announcement.  For more information on the story world, visit Wolf Creek, Kansas.

James J. Griffin
courtesy of Pat Johnson
RTW: Everyone in Wolf Creek has a secret, and Bill Torrance's secret was uncovered early on--he's really Ben Torrance. And a fascinating character he is! Today, we're treated to an interview with his creator, James J. Griffin. Tell us a little about yourself, please.

JG: I've been fascinated by the West, particularly the Texas Rangers, since I was a kid. I've traveled all over the western United States and Canada. My Texas Ranger novels are traditional westerns, and most are suitable for almost all ages. My extensive collection of Texas Ranger artifacts is now in the permanent collections of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco.

Add caption
I've also been a lifelong horseman, and love nothing better than to climb in the saddle and spend hours out in the woods, just me and my horse.

While I love the West. I love my native New England, especially my adopted home state of New Hampshire, even more. Currently, I divide my time between Branford, Connecticut and Keene, New Hampshire.

RTW: We'd sure like to hear about your story.

JG: In New Beginnings, we learn much more about Ben Tolliver's background. There is much about Ben which he has not revealed, and an unexpected encounter with Edith Pettigrew, the widowed town busybody, will have unintended consequences and place Ben and Edith in extreme danger.

That's not the biggest surprise Ben will receive, however. When he rides back into Wolf Creek, there is an attorney waiting for him. An attorney who has a package which will change Ben's life forever.

RTW: What prompted you to write Westerns? What keeps you writing them?

JG: James Reasoner got me started. He asked me a few questions about horses for his Civil War Battle series, and wrote me into two of those books as a Texas Ranger. He kept encouraging me to try my hand at writing a western novel. Since I've always loved the West, and have enough knowledge about the Texas Rangers to be qualified as an amateur historian of the organization, it was only natural that I would write Texas Ranger novels.
Courtesy of Susanne Hall

As far as what keeps me writing westerns, it sure isn't the money. Although I do make some. I still have my day jobs. So I write for the love of the genre, and hope that in some small way I'm helping to keep it alive.

RTW: If you lived in 1871 Wolf Creek, Kansas, what would your job be and how well would you get along with your character, Ben Tolliver.

JG: I'd either be a deputy sheriff, a partner with Ben in his livery stable, or a horse breeder. I'd definitely be best friends with Ben, because of his love for horses. That part of the character is pretty much autobiographical. In Book One, Ben is more upset about the horses which get killed than the humans. If I were living through that attack in Wolf Creek, I'd feel the exact same way as Ben

RTW: What surprised you the most about Ben Tolliver? Are there more surprises coming in future Wolf Creek books?

JG: Can't say much without spoiling upcoming volumes, but what happens between Ben and Edith I never really saw coming, even as I was writing it. And boy, is there ever a surprise in Volume 8. Also a couple in Volume 9.

RTW: What would give Ben the ultimate happiness?

JG: Being able to live in peace with his horses and (can't say, will give too much away. Buy the books).

RTW: Please set up your excerpt for us.

JG: This is a bit of what we learn about Ben.

Excerpt from
New Beginnings
by James J. Griffin
a short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek, Book 6

Sure wish G.W. would stop pesterin' me about becomin' a deputy, he thought. Of course, he's right about a couple of things. I'm good when it comes to bein' a lawman, and I love the work. But it's cost me too much, and I'm not talkin' about the bullets I've taken. The law cost me Madelaine, then Pete. It's not gonna take anyone else from me.

A tear trickled down Ben's cheek. Madelaine, the woman he'd loved more than life itself, even more than Cholla. Madelaine, the fiery Scots-Irish-French woman he'd first met in San Antonio. Madelaine, with the emerald green eyes and blazing red hair, who had loved him with a passion as intense as that flaming hair, a love which he had returned with just as much passion. Madelaine, who had indeed seen him naked and swimming Cholla bareback across a lake, and who, when they returned, ripped off her own clothes and jumped up behind Ben, joining him as Cholla plunged back into the lake, her arms around Ben's waist and her full breasts pushed up against his back, clinging to him atop the powerfully swimming horse. Madelaine, who loved him without question... until he remained out on a Ranger patrol just a few days too long, and returned to find her gone.

Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie
Available in print, or ebook at
and soon at other online stores

RTW: Whew!  Now we'll all have to take cold showers. (fans self) Tell us about your other current releases.

JG: Right now I am writing a series of ten short stories for High Noon Press. They are under the title A Ranger Named Rowdy, A Texas Ranger Tim Bannon story. These are ebooks, available for Kindle, Nook, and so forth, and are also available as audio books. The first three books have been released, and the audio book of the first story is now available.

In August or September, The Ranger, my contribution to the West of the Big River Series, will be released by Western Fictioneers.

I've also got chapters in Volumes 8 and 9 of the Wolf Creek series, and have plans to do at least one more each of the Texas Ranger Jim Blawcyzk, Cody Halicek, and Sean Kennedy books.

RTW: Anything else you’d like to add?

JG: I want to say what a great experience it has been working with all the other contributors to the Wolf Creek series.

Contest!

I'll take the names of everyone who goes to my website email within three days of the posting of this article and leave me a message they would like to win one of my books. I'll choose one name at random to win a copy of my Jim Blawcyzk Texas Ranger novel Ranger's Revenge.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Jacquie Rogers: Muleskinners-Judge Not (Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie) #western @JacquieRogers


Muleskinners: Judge Not
by Jacquie Rogers
A short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek: Book 6

This week Romancing The West features the July 2 release, Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie. It's an anthology of seven short stories, all featuring characters in or connected to the Wolf Creek series, and offering  in-depth understanding of your favorite Wolf Creek residents.  There'll be giveaways on each post, so please check back each day.

  • Monday: Troy Smith discusses his character, Marshal Sam Gardner, and his role in Wolf Creek.
  • Tuesday: In Drag Rider, Chuck Tyrell has some fun with Billy Below--how'd this character get his name?
  • Wednesday: Clay More tells us about doctoring in the Old West and in his story, The Oath, how Wolf Creek's Dr. Logan Munro deals with the conflicts his oath.
  • Thursday: Cheryl Pierson's story, It Takes a Man, gives us an in-depth look at Derrick McCain.
  • Friday: Jerry Guin tells us how his character, Quint Croy deals with his new job as a lawman, and how Asa Pepper ended up owning a bar in the rough part of Wolf Creek, called Dogleg City in Asa Pepper's Place.
  • Saturday: Jacquie Rogers penned a guest appearance by a special character in her story, Muleskinners: Judge Not, that runs concurrent with Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail.
  • Sunday: In New Beginnings, James J. Griffin gives us insight into the past of the town's blacksmith, and how a surprise changes his life.

If you're not familiar with the Wolf Creek series, you're missing out! Written under the house name Ford Fargo (the house name for Western Fictioneers), each book is the collaboration of some of the best western writers in the business, steered by Troy Smith, who also writes two WC characters. Links to all the Wolf Creek books are at the end of this article, just above the contest announcement.  For more information on the story world, visit Wolf Creek, Kansas.

RTW: Actually, I am Jacquie Rogers so this interview will be of myself. That’s not hard for a writer because we talk to people in our heads anyway. If we didn’t write, we’d have to take medication for it. So in this section, I ask myself for a brief bio. Here goes.

Jacquie Rogers
JR: Maybe I should make up something interesting, but might as well stick to the straight and narrow. I come from a dairy farm in Owyhee County, Idaho, and the majority of my stories are set around there. I had to do a lot of real work before I realized I could fake people out by writing books. Let’s see, need someone to milk your cows? Well, I know how, but call someone else. Same with programming your computer or running your political campaign. Actually, same with cleaning house, too, but so far no one has volunteered to do that for me.

I’m the author of the western historical romance Hearts of Owyhee series: Much Ado about Marshals, Much Ado about Madams, and Much Ado about Mavericks. I’ve also written a contemporary western romance, Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues, and a fantasy romance, Faery Special Romances, and other works. My story in Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie,  Muleskinners: Judge Not, is my first foray into traditional westerns, although I’ve read westerns all my life. I loved writing this story and it will serve as a launching pad for a new series next year.

RTW: Give us a blurb for Muleskinners: Judge Not.

JR: Elsie Parry and her father are headed to California, when their wagon is attacked by vicious outlaws, who happen to be biding time until they make a second assault on what’s left of Wolf Creek. This story takes place concurrently with Wolf Creek, Book 1: Bloody Trail.

RTW: What prompted you to write Westerns? What keeps you writing them?

JR: I write western historical romances and have wanted to write a traditional western for a long time, but just never did. What prompted me to write westerns in the first place? Originally, laziness. Since I grew up in an area not that far removed in culture and deed from the real Old West, I thought I could get away with very little research. Not so, because we did have electricity, cars, and telephones, and it’s amazing how much those three things change the world. The real answer to the question, though, is because my thought process lends itself to westerns better than any other genre, which is also probably why I love reading them so much.

RTW: It’s 1871 and you live in Wolf Creek, Kansas, what’s your job and how well would you get along with your character, Elsie Parry.

JR: My job? I’d probably be a dairy farmer if I had hired help, or a hunter if I didn’t. There are quite a few jobs I could do, and Kansas winters are cold, so maybe I’d take a job as a bookkeeper or some job where I could sit by the pot belly stove. I wouldn’t have to get along with Elsie because she doesn’t live there, but I think we’d be friends. She cracked me up a few times.

RTW: What surprised you the most about Elsie? Are there more surprises coming in future Wolf Creek books?

JR: When I started writing her story, she was as stubborn as her mules, so I was a little surprised at her flexibility, and also by her mysterious interpretation of judgment.  She's not in the Wolf Creek cast so you won't find her in future books, but she'll be in The Muleskinner series, released in 2014.

RTW: What would give Elsie the ultimate happiness?

JR: She wants to be settled in a place near the Pacific Ocean where her mules are happy. They were her only company for the last year of the Civil War and she’s very attached to them. She doesn’t think about marriage or children, since she’s twenty-three and hasn’t had a chance to learn women’s work; e.g., she wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to go about keeping a house or making a quilt. A stable, on the other hand, she understands.

Excerpt from
Muleskinners: Judge Not
by Jacquie Rogers
a short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek, Book 6

My pa wanted to see the Pacific Ocean. He’d flapped his lips all the way from Missouri to the middle of Kansas and I reckoned by the time we did get to the ocean, I’d be ready to dunk him in it.

“One of the mules is lagging.”

“Hermes,” I hollered. “Quit sniffing that bush and get over here.” Sure, my mules were coddled, but they’d been my only company for a year during the war, and the six years since, my best friends. “You know you’re supposed to stay by the wagon.”

The mule sent me a guilty look and trotted to his spot by the rear wheel with the other three. I have eight mules, but a harness for only four, so four mules pulled half a day, then I traded them out.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to tie the spare mules to the wagon, Elsie?” My father, Obadiah Parry, had lost his wife, son, home, and thought he’d lost me and the mules in the war, but he’d run into me a few years back.

Believe me, the moment I saw that man was the happiest day of my life. His brown hair had grayed and he’d hunched over and slowed down considerable, but his blue eyes still had that sparkle—the one that let you know there very well could be a frog in the sugar bowl, so watch out. I wouldn’t call him a moocher, but he did let me do the working while he did the talking.

“Maybe, but I ain’t tying them up. They know their jobs.” Unlike Pa, who was more of a dreamer than a doer. The one dream he had that worked out was when he decided to start a draft mule business with a mammoth jack he’d won in a card game. He talked the local farmers who had quality draft horse mares into giving him one foal for every two breedings. The result was more than a dozen draft mule foals the next year, but then the war broke out.

Now his dream was to go to California. I had eight of the mules, the wagon, nowhere else to go, and I was happy to make up for lost time with my pa. He had the gift of gab and a hefty dollop of charm, which got me more than one well paying freight job. We had a light load this time, though—supplies for the trip west. But we had to take a detour to Wolf Creek to pick up a wagon he’d won playing euchre last week.

Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie
Available in print, or ebook at
and soon at other online stores

RTW: Tell us about your other current releases.

JR: I just released a short story, a time-travel-to-the-future romance, called Single Girls Can’t Jump. It’s a fun, fast read. Then there are the Hearts of Owyhee books. Much Ado About Marshals won the 2012 RttA Award for Best Western Historical Romance, and all three novels have earned a quite a few five-star reviews. My books are fast-paced and a bit on the whimsical side. I figure we have enough stress in our lives without making even more stress for entertainment.

Later this year, Mélange Publishing will release the fourth book in the series, Much Ado About Miners. I also have several other novella and short story series in the works. Plus, I am hoping my Wolf Creek story about dairy farmer Gib Norwood will be included in the Christmas anthology.

RTW: Anything else you’d like to add?

JR: I’ve loved all the Wolf Creek books and I can’t say how happy I am to have my story included in the Hell on the Prairie anthology. I’d like to thank the Western Fictioneers and the editor-mastermind-ramrod of the Wolf Creek series, Troy Smith.

Wolf Creek, Book 1: Bloody Trail
Wolf Creek, Book 2: Kiowa's Vengeance
Wolf Creek, Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City
Wolf Creek, Book 4: The Taylor County War
Wolf Creek, Book 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop
Wolf Creek, Book 6: Hell on the Prairie

Contest!
One commenter will win two Kindle books.


Wolf Creek, Book 6:
and



Winner will be drawn July 7, 9pm Pacific Time.  
Be sure to include your email address in your comment.

Be sure to read the interviews and excerpts all this week.  You can still enter to win books--just leave a comment each day!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Jerry Guin: Asa Pepper's Place (Wolf Creek 6:Hell on the Prairie) #western


Asa Pepper's Place
by Jerry Guin
A short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek: Book 6


This week Romancing The West features the July 2 release, Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie. It's an anthology of seven short stories, all featuring characters in or connected to the Wolf Creek series, and offering  in-depth understanding of your favorite Wolf Creek residents.  There'll be giveaways on each post, so please check back each day.

  • Monday: Troy Smith discusses his character, Marshal Sam Gardner, and his role in Wolf Creek.
  • Tuesday: In Drag Rider, Chuck Tyrell has some fun with Billy Below--how'd this character get his name?
  • Wednesday: Clay More tells us about doctoring in the Old West and in his story, The Oath, how Wolf Creek's Dr. Logan Munro deals with the conflicts his oath.
  • Thursday: Cheryl Pierson's story, It Takes a Man, gives us an in-depth look at Derrick McCain.
  • Friday: Jerry Guin tells us how his character, Quint Croy deals with his new job as a lawman, and how Asa Pepper ended up owning a bar in the rough part of Wolf Creek, called Dogleg City in Asa Pepper's Place.
  • Saturday: Jacquie Rogers penned a guest appearance by a special character in her story, Muleskinners: Judge Not, that runs concurrent with Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail.
  • Sunday: In New Beginnings, James J. Griffin gives us insight into the past of the town's blacksmith, and how a surprise changes his life.

If you're not familiar with the Wolf Creek series, you're missing out! Written under the house name Ford Fargo (the house name for Western Fictioneers), each book is the collaboration of some of the best western writers in the business, steered by Troy Smith, who also writes two characters: Marshal Sam Gardner and Charley Blackfeather. Links to all the Wolf Creek books are at the end of this article, just above the contest announcement.  For more information on the story world, visit Wolf Creek, Kansas.

RTW: Jerry Guin wrote the fifth story in Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie  showcasing his character, Quint Croy, in Asa Pepper's Place. Welcome, Jerry! First, we'd like to know a little about you.

JG: I wrote my first western story, “Caught Red Handed,” for Western Digest in 1995 with six other stories to follow, all of which are included in the short story collection “Trail Dust,” 2007.

I am a member of Western Writers of America and the Western Fictioneers. I have stories in the anthologies, White Hats, The Traditional West, Six-guns and Slay Bells, Award Winning Tales, Outlaws and Lawmen, and Wolf Creek, Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City.

My first western novel was “Drover’s Vendetta,” 2011.

RTW: Tell us about your story, Asa Pepper’s Place.

JG: Deputy Quint Croy hears threats from outside Asa’s Place. He enters only to be shot, then in turn shoots the shooter. Quint then prevents Asa Pepper from killing Watson Brown.

Upon grilling Asa, Quint learns, Watson (Watty) Brown, had years earlier killed an innocent man in Texas while he and his partner, Burl Stimson, were drunkenly attempting to rape Asa’s wife Ruby. Stimson was killed in the assault. Watty Brown and Asa recognized each other; each intent on revenge; Brown sought vengeance for Burl Stimson’s death and Asa wanted Watty to answer for the attempted rape and the murder.

Asa relates how he became a business owner in Wolf Creek and is now fearful that Marshal Gardner will close him down.

Quint tells what the future holds for Asa’s Place.

RTW: What prompted you to write Westerns? What keeps you writing them?

JG: When I was in my teens I enjoyed reading Zane Grey’s westerns. It wasn’t until later in life that I began reading others such as Louis L’amour and Max Brand. What better to write about than something you like? I love the genre. I feel at ease putting my stories together because there is nothing to compare them to. I hope my voice is distinctive as I know others would tell the same tale a little differently.

I keep writing because I enjoy it. I get a feeling of accomplishment each time one of my stories is published. If I had a goal, it would be simply to have a story that is remembered as a good one.

RTW: If you lived in 1871 at Wolf Creek, Kansas, what would your job be and how well would you get along with your character, Quint Croy?

JG: I would most likely be the town’s lumber supplier. There isn’t much timber around Wolf Creek so it has to be brought in. I would freight the lumber in and get to know Quint on a friendly basis. I believe we would get along fine as we would be close to the same age and we both came from somewhere in Texas.

RTW: What surprised you the most about Quint Croy? Are there more surprises coming in future Wolf Creek books?

JG: Despite the rough life he’s endured as a cowboy and now becoming a sincere deputy marshal that quells violence daily, Quint is able to maintain his easy going nature. He is tough but also thoughtful.

I intend to make sure there is a surprise of some sort in each episode with Quint.

RTW: What would give Quint Croy the ultimate happiness?

JG: At some point he needs to meet up with the gun man that killed his friend, in Abilene, before Quint came to Wolf Creek broke and looking for a job.

RTW: Quint Croy is an interesting character and I look forward to reading more of his adventures.  Give us an intro to an excerpt from Asa Pepper’s Place.

JG: Quint has just shot a man and kept Asa from killing another and he wants some answers.  This is an excerpt from page 97.

Excerpt from
Asa Pepper's Place
by Jerry Guin
a short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek Book 6

Asa shrugged his shoulder. “It’s like I said, he’s crazy drunk.”

“Do you know him?” Quint asked.

Asa stood. He was still breathing hard. He looked around. “He came in while I was clearing one of the tables. He would of never got ahold of me if I was behind the bar. I got an axe handle and a loaded shotgun back there.”

“I asked if you know him,” Quint said. “I want to know why he attacked you.”

Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie
Available in print, or ebook at
and soon at other online stores

All Wolf Creek buy links 

Wolf Creek, Book 1: Bloody Trail
Wolf Creek, Book 2: Kiowa's Vengeance
Wolf Creek, Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City
Wolf Creek, Book 4: The Taylor County War
Wolf Creek, Book 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop
Wolf Creek, Book 6: Hell on the Prairie

RTW: Tell us about your other current releases.

JG: “Who Shot Billy Dean,” is my story in the anthology Dead or Alive from La Frontera was released June 15.

My short story, Justified is an eBook from High Noon Press and was published in April.

Charlie’s Money, an eBook novella from High Noon Press was released earlier this week.

My novel, Drover’s Bounty, a Black Horse Western from Robert Hale is to be released on August 30.

RTW: Anything else you’d like to add?

Oh, I’ll produce some more short stories and hopefully a novel or so. I’m currently working on a novel about a bounty hunter around 1872.

Thanks to Jerry for visiting RTW today.

Be sure to check back for more interviews with other Wolf Creek authors.
You can enter to win books all this week!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Cheryl Pierson: It Takes a Man (Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie) #western #newrelease


It Takes a Man
by Cheryl Pierson
A short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek: Book 6


This week Romancing The West features the July 2 release, Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie. It's an anthology of seven short stories, all featuring characters in or connected to the Wolf Creek series, and offering  in-depth understanding of your favorite Wolf Creek residents.  There'll be giveaways on each post, so please check back each day.

  • Monday: Troy Smith discusses his character, Marshal Sam Gardner, and his role in Wolf Creek.
  • Tuesday: In Drag Rider, Chuck Tyrell has some fun with Billy Below--how'd this character get his name?
  • Wednesday: Clay More tells us about doctoring in the Old West and in his story, The Oath, how Wolf Creek's Dr. Logan Munro deals with the conflicts his oath.
  • Thursday: Cheryl Pierson's story, It Takes a Man, gives us an in-depth look at Derrick McCain.
  • Friday: Jerry Guin tells us how his character, Quint Croy deals with his new job as a lawman, and how Asa Pepper ended up owning a bar in the rough part of Wolf Creek, called Dogleg City in Asa Pepper's Place.
  • Saturday: Jacquie Rogers penned a guest appearance by Elsie Parry in her story, Muleskinners: Judge Not, that runs concurrent with Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail.
  • Sunday: In New Beginnings, James J. Griffin gives us insight into the past of the town's blacksmith, and how a surprise changes his life.

If you're not familiar with the Wolf Creek series, you're missing out! Written under the house name Ford Fargo (the house name for Western Fictioneers), each book is the collaboration of some of the best western writers in the business, steered by Troy Smith, who also writes two WC characters. Links to all the Wolf Creek books are at the end of this article, just above the contest announcement.  For more information on the story world, visit Wolf Creek, Kansas.

Cheryl Pierson
RTW: Today's guest is Cheryl Pierson, the author of the fourth story in Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie.  Cheryl, please tell us a little about your background.

CP: A native Oklahoman, I live in Oklahoma City and write historical westerns and western romance. My Wolf Creek character, Derrick McCain, who is featured in It Takes a Man, is also included in Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail, and Wolf Creek 5: Showdown at Demon’s Drop. Look for more about Derrick and his half-brother, Carson Ridge, in the exciting Wolf Creek Christmas anthology coming this fall, and thanks for dropping in on the citizens of Wolf Creek!

My short story, The Keepers of Camelot, included in the Western Fictioneers’ Christmas anthology Six Guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas, was nominated for the 2013 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award in the short story category. I also have a new release, Kane's Chance, that will appeal to all ages. It’s a coming-of-age story of a young boy in the old west, a novel you won’t want to miss.  My newest western historical romance, Gabriel's Law, is also now available.

Right now, my website is under construction, but you can click on my Amazon Author Page for a listing of all my work.

RTW: Your character has been through quite a lot already in the Wolf Creek series.  Tell us what's going on with him in It Takes a Man.

CP: Derrick McCain and his mother, Fiona, have been sent for by Collin Ridge, a prominent Cherokee statesman who is very ill. As Derrick unravels the mystery of his past relationship with Ridge, he is introduced to a beautiful young Cherokee woman, Leah Martin. Leah has some secrets of her own; secrets so humiliating that she is willing to do anything to quiet them. When her father arrives with a sadistic man he intends to marry her off to, Derrick steps in to protect her. In doing so, he must make a decision of his own--one he will have to live with for a lifetime. It takes a man to stand by his commitments. Will Derrick be able to live up to the choices he makes?

RTW: What prompted you to write Westerns? What keeps you writing them?

CP: Growing up here in Oklahoma, I've been steeped in all things western from the time I could remember. My parents weren't rodeo people, but I always loved westerns on television and when I checked out books from the library I gravitated toward cowboy and Indian books. I had a set of plastic cowboys, Indians, fencing, and animals that I played with by the hour, and yes, I had my six-shooter cap pistols and my Annie Oakley costume!

I started out writing western historical romance, and I still do write that genre, but now I also write westerns with paranormal westerns sprinkled in here and there. After being told once again by an agent recently that "no one reads westerns anymore," I'm even more determined to keep writing the best darn westerns and western romances that I can to prove him wrong. I guess one thing that keeps me writing westerns is just being told something silly like that. I know too many people who love westerns and western romances to ever believe that. The west will never die. Didn't John Wayne say that? LOL

RTW: If you lived in 1871 and lived in Wolf Creek, Kansas, what would your job be and how well would you get along with your character, Derrick McCain.

CP: Good question There weren't a lot of opportunities for women, so I might have been a school teacher, or maybe a waitress. I'm sure with Derrick being a single, good looking guy I would get along quite well with him. Maybe I'd have been Doc Munro's assistant--that way, I'd have seen quite a lot of Mr. Derrick McCain!

RTW: What surprised you the most about Derrick? Are there more surprises coming in future Wolf Creek books?

CP: What surprised me the most about Derrick has been his growth through this series as a person, and finding out about who he really is. He's learned that his father wasn't who he always thought he was. He's also learned that his childhood best friend was actually his half-brother. He's still learning to deal with all this along with the resentment toward his mother for keeping it from him.

Yes, there are more surprises to come in future Wolf Creek books. We aren't nearly done with Derrick yet, and he does have that half-brother, Carson Ridge, along with some other bends in the road ahead of him. Maybe some of them will be more pleasant than what has happened to him in the past.

RTW: What would give Derrick the ultimate happiness?


CP: I think what would give Derrick McCain the ultimate happiness would be to find his place in the world. He's never really felt as though he fit in, but he didn't know why. Now that he realizes the truth of his parentage, he needs to settle that within himself. He's always been alone. I think he's about to find his ultimate happiness right around the corner. 


RTW: And now we're ready to read a little of his story.  Please set up your excerpt. 

CP: Derrick McCain has just returned from his father's house to spend the night with his friend, Austen, and his wife, Josie. He catches a glimpse of Josie's beautiful cousin, Leah, heading for the river. Now that Derrick knows about what happened recently to Leah, he is filled with dread at what she might have in mind. He follows her to be certain he can protect her, should she decide to try to take her life.

Excerpt from
It Takes a Man
by Cheryl Pierson
a short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek, Book 6


As Leah neared the outcropping of stone, her steps slowed.

Derrick stopped, waiting to see what she would do. She walked out onto the rock shelf and stood staring down into the rushing water.

As she turned, her body was outlined in the moonlight, and Derrick could clearly see what she’d hidden well at the dinner table beneath her shawl.

She was pregnant.

She watched the churning current, mesmerized for a moment, and Derrick read her thoughts. Desperation was written across her lovely features. She was about to do the unthinkable. The beautiful fire in her eyes guttering out forever seared him to think of –much less have on his conscience. He stepped out from the shadows, coming toward her at a leisurely pace.

Now, he understood the turn of the dinner conversation. Had he known her circumstances, perhaps he’d have been more circumspect in his comments.

Leah glanced up as he came closer. “What are you doing here, Mr. McCain?” She lifted her head, and Derrick could see the way she tried to push the dread of what she was about to do out of her expression. Her voice was low and almost sultry, with a forced hint of disdain.

Derrick smiled. “Carson and I used to play down here every chance we got.” He stepped up onto the outcropping of rock, and Leah moved away a step, just out of his reach.

He looked around, judging which way she’d jump, if she still was determined. The look in her eyes said she was.

“Current’s vicious tonight,” Derrick said, nodding at the water below. “Drowning wouldn’t be the way I’d choose to go. I thought you were stronger than this.”

Leah gave him a long stare. “You’ve never been in my situation, Mr. McCain, and you never will be. Sometimes, there’s …simply no choice.”

Derrick lowered himself to sit on the rock, his feet hanging over the edge well above the rushing water. “I understand about having no choice, Leah. Don’t ever think otherwise. Like I said earlier, there’s no fighting a war without doing some things you have no say in. I never set out thinking of myself as –a murderer –but, I’ve killed.”

“That’s different. If you hadn’t, your enemy would have slain you. War is ‘kill or be killed.’”

“You’re letting him take your life from beyond the grave.” His voice was low, his gaze intent upon her. He put a hand up to her, looking at her with expectation, until finally, she took it and sat beside him on the rock.

“Who?” She stared straight ahead, into the moon-dappled darkness.

“Clark Davis,” Derrick said quietly. “The man who raped you.”

She whirled quickly to face him, but the anger was only a cover for the painful humiliation. “I should slap your face for daring to –”

“To speak the truth?” Derrick asked softly. “I’m done with secrets. I’ve had enough of them to last me a lifetime.”


Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie
Available in print, or ebook at
and soon at other online stores

RTW: Tell us about your other current releases.

CP: Wolf Creek, Book 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop was released at the beginning of June, and I'm thrilled with it, since the plot revolves around the kidnapping of my character Derrick's sister, Kathleen. This collaborative effort is flawless and moves along at a fast clip, filled with action and suspense. It's available in ebook in all the major online stores or print.

Kane's Chance, my first venture into the Young Adult genre, was also released this month through Western Trail Blazer. It's a coming-of-age story of a young boy, Will Green, who is kidnapped by the Apaches after seeing his family murdered. Believing he will be killed as well, he's shocked when a man he doesn't know walks right into the Indian camp and rescues him. The story follows Will from the time he's ten through thirteen. This is a great story for old and young alike, and you can get it in print and in the Kindle version.

My hot-off-the-press western historical romance novel, Gabriel's Law, is now available through Western Trail Blazer. Here's the short blurb for it:

When hired gunman Brandon Gabriel is double-crossed, it seems that his luck has run out. But Gabriel has more than luck; he has Allison Taylor, a lost angel from his troubled past who shows up and turns the tables.When Allie and her ranch are threatened by an old enemy, long-buried secrets come to light and the stakes have never been higher. Can Brandon and Allie confront the past, face down their demons, and forge their dreams into a future?

RTW: You've listed lots of great reading for us! And here are all the Wolf Creek books:

Wolf Creek, Book 1: Bloody Trail
Wolf Creek, Book 2: Kiowa's Vengeance
Wolf Creek, Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City
Wolf Creek, Book 4: The Taylor County War
Wolf Creek, Book 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop
Wolf Creek, Book 6: Hell on the Prairie

Contest!
Today, I'm giving away a signed copy of the first Wolf Creek book, where it all began! Bloody Trail was the very first story of the Wolf Creek series, featuring Troy Smith, Clay More, L.J. Martin, James Griffin, James Reasoner and me. I can't tell you how happy I am to have been included with these other fine authors and how proud we all are of the Wolf Creek series. Just leave a comment along with your contact info to be entered in the drawing for Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail!

Drawing will be held July 6 at 9pm Pacific Time.

Thanks to Cheryl for visiting RTW today.

Be sure to check back for more interviews with other Wolf Creek authors.
You can enter to win books all this week!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Clay More: The Oath (Wolf Creek 6, Hell on the Prairie) #western @KeithSouter


The Oath
by Clay More
A short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek: Book 6


This week Romancing The West features the July 2 release, Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie. It's an anthology of seven short stories, all featuring characters in or connected to the Wolf Creek series, and offering  in-depth understanding of your favorite Wolf Creek residents.  There'll be giveaways on each post, so please check back each day.

  • Monday: Troy Smith discusses his character, Marshal Sam Gardner, and his role in Wolf Creek.
  • Tuesday: In Drag Rider, Chuck Tyrell has some fun with Billy Below--how'd this character get his name?
  • Wednesday: Clay More tells us about doctoring in the Old West and in his story, The Oath, how Wolf Creek's Dr. Logan Munro deals with the conflicts his oath.
  • Thursday: Cheryl Pierson's story, It Takes a Man, gives us an in-depth look at Derrick McCain.
  • Friday: Jerry Guin tells us how his character, Quint Croy deals with his new job as a lawman, and how Asa Pepper ended up owning a bar in the rough part of Wolf Creek, called Dogleg City in Asa Pepper's Place.
  • Saturday: Jacquie Rogers penned a guest appearance by a special guest in her story, Muleskinners: Judge Not, that runs concurrent with Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail.
  • Sunday: In New Beginnings, James J. Griffin gives us insight into the past of the town's blacksmith, and how a surprise changes his life.

If you're not familiar with the Wolf Creek series, you're missing out! Written under the house name Ford Fargo (the house name for Western Fictioneers), each book is the collaboration of some of the best western writers in the business, steered by Troy D. Smith, who also writes two characters. Links to all the Wolf Creek books are at the end of this article, just above the contest announcement.  For more information on the story world, visit Wolf Creek, Kansas.

Dr. Keith Souter
writing as Clay More
RTW: The third story in Hell on the Prairie is The Oath by Clay More (Dr. Keith Souter). This story involves some unexpected twists for Dr. Logan Munro. Today, RTW is featuring Dr. Munro's creator, Clay More. So to get us going, Clay, please tell us a little about yourself.

CM: Clay More is my western pen-name. My real name is Keith Souter and I live in England within arrowshot of the ruins of a medieval castle. I am a part time doctor, medical journalist and novelist working in four genres – westerns, crime, historical and YA. I also write short fiction, for which I have won prizes, including a 2006 Fish Award. A lifelong Agatha Christie fan, I try to include an element of mystery and at least one red herring in all of my stories.

Click to enlarge
RTW: And there's definitely a red herring in The Oath! Also, for some terrific Old West medical information you won't find anywhere else, check out Keith's monthly column, The Doctor's Bag, at the Western Fictioneers blog. But back to The Oath – give us an idea what this story is about.

CM: Logan Munro is the Wolf Creek town doctor. He is Scottish and has served as a surgeon in three wars on three continents, the last being the Civil War. He has certainly seen life, but he has a heavy heart, since he lost his soul mate during the Indian Mutiny. Now, the Hippocratic oath that he took when he qualified as a doctor back in Scotland is the guiding principle of his life. An unexpected shadow from his past soon tests everything that he holds dear, including life itself.

RTW: What prompted you to write Westerns? What keeps you writing them?

CM: Basically, I love the genre, having been brought up with it. You can tell that in my choice of pen-name, since Clay More is a homage to Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger (as well as being a Scottish sword).

I have always been fascinated by the history of medicine and as a doctor myself, I am a little in awe of the doctors who practiced on the frontiers, providing medical, surgical and obstetric services with rudimentary facilities, a handful of effective drugs and a completely pragmatic approach to medicine and surgery.

That is a long-winded way of saying that I wanted to get inside the mind of those Old West doctors, like the real-life Dr. George Goodfellow and the fictionalized Doc Galen Adams of Gunsmoke fame.

I keep writing in the genre because I find it intensely exciting to pitch stories back in time, in such a turbulent period of American history.

Not only that, but since joining Western Fictioneers and having the opportunity to work with some legendary names in the business, and contribute to the WF anthologies which are so ably published by Livia Washburn, and the Wolf Creek series pioneered by Troy D Smith, I feel very at home in and around Wolf Creek. I can honestly say that working on the Wolf Creek collaborative novels has been one of the most enjoyable times of my writing career.

RTW: If you lived in 1871 at Wolf Creek, Kansas, what would your job be and how well would you get along with your character, Doctor Logan Munro?

CM: I guess I might be another town doctor, although I am not sure if my surgical skills are up to those of Logan Munro. I wouldn’t mind being a dentist, or maybe even a foot doctor.

Of course, as a fellow Scot I am sure we would get on, pretty well. He was born in Dundee and I was born in St Andrews, which is just over the River Tay. You may have heard of St Andrews, the home of golf? I went to medical school in Dundee and he went to Edinburgh. Both of us play…

But that is enough for now.

19th Century Surgical Tools
RTW: What surprised you the most about Logan Munro? Are there more surprises coming in future Wolf Creek books?

CM: I am surprised at the streak of ruthlessness that he has at times. All doctors have to have self-belief. You can’t start an operation and then stop halfway through or start again, for example. But Logan can adopt a line of thought and he sticks to it, even if it might seem in conflict with his chosen profession. I find that a bit scary.

I am also surprised at how much hurt he still has inside him. Until he gets over that, then he probably cannot achieve true happiness.

Oh yes, there are more surprises ahead!

RTW: What would give Doctor Logan Munro the ultimate happiness?

CMTo get over his loss of Helen and find someone to share his life.

RTW: Please set up your excerpt for us.

CMDoctor Logan Munro has been up half the night treating a young patient. He is just contemplating having some breakfast when a patient, a veteran of the War calls on him. The man is an amputee and he is in agony and desperate for relief from the pain he is feeling in his phantom limb.

Excerpt from
The Oath
by Clay More
a short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek, Book 6

Barclay Patterson wiped some perspiration from his brow and gave a wan smile. ‘That’s a relief to know that I’m not mad.”

Logan crossed the room and picked up a magazine from a pile in the corner. ‘This is the latest issue of Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature and Science,” he explained as he thumbed through it and returned with it folded open at a page. “Curiously, here is an article by Dr Silas Mitchell of Philadelphia. He started up a ‘Stump Clinic’ back there the year after the War ended. He calls them ‘Phantom limbs.’”

Barclay Patterson ran his eye over the page then to Logan’s surprise tossed his head back and laughed. “So I’m not mad,” he said after he stopped laughing. ‘I’m just haunted. Haunted by my own godamned leg!”

Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie
Available in print, or ebook at
and soon at other online stores

RTW: Tell us about your other current releases.

CM: I have a couple of medical books coming out this month, one on Understanding and Dealing with Depression and one on Understanding and Dealing with Stroke. Then later in the fall I have a non-fiction book coming out with Skyhorse, called The Tea Cyclopedia. It is all about the drink, its history, its health benefits and some quirky science experiments you can try.

I also have a crime novel that comes out next week, written under my crime writer pen-name of Keith Moray. It is called Death in Transit and is the fifth in a series about Inspector Torquil McKinnon. It is set on the Outer Hebridean island of West Uist. It is a contemporary Scottish crime novel set during a transit of Venus. There is conflict among astronomers and astrologers and the Zodiac Killer is on the loose.

In the western field, I have just contributed to Wolf Creek 4: The Taylor County War. My story The Oath is due out in Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie, of course. Then later this year I have contributed to Wolf Creek 8: Night of the Assassins, and I am working on a story for the Christmas anthology.

My other main western project is my ebook series of short stories with High Noon Press – The Adventures of Doctor Marcus Quigley. He is a dentist, gambler and bounty hunter on a quest to avenge a murder committed some years ago. The trouble is he has only a few clues about the murderer. The series builds into a complete novel. The third in the series The Covered Trail comes out at the end of June.

RTW: You're definitely keeping yourself busy, especially since you're still doctoring.  Anything else you’d like to add?

CM: I am also halfway through a Clay More novel for Hale, entitled Dry Gulch Revenge. As soon as that is done, I will be writing a novel about Dr George Goodfellow, entitled The Doctor, for the Western Fictioneers West of the Big River series.

And I’ll be writing my next YA novel in the Adventures of Jack Moon series. They are about an Oliver Twist-like orphan set in misty, Victorian London.

RTW: Thanks for being with us today, Clay/Keith.  I loved your story, The Oath, and I'm sure others will love it, too.  Dr. Logan Munro is a fabulous character in the Wolf Creek series.

Readers, for more great stories featuring Clay More's character, Dr. Munro, try all the Wolf Creek books:

Wolf Creek, Book 1: Bloody Trail
Wolf Creek, Book 2: Kiowa's Vengeance
Wolf Creek, Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City
Wolf Creek, Book 4: The Taylor County War
Wolf Creek, Book 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop
Wolf Creek, Book 6: Hell on the Prairie

Contest!

Keith (Clay) will be giving away two books.  The winner of this competition will be chosen at random, from all those who leave a comment on the blog.
Wolf Creek, Book 6: 
and
by Keith Moray

Please just be patient, since these will be coming from England.  Drawing will be held July 6, 9pm Pacific Time.  Be sure to include your email address in your comment.

Thanks to Clay More 
(Keith Souter/KeithMoray) 
for visiting RTW today.

Be sure to check back for more interviews with other Wolf Creek authors.
You can enter to win books all this week!