A FUN CHAIN BLOG FROM JACQUIE ROGERS TO ME AND ON

Today’s post is part of a chain blog. No, nothing like a chain letter. Jacquie Rogers tagged me and today is my turn. She is the author of one of my favorite ever series, the Hearts of Owhee series--or as I call them, the Much Ado series. The first is MUCH ADO ABOUT MARSHALS. Jacquie lives in Seattle now, but she grew up in Owyhee County, Idaho, and that’s where she sets her wonderful, funny, western historical romances. She comes from a long line of no-holds-barred storytellers. Even better,she’s a writer, and writers do tend to get carried away. Her parents actually owned a dairy farm in Owyhee County, Idaho, near Homedale and she grew up milking cows, breaking ice on the calves' water troughs and checking the bottoms of my shoes before entering the house. She says she doesn’t miss the frigid Idaho winters, but she does recall those soulful calf eyes with fondness. Nowadays, the only soulful eyes she sees are those of her husband when he pokes his head in her office for the tenth time and asks me when she’s going to fix dinner.

Those early farm days gave her a solid grounding in Real Life and provided endless fodder for her stories. Back then, she was a member of the Homedale Rod & Gun Club, Stateline Grange, and Sage Creek 4-H. She showed livestock, was the county fair queen, and garnered the title of girl's champion in the small bore rifle competition. (Now there's a scary combination!) She rode her horses to hell and back, with special emphasis on riding into the sunset while harmonica music played in the background.

For her complete bio, filled with her special brand of humor, go to http://www.jacquierogers.com/bio.html 

Oh, but wait until you’ve read this post and commented on it, please!

Jacquie said I have to answer the questions below, so here goes:

What am I working on?

My current work is GABE KINCAID, book four in the Kincaid series. Gabe is a second or third cousin of the other main characters of the series. His grandfather and Judge Kincaid are brothers and Gabe came from Austin to Kincaid Falls to work in the Judge’s law office. But even in the Southwest, we hold to the Southern tradition of treating distant cousins almost like siblings, so Gabe is close to the Kincaid Springs branch of the Kincaid family.  The heroine is Kathryn “Katie” Elizabeth Worthington, posing as a circus fortune teller to escape the influential men who killed her grandfather back in Savannah and want to make sure she doesn’t live to tell what she saw. In the meantime, she’s up to her ears in new trouble and must rely on Gabe and the Kincaids to help her.  

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Wow, this is a hard question. Each author, in my opinion, has a distinct voice and style that creates a particular difference from other writers. When I follow authors, it’s because of that voice. Other than that, all of my historical romance novels include murder and/or mayhem. They’re romances with mystery. The only exception is the novella HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, which is a wedding comedy of errors, written because my editor at the time wanted an historic wedding resembling “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” I don’t like that show, but I do like HAPPY IS THE BRIDE.

Why do I write what I write?

I write the type books I enjoy reading. Well, I enjoy other type such as Regency and World War II settings, but I haven’t written one of those—yet. I believe my love of western history began because my dad used to tell stories of his family after they came from Georgia to Texas in 1876. I loved those stories and never tired of hearing them. When you place your ancestors in historical settings, the history comes alive. That’s what happened for me. I absorbed a lot of Texas history for the last quarter of the 19^th century. That led me to research more and more. Now I feel comfortable writing about that era, but I’m still learning new things about that time. My first historical romance was THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE.

How does my writing process work?

First, I see an inciting incident in my head as if I were watching a movie. A lot of writers have this experience, by the way, so don’t call the men in white coats yet. The part I see shows the main characters, but it’s not always the first of the book. Sometimes, it gets moved as far as chapter three, but it’s always near the front. I use names from the time period in which the story is set, sometimes ancestral names so I can be certain they were around at the time. For instance, Cenora Rose from THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE and Parmelia Bailey from LONG WAY HOME are family names. Writing a book takes me about three or months—unless life interferes. For my last two books, life played havoc with my schedule. I do plot my works, but also allow myself to deviate from my plot if my muse takes over and wants to include something new. The plot is like a roadmap, and I can take side trips but come back to the main highway. I write full time, from six to twelve hours a day. Unfortunately, that time includes marketing, which steals a lot of writing time. But I want readers to buy my books, so the marketing is necessary. I would write even if no one bought my books, but I’d much rather readers read my books and enjoy them. And leave reviews on Amazon. Reviews are important to an author.

Jacquie instructed me to find three authors to follow me with posts next week.

     

      Mary Alice Adair writes historical romance with Cherokee and English characters, PASSION'S VISION is the first of her Passion series. Mary used to be one of my critique partners, but she and her husband moved from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to the Cherokee area of Eastern Oklahoma. She has researched the Cherokee in colonial times and has become an authority on their lifestyle. For her research, she used a book written by her husband’s ancestor, James Adair, which is the definitive work of the time. Her blog is at http://www.authormaryadair.blogspot.com/

         Carra Copelin writes contemporary romance with suspense elements. She and her husband live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She is writing the Code series, the first of which is CODE OF HONOR. Carra is one of my critique partners who keeps me on the writing path. She also researches her books with care for detail. She’s President of the Yellow Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America. Find her at http://carracopelin.com/blog.html

           Anna Jeffrey writes contemporary romance and steamy women’s fiction. Anna also is half the team of the Dixie Cash books. Yes, she is fun to talk to, much like the Dixie Cash books are to read. But her Anna Jeffrey books are great reads. Her latest is THE TYCOON, the steamy first of her Sons of Texas series. Her West Texas series and Idaho series are not to be missed. Find her at http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com/

Thanks for stopping by!