Uncategorized

THE BALLAD OF EMMA O’TOOLE  (EMMA for short)  is a Book of My Heart.  In the 17 years that passed between its beginning and its publication, the story never left me, and I never gave up on it.  Seeing it in print at last, and being able to share it with you, is a very personal pleasure.  It will be available for purchase September 1, but since I have my author copies, you’ll have a chance to win one today.

Even the setting of this book is personal.  Park City, Utah, is an hour’s drive from where I live.  Cradled by the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, its history is as spectacular as its setting.  My own pioneer great-great grandfather directed the first settlement of the high valley—then known as Parley’s Park.  Its progression from farming community to silver mining boom town, to crumbling backwater, to world-class ski resort and home of the Sundance Film Festival, is a true American saga.

EMMA  is set amid the silver boom of the 1880’s that brought wealth-seekers from all over the world.  Young Emma O’Toole is determined to make a better life for herself.  But her beauty is offset by every possible strike against her.  She’s orphaned, impoverished, and pregnant by a nineteen-year-old boy as poor as she is.  Fate and tragedy intervene to thrust her into the reluctant arms of gambler Logan Devereaux, a cynical man with a dangerous past.  Can such an unlikely pair find happiness together?  I hope you’ll be cheering them on, as I was, all the way to the end of their story.

Here’s a blog and a link to the Amazon site, where you can read an excerpt and pre-order a copy if you like.  There’s a different excerpt on my web site, which you can get to by clicking on my photo (yes?).

High Stakes Marriage

After shooting a man, the stakes for gambler Logan Devereaux have never been higher.  On trial for his life, he’s offered a shocking alternative form of restitution…marriage to his victim’s pregnant sweetheart. 

Beautiful Emma O’Toole has sworn vengeance against him and when a newspaperman puts her tragic story to song, the whole nation waits to see what she will do.  Their marriage is the riskiest gamble Logan’s ever taken.  But he’ll put all he’s got on the line for a chance at winning Emma’s Heart.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15/187-6792285-0302722?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+ballad+of+emma+o%27toole&sprefix=The+Ballad+of+E%2Cstripbooks%2C354

Because this is a celebration of a book I love, I’ll be giving one copy away for every ten readers who comment.  International winners will receive a PDF file.  So you have a one in ten chance of winning today!  Good luck and happy reading!

Park city photo by Bobak Ha’eri, 2004

 When I was a kid, I fell in love with a television series (not the movie!) called The Wild, Wild West. Maybe you remember it. Lawmen with inventions? A smart hero with a gun and a gadget or two? Yes, please!  So, when I mention that my historical romantic suspense series, THE SECRET LIVES OF WILL TUCKER, includes a dash of steampunk (in the form of lawmen with gadgets!), I usually get one of two responses: a wide grin or a confused expression. For those of you who best identify with the confused expression crowd, let’s talk about what steampunk is.

Wikipedia calls steampunk “…a subgenre … that typically features steam powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized western civilization during the 19th century.” Some are hybrids of science fiction and other elements, while many steampunk novels employ romance or mystery as their main theme. There are as many variations as there are inventions and elements to include. What unifies all steampunk tales is the fact that the characters have access to inventions that are ahead of their time. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells were masters of this type of story. So were the writers of The Wild, Wild West television series, hence my early fascination with this type of story.

It is this element of creative inventions that I employ in my novels. Unlike the steampunk novels that are more likely classified as science fiction, my stories employ technology that was not yet in use when during the time period the story covers. Writing with an element of steampunk, giving a man the ability to create all sorts of interesting and practical inventions that aid him in reaching the goals set forth in the story, adds depth to the plot and brings a unique slant to his personality.

In order to keep the inventions created and used by my nineteenth century Pinkerton agents in the realm of possibility, I combed the files of the United States Patent Office to determine which inventions were patented within a few years of my story taking place. In that way, I could allow for my heroes to have a variation on an idea that eventually becomes reality.

Another thing I love about adding steampunk to a story is how it adds a touch of whimsy to what would otherwise be a typical historical novel. In Millie’s Treasure, this whimsy appears first in the opening scene as Pinkerton Agent Kyle Russell meets bookish heiress Millie Cope on the roof of the Memphis Cotton Exchange Building. Kyle is testing a personal flying device that ends up being the means the pair must use for escaping the rooftop once they determine the door has locked behind them. In what other genre could an author write a first meeting that culminates in flying over the rooftops in the moonlight as celebrations rise up from below ushering in the new year of 1889? I used similar techniques in writing the plot for Flora’s Wish, the first book in the series, and Sadie’s Secrets, the tale of the female Pinkerton on the team which releases in February 2014.

Now that you understand the concept of steampunk a little better, are you ready to exchange your confused expression for a wide grin? I certainly hope so. Now what sort of invention should add to my next novel? If you were the lady Pinkerton heroine in my stories, what sort of gadget would you use to catch the bad guy?

I’ll be giving away a copy of MILLIE’S TREASURE to a lucky reader who posts.  Good luck in the drawing!

Special thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for your favorite! 

We have a tie for the cover!  Here’s the two that seemed to garner the most votes as of my writing this blog.

We have a winner and that winner is Britney Adams.   Congratulations to Britney!

Britney, please email me directly at karenkay(dot)author(at)earthlink(dot)net so we can go over what book you might like.

My hearty thanks to all those who joined us today and left such insightful comments.  Congratulations again to Britney.

The winner of THE OUTLAW’S REDEMPTION is…

CORI!!!

Send Renee your snail mail address and she’ll get it in the mail as soon as possible!!!

renee@reneeryan.com

     I just wrote The End on my latest book, CLAIMING THE DOCTOR’S HEART.   That may not seem like a big deal to you.  After all, I’m a writer.  Finishing books is what I do.  This time, however, I cut it close, too close for comfort.  The manuscript is due on my editor’s desk today.  This is not the way I like to do things.  I’m a planner.  An organizer.  Someone who color coordinates her closet.  And puts all the cat toys in a nice, neat pile.  Stressed out doesn’t begin to describe my state of mind right now.

     The good news?  I wrote THE END.  I made the deadline.  Whoop, whoop.  Cue the halleluiah chorus.  It’s time to celebrate.  My husband is always up for this part of the writing process.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love that man?

     Now that I have a few free moments to myself, it’s time to catch up on all the things I let slide.  I plan to scale Mt. Laundry this afternoon, clean the bathrooms, organize my clothes by style and color.  I also plan to catch up with friends and family I’ve not spoken to in a few weeks.  On that note, I called my father this morning and told him the good news.  He asked me, “Does that mean you’re starting a new book today?”

     My response?  Hahahahahahahahaha!  No, I will NOT be starting a new book today.  I’m taking the rest of the week off and indulging in some reading of my own.  My To Be Read (TBR) pile has gotten out of control.  In honor of all the enjoyment I plan to have, I thought I would share what I’ll be reading this week.

Big Sky Summer by Linda Lael Miller

The Last Renegade by Jo Goodman

A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare

     What’s in your TBR pile?

     Post a comment and I’ll send one lucky winner a copy of my July release, THE OUTLAW’S REDEMPTION.    

I like men who swagger. When a man with an attitude enters a room, everyone knows it. Men of lesser confidence back down, and women look twice.  Out of my own books, my two favorite heroes are John Leaf in Abbie’s Outlaw and J.T. Quinn in The Outlaw’s Return.  Both of these men have outlaw pasts, but they also have hearts for love, truth and justice.

So what makes a bad boy so appealing?  The swagger is part of it; so is the rebellion and the sex appeal. But what most appeals to me is the back story.  Why is he the way he is?  What happened to him?  Who hurt him?  My bad boys heroes are rogues, but they’re also willing to die for people they love.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the research that goes into a bad boy hero.  It’s not exactly research in the academic sense. It’s more like daydreaming, but these characters have to start somewhere.  Here’s my list of favorite bad boys from real life, fiction, movies and television.

No. 1 on my list is Johnny Cash. The man in black had a bad-to-the-bone swagger, and Walk the Line is one of my favorite movies. Later in life, he made a u-turn. The story of Nickajack Cave is legendary. It’s the place where he decided to give up some bad habits and become a new man. He did . . . but he didn’t stop swaggering.

No. 2 is Rhett Butler. I haven’t seen Gone With the Wind in years, but I can still recall the scene where he and Scarlett are fleeing Atlanta and he kisses her. Talk about confidence!  It’s got to be one of the most romantic scenes ever. Even in the end, after he loses his little girl and is mellowed by grief, Rhett still has an inner strength. 

The No. 3 slot goes to Bruce Springsteen for his music. His “Born to Run” CD is one of my favorites. The title track is a legend, and so is “Thunder Road.” Bruce grabs life by the shoulders and shakes it. I love that! It’s the same energy that settled the American West, the same boldness that gave us heroes and outlaws and Wild West legends.

No. 4 on my list is Daniel Craig in the James  Bond movies. He took one of the longest running franchise roles of all  time and made it fresh and original.   Humor, courage, intelligence and a big dash of arrogance make the new James Bond a pleasure to watch

No. 5 . . . Johnny Cain in Penelope Williamson’s The Outsider has been at the top of my list of favorite western bad boys ever since I read the book back in the 1999. It’s the book that made me to tell stories of my own, and I love it more than ever.

Real or imaginary . . . Who are some of your favorite bad boy heroes?

Drum roll, please!

My winner for today’s drawing is….

SUSAN P. !!!!

Thanks so much for coming by and commenting and congratulations on your win! I will be contacting you soon!

Cheryl