In Her Sights

Tomorrow’s a Big Day!

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I have two big book events happening tomorrow.

1. My Christmas short story My True Love Gave to Me is releasing. Yippee!

I had so much fun giving the classic Twelve Days of Christmas carol a romantic Texas twist. I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek at how our hero gives these gifts his own cowboy spin.

Her mother must have seen them coming, for she threw open the back door and waved them in. “Come in and warm yourself by the stove,” she urged. As Anna slipped past, her mother touched her arm and stalled her progress. “A gift arrived for you.” Her eyes danced, setting off a similar gyration in Anna’s belly. “Your father’s grumbling about it in the front room.”

If he was grumbling, it had to be from Simeon. Without pausing to remove her coat, Anna abandoned the kitchen and hurried to the front room. She found her father bent at the waist, staring at what looked to be a cactus in a pot on the slender table behind the sofa.

“Daddy?”

He straightened and turned abruptly. “I tell you, Anna. That boy has lost his mind. Who in the world sends a cactus as a courting gift? And there’s a bullet hanging from the center of the thing. What is that supposed to signify? Is it some kind of threat?”

“Of course it’s not a threat.” Though it was rather odd. What are you up to, Simeon? Anna approached the table and found an envelope, thankfully still unopened, with her name written across the front in an unrefined scrawl she recognized instantly.

“Tell me, Herald,” her father said, alerting Anna to her growing audience, “is that not the most ridiculous bouquet you’ve ever seen? If you can even call it a bouquet. Next to your roses, it looks like a bulbous weed.”

“It is rather . . . unconventional.”

Herald’s voice faded from Anna’s awareness as she opened Simeon’s note. There were only two lines, but they made her heart pound.

To Anna, on the first day of Christmas.

From Your True Love

On the first day of Christmas. Why did that phrase sound so familiar? Then it came to her. A children’s counting song. On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .

She turned back to the gift and looked at it with new eyes. Saw the reddish-purple bulb of prickly fruit. Looked closer at the bullet tied on with a string. It wasn’t ammunition for a pistol. The casing was longer. Like that for a rifle.

“Daddy?” she asked without turning.

He broke off his conversation. “Yes?”

She drew her finger along the line of the metal cylinder. “What do you call a bullet that goes into a rifle?”

He scratched at his jaw. “A cartridge. But what does that have to do with—” He broke off when she started laughing.

She spun around to face him, a smile beaming across her face as she held Simeon’s note to her breast. “Oh, Daddy. Don’t you see? It’s a gift of true love.”

He scowled. “Are you feeling all right, Anna?”

“I feel marvelous!” She waltzed up to him and handed over the note for him to inspect.

He read the note, grumbled, then passed it to Herald. She should be angry that he would share her personal correspondence without her permission, but she was too delighted with Simeon’s cleverness to take him to task.

“Why are you so happy?” her father demanded. “This has to be the least romantic gift of all time. It’s a half-dead cactus covered with barbs and a random bullet.”

“No, Daddy,” she said, her heart awash with love. “It’s a cartridge in a prickly pear tree.”

Today is the last day to pre-order. If you do, the story will show up on your Kindle bright and early tomorrow morning. Just like Christmas!

The story is only 99¢ to purchase, though it will be available in KU as well.

Pre-Order Here

Anna King has pledged her heart to Simeon Shepherd, but her father refuses to grant her hand to the young farmer. Simeon determines to be patient and earn David King’s respect over time with hard work and evidence of his ability to provide. However, when a wealthy new suitor arrives in Bethlehem, Texas to woo Anna with her father’s support, patience is no longer an option. Simeon has twelve days before Christmas to best his rival and prove once and for all that he is Anna’s true love.

2. In Her Sights has been selected for a Kindle Daily Deal – also tomorrow.

For one day only, you can purchase Tessa and Jackson’s story for only $1.49. WooHoo!

If you haven’t read the Pink Pistol Sisterhood Series yet, now’s the time to start with Book 1 going on sale tomorrow. Find it here on Amazon.

What is something fun or special coming up on the calendar in your life this week?

Making Series Connections

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One of my favorite things about working on collections or multi-author series is having the chance to tap into the creative mind of other writers. Until the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series, the most experience I had with connecting to stories written by other authors was through the novella collections I had written.

Some of my most connected collections include the following:

A Match Made in Texas – Each of the four stories were set at least partially in the fictional town of Dry Gulch, Texas. Not only that, but all four stories were connected through the actions of a secretive matchmaker who wasn’t revealed until the final story. We had to coordinate town details, character names and descriptions, and time period details to make sure our stories lined up properly.

The Christmas Heirloom – In this collection, a family heirloom was passed down through the generations. While we didn’t have to coordinate setting details, we did have to keep track of family trees and generation gaps. We actually purchased a piece of costume jewelry to serve as our model Luckenbooth brooch, so we would all be able to describe it in detail. We also had an embroidered bag where each heroine sewed her initials and year of marriage. One of the authors’ mothers actually reproduced the bag for us, and we ended up giving away the brooch and the bag at our launch party.

The Kissing Tree – One of my favorite connections was in this collection. All four stories took place in the same fictional town of Oak Springs, TX and all of them centered around a giant oak tree where couples would carve their initials. Each story took place in a different time period, but the tree was at the heart. My story was second in the series, and the author of the first story finished hers really early, giving me the opportunity to read it ahead of time. My heroine wrote romantic stories for a magazine, so I had fun adding a elements of Regina’s story into mine. I was even able to give her characters cameo appearances in my story. As time progressed, little details were woven in by the other authors. For example, my hero and heroine were building the Kissing Tree Inn together, and my heroine initially painted it a horrible shade of bright pink. When a later character worked on renovating the inn, they found traces of that hideous pink color. Little details carrying through like that make my reader heart happy.

The Oak Tree that Inspired our Kissing Tree

Working on the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series has been so much fun. While each story stands on its own, they are connected by a shared history through the customized pistol that is handed down from heroine to heroine.

When it came time to write my story, I knew that I wanted to create a fun connection with the author who followed me in the series – Shanna Hatfield. Shanna is such a joy to work with and always so positive and encouraging, and when I suggested we create a character to connect our stories, she jumped in with both feet! We worked together to create Laura Marshall. Laura is Tessa’s best friend in my story and cousin to Rena, who is Shanna’s heroine. Laura is a milliner to works alongside Tessa in a dressmaking shop in Caldwell, TX. She also has strong family connections to Oregon (Shanna’s setting) and a special level of compassion for her cousin Rena.

Here is a snippet of one of Laura’s scenes where we incorporated a hint of Rena’s coming storyline:

“So, you don’t think I’m crazy?”

Laura shook her head, and a weight lifted from Tessa’s chest. “Not crazy. Hopeful.” She placed a hand on Tessa’s arm. “I’m rooting for you. You know that.”

Tessa nodded.

“Besides,” Laura said with a mischievous grin, “if you and Jackson end up together, I know just the lady you can send the pistol to next.”

“Oh? Who’s that?”

“My cousin Rena.” Laura’s expression sobered. “She’s had a rough go of it the last couple years. She suffered an injury that left her believing no man will ever want her. It’s so sad. She’s talked about visiting my brother out in Oregon and making a fresh start. The pistol could offer her some measure of protection, and if she gives it a chance, maybe it will lead her to someone who can see past her scars to the wonderful woman inside.”

“You don’t want a turn with the pistol yourself?” Tessa asked.

Laura grinned as she shook her head. “No, thanks. I plan to find my true love the old-fashioned way.”

Tessa squeezed her friend’s hand. “Well, I can’t blame you for sticking with the tried-and-true.”

“I’m not in a hurry. Too many girls think marrying is their only option for having a meaningful life. I have a career I enjoy, good friends, and the love of family. If the time is ever right for something more, God will let me know.”

“You’re a wise woman, Laura Marshall, and far more patient than I am.”

“Yes, well, it’s easier to be patient before one finds her true love than after.” She grinned and started dragging Tessa toward the workroom door. “Now, enough talk. Daylight’s a-wasting, as my granny used to say. Get out there and get your man. I’ll take care of closing up the shop.”

Shanna’s novel – Love on Target just released this week! We had so much fun partnering together on this project. I’m excited to see what adventures Rena encounters and the role Laura plays.

Buy In Her Sights here.

Buy Love on Target here.

Do you enjoy series with woven connections and carry-over details?
Or do you prefer series stories that stand more on their own?

Bringing Annie Oakley to Texas

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When we were first brainstorming ideas for what would become the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series, it seemed only natural to look to a 19th century woman famous for both her marksmanship and her femininity as inspiration. When we learned of Annie Oakley’s passion for teaching other ladies how to defend themselves, we knew we had a foundation upon which to build.

It is estimated that Annie Oakley taught more that 15,000 women how to shoot over the course of her lifetime!

My heroine, Tessa James, seeks lessons from the great Annie Oakley, and I have to tell you that writing such a legend into my story was both daunting and incredibly fun.
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Since my heroine lives in Caldwell, Texas, I needed to find a way to bring Annie to the Lone Star State. The 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago had just concluded. Annie had performed alongside the World’s Fair with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. This had been a long engagement, so I thought it possible that Annie and her husband Frank Butler might be in the mood for a change of scenery. Why not bring them to the south, and to Texas in particular? I found documentation that Buffalo Bill brought his western extravaganza to Texas in 1900, so perhaps this could have been an early scouting trip by one of his headliners.
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Annie and Frank made their living through their own shooting exhibitions when they weren’t traveling with Buffalo Bill. So as all fiction authors do, I began asking What if? What if Annie and Frank decided to visit the Texas state capital and put on an exhibition while there? What if Annie agreed to give shooting lessons to any females who stayed after the performance?
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Now that I had Annie coming to Texas, I needed to find a place for her to perform. My research led me to the perfect place–Hyde Park Pavilion.
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Hyde Park was the first suburban development in Austin. Streetcar service made it possible for people to settle in this quiet, rural area. Before the area was developed with Craftsman houses and shady lanes, though, it was an area famous for recreation. The Texas State Fair used the area as its fairgrounds from 1875-1884. The flat terrain made it ideal for racing, so the Capital Jockey Association set up a racecourse there that became known as “the finest in the South.” The state militia used the area for training and drills during its summer encampments and drew crowds numbering in the thousands.
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The State Lunatic Asylum had been built on these grounds in 1861, and during the 1870’s, they embarked on a beautification project that created 600 yards of scenic drives and a chain of lakes and lily ponds. Following this beautification, the asylum grounds became a favorite place for courting couples. Buggy drives and picturesque strolls became the norm. And when a large pavilion was constructed by Gem Lake in 1892, this became one of the most popular resorts in Austin.
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The pavilion played host to concerts, plays, dances, and hosts of other entertainment. It seemed the perfect location for Annie Oakley to perform. I found a great photograph to help me picture what a turn-of-the-century crowd might have looked like at the Hyde Park Pavilion.
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I had Annie perform inside the pavilion, where a crowd could watch in comfort, but the lessons she gave to Tessa and the other ladies happened on the lawn area that stretched wide on the side opposite the lake.
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Who knew that the grounds of a lunatic asylum would provide the perfect setting for Annie Oakley to meet my heroine?
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Click on cover to preorder.

In Her Sights is now available for preorder and early reviews are coming in. Here is what some readers are saying on Goodreads:

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This book hits all of the right notes. It was sweet, it was funny, it had likeable characters who were easy to root for, and I was grinning like an idiot almost the whole time I was reading it.
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Tessa and Jackson are delightfully perfect for one another . . . Tessa’s plan to catch Jackson’s attention is priceless and I laughed at the whole scene behind the old school.
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I loved Every. Single. Thing. about this novella! As usual, Karen Witemeyer hooks you from the beginning with memorable characters and a enduring storyline.
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Hilarious! What a delightful, comic, and inspirational love story! Ms. Witemeyer has delivered a great story with characters I would like to know. . . Can’t wait for the next book!
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If you lived in Austin, Texas at the turn-of-the-century,
would you have wanted to go courting on the grounds of a lunatic asylum?