Behind the Scenes: 2016 Publishing Plans Update

Back in January, I outlined on another blog my 2016 plans for publication. Things didn't go quite as I had thought they would, though. As always, life happened, and shiny things came along and . . .

I stayed on track for the first planned effort. I released a novel, The Zion Trail, on February 19, followed on March 25 with the print edition (yes, there was enough reader demand for a print version). This book features Julia Owen’s first cousin, Elijah “Lije” Marshall, and is the first novel in a trilogy labeled “Promised Valley.”

From there, things got interesting.

Instead of letting me finish and publish Mended by Moonlight and purchase a cover for a story featuring “gloves” so it could appear, other Characters horned in and gummed up my plans by demanding their time in the spotlight. So . . .

Wes and Lonnie Haught got their moment when I released the novella Blood at Haught Springs on May 27. These Characters have no relationship at all to the Owen Family. They live in frontier Texas. This is the first of three works in the “Men of Haught Springs” series. The ebook contains two bonus short stories, Cottonwood Cowboys and No More Strangers.

With Mended by Moonlight still unfinished when the calendar approached July, I chose to publish Faith and the Foreman instead, which is a stand-alone novella that was first seen as part of the Old West Collection, A Timeless Romance Anthology Book 9 from 2014. These Characters are also unrelated to any of the Owen family, as they live in frontier Arizona. A bonus story, The Usual Game, is also set in Arizona, in the early days of Statehood.

Then somebody mentioned in a review their displeasure that the book they’d read from The Owen Family Saga seemed to be out of order. I agreed. I’d had my struggles with putting Gone for a Soldier as Book 5 in the series, since chronologically, it is Book 1. I decided the best way to address the problem was to publish the books of the Saga in chronological order, as one huge ebook. I polled several of my author friends on whether I should do such a project, and they thought it was a great idea. On September 30, I released The Complete Owen Family Saga as an ebook. All the favorite Characters from the series are intact. Sales so far have validated the idea of publishing this box set containing the five Owen Family Saga novels in the best reading order.

I don’t know if I will publish anything else this year. I am working on three projects at the same time, bouncing back and forth between what I presume is a novel, a novella, and a non-fiction project. If I finish one of them before the year is out, it will be published. Otherwise, 2017 is right around the corner!

In the meantime, to get purchase links to your favorite online vendor for all of the above books, go to the Simple List at the Bookshelf on my website.

Behind the Scenes: Special Project Coming

Last month, I spent a lot of time thinking about my published work and all the future stories I have to tell. I wanted to organize the work into easily identifiable categories. That's when I decided that The Owen Family Saga was complete.

Yes, I have many more stories to write about members of the Owen Family, but as I said back on August 9, there is going to be a gap of several years in the chronology before another story begins.

So I called a halt, capping the series at the five existing novels, and then went a giant step farther and changed the suggested reading order. Since I made those decisions, I've been working on a special project. I'll tell you more on Monday, when I do a Cover Reveal. See you then!

Behind the Scenes: Discovery

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I'm so relieved to discover that the Characters in My Head are not dead! They're talking to me again.

Maybe they aren't the characters for the book I thought I was supposed to write, but these are just as important.

I've also discovered some names in my pretend genealogy, revealed as I wrote this morning. Finding out the names of Rod Owen's parents is almost as exciting as finding my own ancestors!

Rulon Peter Owen married Nellie Marie Yancey. Their only surviving child is Roderick Owen. I don't know yet if he has a middle name, but his son, Rulon, does.

I knew the name began with S, for that was revealed to me as I wrote Gone for a Soldier, when Rulon signed his name in a letter to his wife, Mary. A couple of days ago, I learned that his middle name is Scow, the surname of his maternal grandmother, Phoebe Scow Helm.

I know. All this sounds really freaky. This is part of the discovery process of some writers when they dig deep into their characters' lives. It's really quite thrilling to us, and not spooky at all.

Now go read a good book this weekend. May I suggest my latest full-length novel, The Zion Trail? Someone just posted on my Facebook profile that she's finishing up reading it. Oh, she said such lovely things that make my knees quake and my heart beat faster! Here's a part: "Great read. Wonderful history. Endearing characters. Better and better with each turned page."

You may purchase The Zion Trail in ebook formats or in print:

The Zion Trail

$3.99 for ebooks; $12.99 for print books
Ebooks: Smashwords | Kindle | Nook | Kobo | Apple iBooks Store  

Print books: CreateSpace | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Behind the Scenes - Blood at Haught Springs

Today, instead of Sample Saturday, I'm going to go Behind the Scenes of my latest work, Blood at Haught Springs.

I've been asked a couple of questions about this new novella quite a bit, so I thought I'd answer them. The first question is, "Is there a real town called Haught Springs in Texas?"

The answer is, "There could be, but to my knowledge, there isn't."

The second question is, "How did you find the name Haught for your characters?"

The answer to this second question is longer than the first, and there's an uncanny story Behind the Scenes.

When I began writing what became Blood at Haught Springs, I needed names for my characters. I decided to make use of one old writer's secret and go through my phone book for intriguing names. I wrote several down, and when I'd finished the novella, the main characters carried the surname Haught.

Now, Haught is a well-known and respected name in these parts. In fact, I know several people who have that name. However, I did not use any of their traits or characteristics for my characters. I never do that, to the best of my ability.

I liked the ring of the name Haught. I also liked the fact that it sounds like "hot." Who doesn't like "hot" cowboys, ranchers, millers, or storekeepers? I know a lot of readers who do.

Thus it was that I created Haught Springs, Texas, located somewhere on the Texas Panhandle. Maybe west of Amarillo. Maybe a bit east. I'm not telling.

But there's more to the story.

After I released Blood at Haught Springs, Number 1 of the new series, Men of Haught Springs, I learned that the Haught family of Gila County, Arizona, came from Texas. Who could have guessed that? [cue music to Twilight Zone]

Come back next Saturday to see what I spring on you then.
~~~

Two bonus short stories are included with Blood at Haught Springs: Cottonwood Cowboys and No More Strangers. The novella kicks off a new series set in Haught Springs, Texas, a rowdy frontier town bursting at the seams with action, adventure, and intrigue. Join me in a new world of hard-working, rough and tumble men who sometimes aren't exactly who or what they seem to be.

Blood at Haught Springs is now available for $2.99
in ebook formats at all the major online retail outlets:
Smashwords all formats | Kindle | Kobo | Nook | Apple iTunes Bookstore