An Angel gave wings to my writing by Paty Jager

The first RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference I went to was only two months after I'd signed up to be an RWA member. I'd received the magazine in the mail and saw there would be a conference with writing classes in Seattle WA. I showed it to my hubby and said, I wanted to go. He told me if I could come up with the money, he was fine with me going. 

I saved up the money and registered. 

I had only been to one other writers' conference and it had been in New York and put on by Highlights for Children for writers of children's books. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the other writers and made friends with author Dayton O. Hyde, but I also learned I wasn't cut out to write children's books. 

I went into the hotel with determination even as I slowly moved closer and closer to the walls as the crowd grew larger. I finally found the line to check in and fumbled through that process. As I returned to the wall to check out the things I received and figure out what my next step was, a woman walked over to me with a big smile on her face. She introduced herself as Janet and said she was there with some friends from the Spokane chapter. "Was this my first time?' 

Nodding, I said, "It was and I wasn't sure where to start. But I was one of the finalists for the contest."

Janet said, "Stick with us and we'll take you around." 

And that's what she did. That whole weekend, she sent me to the workshops I needed, came to my room and read my contest entry, and told me it was good. She made my first conference comfortable for me and I went back to that same conference every other year for many years. 

The last time I talked to Janet, she wasn't writing anymore. But she was pleased I had become published.

I'm proud to say that I now have my 60th novel published! 

Wolverine Instincts is #13 in the Gabriel Hawke Novels.

In the heart of the wilderness, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Gunshots shatter the quiet of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness, drawing Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke into action. Following the sound, he stumbles upon a shredded cage, the sharp musk of a wolverine, and a dead hiker.

Tracking footprints through the rugged terrain, Hawke uncovers a second victim. It’s clear—he’s hunting a killer who’s hunting humans.

With Dog by his side, Hawke’s search leads to two brothers, one gravely injured. Enlisting the help of pilot Dani Singer, he gets the injured man to safety before returning to the wilderness.

Teaming up with a reclusive, disabled veteran who knows the Eagle Cap as well as he does, Hawke pieces together the killer’s twisted game. They suspect a poacher—one as ruthless and elusive as the wolverine he’s still chasing.

In a deadly wilderness where survival is the only rule, Hawke must outsmart a predator who knows no bounds.

Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/u/m2yARG

Direct buy link on author's website: https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolverine-instincts-ebook/

If Janet hadn't taken me under her wing, helping me navigate that first conference, and giving me confidence, I may not have hung in there and even published one book. But because of her kindness and push, I am a published writer and I reach out to new writers to help them understand publishing, writing, and what it entails to be an author. 

Thank you, Janet! 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 60 novels, 11 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Author’s Guild, Alliance of Independent Authors, and NIWA.

Website: https://www.patyjager.net

Blog: https://writingintothesunset.net/

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