Plethora of Anniversaries by Paty Jager

I was excited when the Blog Queens, Judith Ashley and Sarah Raplee put out a call for posts this month about something we are celebrating. I have two major anniversaries this month and am excited about a new writing project.

This month is the anniversary of this blog. I've been with the blog from the beginning! So glad I was asked to join.

This is also the anniversary month of when my first book was published. My historical western romance, Marshal in Petticoats, was contracted by Wild Rose Press and arrived on the scene for readers to purchase in May 2006. It was, and is, the first book of my 8 book Halsey Brothers and Halsey Homecoming series. There is also a novella that goes with this series. That first book with Gil Halsey and Darcy Duncan introduced the Halsey brothers -- which at the time was just something that came to me as I was writing -- and readers wanted their stories. And so, Outlaw in Petticoats, Miner in Petticoats, Doctor in Petticoats, and Logger in Petticoats soon followed. And yet readers wanted more. Which led to Laying Claim, Staking Claim, Claiming a Heart and A Husband for Christmas. I love the Halsey's and am glad the readers do to.

And this is the anniversary of my wedding to my hubby! Thirty-nine years ago today, we were married in a small church in my home town. My mom made the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses. My favorite color back then was peach. The dresses were made of peach satin with a sheer overlay with flowers. After the wedding, the reception was held in my parents' backyard. The apricot trees were in bloom, flowers were blooming in the yard and the weather was warm for May 12th in that area.

getting ready- my cousin, bridesmaids and Mom.

My mother thought it was rude we didn't open the presents at the reception. The people who were hauling our gifts back to central Oregon for us wanted to leave, so we loaded the gifts in their van and they took off. Because some of the bridal party had drank too much, we told them we'd spend the night if they did, to keep them from driving off drunk. Our first night as husband and wife was spent in a camp trailer with another couple.

The next day we left for the Oregon Coast for our honeymoon. Two hours from home and four hours from the coast, the car broke down. Hubby jury-rigged it to get home. While he was figuring out what we needed to do to fix it a person called needing him to haul something (he was a truck driver). He took the job to get the money to fix the car. We never made it to the coast for our honeymoon, he just kept working. We did made it a point every year for a while to go to the coast on our anniversary. This year we'll be apart on our anniversary. I'll be at my dad's doing a living estate sale to raise money to keep him in an assisted living center. After 39 years, it's about the way we treat each other every day that matters more than one day a year.

I'm also celebrating a collaboration. I've joined with 16 other authors who will be attending the Wild Deadwood Reads reader event in Deadwood, SD, June 7-10th, in an Anthology. The short stories are all set in Deadwood. They are historical, contemporary, and some paranormal. And the best part about the anthology is all proceeds are going to Western Sports Foundation, an organization who helps rodeo cowboys with medical expenses.

Here is a glimpse at the anthology.

WILD DEADWOOD TALES Anthology

Rodeos and romance, Old West adventure, and even a few ghostly tales. Deadwood's wild past and exciting present come alive in seventeen original short stories written by USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors to benefit the Western Sports Foundation. Contributing authors: E.E. Elisabeth Burke, Zoe Blake, Paty Norman Jager, Teresa Keefer, Megan Kelly, Sylvia McDaniel, Amanda McIntyre, Peggy McKenzie, Angi Morgan, Nancy Naigle, Jacqui Nelson, Terri Osburn, Ginger Ring, Maggie Ryan, Lizbeth Selvig, Tina Susedik and A.C. Wilson

Proceeds from this limited edition collection go to benefit the Western Sports Foundation, an organization providing critical assistance to athletes competing in Western lifestyle sports. Whether they need help recuperating from an injury or planning for the future, WSF is there for them.

website: http://bit.ly/DeadwoodTales

Here are the links to the book:

Amazon http://bit.ly/WDTales
universal Link https://www.books2read.com/WDTales

Apple  http://bit.ly/WDTApple

Nook  http://bit.ly/WDTBN

Kobo  http://bit.ly/WDTKobo
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/…/sh…/39739914-wild-deadwood-tales

The book will be available in ebook and print May 1^st, and you can purchase autographed print copies at the PBR Rodeo in Deadwood, SD on June 8^th and 9^th.

CASH’S CLAIM

Zoe Blake

She was his...and it was past time he staked his claim.

Jessamine Cooper was determined to stay independent and run her late uncle's ranch on her own. When she shows up in Deadwood with an ill-advised plan to win the money she needs playing poker, Cash decides it is past time for him to stake his claim.

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UNEXPECTED CALAMITY

E.E. Burke

A friendship that never died.

Calamity Jane is drawn back to Deadwood by a force more powerful than death, and becomes an unexpected savior in the midst of an epidemic.

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SAVING DALLIE

Paty Jager 

Everyone deserves a chance.

When a miner tosses his daughter into the pot at a poker game and the winner is a brothel owner, Beau Gentry is determined to keep the young woman out of the man’s hands.

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THE GAMBLER AND THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER

Teresa Keefer

Can a preacher's daughter play poker with a gambler and win?

Leticia Chasteen was always getting dragged into situations she didn't want to be in. Rusty McGraw the gambler was always coming to her rescue. Who will end up with the winning hand?

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A RISKY PROPOSAL

Megan Kelly

He loves her. She loves him. A proposal should be good news, right?

Callie Jones never wanted to date a bull rider. Now she’s fallen in love with Rome Anderson, who’s intent on winning the PBR Championship buckle. When he asks her to marry him, she has to decide: Does she break his heart with a no or doom her future with a yes?

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LOVE ACROSS TIME

Sylvia McDaniel

Is it possible to love someone in another time? Are dreams real?

Sadie Mae Miller is hanging up her barrel racing crown and beginning a new life. But when her grandmother asks her to sleep under a new wedding ring quilt with promises of visions of the love of her life, she doesn’t quite believe her. Until she falls asleep. Only problem is, he lived in 1880. Does time separate the lovers?

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ONCE UPON A DEADWOOD DREAM

Amanda McIntyre

Sometimes to find your future you must face the past.

Past and present meld together in Deadwood when a woman who discovers true love must fight to escape a deadly twist of fate.

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THE BROTHERHOOD

Peggy McKenzie

Sometimes, love is hiding in the most peculiar places.

Major Lucas Hamilton, widower and father of four boys, insists on the disciplined order of a regimented household. But when a bumbling young woman falls at his feet, will he take a chance on her or send her packing before she burns his house down to the ground.

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MAVERICK SEDUCTION

Angi Morgan

Teenage crush or true love. You decide.

Sean Maverick is on a charity auction block until a beautiful woman from his past buys him for the night. Em Stone believed in love at first sight even if she had to lasso and knock Sean off his feet.

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TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Nancy Naigle

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride? Never say never.

Kendra is fine with being a bridesmaid. She hung up her wedding hopes and dreams eight years ago when her cowboy chose the rodeo over her, but when these two cross paths in Deadwood it looks like the timing just might be right for a reconciliation.

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RESCUING RAVEN

Jacqui Nelson

In a gold rush storm, can an unlikely pair rescue each other?

Raven wants to save one person. Charlie wants to save the world. Their warring nations thrust them together but duty pulled them apart—until their paths crossed again in Deadwood for a fight for love.

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AFTER THE FALL

Terri Osburn

When it comes to love, sometimes falling is the easy part.

Aspyn Fielding blames Tucker Stargill for not talking her brother, Colt, out of riding bulls. When Colt is gravely injured during a ride, Aspyn is hopeful Tucker will finally see things her way, but Aspyn is the one who has a change of heart.

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BEST RESULTS

Ginger Ring

Finding the perfect results from one simple test.

Orphaned at a young age, both Adam and River yearn to find a living relative from either of their families. After finally deciding to put down roots in Deadwood, a simple DNA test brings a result that is more than they ever expected.

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A GIFT OF GOLD

Maggie Ryan

There may be gold in the Black Hills, but Bennett had his eyes on a far more valuable prize.

Not one to be deterred by the dictates of society, Lorelai Samuels had a dream to open a restaurant in the bustling new town of Deadwood and no one was going to stand in her way, especially not the infuriatingly handsome and stubborn Bennett Redding.

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GOTTA HAVE FAITH

Lizbeth Selvig

Win or lose, she’s about to take on the big boys.

Faith “Rabbit” Redmond forms an extreme plan at the Deadwood rodeo to convince a champion bull rider that women can excel at the dangerous sport. If she wins his respect, she might also win his love. .

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THE SCHOOL MARM

Tina Susedik

Can a schoolmarm with dreams of a better life, fall for a disreputable man?

Suzanna Lindstrom travels as a schoolmarm in fledgling Deadwood. Having left her parents’ struggling farm, she dreams of a better life in Deadwood with a man who’s struck it rich in the gold fields. Fresh off the stagecoach, she meets Kingston Winson, whom she disregards as disreputable. Is he who she thinks he is? What lesson will she learn?

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TRICKS

A.C. Wilson

Tricks inspire courage and new love while daring others to dream.

Pushed to choose a direction for her life, Tandi discovers that some crossroads are necessary. Surprisingly, each marker leads her to an arena of spectators with her talented horse and a handsome guy who gives her hope to do the impossible.

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 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.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub
 
 Top photo purchased from Depositphoto

Shiny New Series! by Paty Jager

When the topic First in Series came up and the call went out for posts, I had to write about this topic.

I kind of killed my momentum as a historical western author when I followed all the shiny new ideas in my head. But it has given me the experience to dive into a new series without flinching.  I just have to keep my series ideas focused on the genres that I have the largest following and my heart dictates.

The first series I wrote was the historical western romance Halsey Brothers series. It started out as one book, and I "fell" into the series when readers wanted the brothers' stories. That gave me, Marshal in Petticoats, Outlaw in Petticoats, Miner in Petticoats, Doctor in Petticoats, and Logger in Petticoats. Readers still hadn't had enough of the Halseys, and I wrote three more novels (Laying Claim, Staking Claim, Claiming a Heart, and A Husband for Christmas) with younger men who came into the family through marriages and a Christmas novella with the daughter of one of the heroine's.  While I enjoyed the Halseys and writing their stories I was ready to move on after the 8th book and the novella.

But before I moved on to a new historical western series, I played with the idea of a series with Pinkerton agents. I wrote the first book, Improper Pinkerton, with the dream of a series, but it didn't receive the love of the readers as much as I loved writing it. I could still resurrect it as a series but I moved on.

I had the idea for a historical paranormal series and ended up with the Spirit Trilogy. A three book series about Nez Perce Spirits who watch over the Wallowa Valley Nez Perce. The first book, Spirit of the Mountain, is set before the whiteman came to the area, the second book, Spirit of the Lake, when they arrived and the third book, Spirit of the Sky, takes place when the Army chases Chief Joseph and two other bands of Nez Perce toward Canada. These books show the life and history of the Chief Joseph band and were written with just the three books in mind. I've been asked for more Native American books but we'll see. There isn't as big a following for this type of book and they require tons of research to get the facts and lives correct.

While complaining about a book that wasn't what it was toted, I ended up coming up with an action adventure series. This contemporary series was a LOT of fun to write. The female protagonist is an Indiana Jones/ MacGyver character who specializes in Native American cultures and works for the World Intelligence Agency. Isabella Mumphrey's Latin DEA agent helps heat up the pages. These three books may some day be a larger series but for now they are a trilogy. Secrets of a Mayan Moon, Secrets of an Aztec Temple, and Secrets of a Hopi Blue Star.

After dabbling in romance books, I finally bit the bullet and started a mystery series. Mystery has always been my first love for reading and the first type of book I wrote decades ago. Shandra Higheagle Mystery series, Double Duplicity.  I'm currently writing the fifth book in this series, Killer Descent, and loving visiting Huckleberry and the characters I've established in the town and area.

Using my love of Native American culture, specifically the Nez Perce, I came up with an amateur sleuth who is a potter. I gave her a big slobbery, cowardly dog, an eccentric older woman who works for her, a handsome county detective, and quirky characters in a small ski resort town. Coming up with all the elements for this series was as much fun as writing the first book in the

I just released my first book of a new historical western romance series. The series title is Letters of Fate, the book is titled, Davis. Seeing so many people clamoring for Mail Order Bride books, I decided to write a book kind of like that only with the hero as the person searching for a new life, not necessarily a wife but as the letter he receives changes his life it also brings him to the woman who fulfills him. What I like

best about this new series is how many stories I can write with a letter as the catalyst and that the stories while being a series won't have to be read in order to enjoy them.

I have written stand alone books, but I have to say, I enjoy coming up with the premise and ideas that make a series. It helps me find continuity with my thoughts and the way to put the books together.

Do you enjoy series books? If so, what is your favorite part about series? The same characters, the same premise, or just the feeling of coming home as you read?

Award-winning author Paty Jager and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. She not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. All Paty’s work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Her penchant for research takes her on side trips that eventually turn into yet another story.

You can learn more about Paty at

her blog; Writing into the Sunset 

her website; http://www.patyjager.net  

Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paty-Jager/132536633482029

Newsletter: Paty’s Prattle: http://eepurl.com/1CFgX

Paty’s Posse: https://www.facebook.com/groups/402519373168442/?ref=bookmarks

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005334.Paty_Jager 

twitter  https://twitter.com/patyjag