Strong Women in my Life (real and fictional) by Paty Jager

 

Me and Jan

As a writer, I enjoy writing strong women. I feel it has taken us much too long to be seen as an equal to men, when in fact, if you scan history, it has been the woman who helped "man" get as far as he has. 

If not for the mothers and wives, men would not be able to procreate or have someone to tend to the people they make, or make their clothes, or feed them foods that are more than a seared piece of meat. 

And while I am happy to see so many more women in political places and businesses, I also feel the women who are down in the trenches, raising children and keeping the rural areas and communities thriving are just as important. 

I tip my hat to both of my daughters. One has homeschooled all her children while also building houses and raising cattle, hogs, chickens, and hay and doing most of this while her Coast Guard husband was away. The other daughter homeschooled one of her children for many years while they were remodeling houses and her husband was going up the ranks of law enforcement. They are both strong, able-bodied women who can take care of themselves and their families. 

My mom

My mom, who passed over thirty years ago was mentally strong. She had to be to survive in the rural area where my father hauled her, their two kids(at the time), and her in-laws in 1960. She left sunny California for the long cold winters in NE Oregon. As a kid you don't know any different, but when I was older my mom said on one of my birthday's they couldn't afford to buy me anything, so she took one of her nightgowns and cut it down to make me a nightgown. She said she cried giving it to me because she felt so bad. But it was all they could afford. She said I just hugged it and thought it was wonderful. I don't remember the event, so it didn't traumatize me. ;) She was a registered nurse and worked nights at the local hospital while my dad worked the land and looked for work for himself. Mom never bought herself anything. My dad bought her new underwear and clothes. She only spent money on the household, my brothers and me, and nurse uniforms.

There are so many strong women I know. I can't name them all. Some are women I've met through my kids going to school with their children. Others are women I've met through 4-H and writing. I feel like we have all come a long way and can still rise up and make this country and this world a better place if the men would get out of the way. 

Some of the strong women characters I enjoy writing are: 

Doctor Isabella Mumphrey in the Isabella Mumphrey Adventure series. She is a highly intelligent anthropologist who gets caught up in artifact thefts and drugs in the first book Secrets of a Mayan Moon. Her upbringing wasn't normal in any sense. She was a genius child who was sent to boarding schools her whole life with little contact with her parents. She turned out to be socially awkward but is trying to fit in and learn all she can to be "normal" as an adult. When she is faced with ordeals in the jungle, she uses her wit to stay alive.

Another strong woman character is Shandra Higheagle of the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. She is a Native American potter who begins to discover her roots when her grandmother dies. This deceased grandmother comes to her in dreams, helping Shandra and a detective solve murders. Shandra is strong in spirit and overcoming a harsh childhood at the hands of a stepfather who wasn't Native American.  

And the latest character I'm writing is Dela Alvaro. She is the main character in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series. She is a disabled veteran who has returned to the reservation where she grew up and is the head of security for the Native run casino. She is strong from being in the Army for seventeen years, having grown up on the reservation as a white girl in a Native environment, and not having a father or family to turn to other than her mom. She is becoming one of my favorite strong woman characters. 

I have many romance books with strong heroines. I can't write anything but a strong woman character. Growing up with brothers, I always felt that I could do as well or better than them and had to prove it. It's the same with my writing. I feel that strong female characters make better books. You can find all of my books at my website: https://www.patyjager.net

Who is the strongest woman in your life? Do you like strong women characters in books? What is the most recent book you read with a strong woman character?

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 53 novels, 8 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.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Hallmark has started by Paty Jager

 I bet you know what I'm talking about... The Hallmark Christmas movies have started airing. While I have a few favorites of their Christmas movies, I wasn't ready for them to be playing 24/7 yet. It felt like they had barely started the new movies and mystery shows and BOOM! It's now Christmas movies. 

Do you have a favorite Hallmark Christmas movie? Up until this year both my husband and I have loved "The Christmas Card" with Ed Asner and Lois Nettleton. 

But they had one last weekend, "Deliver By Christmas" I loved the actors, who I hadn't seen in other Hallmark movies, and I loved the "cute meet" and the way the sisters helped and teased one another. It is my new favorite, but hubby is still saying "The Christmas Card" is his, even though he slept through half of the movie the other night, so I'm not sure you he could compare them...

This month the RTG blog topic is Christmas Reads. I'll be frank, while others have found more time to read this year, I've found less. After spending most of the day on the computer writing and taking care of writer business, I don't want to read on my kindle, which is where I have all my light reading books. All my research books are in print so I can highlight and put tabs on pages. That all means, I've done less reading for pleasure and more for writing.

However an author friend has a new novella out in time for Christmas. It's titled, Be My Santa Tonight and it's by Kathy Coatney. I made the time to read this story. 

If you like the Hallmark Christmas movies with angels who bring two people together, you'll enjoy this story. 

Be My Santa Tonight

Book one in the Crooked Halo Christmas Chronicles

In Holly Krueger's tightknit community of Conspiracy, California, everyone goes the extra mile to help each other, especially during the holidays. Between running her flower shop and organizing the Lighted Ship Parade for the Conspiracy Christmas festival, Holly doesn't have time to think about what's missing in her life.

Since Liam Callahan's last relationship crashed and burned, he's put dating on hold and focused on his career. But when Holly convinces him to be Santa for the annual Christmas parade, he wants to make all her Christmas wishes come true.

The only thing Holly wants for Christmas is Liam under her tree, but she isn't sure he's ready to give his heart. With a little help from their guardian angels, can Liam make Holly's Christmas wish come true?

https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Tonight-Crooked-Christmas-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B08H559K61

Because I won't have another time to tell you, I'm having a "Where in the world is Isabella MUmphrey" Facebook party on November 14th from 5-7 pm here: https://www.facebook.com/events/471554667120961

This event is to show off my new covers for the Isabella Mumphrey Action Adventure/ Romantic Suspense/ Thriller trilogy. We'll have the game "Where in the world is Isabella Mumphrey for a chance to win books and other fun stuff. I'll talk about the series, and unveil the new covers. Come on by if you'd like to join the fun! 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 48 novels, 8 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.

   blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Photos from public domain. 

I Never Do Things Easy by Paty Jager

This month at RTG the theme is “Marching to a Different Drummer.” I can tell you about that!

I’ve always been an independent spirit. My mom said when I was a baby, I didn’t like to be held. I’ve always been happy to hang out by myself, which was good considering I had two brothers. One is 18 months older and the other 4 years younger. I spent most of my time either reading, listening to music, painting or working on a craft project, or riding my horse when I wasn’t doing my chores. My younger brother and I did play together and ride horses together when he was older.

I also loved to sit among the ferns under the trees between the river and the ditch not far from the house. Here I would draw in a sketch book or write stories. It was my hiding place of sorts. It’s where I dreamed up all kinds of wonderful scenarios of how my life would be.

I’m sure you’ve seen the ads where you can send in a drawing and they evaluate it? I did that. And they sent me a letter saying how they could see me as an artist or graphic designer and they could help me attain that goal with their curriculum. Mom indulged me and let me purchase the first kit. But when I wanted to go on to college for art, my dad squashed that idea out. He told me I would be going into the medical profession. That was where I’d make money.

He was adamant. I refused to be a nurse and found out it only took two years to be an x-ray technician. Needless to say, I didn’t finish. I didn’t want to be in the medical field but I didn’t know what I wanted at that point. Though my college English professor encouraged my writing.

A couple years were spent at different jobs, trying to find the one that fit. I married, started having kids, and when the two oldest started school and hubby was willing to take #3 with him trucking, I started taking college writing and art classes. The art dropped to the wayside but I was inspired by writing.

I started writing for the local newspapers, while also working on the first great American novel. 😉 Which was really a murder mystery with an amateur detective. By this time, I had read nearly every mystery book our local library had and knew this was what I wanted to write. After a bad experience with an agent, and not able to find a way to learn more about mystery writing, I turned to Romance Writers of America and started writing historical western romance.

History was one of my favorite subjects in school. Especially American history. It made sense that I’d write that when I had a bounty of workshops, conferences and people who were willing to help me learn the craft and the business of writing. My first book was published in 2006 by a small press. That book began the eventual 8 books in the Halsey Brothers Series.

But I still felt I hadn’t achieved what I wanted. When agents at a conference said they wanted historical paranormal, I came up with the Spirit Trilogy. Books historically accurate with Native American spirits. An agent loved the books but couldn’t figure out how to pitch them to the people who had asked for historical paranormal. Luckily, an editor, with the small press that published my westerns, loved the books, and they were published. Now, I not only had historical western romance but I'd added Native American romance.

Still not happy, I wrote a contemporary western romance and then another. I’d just added another genre to my list.

Then I decided to write a series with a female MacGyver/Indiana Jones character. I loved writing Isabella and Tino’s adventures. I called it Action Adventure but the books could also be classified as Romantic Suspense, with the same two main characters. I LOVED writing the Isabella Mumphrey Adventures. The first book in the series won an award and reviews were good. But they weren’t selling.

I went back to historical western romance. But the idea of finally writing a mystery series kept banging at my brain. And I finally came up with a character, where she lived, a paranormal element, and I started writing the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. I LOVE writing this series and characters. My readers love this series. The sales are doing well.

With all the great things happening with the mystery series, I decided to write another one. This one has a male protagonist, who is also Native American. Which is now becoming a worry. I have a person who connects me with the reservation and people my Shandra character is related to, but I need to make a connection with someone from the reservation where Gabriel Hawke hails from. I made a small connection last spring and plan to make it much stronger this spring.

But like I said in the beginning, I never do anything the easy way! It’s been a long trip, but I am finally in my happy place with what I am doing.

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 43 novels, 8 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.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

photo source: DepositPhotos

Magically FREE!

Magic is how my character Isabella Mumphrey can puzzle her way out of scrapes.

Here is Isabella's character bio:

28 years old has her doctorate in Anthropology in Indian Artifacts and Culture from the University of Arizona. Lectures at universities and authenticates articles found in digs in the Western Hemisphere. A child prodigy she has always been fascinated by the Native American people. Her great, great, great, great grandfather had a Hopi mother. She did her Anthropology thesis on the migration of Central, and South American Natives to North America.

A book worm young woman who goes braless because she has little to keep in bra cups, wears cotton tank tops and swirly, embroidered skirts, round glasses, long, straight, braided dark brown hair.  She watches Indiana Jones movies over and over and wishes she could be brave and tough like him. Her intelligence is a plus for remembering dates and artifacts from ancient countries. A female McGyver.  She picks up the native language from books but hasn't the knack for the dialogue.

She brings a vest with many pockets. Items in pockets are: dental floss, a small tooth brush, duct tape, paper clips, tissue, medicine- aspirin, anti-inflammatory, antihistamines,-  collapsible cup, water purifying tablets, nail clippers, Swiss army knife, bandages,  local medicinal plant book, journal, travel book, map. And a Survival Tin with these items: A small signal mirror, 2 x-acto blades, 3 yds of nylon string, 2 magnetized sewing needles, a Fresnel magnifier, safety pins, and 2 ft. of aluminum foil folded into a small square. Mini magnesium fire starter and tinder tabs. One inch candle, 2 quart-sized zip-lock bags, a glass vial of 20 water purification tablets, 50 ft. of braided fishing line on a sewing bobbin, plastic tube of hooks and swivels, 10 ft. of 24 gauge snare wire.

Secrets of a Christmas Box: An Isabella Mumphrey Adventure short story is now available for FREE.

This is a good way for you to sample this Action Adventure Series to see if you'd like to be part of Isabella's magic love story with Tino Constantine a DEA agent and her magic at getting out of tight places.

This short story introduces you to Dr. Isabella Mumphrey, a female MacGyver/Indiana Jones character. Anthropologist Isabella Mumphrey is excited about spending her first Christmas with her Venezuelan DEA agent boy friend. The two met in the Guatemala Jungle in Secrets of a Mayan Moon. They found their missions intersecting in Secrets of an Aztec Temple. This Christmas story takes place before Isabella meets with her aunt at the Hopi Reservation and becomes entangled in Hopi myths and human slavery in Secrets of a Hopi Blue Star.

Blurb: 

Isabella’s plans of a wonderful Christmas are thwarted when her father hands her a World Intelligence Agency mission. He allows Tino to help her with the mission, so they can be together. As the days hasten to Christmas can she decipher the wooden cube she’s been handed or will her first Christmas with Tino be a bust?

 

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Christmas-Box-Isabella-Adventure-ebook/dp/B00XCZ60OA

Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1040671480

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secrets-of-a-christmas-box-paty-jager/1122662609

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/secrets-of-a-christmas-box

http://authl.it/B00XCZ60OA