Picking a Charity Dear to You by Paty Jager

It makes sense that when a passel of historical western romance authors get together they would decide to give the proceeds from their anthology to a western cause.

Two years ago, fourteen historical western romance authors who were brought together by a western romance reader decided to make an anthology. At first we were going to give it away. Dispensing royalties 15 ways seemed like a hard task, but then we decided to put a price of  $2.99 on the book and give the proceeds to a charity.

Many charities were mentioned but it made sense to give to one that reflected our love of the west. That is when someone mentioned the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in Hot Springs South Dakota. This sanctuary is a place where mustangs can roam free and enjoy life.

What pleases me even more, the sanctuary was set up by Dayton O. Hyde. I met this author years ago when I first started writing and thought I could write children's books. He not only helped me see that I wasn't cut out to be a children's writer, but he encouraged me to continue writing. I met him at his place when he lived in Central Oregon and we discussed a book I was working on at that time.

Meeting the people involved in a charity and having a connection with the cause is one of the best reasons to give.

Here is information about Rawhide N Roses in case you wish to help the mustangs and get a good read for your money.

ALISON BRUCE - GOLD MOUNTAIN

There's more than one way to mine for gold, as May Travers well knows, and Marshal Ben Jessup is about to find out.

CELIA YEARY – A GENTLE TOUCH

Adam Taylor tames mustangs with a gentle touch, but would the same method calm a frightened abused woman?

SIMONE BEAUDELAIRE – A MIDNIGHT CLEAR

A lonely widow finds a new opportunity for love during an icy Christmas in modern-day Wyoming.

CAROLINE CLEMMONS – HOUSTON McCLINTOCK

Prequel to THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE

Houston McClintock is on his way home when an attack by vicious robbers redirects his life onto a surprising path to love and fulfilment.

CHARLENE RADDON – MARRYING JENNA

Branch McCauley and Jenna Leigh-Whittington's wedding day arrives at last, so why is Jenna riding hell-bent out of town wearing her wedding dress and a gun belt? Something's up, and it doesn't look good. Will the wedding ever take place?

RAIN TRUEAX – CONNIE’S GIFT

The gift of second sight, which Connie no longer believes she possesses, becomes a deadly threat to her and the man she loves.

CHAD STRONG – STABLE HANDS, STABLE HEARTS

                                             

When 17yr old Scott thinks he spots the girl of his dreams, will his feelings for her distract him from winning?

MARGARET TANNER – GUNSLINGER’S ANGEL

Gunslinger Cal Devereaux is saved by an angel, but is she a heavenly creature or a warm blooded woman?

SUSAN HORSNELL – PETTICOAT PATROL

When a man has no son, he calls on his daughters to help protect his ranch.

CAROL A. SPRADLING – WHEN LOVE ARRIVES

A stowaway's past and future collide on the Santa Fe Trail.

PATY JAGER – BLUFFING THE MARSHAL

Nellie Preston not only wants to keep her brother from hanging, she wants to become the marshal’s wife.

LYN HORNER – THE LAWMAN’S LADY

A prickly schoolmarm sets a handsome lawman’s teeth on edge until the day he starts to wonder what she’d look like without her specs and with her hair down.

PEGGY L HENDERSON – YELLOWSTONE PROPOSAL

(Yellowstone Romance Series short story)

Willing to face dangers only told in legends, Evan risks everything to find the woman who captured his heart.

JACQUIE ROGERS – MUCH ADO ABOUT MISFIRES

A short-short story in the Hearts of Owyhee series

A cowboy on rollerskates and an old flame with a new beau—can Reuben lasso the woman he loves?

CHERI KAY CLIFTON – DESTINY’S KISS

She gave up life in the present to find her destiny in the past.

Buy link: Amazon

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Box sets and Anthologies- The New Reader Deals by Paty Jager

With the advent of Self or Indie Publishing authors have the ability to bundle their books or release them as they want.

This freedom also allows authors to partner on anthologies and box sets in ways the big six or five( I never can keep track of who is left) publishers would have never dreamed doing. And this allows readers to get to know authors they may not have tried or taken a chance on before.

The box sets and anthologies are usually priced reasonably so the reader feels they are getting a deal and if they don't care for a book or an author in the bundle it is still worth the price of the other stories or books.

I've been fortunate lately to have been asked to be in two anthologies and a box set. All three ventures had different things I had to consider and hurdles I had to overcome before I first agreed and then worked with the others to put the projects together.

The first anthology was Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology. The stories for this anthology had to be written in Debra Holland's fictional historic western town of Sweetwater Springs, Montana. In order to write those stories we had to know her town and her characters to add them to our stories. I had two characters from my Halsey Brothers Series as secondary characters. This book proved to be daunting with trying to keep all the logistics accurate. There were thirteen Christmas stories all happening in the same town in the same year.

The second anthology will be out March 15th. This anthology, Rawhide 'N Roses, came about when the authors on a western author kindle forum started talking about finding ways to get more readers to find us. The reader who started the forum and moderates it was all for us making an anthology. So there are fifteen authors who each wrote a story like their western romance novels and put them together in one place so readers of western romance can read our work and go find more from each of us. It was a team effort to come up with the title, cover, and length of stories. Then different authors each took on a task to make the book a reality and to help promote the book.

Last fall, I was asked to be in a box set. I put Secrets of a Mayan Moon in the box set 9 Ways to Fall in Love. The set was a success. We had a huge release party on Facebook and the box set ended up getting me a large number for reviews for Secrets of a Mayan Moon.

In November I put together a box set of the Halsey Brother Series. The set of five books was on sale for $.99 for a month then I upped the price to $8.99 and it's still selling well. I believe readers like purchasing the box sets because they get a better deal per book and they know they have the complete series and don't have to wait for the next book to come out.

If you've purchased an anthology or box set why did you buy it? And were you satisfied with the read?

www.patyjager.net
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REVOLUTION - MARGARET TANNER

REVOLUTION – WELL NOT REALLY - MARGARET TANNER

I wouldn’t call this a revolution in the literal sense, but it was a revolution for me, well maybe a light bulb moment. I have actually written a Western Romance. Admittedly it is only a short story, but I was tremendously excited when I was invited to contribute to this Western Anthology – Rawhide ‘n Roses, which is due out in early March 2014. There are fifteen top Western Romance authors and lil-ol-me. 

As many of you would know, I write Australian historical romance, but there are many similarities between the American West and Frontier Australia. Stories abound of brave men and women fighting a hostile environment, and overcoming tremendous odds in their endeavours to settle the far corners of our countries.

Of course, I have always liked reading western novels, Zane Grey was my favourite. I was enthralled by all the western shows on TV.  Little House On The Prairie, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Bonanza and Rifleman, just to name a few, so when I think about it, I wonder why I didn’t try to write a western much earlier.

RAWHIDE ‘N ROSES – A Western Romance Anthology.

An extract from my contribution – The Gunslinger’s Angel.

Hot searing pain speared through Cal’s chest with every breath he took. He felt as if a red hot poker gouged his flesh, slowly twisting and turning to increase his torment. Sweat pouring into his eyes blurred his vision. His whole body burned with such intensity he wondered why he didn’t burst into flames.

“This is your first taste of hell, Caleb Devereaux,” he muttered. “Get used to it.” At least he had sent the Tolson brothers on ahead to meet Satan. The fires of hell were probably already burning those vicious hombres to a crisp.

A warm breath fanned his face, followed by the fleeting touch of soft hands stroking his forehead. His eyes creaked open and an angel’s face hovered above him. She had milky white skin, huge pale blue eyes and golden hair. A whiff of lavender infused his nostrils. Did angels smell of lavender?

He couldn’t see her wings, and she wore blue rather than white. There had to be a mistake. Why had he gone to heaven instead of hell? His life was not without blemish. He had killed a dozen or more men, but never shot a man in the back, didn’t need to when he was lightning fast on the draw. As a boy, he had stolen food after escaping the clutches of his drunken parents. Maybe he wasn’t evil enough for hell, but he was hardly suitable for heaven.

“Here, drink this.” The angel’s voice caressed him.

Water trickling down his throat washed away the dusty dryness.

“I have to stop the bleeding and get you home,” she murmured.

Laura glanced into the man’s ashen face, another couple of inches to the left and the bullet would have killed him. His horse grazed nearby, obviously well trained as he had deposited his master near this clump of trees and saved him from the searing heat that had baked the road.

The man wore his guns slung low over his hips. A gunfighter perhaps? She eased both guns out of the holsters and dashed over to her buckboard. She threw them under the seat before lowering the tailboard.

A black Stetson lay on the ground beside him, dusty and sweat stained like his clothes.  She didn’t have the strength to get him up on the front seat, but with her help he might be able to drag himself into the back.

She caught the trailing reins of his foam-flecked horse and secured it to the buckboard. That was the easy part, now she had to somehow move the man.

Her legs trembled as her anxiety escalated. What if he was an outlaw, a killer on the run? Dare she risk taking him to her ranch where she lived alone?

By the time she rode for help and returned he would be dead. She had removed his guns, his rifle was on his horse, and he was too weak to attack her, loss of blood and dehydration had seen to that.

“Stop dithering,” she muttered, “you can’t leave him here to die.”

She leaned over him and brushed a damp, tendril from his forehead. His breathing was harsh and labored his ashen face shiny with sweat.

“You have to stand up.” She tapped his cheek. He didn’t move, so she slapped him. “Wake up.”

He groaned, but his eyes remained closed. She hated doing it, but she grabbed him by the shoulder. He cussed with pain but his eyes opened.

“You must get up so I can take you home.”

“Home?” his voice was husky but not uncouth. “I’m not going anywhere, angel, I’m staying here in heaven with you.”

The man was obviously delirious. “I’m Laura.”

“Laura the angel?”

 

Margaret Tanner’s website: http://www.margarettanner.com/