Mystery Turned My Writing Around by Paty Jager

I'm beginning to think that time is flashing by at a rate much faster than even five years before. Is the world spinning faster and while the clocks read the same the time is, in fact, moving much faster? 

I can't believe it's June already! Halfway through this year. I'm sort of on track with my goals for the year. I do have 2 books that have been published so far. Now I have to get busy and get two more written and published before the end of the year. My goal is 4 books. Even with a month of no writing while I go on a vacation I've been dreaming about for some timem that will happen in September and October, I plan to keep to my goal. 

This month the theme is starting Anew. I'm not really starting anew, though I did ten years ago when I decided to write mysteries instead of western romance.  I'm so glad I did! I feel it is more my voice and I have gained a much larger and broader readership by switching to writing murder mysteries, or crime fiction as some people call it. 

I spent 2014 writing the first three books in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. The premise of the series and the character came about because of something my brother told me about a bronze statue he was putting the patina on. I used what he told me as part of the murder in Double Duplicity, book 1. Because the plot dealt with the art community, I made my main character a potter or ceramicist as it can also be called. But I wanted her to be a bit more unique. She lives on a mountain where she gathers the clay she cleans and uses in her vases that are sold in art galleries. 

Making her a child of a Native American (Nez Perce) father, who died when she was young, and a Caucasian mother gave me the ability to write her with wanting to learn more about her father's side of the family since her mother had kept her from it and have her learn about her heritage as I discovered things as well. Luckily, I'd met an author before I started this series, who is married to an Arrow Lakes tribal member. They live on the Colville Reservation in Washington state where I have Shandra's paternal relatives living. My friend gave me a tour of the reservation and gave me great insight into the thoughts and feelings of the people who live there. 

The Shandra Higheagle Series ended with 16 books and a novella. I enjoyed writing about Shandra, Ryan, her love interest, and all of her friends and animals. But I decided to end the series before readers said it was going flat. 

Before I ended the series, I started a new series. The Gabriel Hawke Novels are about a Native American (Umatilla and Nez Perce) Fish and Wildlife Oregon State Trooper in Wallowa County, Ore. This means most of the stories are set in NE Oregon with a few set in other states in the Pacific Northwest. Though Hawke did go to Iceland for a Search and Rescue World Conference and was caught up in finding a killer there. ;) I'm still writing this series and the current book, Cougar's Cache, was released on June 1st. Check the bottom of this post to learn more about it. 

I am also writing the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series with Dela Alvaro a disabled veteran who is head of security for my fictional Spotted Pony Casino on the Umatilla Reservation outside of Pendleton. From May 30th to June 12th you can get the audiobook of book 1, Poker Face through Independent Audiobook Deals. Some of your favorite bestselling authors have come together to bring you amazing audiobook deals! Check it out!🎧 The Pinch, book 5 came out in February. It's set in a casino on the Oregon Coast. Dela heads over there to audit the security staff and gets caught up in a kidnapping and murder. 

Starting anew writing mysteries in 2014 was the best thing I could do for myself and my writing career. Like I said before, I have truly found my voice writing mysteries. 

Cougar's Cache

Book 11 in the Gabriel Hawke Novels

This double cold case and current homicide have Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Trooper Gabriel Hawke calling in favors… and exploring a childhood he shoved into the deep recesses of his mind.

While patrolling on the Snake River in Hells Canyon, Gabriel Hawke’s dog digs up a human bone. Hawke is confronted by an aunt he doesn’t remember, and he finds a canister of film when the rest of the remains are excavated. The film shows someone being killed and a rifle pointed at the photographer.

Going through missing person files, Hawke discovers the victims of the decades-old double homicide. A person connected to the original crime is murdered, giving Hawke more leads and multiple suspects.

Attending a local Powwow with his family, Hawke discovers more about his childhood and realizes his suspects have been misleading him.

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

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 56 novels, 10 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

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

A Little Spirit Paranormal by Paty Jager

I'm at the blog today to talk a bit about light paranormal in a book.  I don't know if someone before me went over the difference between dark and light paranormal but I'll do a brief overview. 

Dark paranormal is usually vampires, demons, werewolves, zombies and books with a darker almost Gothic theme. 

Light paranormal is usually witches, spirits, ghosts, with lighter themes than the dark paranormal. 

I write light paranormal. Mostly spirits and ghosts. Though I have enjoyed reading books about witches from authors like Nora Roberts, Mary Stewart, and Diana McCollum. 

My Spirit Trilogy ( I think you figured out this is a paranormal), is first and foremost a historical Native American romance. But because I have three Indian spirit siblings who are main characters in the books, that makes the books also light  paranormal. I say light not only because of the spirit element, but because that element of the story is key to the story, but it isn't dark. It is just in how they help the mortals in the books. 

Three books about the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce or Nimiipuu. Three sibling Nimiipuu Spirits fall in love with mortals as they work together to help the People.

Spirit of the Mountain

Evil spirits, star-crossed lovers, and duty…which will prevail?

Wren, the daughter of a Nimiipuu chief, loves the mountain and her people. When an evil spirit threatens Wren’s life, Himiin, Spirit of the Mountain, rushes to save her. But to leave the mountain means he’ll turn to smoke…

https://www.books2read.com/u/4Ek6A3

Spirit of the Lake

Can a spirit set upon this earth to watch over the Nimiipuu stay true to justice when revenge burns in his heart? On their quest for justice, Dove reveals spiritual abilities, ensnaring Wewukiye’s respect and awe. But will these abilities seal their future or tear them apart?

https://www.books2read.com/u/m2R9km

Spirit of the Sky

Can enemies not only work for peace but find love?

Sa-qan, a Nimiipuu eagle spirit, must take human form to save her mortal niece when the Nimiipuu are forced from their land by the U.S. Army. Trying to remain true to her spirit world and her people becomes hard when a Cavalry Officer captures her heart.

https://www.books2read.com/u/b5D814

These books are what I call the "books of my heart." I grew up in Wallowa County where the Nimiipuu summered and wintered, yet I never knew more about them than they rode in the Chief Joseph Days parade and Rodeo. They set up teepees and that was it. When I became an adult I learned how they were pushed from their land and how they suffered. That is what is in these three books. I'm happy to sat that today, they own land in Wallowa County and hold a Powwow there every July. For many years they weren't allowed to set foot in the county.

 My other light paranormal series is my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. In these books it is a ghost or spirit of my main character's grandmother who comes to Shandra Higheagle in dreams and helps her solve the murders. 

This story started out with my wanting to have a Native American protagonist and coming up with a way to have her involved in the art world because my brother, an artist had given me a great idea for how to hide a weapon on a bronze statue. With is idea, I came up with Shandra being a potter who sold her vases as art and goes to art shows.  The idea of her grandmother coming to her in dreams came from my research of the Nez Perce who live on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. The Nez Perce who live at Colville are descendants of the Non-treaty Nez Perce (the ones who followed Young Chief Joseph to Montana trying to get to Canada-you can learn all of this in my Spirit trilogy) who were first sent to Oklahoma after they were captured and then banned from being with the treaty Nez Perce in Lapwai in Idaho. These Non-treaty Nez Perce also practiced the Dreamer Religion of their ancestors. And this little tidbit, sent my mind spinning and I came up with the idea of Shandra's deceased grandmother coming to her in dreams. 

Although the grandmother comes to her, she doesn't just tell Shandra everything. Shandra has to decipher the dreams to help her catch the killers.

This only shows seven of the fifteen books in the series. 

You can find these books at my website: https://www.patyjager.net/shandra-higheagle-mystery-series/  most of these books are available in ebook, print, and audio. 

I prefer reading and writing the lighter paranormal books, what about you? Do you like lighter or darker paranormal reading? 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 47 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

Top photo purchased from DepositPhoto

Tropical Plotting is Fun by Paty Jager

I'm getting ready to head to Hawaii again. This time with a daughter and her family. She called and asked me if I'd like to go to Maui and help wrangle kids. I mean, who would pass that up! So I'm headed to a different island.

I enjoyed my trip to Kauai this past October with my husband, but I think going with 6 grandkids it will be a bit more exciting. LOL They want to hike and swim. Hubby only wanted to hike and stay away from people. And he's the extrovert in the family.

With the book I set in Kauai releasing the end of March, it will be fun to see how the two islands differ. I had fun looking into the art community in Kauai so I could find a reason to have my character, a Native American potter, go to the island. I discovered an art show that is held every year in October. It worked perfectly to have my character be asked to juror the show.

I visited with an artist who was manning the gallery during the show and learned the process and what days my character would need to be at the event and participate. Then, of course, the friend who invited her to juror ends up a suspect when one of the artists is found dead.

Figuring out who to murder and how it was done is one of my favorite parts about writing murder mystery. But it's the interwoven lives that are used as red herrings that make the story more convoluted and harder for the reader to pick who is the killer. That is also extremely fun! LOL

All the time I'm messing with my character's lives and revealing bits and pieces that either make them sympathetic or unappealing, I'm also using my main characters' thoughts and opinions of sway the reader.

If only life was so easy to manipulate. ;)

Here is the blurb, cover, and pre-order link for Abstract Casualty.

Hawaiian adventure, Deceit, Murder

Shandra Higheagle is asked to juror an art exhibition on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

After an altercation at the exhibition, the chairwoman of the event, Shandra’s friend, arrives home with torn clothes, scratches, and stating she tried to save an angry artist who fell over a cliff. Shandra and Ryan begin piecing together information to figure out if the friend did try to save the artist or helped him over the edge.

During the investigation, Shandra comes across a person who reminds her of an unhealthy time in her past. Knowing this man and the one from her past, she is determined to find his connection to the dead artist. When her grandmother doesn’t come to her in dreams, Shandra wonders if her past is blinding her from the truth.

https://books2read.com/u/4XXLke

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

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

A Little Romance a Little Mystery by Paty Jager

Boy do I have a red face! This month we were asked to suggest a holiday themed book. I had one on my Kindle from an author I enjoy, so I read it and when I headed over to Amazon to capture a cover and link for it...it's not there. Because it was a short story, I'm thinking it was something her newsletter peeps received.

Anyway, it was A Christmas Miracle in Pajaro Bay by Barbara Cool Lee. I have been reading her Pajaro Bay series and really like the California coastal town that is her setting and all the intrigue that happens along the coast. Smugglers, drug dealers, and small town revenge.

The first book in Ms. Cool Lee's series: The Honeymoon Cottage that introduces you to the town and community is FREE at                   
Amazon      Apple    Nook     Kobo

"Readers praise the series for its "sweetness," its "excellent characterization," and say the books are "adorable, lively and like a warm hug."

I have to agreed. While there is suspense and unique, quirky characters the books are feel good reads, so even if you don't have one that is set around the holidays, reading it will give you the same warm feelings.  To learn more about Barbara check out her website: http://barbaracoollee.com/

If you are wondering what Shandra Higheagle, my mystery character has been up to, her latest book,
Toxic Trigger-point is now available in ebook and print.

Adultery… Jealousy… Murder

Shandra Higheagle Greer is minding her own business when she walks into a room for a massage and it is already occupied—by a dead body.

Always the champion for someone she knows, when her favorite masseuse looks like the murderer, Shandra listens to her gut and dreams choreographed by her deceased grandmother.

Detective Ryan Greer can’t believe his wife has walked into another homicide. He’s learned no matter how he tries to keep her out of the investigation he can’t. But this time the consequences could be deadly for Shandra—she heard the murder happen.

Universal Buy Link    https://books2read.com/u/4Ex9De

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 42 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

Top photo source: Deposit Photo

I'm Ready for Fall by Paty Jager

Summer came and is quickly sliding into fall and I am struggling to feel as if I had a summer. While I enjoyed every minute of the last three months, I am having trouble digesting that they have come and gone.

June I was preparing for my trip to Iceland and ventured forth the end of the month. Up to my trip, I also jet-boated up the Snake River for research. Then July and August I pinged all around the eastern side of the state judging at county fairs, culminating with judging at the State Fair. 

This past weekend finished out my summer, I was set up at the Sumpter, Oregon Flea Market for three days selling my books alongside another author from the area. With this weekend over, summer is finished as well as my running around. For a while. ;) 

Now I need to sit down and get the book written that was supposed to be ready to go to my editor by now. Funny how having fun always seems to mess up my writing schedule. 

The worst part about having played so much this summer, I'm having a hard time getting my mind wrapped back into the act of writing. I've fleshed out the book I need to write. Made my suspect chart and drawn up info about the characters. I even have all the maps I need. But I keep finding other things to distract me.

The first book of the Gabriel Hawke series is being narrated and I stop to listen to the chapters as they are finished. 

I just published the third book in the Silver Dollar Saloon Series. Freedom. It is available in ebook and soon print.  

Their dreams brought them together. But will violence tear them apart?

Freedom longs to be out of the Silver Dollar Saloon, with a family of her own. When a white man promises marriage and children, she takes the biggest risk of her life, and follows him to the wilds of Montana Territory. Where he shows his true nature.

Water Runs Fast, a Crow off the reservation, comes upon a white man whipping a brown-skinned woman. After stabbing the white man and riding off with the woman, he realizes she is the woman from his visions. The one who pledged to help him and his people survive in the white man’s world.

On the run from the tragedy, the two grow close. Together, they begin a life as husband and wife. But will they have their chance at a life together, or will they hang for murder?

Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mlawnB

And for one more week, you can get the first book in the Silver Dollar Saloon series, Savannah, for $0.99.

She went from an heiress to a pauper.

He outran the law and became preacher.

Escaping a past full of deceit and larceny, Savannah Gentry goes in search of her only kin, a half-brother she discovered after her father’s death. She hopes Shady Gulch in the Dakota Territory can give her a future. However, she stumbles into the arms of Reverend Larkin Webster, finds herself working in the Silver Dollar Saloon, and soon fears she’s gone from the frying pan into the fire.

After dodging death and incarceration, the Topeka Kid decides to turn his life around and takes on a new identity. Reverend Larkin Webster. It works, until he finds a temptation he can’t resist and steals the heart of Savannah Gentry. When her past collides with his, he wonders if this theft could end up with him losing everything… including his life. https://www.books2read.com/u/b5MkNp

While all of this is going on, I'm also in the critiquing stages of the 13th book in the Shandra Higheagle Series, Toxic Trigger-point. 

I guess it's no wonder I'm having trouble clearing my head and pushing forward on the work in progress, Chattering Blue Jay.  

Off to send Hawke chasing a convicted killer through the Hells Canyon of the Snake River. I hope I don't fall off a cliff! 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 40 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

Crime of Passion by Paty Jager

How many times do you hear that on a mystery show? It was a crime of passion. There are statistics that show most murders are crimes of passion. Lovers kill lovers, husbands kill wives, mothers kill children, fathers kill families. It's not something we want to think about or write about- but it is the world a mystery writer has to think about.

Passion- it can get out of control and cause the loss of life or it can be used to keep readers wanting to know what happens next with your protagonist.

What the statistics do tell us, is no matter what happens in a person's life- romance or lack of romance- plays a part in how that person acts and reacts to others. 

That is why I enjoy reading mystery books that have an element of romance going on either between the main protagonists or the secondary characters. It's that little bit of human interaction that makes me root for them, remember them, and think of them as real people.

Not too long ago at a book signing, I'd just set everything up and five women marched up to my table

and one declared, "Why are you being so mean to Ryan?"  They all agreed and went on to quiz me about when I was going to have Shandra (main protagonist in my Shandra Higheagle mysteries) give in and agree to marry Ryan. The women said they loved the mysteries but wanted to know when I was going to get Ryan and Shandra together. 

I gave them a vague answer, knowing full well which book I planned to give Ryan and Shandra a happy-ever-after. Drawing out their attraction and waiting for the right moment had worked. It kept readers purchasing the books. While my reviews remark about the mysteries, the Native American elements, and the twists, they usually also comment on the romance element too. 

One of my critique partners who writes romance kept telling me to add more romance into the story, but I knew staunch mystery readers wouldn't like that. I tried to keep the romance as much a mystery as the murder they were trying to solve. It was the best way to keep the ones who like romance in the books to keep reading and to appease the ones who don't care for romance in their mysteries. 

If you look back to Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence mysteries there was a romantic/married

couple who solved mysteries. Dame Christie's books also showed a wonderful array of local people who might or might not be involved in a bit of hanky-panky. 

I believe to make a realistic setting for a mystery you have to include romance in either your main characters, secondary characters, or both.  My latest murder mystery series, Gabriel Hawke, I have a man in his 50's who lost his wife the first five years into his career because of his career and has believed he doesn't need another woman in his life. Unfortunately for him, his best friend, other than the couple who are his landlords, is a woman and he's having strong feelings towards another woman. While there isn't a romance, yet. There is ample opportunity for one to happen and for the readers (who have already been telling me who he should go for) to made a wager if he'll crumple and if so with which woman. 

I'm betting that having this will he or won't he fall in love element of romance fluttering on the fringes of the murder mysteries he solves is one of the things along with the cast of characters and the settings and twists that keep the readers coming back for more.  

How about you? Do you like romance with your mysteries or do you want just the facts ma'am and work at solving the mystery on your own? 

Paty Jager is the award-winning author of the Shandra Higheagle and Gabriel Hawke Mystery series. 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.

This is what Mysteries Etc has to say about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.” And Books A Plenty Book Reviews says this about the Gabriel Hawke Series:"The blend of nature tracking, clues, and the animals makes for a fascinating mystery that is hard to put down." 

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

April Fool's by Paty Jager

Because my post is posting on April 1st, I had thought about putting "Book to Movie" in the title and then going on to say one of my books had been picked up for a movie, and then APRIL FOOL'S! But I didn't want to get anyone all excited for me only to make them mad at me.

Yes, that's how I think of April Fool's. I don't like it because someone tells you something that is so great for them or you and then BOOM! they take it all away with those two words. And that is why I despise today.

On a happy note! I'm excited to be talking to a book club at the end of the month about my book

Spirit of the Mountain. A reader picked up book 3, Spirit of the Sky from me at my annual booth in Sumpter, Oregon on Memorial and Labor Day weekends. She started it and decided this series would be something her book club might like. I met her and sold her 7 copies of Spirit of the Mountain and am anxious to see what they thought of the book and see how they interpreted the writing and developments in the story.

In May, I'll be speaking with 3 other women who write western themed books at a Cowboy Poetry and Country Music event. It should be fun, but I'm still trying to figure out what to talk about.

And JUNE- I'm about to burst my buttons! In June, I'll be touring Iceland with a group of writers. I've already started a list of things I need to find out in order to use it for a setting for a Gabriel Hawke Novel.  It's a week long trip. Just right for my first voyage by myself to another country. Who knows, I might also come up with some information that can be used in one of my romance series. We will be visiting museums and attending a cocktail reception with local authors. I will be exhausted when I return home but so enlightened about another country and culture.

This month I am powering through to finish a historical romance and then write a contemporary romance novella so I can get back to writing another Shandra Higheagle mystery. While I know this blog is about romance, I find my heart is in my mystery books these days and the romance are only written to finish out series and keep my romance readers happy.  Probably not a good thing to say, but while my heart is in my mysteries, I still care about my romance characters and want to make sure I give my readers the type of book they appreciate. One where they might learn a tiny bit about something in history, a culture, an occupation, or place they didn't know about and a fulfilling love story.

Enjoy your day and don't get too disappointed by an April Fool's joke. I know I won't believe anything my husband or grandchildren tell me today. They LOVE today!

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 38 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. 

You can catch up to her at the following places:

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

December Madness by Paty Jager

It's December. The month when I'm rushing around getting out Christmas cards to family, friends, and fans. Making sure I have gifts for family members and best friends. Decorating the house, the tree, and me. Making cookies and candies to give to neighbors and friends. And this year trying to write a book and get promotion rolling in January for a new series.

Now I'm tired! LOL I love this time of year. The carols, the people coming together, the snow.  I've been playing Christmas music in my car and at home since channels appeared. I've been working on Christmas sewing projects since September. I've already made a batch of fudge, caramel corn, and mints for Thanksgiving.

I seem to have more energy and get more accomplished knowing the family will gather here for Christmas and knowing I have a word count to accomplish before 2019 rings in at midnight on the 31st!

So I better get busy and tell you about Yuletide Slaying is now in audio! I'm excited and the reviews that have been coming in have been favorable! You can purchase it at these audio book outlets:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/yuletide-slaying-shandra-higheagle-mystery-book-7-unabridged/id1441592155?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 

Nook: https://www.nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook/251575/yuletide-slaying

Audiobooks.com: https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/yuletide-slaying/356808 

Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/389993251/Yuletide-Slaying 

Playster: https://play.playster.com/audiobooks/1001800000000251575/yuletide-slaying-paty-jager

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Yuletide-Slaying-Shandra-Higheagle-Mystery/dp/B07JP1L8QD 

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Yuletide-Slaying-Audiobook/B07JNKQNPC

If you belong to more than one audio vendor check around, different ones have been having sales on it at different times. I think because it is a holiday audio book.

Here is the blurb:

Yuletide Slaying

Book 7 of the Shandra Higheagle mystery series

Family, Revenge, Murder

When Shandra Higheagle’s dog brings her a dead body in a sleigh full of presents, her world is turned upside down. The man is a John Doe and within twenty-four hours another body is found.

Detective Ryan Greer receives a call that has them both looking over their shoulders. A vengeful brother of a gang member who died in a gang war is out for Ryan’s blood. Shandra’s dreams and Ryan’s fellow officers may not be enough to keep them alive to share Christmas. 

Another fun thing happening today- I'm doing a podcast with Patricia McLinn. I hope to have a copy of it to post here next month. 

Next month I'll also have a new Shandra Higheagle book coming out, Homicide Hideaway, as well as the first book in my Gabriel Hawke series, Murder of Ravens. 

Oh! I'll also be doing a blog tour in January to promote the new series and I will have a new website and blog to show off. Whew! 2019 will start with a bang for me! 

How is your end of the year going? Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Are you looking forward to Christmas or whatever holiday you observe in December?

Discovering a Lost Art by Paty Jager

Do you ever listen to music from another culture? I don't mean you grew up listening to the Jive and now listen to today's Rock. 

Native American,  Central American, Chinese, Andes. I have CDs with music from all of these places. I listen to it as I write first drafts of books. 

Why you might ask? I've had books with either characters of these nationalities or set in the areas. By listening, I feel the rhythm of the culture and the nuances. Does that make me strange? Probably, but I believe it helps me gain a better understanding of the people and place where the music originated.

My latest Shandra Higheagle mystery which is in pre-order and releases this month is once again set on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington state. In the book, Shandra is discovering even more about her Nez Perce roots. I have her dancing and watching traditional dance. As you might expect given what I said earlier, I listened to drumming and dance music by Blackstone a Native American drum group. They aren't Nez Perce, but I've discovered listening to various artists that while some may be heavier on flute and another on drum, they all have the same basic pulse and fluidity to them. 

The art of drumming and dance isn't lost to the Native American culture. They have regional and national Powwows where they show off their drum and dancing skills. Even their regalia-traditional style clothing they wear for the dances.   

While researching the Seven Drums Religion, Dreamer Faith, or walahsat- the religion I have Shandra's deceased grandmother having been a follower- I discovered there is little to be found about the religion. It was one of the first things the Nez Perce were forced to give up to believe in a Christian religion and not be considered a heathen when the religious sects came to the west to "civilize". It is also one more thing that divides the Lapwai treaty Nez Perce in Idaho and the Nespelem non-treaty Nez Perce in Washington.   

What I did discover about this lost religion is:

• They always sing a song for each day of the week.
• They move counter-clockwise with the earth
• They jump and dance.
• They believe the animals all have spirits.
• That every thing is a gift-food, sight, hearing, children, everything. 
• All gifts come from the Creator.
• They believe in vision quests. 

While this religion is slowly coming back to the Nez Perce, I consider it a lost art. 

I share a small bit of it in my latest Shandra Higheagle release, Dangerous Dance.

Book eleven in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery Series

Jealousy… Drugs… Murder…

At the reservation to make final arrangements for her upcoming wedding, potter Shandra Higheagle gets caught up in the murder of a young woman about to turn her life around. 

Having no jurisdiction on the reservation, Detective Ryan Greer pulls in favors from friends in the FBI to make sure there is no delay in their wedding. 

However, the death occurs in a sacred place and could place the nuptials on hold. Following the clues may not only stop the wedding... but separate Shandra and Ryan for life. 

Universal Link: https://www.books2read.com/u/mKKB7d