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

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

Do You Pick Up a Book Because of the Cover?

by Diana McCollum

Book covers can be decorated with a man or woman or a seductive couple, landscape scene, symbol, even a pair of shoes can draw me in to pick up the book and possibly buy it. Of course, the second most important thing is the blurb on the back and the opening pages. If I like all that, it's a sure bet I'll be buying the book.

All these books I've read, and any one of them would be a great Summer read.

Some novels don't live up to their covers. When this happens I feel a bit disappointed that the cover designer/editor didn't research the story line before creating the cover.

Recently I read a book by Catherine Anderson, "Silver Thaw". The story was good, but the cover? First it takes place in central Oregon. The Cardinals' habitat does NOT include Washington, Oregon or California, or the rest of the northern western states. But there, on the cover is a Cardinal sitting in a tree.

"The Mystery Woman" by Amanda Quick, is an intriguing and accurate cover. Intriguing because we don't see the heroines face only her leg, bloomers, garter and derringer. And the derringer is a vital part of the story, as is the delicate holster she keeps it in on her leg.



My friend, and fellow blogger, Paty Jager, has beautiful covers. In her three Spirit books the covers convey the Native American theme along with the legend each book contains.  This one being about the wolf, who is the spirit of the Mountain.

One of my all time favorite covers, has the main focus a pair of shoes. "The Witch's Daughter", by Paula Brackston. I picked this book up because of the cover, thinking it was a historical book. As it turns out, it is the story of one witch and how she survives by fleeing to different time periods through out history,  to avoid a Warlock who wants to have her, and have her powers. It starts out in present day first person, and she begins to tell her story to a young girl she befriends. Excellent book for the summer or any time.

Now I want to share the cover of the anthology I have two short stories in, "Love & Magick". There are six short stories in this book. A wide variety of genres. The couple on the front is representative of all the heroes and heroines in the six stories.

Submit a comment with your pick of names for the couple on the front of "Love & Magick", I'm curious as to who they look like to you.

Do you have a favorite book cover from books you've read?

Spirit Trilogy - Books of My Heart

Growing up in an area rich in Native American history has made me curious and empathetic to the band of Nez Perce who summered in Wallowa County many generations before Lewis and Clark entered their lives.

The Wallowa, or Lake Nimiipuu as they call themselves, are a band of the Nez Perce(Nimiipuu) who moved like nomads across the Pacific NW and into the plains with the seasons. They wintered along the Imnaha River in the lower warmer regions of Wallowa County, spent the early spring in the camas meadows of Idaho, and summered at Wallowa Valley, fishing the Columbia in the fall and returning to their winter home before the snows became too treacherous. The warriors and some of the women went out on hunting expeditions to the plains for buffalo.

They were nomadic, but they had a fierce love of the land in their hearts.

The spirit entity in these books is all a figment of my imagination, but it felt real to me. My fascination with the Native American culture, their healing herbs, chants, legends, myths, and vision quest all primed my imagination when I came up with the spirit siblings who are the main characters in the books. 

Spirit of the Mountain

ISBN 9781940064833

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

Wren, the daughter of a Nimiipuu chief, loves the mountain and her people—the Lake Nimmipuu.  When a warrior from the enemy Blackleg tribe asks for her hand in marriage to bring peace between the tribes, she knows it is how she must fulfill her vision quest. But she is torn between duty and her breaking heart.

Himiin, as spirit of the mountain, watches over all the creatures on his mountain, including the Nimiipuu. When Wren shows no fear of him as a white wolf, he listens to her secret fears and loses his heart to the mortal maiden. Respecting her people’s beliefs, he must watch her leave the mountain with the Blackleg warrior.

When an evil spirit threatens Wren’s life, Himiin rushes to save her. But to leave the mountain means he’ll turn to smoke…

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spirit-of-the-mountain-paty-jager/1100249639

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Mountain-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00MQCAYIS

Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id909696594

Windtree Press http://windtreepress.com/portfolio/spirit-mountain/

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/spirit-of-the-mountain-3

Spirit of the Lake

ISBN 9781940064857

Can a spirit set upon this earth to see to the good of the Nimiipuu stay true to justice when revenge burns in his heart?

Wewukiye, the lake spirit, saves a Nimiipuu maiden from drowning and bringing shame to herself and her family. Learning her people ignored her accusations against a White man who took her body, leaving her pregnant,Wewukiye vows to help her through the birth and to prove the White man’s deceit.

Dove slowly heals her heart and her distrust as Wewukiye, the warrior with hair the color of the sun, believes in her and helps her restore her faith in her people and herself.  

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?

Buy Links:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MYOSCPU

Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id912073592

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spirit-of-the-lake-paty-jager/1100443073

Windtree Press http://windtreepress.com/portfolio/spirit-lake/

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/spirit-of-the-lake-2

Spirit of the Sky

ISBN 9781940064871

Can enemies not only work for peace but find love?

Sa-qan, a Nimiipuu eagle spirit, must take a human form to save her mortal niece when the Nimiipuu are forced from their land by the U.S. Army. Sa-qan strives to remain true to her spirit world and her people, but finding an ally in a Cavalry Officer has unraveled her beliefs

.

During battle with the Nimiipuu, Lt. Wade Watts finds a blonde woman hiding a Nez Perce child.  He believes she is a captive when her intelligent eyes reveal she understands his language. Yet she refuses his help. Their paths cross several times during the skirmishes, and she becomes his savior when renegade warriors wound him.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Sky-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00N47L8XY

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spirit-of-the-sky-paty-jager/1110762147

Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id913632233

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/spirit-of-the-sky-2

Windtree Press  http://windtreepress.com/portfolio/spirit-sky/

website: http://www.patyjager.net

blog: Writing into the Sunset 

A little different Christmas Spirit

Growing up in an area rich in Native American history has made me curious and empathetic to the band of Nez Perce who summered in Wallowa County many generations before Lewis and Clark entered their lives.

The Wallowa, or Lake Nimiipuu as they call themselves, are a band of the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) who moved like nomads across the Pacific NW and into the plains with the seasons. They wintered along the Imnaha River in the lower warmer regions of Wallowa County, spent the early spring in the camas meadows of Idaho, and summered at Wallowa Lake, fishing the Columbia in the fall and returning to their winter home before the snows became too treacherous. The warriors and some of the women went out on hunting expeditions to the plains for buffalo.

They were nomadic, but they had a fierce love of the land in their hearts.

Spirit of the Mountain, the first book of the trilogy, shows their love of the lake area and how they came to carry it so deeply within them. The heroine, in this book, carries the mountain in her heart and when she falls for the spirit who looks after the mountain and its occupants, she loses her heart to him as well. 

Spirit of the Lake, is the second book in the trilogy. This book deals with the Whiteman encroaching on their land and the way the Nimiipuu are willing to look the other way to avoid being forcefully taken from their home.

Spirit of the Sky, The third and last book of the trilogy takes place as the Nimiipuu are fleeing the army to avoid being placed on a reservation by a treaty they didn't sign. I used factual events of the chase and inserted my fictional cavalry officer and spirit.

The spirit entity in these books is all a figment of my imagination, but it felt real to me. My fascination with the Native American culture, their healing herbs, chants, legends, myths, and vision quest all primed my imagination when I came up with the spirit siblings who are the main characters in the books.

In the first book, I use the vision quest as the means to bring the chief's daughter to talk with a white wolf, Himiin, the hero and spirit of the mountain. In her vision quest, her weyakin(the spirit who visits her) is a white wolf. So when her life is thrown upside down by her believing her vision quest means she must marry a warrior from the enemy Blackfeet tribe, she feels talking to the wounded white wolf she encounters is natural. When he turns into a handsome warrior, doing her duty becomes harder as she must leave the mountain and spirit of her heart.

The second book has Wewukiye (Bull Elk) as the hero. He is the white wolf's younger brother and a spirit as well. He lives in the lake as the antlered legend who comes out of the lake and takes bad children. Yet he is the fun loving practical joker of the three sibling spirits. In his book, he befriends a Nimiipuu maiden who has been raped by a Whiteman and becomes pregnant, but the band believes she is not telling the truth to avoid trouble and perhaps being tossed from their land because the treaty of '68 was not signed by Old Joseph, yet the government believes the other chiefs who signed spoke for all the Nez Perce.

Sa-qan (Bald Eagle) is the youngest of the three. She soars in the sky above all the Nimiipuu land watching over them. In the third book, Spirit of the Sky, she is desperately trying to keep the Nimiipuu from annihilation as the U.S. Army chases them from their homes on a four month, 1400 mile trek where they fall short of freedom and end up on reservations far from home. During the campaign she falls in love with a cavalry officer and together they try to save the Nimiipuu.

This spirit trilogy is my proverbial book of my heart. I spent countless hours on research to make sure the Nez Perce culture is correct in the books and the historical information is accurate. And this Christmas marks all three books being published. My Christmas gift. 

I hope you receive good health, much love, and happiness for this Christmas and many more!

 Paty Jager

You can learn more about me at my blog; www.patyjager.blogspot.com  my website; http://www.patyjager.net or on Facebook.