Romancing the Genres: guests

I'd like to introduce you to a historical western writer I met because she was a fan of my books. She has gone on to write multiple books in the historical western genre. I'm not adding a bio here because she tells you everything you may want to know about her in the answers to my questions.

Paty: Why do you write Historical Western Romance?

Elissa: I slipped into the genre sideways. My first novel was for a Kindle World that I had been invited to participate in by “New York Times and USA Today bestselling author” Melissa Storm (for whom I had done some editing). Love’s Odds: A Hanson Family Saga in the First Street Church Kindle World, a RomCom, was modern, not historical, but set in Texas (western). The second story I wrote for that world, Love’s Sweet Memories, which continued my series, within the World, was also modern. However, in my third Hanson Family tale, Love’s Laird, I had the heroine discover her ancestors’ journals and letters, and did a series of flashback historical vignettes that brought the family through history from the 1700s (Battle of Culloden) to the present day. Each novel was written to stand alone, although characters overlap. I confess that I got hooked on the research, but then, I’ve always had an “enquiring mind”!

Obviously, with First Street Church as the world for which I was writing, the stories were designed to fit neatly into its sweet, clean, Christian categories, which (luckily for me!) have a large following. I have kept my stories within those bounds and can (and have!) recommend them for ALL ages. In fact, one of my early reviews suggested the book seemed to have been written for a twelve year old (sorry, don’t remember which of the three dozen plus I’ve published to date was targeted), because the bedroom was ignored. That has always been a deliberate choice. I read nearly everything, but choose to write something the nine-year old me, discovering the library, could safely check out. (I think that is about when I discovered the Perry Mason books of Erle Stanley Gardner, which, although murder mysteries, check all the boxes!)

When Amazon discontinued the Kindle World concept about a year later, I’d already completed and published those three books, and was working on a fourth, when the first round of revisions and realignments occurred. My Love’s Odds, was reconfigured a bit to meet the new series guidelines, and republished, but before I could tweak the next two, that process was put on hold, and a third reworking of the series occurred. I ultimately regained rights to all three of my stories, all of which (still) need further editing to remove any common elements from the original World. Unfortunately for them, by then I’d gone in a different direction.

Meanwhile, while working with the First Street Church series, one of my fellow authors, Jane Lebak, and I penned a short gothic/horror novel. Still modern, but also set in Texas, the story, Hunger: A Texas Gothic Romance [Hunger: A Texas Gothic Romance], received critical acclaim from horror writer Susan May, to our absolute delight! (Susan’s books compete fiercely with Stephen King’s!) Hunger was a “one off,” but I’d be delighted to work with Jane again!

Shortly thereafter I was honored to be invited to contribute to the first of a number of highly successful MAPs (Multiple Author Project series) created by Australian author Cheryl Wright, and then others to whom she introduced me. However, as mentioned above, I have not had a chance to redo/republish my First Street Church novels. (ON MY TO DO LIST!)

By chance, Cheryl’s series were all in historical western romance genre. I had discovered, while penning Love’s Laird, that I enjoyed doing the research necessary to ensure my settings were relatively accurate, and was delighted to share my love of the western life style and landscape. Having grown up with television westerns, Roy Rogers, the Bonanza crew, Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie, and more, and also having spent some time living in the “Wild West, I was very comfortable with the territory and the genre.

My next three novels were for the Christmas Rescue [Christmas Rescue] series, for which I ended up writing three books, with overlapping backgrounds and family members. Again I found myself creating my own sub-series within the larger series of books that were related only by premise. Although some MAPs do integrate their stories among the various authors, in most cases it is more a case of writing to the same theme that unites the series. Thus one can enjoy a delightful variety of approaches to the same subject matter.

Off and running, I have now published thirty-seven books (in a number of genre’s, but all loosely “western”). All are in Kindle Unlimited, two are also available through Audible) and I have two more in the immediate hopper. Follow me on any of the sites below to be notified of new releases or sales, or to keep in touch:

Amazon:                      https://www.amazon.com/Elissa-Strati/e/B077GLWD94
BookBub:                    https://www.bookbub.com/profile/elissa-strati
BookSeriesInOrder:    https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/elissa-strati/
Facebook:                    https://www.facebook.com/ElissaStratiAuthor/
Goodreads:                  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17307510.Elissa_Strati

(Note: Although many are interrelated, each of my books is designed to be read on its own.)

Paty:  You have a lot of Mail Order Bride books. Why do you like to write like to write this type of story?

Elissa: The simple answer is that I write what I like to read. But I actually read in just about every genre (and have written in several!).
A number of the MAPs (Multiple Author Project series) for which I have written have had specific themes involving Mail-Order Brides (MOBs). I suspect I am not alone in being able to create a quick outline of elements to include in almost any concept proffered (witness the burgeoning numbers of authors whose work is available!), but then I let “the back of my brain”* do the hard work and create the tale. *(This is not a scientific description of how the brain works, merely my own concept thereof ;o].)
The fact that a large number of my titles involve MOBs is pure happenstance, based on conspicuity. The theme is extremely popular, so a lot of the series designers “jumped on the bandwagon” to create a concept that would sell! Meanwhile, the idea of hitching two complete strangers, whatever other parameters are suggested by the series creator, allows enormous depth and breadth for storytelling! Oh, what fun!

I have been exceptionally fortunate in the friends I have made in the author community, and honored to have been invited to contribute to so many best-selling series. It is an enormous amount of work to put together a group, and then “herd the cats” to completion. But the imagination and creativity to come up with a concept that will garner interest, the “recipe,” if you will, is the first step.

Paty:  Is there a particular era of the old west that you like to write about?

Elissa:  Many of the MAP series for which I write specify specific locations (generally west of the Mississippi) and time frames (usually post-Civil War), but I seem to have a talent for slipping outside the box a bit. My “wagon train” book, written for author Caryl McAdoo’s Prairie Rose series [Helen: Prairie Roses Collection Book 30], is set primarily in the year 1812, long before wagon trains were heading across the western plains, and starts in Ireland! I managed to cram a lot of real history into this one (Yes, the rumor is true—there are footnotes!—but only for those who enjoy fact-checking. They are totally unnecessary to the flow of the story.) The fact is that folks were heading west from the time they left the “old world,” and many continued into open spaces. In addition to his Mount Vernon plantation, for instance, George Washington owned large tracts of land well west of the settled areas, where, should his efforts in the Revolution have failed, he was prepared to decamp.

On the other end of the spectrum is my World War I novel, Ellen [Ellen: Rescue Me - (Mail Order Brides) Book 10]. The “western era,” as portrayed in the movies and on TV, had largely drawn to a close as train travel and civilization took over, and the country now went from coast to coast, although a number of the territories had not yet attained statehood.

So, the short answer to the question is “no,” despite a significant number of my stories taking place just after the Civil War (with occasional flashbacks). The fact is, I tend to think in terms of families and villages, and have often looked at a concept and thought, for example, “Oh, what a great way to approach Barnabas’s story!” (My second Christmas Rescue story: [Rescuing Barnabas (Christmas Rescue Book 11)].) Barnabas was absolutely a secondary character in the first book, [Rescuing Christmas (Christmas Rescue Book 4)], but perfect for one Charles’ (the hero of my first novel in this series) relatives.

Paty: You have been in several “worlds” in historical western romance. Are those fun to write for?

Elissa: Again a quick answer! Absolutely! I freelance and not under contract to anyone (although I do consider an agreement to join a particular group to be a contract; one hardly likes to let down friends!) I am continually amazed at the originality of new ideas, as well as the wide variety of author responses to the challenges.

Paty: How did the plot idea for this book come to you?

Elissa: As in all the MAPs, I was given the premise, in this case a Mail-Order Groom who is rejected by his bride-to-be, a reversal of an earlier series, involving most of the same authors, featuring Mail-Order Brides. (My contribution to the first series was [Lina’s Lasting Legacy (Rejected Mail-Order Brides - Book 5)], which continues to be quite popular.) But in this case, it was the book cover that was my biggest influence, when I realized my hero would have to be the brother of John Henderson, and the son of Mrs. Cornelius (Rachel) Henderson, a schoolteacher introduced in my very first MAP novel. I did not notice initially, but the model is actually the same as for a [A Cattleman for Cathleen: Mail-Order Papa].

The model is a rugged, good-looking cowboy, and, like Fabio in days past (my mother’s favorite!) adorns quite a few covers. Besides, William has his own interesting story to tell. After all, he wasn’t always tall and strong. He was once a little boy, and slow to start his growth spurt, although, with older brothers, he understood that girls could be pretty important in life. But, clearly the premise of the book means he will not have an easy time of it, finding true love. However, no spoilers!

Paty: Do you have a favorite character or world that you’ve written?

Elissa: Well, obviously, the character about whom I am writing is always the one creeping into my heart, as s/he whispers hopes, fears and aspirations into my ear. With that charming grin, William has already joined the cast of favorites. As to worlds, although when I wrote my first novel, we had been “given” the modern community in Texas hill country in which to build our tales, when that world disbanded, I realized Texas has a lot of towns and I could simply move my cast to their own. I have since created from scratch (using San Antonio’s early history as a platform) a town in Texas now called Apple Valley for my Texas-based stories, and another in southeast Kansas, known as Green River. Both locations showed up in my Christmas Rescue books and one or the other features in most of my novels. I’m filling in their history all the time as I jump back and forth through the decades.

Paty: Who are some of the authors you read who write this subgenre of romance?

Elissa: Like many of us, I read across the spectrum, in virtually every genre, and have done for more than (***ty) decades. Initially, I carefully avoided reading books by other authors with whom I was writing, to steer clear of any possible inadvertent borrowing of concepts. Also, as you know, I was a technical editor for many years and cannot stop myself from highlighting the oversights (that I seem unable to catch in my own manuscripts!) and occasional typos I may run across. Since I do some reading/reviewing for a few of the major publishers, as well as individuals, I am used to passing these errata on to them—or the author. Not everyone is thick-skinned…

You write modern westerns that happen to be murder mysteries, and, as you know, I adore them!
Suffice it to say I have read widely and enjoyed many, many different authors with whom I write. I cannot guarantee that every book in a multi-author series will appeal to everyone, but based on the popularity of those in which I’ve been privileged to write, you will probably enjoy them as much as I!

Paty: Just for fun – Tell us what is your favorite thing to do besides writing and reading, because we know that’s a given. 😉

Elissa: Ha, ha! Even as I am writing this I am accompanied by several of my feline companions, who ensure my legs remain warm, as I prop myself up in bed on pillows to write. (This is not due to illness or infirmity, but preference. Sitting at a desk chair typing is torture. I’m too tall to comfortably read the screen without hunching over, and my legs seem to lose circulation, pressured by the chair as I lean forward. With pillows (and cats) conveniently located to position me optionally, and my legs up and free from swelling, I can relax and focus on work instead of physical discomfort. I also have a cup of coffee to hand on my nightstand, and the whole bed on which to spread my other bits and pieces.

So cuddling with the cats is clearly a favorite pastime. I also enjoy cooking—as long as it doesn’t become a chore. Fortunately my husband also loves to cook, especially exploring his mother’s Italian recipes (some of which are featured in [Lasagna by Lucia: Old Timey Holiday Kitchen Book 15]).
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to do handwork for many years. I used to love to knit, crochet, and do needlework (and always wanted to learn to quilt!). At one time I did a bit of painting, but TIME is not my friend, and I also run our family businesses (I can create a mean spreadsheet!), which I also enjoy (when not under pressure). We like to travel a great deal, as well, although a lot of that is road trips these days, generally exploring history, human and natural. I take a LOT of pictures, and bless the continued advance of technology (although I have bad words and thoughts for those who push products out of the chute that aren’t ready for prime time!) that allows me to capture the man, rabbit, or woman in the moon (depending on which culture you learned from) with my telephone. Many of those I turn into jigsaw puzzles, again taking advantage of online tech.

Hmmm, I also enjoy dancing, dining, getting together with friends and family—all the usual suspects… (I am somewhat addicted to ellipses…) And, of course, I spend the requisite amount of time each morning engaging in Wordle, Dordle, Quordle, Octordle, and Sedecordle (brand name credit to each of the creators thereof). I mean, WORDS! I am an author, after all!

Thank you so much for allowing me to share my thoughts and ideas with you today!

Best,

Elissa Strati

William's Wandering Ways (Rejected Mail-Order Groom Book 3)

by Elissa Strati (Author), Books by Nan (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition

Book 3 of 10: Rejected Mail-Order Grooms

If they don't want me, then I don't need them!

William wasn't even out of grammar school when he received his first rejection. His next two attempts at romance were equally rejected, and he made his mind up that women simply weren't for him, and stopped trying to attract the attention of the opposite gender. Leaving his three brothers to help Pa on the ranch, he signed on as a wrangler to guide his family stock in the upcoming cattle drive and forget about girls. That was his plan and he was sticking to it. Of course, the best laid plans...

This series and its predecessor, Rejected Mail-Order Brides, are the brain-child of author Sarah Lamb (whose books I enjoy immensely). The premise is in the series name! Dealing with the rejection is one of the aspects on which I will be focusing, although each author will have her own approach. Like all of my books, this is sweet and wholesome. A quick shout out to ALL my fellow (sister?) authors in this hugely popular series! I think folks will have a bit of extra fun with the twist on the original set of stories.

https://www.amazon.com/Williams-Wandering-Rejected-Mail-Order-Groom-ebook/dp/B0DT5Y8JMJ