Its been a while. Actually since last year since I posted. That's because of a horrible thing we authors like to call deadline hell. Its what happens when you have a book due and everything else in your life has to take a backseat to the writing. My deadline hell is especially bad this year. I'm contracted to write five books in twenty months and my son's marriage is right in the middle of it. Oh well, life does move on, even when there are books to be written.
The first bookI turned in, and yes I met my deadline, Woot! is Godsend. Godsend is the first book in my new Angels End series that I'm writing for Berkley. My editor there asked me to come up with a new and totally different series that was reminiscent of Little House On The Prairie and LyVyrle Spencer. She wanted an imaginary town set in the west that was populated with endearing characters. And my answer was Angels End, named so because of an Angel Statue left there by some travelers headed west, who suddenly realized that their great stone statue was too heavy to haul across the Rockies. Angels End has a saloon called the Heaven's Gate, operated by Ward Phillips, a man with a secret past who plays the piano and a diner called The Devil's Table, which is owned by a cranky ex cowboy named Dusty. There's also a general store, the assayers office as there are a lot of mines around, a stage office, and several ranchers. As the series moves on I will introduce more and more of the town.
In the first book, Godsend, I introduced the character of Jake Reece, who fancied himself in love with Leah Findley, the sheriff's widow. But that was until Cade Gentry showed up and put a wrench in the works. The town thinks Cade is the new preacher when he shows up wounded in the middle of a blizzard with a Bible in his pocket. Jake isn't happy when Leah falls for the new preacher and well....you have to wait until May of 2012 to find out what happens.
As its such a long way until the release, (over a year...sigh) I came up with the above to promote it until I get a cover. The picture is one I took many years ago of Maroon Bells in Colorado which I think is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
And now its back to the next deadline, which is June 15th! Send chocolate!
