An exciting new venture

I'm excited to announce that I will be self publishing my back list to Kindle,Nook and all e-reader formats. The first story available is Quicksilver, a story based in Irish Mythology about a warrior and a mysterious woman he finds in the surf. Quicksilver was originally published in the Mammoth Book of Irish Romance which came out last year. Quicksilver will be available next week at any on line book store.

I adore this cover. The model is Scott Nova, who I met in LA at the RT convention this past April.

Once again Deadline Hell

Since I'm in deadline hell and have lots of new friends I thought I'd repost this from a few years back.

I was trying to explain to a friend the other day about deadline hell. What happens to writers when we have to slide into that dreaded place that consumes every bit of our time, imagination and energy. I realized that until you really live it, that most people do not really understand what it is. So hopefully this will explain it a bit and give you some hints on what you can do to help your favorite writer get through it.

Deadline hell is what occurs when you don’t hit your carefully planned out page count for each day that you have until your book is due. Best laid plans and all that, but quite frankly, life happens and it does get in our way. For me lately it’s been my dad’s cancer, which is now in remission, thank you. So said book that was due March 1 is now due June 1 and has to be turned in or else it will not make it to production on time for its February release. This also means that since I missed the first deadline I will not have a Cindy Holby release this year (only Colby Hodge’s Twist) andI SUCK AS A WRITER AND MY CAREER IS OVER.

Since I now have two extra months to write I can do it. Woohoo! WRONG. During April Dad is in hospital twice with complications, I am preparing for RT, I go to RT for eight days and it takes me a week to recover, catch up from RT. Two of those days were spent sleeping as I got no sleep at RT. So now its May 1, book is due June 1 and I’m about 4,000 words away from halfway. Which means I have to write around 250 pages in a month. Which is around ten pages a day if I write everyday which I won’t be able to do because life gets in the way. Can I do it? I better because if I don’t I SUCK AS A WRITER AND MY CAREER IS OVER.


So what happens then. I sit in front of my computer. I tell myself I will not play Freecell ever again for as long as I live. I play Freecell. I look at manuscript. I decide entire book is the great dedication to sucktitude. I put on writing inspired songs to get into the story. Since I am writing an angsty story I get depressed. I listen to them over and over again. I get all weepy. My bwff (best writing friend forever) tells me to quit listening to angsty songs and I reply with giant wail. “But I caaaaannnn’t. It’s the soundtrack to Atonement and I Lurve James MacAvoy and he diieeesss.” Btw dialog like this goes back and forth all day with my bwff posse. If you want to know who they are check out the dedications in my books. Finally I decide I am in right frame of mind to write.

But first I check my email. Why? Because writers are isolated. Email is our connection to our friends. What are our friends doing? Are they in writing hell too? Ohh, here’s a link to something. Maybe I should check that out. Finally I realize that I’ve wasted half a day on internet. Turn off internet and write. Go back to manuscript. Maybe it doesn’t suck. Hmmm, writing historical and I need to know what certain building on certain street looked like in eighteenth century. Sign back onto internet. Get distracted again by email, IM or something Brittany/Paris/TomKat has done. Oh, another email, someone I know has hit list/won award/got new multi comma contract and while I am happy for them it didn’t happen to me because I SUCK AS A WRITER AND MY CAREER IS OVER.

Why do writers obsess over things like that? Because we write in a vapor. Some writers have critique partners. I don’t. If the story takes a direction I’m not sure of I’ll send it out to a few of my friends for some feedback but for the most part it’s just us and the story.

So now its time to really get serious. What happens next in the story? Write write write. Hmmm, write some more. Shove kitten off desk. Try to ignore sad doggy eyes. Grab apple, yogurt, banana, hand full of chips for lunch. Grab some caffeine. Grab some more. Stay up late writing. Eyes cross, wrists aches, back and shoulders ache, butt hurts because this continues day after day after day. Husband pokes head in and asks about dinner. You look at him like he’s an idiot and wave him off. Husband carries in dinner, does laundry, vacuums, rubs back and tries to stay out of your way. (I am fortunate that my kids are grown and pretty much self sufficient and I also have an awesome husband) Week goes by, then another, then another and you realize story has come together and perhaps you aren’t the giant burrito of sucktitude (bwff term) that you once thought you were. But you are also very lonely, and you kind of look like crap since you have basically lived in front of your computer for a month. Since I am now working on my thirteenth book I’ve kind of been through this before so I know what to expect. You think that one day I would figure it out and stay out of deadline hell but I don’t because I SUCK AS A WRITER AND MY CAREER IS OVER.

So what can you, as a fan/friend of a deadline crazed writer do? I have my own little support group. I just got a text hug from one. Another is giving me rah rahs every night and I have realized how much I really appreciate it. I look forward to it. It keeps me inspired because I know these people believe in me and maybe I don’t SUCK AS A WRITER. So if you have a writer friend who is in deadline hell then drop them an email (believe me they will be checking) or a comment on their facebook page and say Yay, we believe in you and can’t wait for the next book. They will appreciate it more than you know. And it’s also great to know that you don’t really suck that you are just doing the best that you can.

Oh yeah, we procrastinate too. Why else would I be spending my time writing this instead of working on my story?

Note: My dad has been cancer free for three years and is doing great. And the current book keeping me in deadline hell is Ashes, my new YA series coming from SMP Griffin next year.

Hello its me!

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!

Catch Up Time

Wow, I can't believe its already the end of October. It seems as if this year has flown by, even though there were times when it dragged. Waiting is always the hardest part.

I spent the majority of this year waiting. Waiting to hear from editors on the multitude of proposals I sent out this year. Its been my goal for the past two years to break into another publishing house since my old publisher seemed to be dying a slow and certain death. Earlier this year I had agreed to a two book contract with Dorchester as it gave me the opportunity to continue my Wind series. Then in August they announced that they were going all Digital. I asked to be released from my contract and went back to my original plan, break into another publishing house.

And I'm thrilled to say I did. I sold a brand new western series to Berkley publishing. Its called Angels End, after a small town in Colorado that exists only in my imagination. The first book, Godsend, will be out in early 2012. I'm very excited to be writing for Berkley and I"m still in that pinch myself stage.

I'm also happy to say that my entire Wind series will soon be available in digital format for those of you with e-readers. And the series will be released again in Trade size books in case you missed them when they first came out. I will be sure to update everyone when the time comes.

So now crawling into a deadline cave to write Godsend. Happy reading to everyone!

Total Fan girl

One of the best things that can happen to a writer is having fans come up to you and tell you how much they love your work and that it touched their heart. Especially when they get breathless and flustered because they soo wanted to meet you in person and tell you themselves. It always inspires me.

However this weekend I got to be the total fan girl when Diana Gabaldon came to my home town for our annual Bookmarks festival. The great thing about Diana is she's very approachable. When I first started writing, (after being inspired my her first three books in the Outlander series) I emailed her for advice on getting published. And she emailed me back (something I always do with my fans) She was very encouraging and congratulated me when I told her I got a contract. When I discovered she was coming to town I emailed her again. I got to meet her at a talk she gave and she remember me. Woot! And notice how she's holding up my bookmark.

So I had a total fan girl, you inspired me, I love your books moment. And got an autographed bookplate to boot.

Its' here!

Finally, after what seems like forever, Breath Of Heaven is here. You might think its strange that I'm so excited about a release after having fouteen books published. The thing is, Breath Of Heaven has been years, no, its been decades in the making.

I had the idea for the story right after I was married (and way before I had children) after reading the Roselynde Chronicles by Roberta Gellis. That's me with her when I met her in 2008. I just knew I could write an amazing story that would capture the readers imagination the same way Roberta Gellis had captured mine. I was working an extremely boring job at the time, one where all I had to do was answer the phone when the calls came in and set up appoitments. So I went to work every day with a spiral notebook and pen and tried to write. Notice I said try. Even though I was putting words down on paper they were horrible. After about five pages I realized that it was not going to happen so I tossed the entire thing in the trash. I still remember some of the lines and I cringe whenever I think of them.

It turns out I had a lot of growing to do. And much more reading. I read and read and read, more books than I can count. I didn't realize while I was reading that I was also learning the craft. The story never left me and after writing the Wind Series I was given the opportunity to try something different so I told my editor about Rhys and Eliane and she said lets do it. This time it was much much easier and the characters finally came to life.

I've been waiting a long time to share Breath Of Heaven with the world. I hope you enjoy it. And if you happen to see it on the shelves, let me know!

one week and counting

Breath of Heaven will be released next Tuesday. I can't believe its almost here. To get you ready for the big day I've posted another exerpt that was cut from the book. Enjoy!

Edward’s hand shook as he dipped the quill into the ink. Was it nerves or the advanced stages of his disease? Whatever the cause, it did not matter. What did matter was the fact that even though his hand shook, his strokes upon the parchment showed sure and strong as he began his letter.
January 1, 1170. Fourteen and one half years passed since the day he pulled Rhys de Remy from the mud. Five months passed since he last heard from the now Lord de Remy upon the anniversary of their meeting as he had every year since. Finally, the time had come for Edward to call upon the debt owed to him.
Edward’s gazed wandered from the parchment before him to the woods beyond the outer wall of the castle. Even though his eyes were not as sharp as they once were, he caught a movement at the edge of the wood, a flash of dark green amongst the drab browns and grays of the winter day. Eliane, off to see Madwyn, with the huge beast of a dog at her side as usual. She held no fear for the forest, or the beasts that roamed there. Nor did she fear the strange tales of magic that always surrounded the place. Luckily the people of the keep and the town below held a great love for her, despite her strange behavior and her strange appearance. Just as they had for her mother before her. Was he too late to save her? The good Lord above knew he had done his best to prepare her for what was to come but…
Edward ran a trembling hand over his brow. So much time had passed since the day Han came to him in France with the news. Yet the time passed was not enough to prepare his daughter for what was to come. The problem was he had thought at one time that he would live a long and happy life with Arden at his side. That was the promise given to him when he took Arden as his wife. He was her choice for a husband and that meant the rest would come with it.
She was not supposed to die of an arrow wound to the heart as she defended the walls of Aubregate from Ragnor Vannoy. Ragnor had never given up his desire to be master of Aubregate. Not after Arden refused him time and time again as her mother refused his father before her. Nor would Arden agree to betroth Eliane to Renauld when Ragnor discovered that there was another daughter in a long line of daughters born to the Mistress of Aubregate. Even when Ragnor declared that Eliane’s strange deformity would not affect the terms or her worth as a bride for his son at all. Of course it wouldn’t. It was not Eliane that he desired. It was the land and the riches that came with it. Riches that would not last with Ragnor’s sorry rule.
The bastard knew Edward and his men were with the king so he attacked a castle defended by a few men of arms and a woman. The walls did not fall but Arden did. Luckily Madwyn spirited Eliane away and kept her hidden in the deep wood that separated the two estates. It was rumored that she used magic to keep Eliane safe. Many of the men who were tempted by Ragnor with great reward for the safe capture of the missing daughter ended up dead, as did their master when Edward finally came home and sought his revenge.
Ragnor’s death, quickly endorsed by the king who held Edward in high esteem, did nothing to restore Arden to him. Nor did it enrich his coffers. Renauld was the heir and remained so because of the King’s benevolence towards those who supported him at a time when it was not sure if he would wear the crown. Never mind that Renauld was a squire at the time. He’d sworn his allegiance to Allan who served the king faithfully and therefore would not be punished for the sins of his father. Even now he was at court, or so the men who were still friendly with Edward said. Peter was one of these men. Peter was well related and had proven to be honorable time and time again. He was also indebted to Edward and looked after his interests at court since Edward was no longer able to do so himself.
If only Peter had not been betrothed at a young age else he could solve Edward’s problem for him. He was now well married with sons and daughters of his own. Now there was no time for Eliane to choose, nor would she, as she told him time and time again. He was her father and he would choose for her as was his right. If Edward died before the matter was taken care of and Renauld was there to plead his case it would be the end of her and of all of Aubregate. That was the one thing Edward was certain of. He should not have waited so long to resolve it.
The deep wood swallowed Eliane and the beast at her side just as the earth had swallowed Arden after her death. Just as it would, one day soon, swallow his faltering body and return it to the dust from whence he came. He could only hope that he still had enough time. Edward turned once more to his parchment and picked up his quill.
Han was waiting.

RT10 and 3 weeks til release day

Made it safely home from RT10 late last night. Had the most marvelous time. I think this was my most relaxing experience, even though I had stuff going on everyday.

Wednesday was the Intergalactic Bar and Grill. Wow what a crowd! We stuffed 200 bags and they were gone in just a few minutes. I hope everyone enjoyed all the blink y stuff, including the blinky unicorns I gave out in honor of the coming release of Breath O Heaven. I also participated in a great panel on writing SciFi romance.

Thursday was Bad Boy Bingo with Alyssa Day, Victoria Dahl and the imaginative and hilarious Sarah Reyes as out bingo caller. How was it that she kept drawing O69? If you missed it then try to make it next year because it will be an absolute riot!

Friday I was on an outstanding panel on Genre Jumping and met up with one of my college roomies, Nancy, who wanted to see what my exciting life was like. She got an afternoon of RT experience, then we met up with other roomies, Lana and Sue for dinner. We laughed and we cried. It was so amazing to see old friends again after 20 years.

Saturday I was privileged to be a judge in the Mr. Romance pageant. I must say the winner, Jamie Ungaro is the most amazing young men I have ever met. I have to give kudos to Andy and Antonio who were thrown into the mix at the last minute and handles it all with both grace and humor.

I made lots of new friends and deepened other friendships. I realized that the RT group is like a large family and we get to have a reunion every year.

And I got to promote my next release, Breath Of Heaven. Since I forgot to get my camera out at RT I will once more flash my beautiful cover and mention that its only three weeks until release day. Now its time for a nap. RT is exhausting!

Four weeks and RT

I'm leaving tomorrow for the Romantic Times convention in Columbus Ohio. I can't wait to get there and see my fans, my writer friends and on Friday night, a special reunion with my college room-mates. I am so excited to see Shelley, Lana, Nancy and Sue. Its been 20 years since we've seen each other.

I'm not signing on Saturday but I will be visible. I'll be talking about writing kick-ass heroines with Ann Aguirre, about Genre Jumping with Alyssa Day, will be loud and proud with Linnea Sinclair and Jade Lee at the Intergalactic Bar and Grill and playing some Bad Boy Bingo with Alyssa Day and Toni McGee Causey.

Hoping I can dance (if my foot doesn't give me trouble) at the awesome parties every night. I'll also be passing out Blinky Unicorns at the Intergalactic Bar and Grill.

Just for fun I'm flashing my lovely cover again, because its only four weeks until release day. Plus I'm going to be snatching up the new releases of my favorite authors. Find me at the book signing to see who they are.

Time Travel anyone?

I love writing Time Travels. Except for the fact that they give me a major headache when I'm working on the plot. Thinking of all the repercussions of going to the past to change the future is really difficult. Still I was thrilled to be invited to be a part of The Mammoth Book of Time Travel. (psst if the link doesn't work just look for it on Amazon.)

My story is about Rand Brock, a Texas Ranger investigating a mysterious death and disappearance in West Texas during the 1880's. Imagine his surpise when he's taking a bath in a stream and comes face to face with Shea, a Time Cop from the future. You must read the story to find out what happens but I will let you in on one part of the plot. Steam Punk Scorpions.

I hope you enjoy reading Time Trails as much as I enjoyed writing it.

What's going on

Yes I have been a blog slacker. I've taken a step back lately to re-evaluate my career. Which doesn't mean I've stopped writing. Its more like I'm trying to figure out what direction my writing is going in. Meanwhile I have written a couple of short stories. The first one is called Time Trails and is in the Mammoth Book of Time Travel which will be released in Dec. Its the story of a Texas Ranger and a Time cop from the future and has some Steampunk elements.
The second is called Quicksilver and will come out in the Irish Book of Romance in January. This was a fascinating story to write as I placed it in the fifth century and used a lot of Irish Mythology. I loved researching it as I am of Irish descent. You can order both from Amazon. I'm most anxious to read the rest of the stories to see what the other authors included came up with.

Up date on the writing

Happy to say I turned in Breath Of Heaven on Friday and I'm taking the weekend off. I'll be bringing you snippets of the book in the coming months. The release date is June 2010.

Proud to announce that Twist won the Prism for best Time Travel last week.

Celebrate Independence Day with a book

Two of my stories feature our country's fight for independence. Fallen has the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in NC and is told from the perspective of an English soldier. Rising Wind is about a colonial scout and features the Battle of Point Pleasant in WV. I grew up on the Point Pleasant battle field so always felt this was the book I had to write.

Happy 4th of July everyone. We are blessed with many freedoms in this country. May we never take them for granted.

Guest Blogger Delilah Marvelle

Let's all help Delilah save her series. This is a time for you, as a reader, to let the publishers know that you will support your favorite authors. If there's a series you love and can't get enough of write the publisher directly and tell them. Then tell you friends about the awesome books you've read so they'll buy them. That's the only way we can keep on writing them for you.


When I was in high school, I had a dream. I was going to be the next Stephen King. Heh. Yeah. Stay with me. Please. I knew my ideas were fabulous and I knew all it would take is for an editor to look at it and they would offer me up the moon and the stars and best of all, a contract. I had my girlfriends read everything I wrote. And they kept telling me, “This is fabulous! It's SO funny! Hilarious!” Seeing it really wasn't supposed to BE funny, I immediately changed course realizing I actually had a better handle on being funny than scary. I also figured adding a romance into it would even make it better since that is what I loved to read.

I then entered college as an English major. I was going to be teacher and write during the summers. Even then I was a smart girl who knew I wasn't going to make jack and that I needed a job to support the “creative” one. Throughout all of college I wrote historical romances. One right after another. And kept submitting. And submitting. And submitting. And kept getting rejected and rejected and rejected. In the meantime, I got married. I had two kids. I joined RWA. I got critique partners. I did honed and honed and honed the crap out of my writing. And kept writing and getting rejected. I eventually racked up over 200 rejections and had written over 40 books in those 11 years of trying to get published.

When I finally sold my first historical romance, MISTRESS OF PLEASURE, and my second book, LORD OF PLEASURE, I was beside myself. It didn't feel real. To FINALLY arrive at a destination I had been traveling toward for 11 long years seemed like a mirage. Which fortunately, I quickly snapped out of. Because after all, most of my friends are all published and unpublished writers and the stories they all have told me throughout the years made me realize I had to fight with fists up for myself every step of the way. I knew publishers did little to no promotion for their authors, so I spearheaded my own promo, ready to be more than just an author. And even though I was budgeting very well and spending countless hours networking and promoting on websites and blogs, doing tons for free, I still ended up spending $7,000 on my first book. Which was way more than my advance. But hey, every business starts in the red. Right?

Then the reviews started coming in about my series set in 1830 London England about a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction. People loved it! Wow. It got nominated for awards. Wow. Readers are e-mailing me raving. Wow. Readers from France, Austria, Poland, South Africa and from all over the U.S and the world.. Wow. It just kept getting better and better. I was beginning to feel as if every penny I spent was all worth it (even though my family and I weren't going on any vacations and were eating out of cans). Because all that mattered was that my publisher loved me and my readers loved my series.

Come contract time, I'm ready for whatever they wanna throw at me. Or so I thought. Mistress of Pleasure, though completely sold out and unavailable anywhere (unless it's a used copy, some going for a ridiculous amount of $40.00), hadn't done as well as my publisher had hoped. So without waiting for the second book to come out to see if the series was even worth saving, I get a rejection from my own editor citing lack of sales.

I have to say this rejection felt more personal than any of the other two hundred and some rejections I'd received. Because it was no longer “Your book isn't good enough” it became “Your sales aren't good enough.” Since when is an author supposed to be a market guru AND a fabulous writer? Eck.

I love this series. The men in it make me laugh and it broke my heart to think that my readers will never get a chance to read about Lord Brayton, my glorious male virgin. The only alpha virgin I've ever written about. Then I realized something, why I am letting a publisher decide what is worth holding on to? Shouldn't that be a reader's job?

Ah. Herein lies the purpose of my post. I am challenging everyone, be they readers or writers to help me do something that's never been done before. Save a series from a death sentence given by a publisher. Can it be done? Who knows. But I eat challenges for breakfast and I hope you do to. Please join me in saving my series. Come August 4th, tell everyone you know (yes, even you're 72 year old grandfather) to buy the book, Lord of Pleasure. In doing so, you'll have a chance to win one of three $50 Visa Gift Cards. How? Check out my website for details at www.DelilahMarvelle.com

That said, thank you for all the support and love everyone has already shown me by allowing me to blog about this. Feel free to post and repost this to everyone under the moon and the stars. To all you readers out there, thank you for supporting us writers. To all you writers out there, don't ever give up on your writing. The moment you do, you give up on yourself. Which is why I'm not giving up on my series.

Cheers and much love,
Delilah Marvelle

Part five

For the past few weeks I've posted the synopsis and first three chapters of my post apocotlypic romance that I shopped around to some different houses the end of 2008. One editor called it a MadMax/Matrix mix. I liked that reference. Still no one bit. No one even came close. They just could not identify with the characters.

So what was I to do? I had a concept that I thought was a good one. The greatest power is the mind. My overall story arc was pretty much typical. Guy meets girl, guy falls for girl, bad guy wants girl, bad guy takes girl, guy rescues girl and they live happily ever after. My world, as I envisioned it was complex and would need at least three books to tell, maybe four. Most important, I had two characters and names that I loved. Dax and Merritt.

I think one thing that went against me was the time of year. I sent out a dark, desperate and depressing world at Christmas time. That really should not influence it but deep down I think it did. Christmas is a happy time as it should be. But mostly I think the market was to blame. sci/fi romance is a very narrow niche and its hard to take a risk on something that does not have the potential for making a lot of $$$.

Publishers had taken a hit along with everyone else in 2008. A major book distributor went under. Returns were up, book stores were not buying as many titles as before but buying more of sure things. It was a hard time to sell period.

I took a long hard look at the market. I needed to come up with something new and fresh. Something that did not have vampires since I feel the fur and fangs market is way over done. I also felt as if urban fantasy might be overdone as well. Something well written in a new market sells, it becomes popular and suddenly every publisher in the world wants the same thing. They buy it up in hopes that they can cash in on the sudden craze and the reader gets tired of it. I am a firm believer that the reader wants a well written book in any genre instead of mediocre books in their favorite genre.

So thinking, new and different. Something that I could do well. Something in my writers wheelhouse. Somthing with strong characters, and great world buildling. I'm known for writing historicals and scifi. What blends those two genre's together?

Steampunk.

It wasn't as if I had a lightbulb moment. I'd read a few articles, thought about it, watched some movies with some elements of it, then a friend called me up and said. "I think you should try writing Steampunk. Its' perfect for you."

But I still had this proposal with elements that I liked and characters that I adored. Could I turn it into a steampunk story?

Here's the synopsis. You tell me.

Prism by Cindy Holby
A Steampunk Romance

Cindy Holby, award-winning author of historical and scifi romance, blends both genres together with Prism, a steampunk romance featuring a cowboy, a psychic heroine and a diabolical plot to take over the world using imaginative technology in Victorian England. What’s a proper British lady to do when a mad scientist is after her brain and an American cowboy is after her heart?


London, England 1887

David Alexander Conrad, AKA Dax, is a cowboy. But he's not just any ordinary cowboy—he's one of the famed performers with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show who, in the summer of 1887, travels to England in order to give those stuffy Victorians a jolt of good old American showmanship. He is a renowned sharp shooter and trick rider with skills honed when he worked as a scout for the US Cavalry in the American Southwest during the Apache Wars with Geronimo. At twenty-seven, he’s the youngest star of the show and something of a celebrity in a London unaccustomed to his type. It is while Dax is on the party circuit that he meets a woman unlike any he has ever known.

Merritt Elizabeth Chadwyke is the daughter of Member of Parliament, Lord Pemberton She lives in a society bubble because she is subject to spells and needs the constant monitoring of a nurse. During her “spells” Merritt has been known to make outlandish comments about things of which she should have no knowledge. There is also evidence that during these spells, objects appear to move on their own. Merritt’s parents are very protective of her since they have already lost a son to a tragic accident. What her parents do not know is that at ten years of age, Merritt had a vision of her brother’s death but was afraid to say anything because of her parents reactions to her visions. She did try to warn her brother, who was fourteen when he died, but he ignored her. He realized he should have paid attention to her and said so as he died in his father’s arms. At their wits’ end over her strange illness, her parents send her to the Paranormal Research Institute run by Baron Edmond Von Swaim, who has become a society darling himself by using his powers of hypnotism to charm the upper crust. As Von Swaim performs test upon test on Merritt, he comes to the conclusion that she is something so unique and rare, he wasn't even certain it existed. Merritt is a Prism. And more importantly, she is exactly what he needs to complete his plot to overthrow the British Monarchy and take what he feels is his claim to the throne.


Von Swaim does everything to encourage Merritt’s family to turn her over to his care to cure her “spells.” His research into the study of the human mind has led him to believe that it is the greatest power upon earth. Through the use of his brilliant inventions and the enhancement of crystal prisms he plans to harness Merritt’s mind. Merritt, true to the nature of her spells, has a bad feeling about Von Swaim and refuses to go with him, despite her parents’ belief that it is the perfect solution to her strange illness. It is also during this time that Dax and Merritt have met each other and find that they are unable to stop thinking about each other. He finds it’s a bit more difficult to track a young woman through Victorian London than it is to fight Indians in the American west. Still he manages to find her, at parties, at the park, even in an exclusive tea shop. The feelings they share grow stronger with each passing moment and they go to great lengths to spend time together when they realize there is something special between them. As they pursue their romance Dax finds Merritt’s strange sense of things more of a gift than an illness and Merritt knows that Dax truly loves her for who she is, not what society or her parents expect her to be.

Frustrated with the constraints her family and society have put upon her, and unable to escape from Von Swaim’s constant presence, Merritt sneaks out to see a final performance of the Wild West show. Dax is happy to see her in the crowd and pulls her out to do some trick shooting. Meanwhile, Von Swaim, who has had Merritt watched ever since he’s treated her, is told of her escape from her home. Von Swaim sees this as the perfect opportunity to take her and sends his men, who wear armor and carry weapons that shoot lasers and electrical currents after her. Dax and Merritt manage to escape and spend a romantic night together in hiding. The following morning Von Swaim’s army finds their hiding place and chase Dax and Merritt through the streets of London. Dax is well armed but his trick shooting has no effect upon the special armor Von Swaim’s soldiers wear. Dax and Merritt are finally captured when Von Swaim uses a zeppelin to run them down in Hyde Park. He takes both of them prisoner, Merritt to be his weapon, and Dax, who is wounded in the leg to be brain washed and become a soldier in his army. They are taken by zeppelin to Von Swaim’s hidden castle in the Swiss Alps.

Dax finds there is no torture or brainwashing powerful enough to erase Merritt and his feelings for her from his memory. He manages to befriend a doctor in Von Swaim’s employ who has repaired Dax’s wound using Von Swaim’s invention of brass fittings and joints. After some time in which his injury heals and with the doctor’s help Dax manages to escape, only to find himself alone in a country where he knows no one and does not speak the language. To makes matters worse, Merritt is now under Von Swaim’s control and he has taken her to away for “treatment” with her parents’ permission. Fortunately for Dax, the Wild West Show is now touring Europe and he is able to find his friends who welcome him back with open arms. Dax is desperate to find Merritt but has no idea where to look.

Merritt, who is under Von Swaim’s control, cannot forget Dax either. Even though her memories of him are supposedly erased by Von Swaim’s hypnotism, her Prism abilities guide her back to Dax at one of the performances of the Wild West Show. Dax knows that he may never have this chance with Merritt again. With the help of his friends from the Wild West Show he is ready to use Von Swaim’s weapons against him. Dax and Von Swaim enter into a battle for her mind, but Von Swaim does not realize that Dax is also fighting for Merritt’s heart and soul. Dax will stop at nothing to free her from Von Swaim so that Merritt may make her own choices for her own life. Dax can only hope that once he frees her from Von Swaim that Merritt will choose him because he loves her just the way she is. Neither technology nor mind control, no matter how powerful, are any match for the strength of their love.

A nice Review of Fallen

Fallen
Author: Cindy Holby
Genre(s): Historical
Review Date: 3/28/2009
ISBN: 9780843960266
Print Book Price: $7.99
Dorchester Publishing
SCORE: 4.25 / 5
Reviewer: Angi of Night Owl Romance

It’s 1773 in Scotland and Isobel Ferguson is tired of her brother Ewan’s hero worship of her father; the father who fought at Culloden and has since been an outlaw in hiding. Isobel is working as a servant for a printer in Aberdeen. While out on a delivery for her employer she runs into ruffians who try to steal her meager coins and take her body.

John Murray is the son of a bastard and newly assigned to Aberdeen as part of his service in the English army. He also happens to be courting the printer’s daughter. When he comes to Isobel’s rescue he is instantly intrigued by the forthright and beautiful woman.

But life is never simple and it was even less so for the Scottish and English less than 30 years after The Battle of Culloden. There are plots being set in motion that will test John and Isobel. It will test their love, their loyalty, their courage and their patriotism. It will ask them to decide what is more important, love or pride.

Fallen is a very well written tale of pride going before a fall and how forgiveness can lead to happiness. Ms. Holby has written characters you will cry for and laugh with. She has also given a good look into the life of an indentured servant as well as a glimpse into the effects of war. The plot flowed smoothly and was easy to follow. All the elements combined to make this a book well worth reading. The history, the characters and the plot blended flawlessly for a well rounded story and a hard won happily ever after.

This work is a follow up to Rising Wind, which is about John’s sister, but doesn’t have to be read in order. Although once you read this work, you will want to pick up more of Ms. Holby’s work, and in particular Rising Wind, to get to know Carrie and Connor better.

I have the best friends

I have really great friends. Two of those friends are Chris Winters, aka Mr. Romance 2008 and Laura Hawkins. Chris and Laura were very encouraging to me when I was trying to finish Fallen. Nearly every day I would hear something from them encouraging me to stay on track and get it done so I gave them a thank you in the book. This is a video of them running down copies of Fallen in California.



Thanks guys, you are the best and can't wait to sign those copies at RT in Orlando!

Progess!

Slow and steady. I've built up to 1000 words a day. I'm going to push it up to 1250 per day for the rest of the week. I'm on track to finish by my target date of April 15.

New Web Site

I've got a new web site designed by the awesome and talented Mai Thao. Please drop by at cindyholby.com and let me know what you think.