This is what one of my favorite writers, Gladys Tabor, called a “pencil sharpening” day. I think the modern term is “mental health day”. After more than a week in Reno, my brain is like jelly.
Several people have asked when to expect “The Man from Stone Creek” and “The Petticoat Cattle Company.”
“Stone Creek” will be out in hardcover, from HQN, next June. It’s a meaty western, starring Sam O’Ballivan, an Arizona Ranger posing as a schoolmaster in a little one-room school. The heroine, Maddie Chancelor, is a feisty take-charge type who runs the general store and serves as the post mistress. “Petticoat” will come a year later, and it’s going to be long. Trust me, if you’ve registered in the guest book section, you’ll get several emails with exact dates. “Stone Creek” is done, and I’m super proud of that book. I’ll be writing “Petticoat” around the first of the year, but I’m already doing character journals and research. It’s the story of the Petticoe sisters and their men, and takes place in Alberta, Canada, circa 1905. The next project I’ll be tackling is the first Mojo Sheepshanks book. These are contemporary romantic suspense, and there’s just one little problem with Mojo’s ex-husband, Nick. He’s dead, which makes it doubly unnerving when he pops up in her kitchen in the middle of the night. No title yet, but this will be a series, with at least three stories.
I’ve been advised not to set up an email response address, because there are a few bad apples out there, but you can still send questions and comments by registering on the guest book. I do read them.
On a personal level, I have contractors here. I’m putting in a yard for my dogs. When I lived in Washington, I took lawns for granted. In the Arizona desert, they’re a novelty. Sadie, Bernice and I want to play frisbee!
