A Rocky Path.....

Every author has a story of seeing his work published  and on a book store shelf. I've often said if I had known how hard it is (was), I doubt I would have pursued it.

When indie publishing was just getting off the ground, I had no trouble embracing this new and exciting thing in writing and publishing. Consequently, when I wrote my 9th book, THE TYCOON, I didn't even think about pursuing a traditional publisher. I went straight for indie publishing. Little did I know the quagmire I was stepping into. 

After many obstacles and 2 years of work and learning, I got THE TYCOON on the market. This was Book #1 in a trilogy I planned with a story arc that spanned 3 books and came to a conclusion in Book #3. ..... In THE TYCOON, I introduced the dysfunctional Lockhart family, a hundred-year-old Texas dynasty uber-rich in land, cattle and oil and gas. Drake, the oldest son, had dreams of escaping the ranch and making his own fortune in real estate investing. He did not have a plan to meet a sexy redhead and fall head-over-heels in love, but there she was at a charity Christmas ball.

THE CATTLEMAN is the story of the middle son who stayed at home and assumed the responsibility of managing the huge Double-Barrel ranch. He has an uncertain relationship with a woman he has known his whole life.

Book #3, THE HORSEMAN, is the story of Troy Rattigan, the patriarch's bastard son, who has a mystical connection to the healing of abused horses and unintentionally, abused people. He meets a beautiful woman who started life as a homeless waif and product of the welfare system and instantly falls in love.

The story arching over the 3 books is that a mysterious person is harassing the Lockhart family, but nobody knows who it is until the end of Book #3.

I'm happy to say I'm finished with THE HORSEMAN. Yay!!! .....The list of distractions I've had since I started this trilogy is long. Sometimes life just gets in the way. I'm now in the editing process and hope to have this book on the market in another month. .....

Those of you who have read my books know that my heroes are always heroic alpha males and my heroines are always beautiful and desirable. I try to make my stories dramatic and interesting. Hope you'll read THE HORSEMAN and enjoy it and find the end of the trilogy satisfying.

Here's a brief description:

Troy Rattigan devotes most of his time and energy to horses— rescuing them, training them, understanding them. He seems to have a spiritual connection to the equine species. But because of his brutal schedule and an escalating series of attacks on his family, his connections with the opposite sex haven’t gone beyond meaningless hookups. …. Then he comes across Rudy in his current workshop. There’s something about the fractious, blood-bay horse that lures him. And something about the unassuming beauty on the other end of Rudy’s lead rope that ignites his instinct to fix what’s broken—in both horse and woman.

Single mom Brittany Karol is barely back on her feet after almost losing her life and her leg to a rattlesnake bite. The worst step she could make? Accepting the too-rich, too-handsome, too-sweet-talking trainer’s offer to teach her horse-crazy young son to work with her best friend’s problem horse, Rudy. ..... Having seen the worst of life, Brittany is too old and too jaded for her years. Yet, she can’t resist giving her son his wildest dream. But is the deep, instant fit she feels with Troy simply a mutual understanding of loss and grief? Or is it a solid foundation upon which to build a lifetime of happiness? Is becoming connected to the wealthy and dynamic Lockhart family another risk to her own life and happiness as well as her young son’s?

Plans for the Future...

I never make resolutions for the new year. I'm afraid they would just end up depressing me because I would never accomplish them.

However, I have made a few plans. Number 1, I intend to get smarter about social media. I admit I'm uncomfortable sharing much of my personal life on the Internet. I just think it's not smart. I know people whose whole life is on their phone. I know people who have Alexa, which is one of the scariest thing to come down the pike lately. I will never have Alexa.

With Facebook on the brink of making some major new changes (which I don't yet understand), I'm going to learn more about using Facebook as a marketing tool. I have 3 Facebook pages. First, there's my profile page https://www.facebook.com/anna.jeffrey.3.

There is my professional page, Anna Jeffrey Books: https://www.facebook.com/annajeffreybooks/. On this page, I mostly comment about books and writing. My Facebook store is also on this page, with links to Amazon to buy books and audio books. I haven't yet figured out how to add links for other retailers yet, but I'm working on it.

After that, there is my new Anna Jeffrey Readers Club: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=anna%20jeffrey%20readers%20club. This is a closed group you're welcome to join. We are supposed to talk about books and movies and share opinions and thoughts. (no politics, no flame-outs and no promotions) It's supposed to be like we all get together for coffee and cake and we're supposed to have fun. .... I don't know about you, but I have a hard time finding people to discuss good books with.

I'm going to be more active on Twitter. If you'd like to follow me on Twitter, my I.D. is annajeffrey@annajeffrey. Twitter is where I'll be making announcements if Facebook becomes un-tolerable after they make their changes and their announcements.

There's my blog, on which I'm going to try to post more. https://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com. I post all kinds of things on my blog (except politics), but including a few recipes from time to time. I also have a few guest authors promoting their new releases. If you would like to subscribe, a sign-up box is on the blog or it's at my web site, https://annajeffrey.com.

I'm on Pinterest. There I have boards on my books as well as a few other things that interest me, such as great people, food, and art. I would love to have you follow me there. https://www.pinterest.com/annajeffrey/

I'm on LinkedIn and Instagram, but I'm not quite into using those two yet.

And in the middle of all of this, I'm going to try to find time to write. As soon as I finish THE HORSEMAN, I'm going to start on the revisions of MAN OF THE WEST, which is a sequel to LONE STAR WOMAN. Originally, this book was to be Book #1 of a trilogy.







It took forever to get the rights to MAN OF THE WEST back from the New York publisher, but I finally succeeded. I hope to get that done in the next few months and I will be releasing it as an Anna Jeffrey book.




So those are my plans. Not resolutions.😀

FINDING A HERO ...

When you read, are you able to envision the characters? Do you like reading a book where the author has clearly defined a character's appearance. Does it distract you if characters, especially main characters, are left out there sort of dangling so that you have to make them up yourself?

 I can tell you that for me, a character's appearance and mannerisms just might be the hardest part of the whole book. It isn't rocket science, but it's tedious and my OCD kicks in and makes it harder than it needs to be. No doubt every author has his or her own method for constructing a character.  I've tried holding a character in my head as I write, but then after about 50 pages, I start to forget the eye color, the hair color, the height, body type, etc, etc.

The hero's appearance is especially important in romance novels. A long time ago, in one of the early conversations I had with one of my editors, she said to me, "Don't forget that romance novels are fantasies." ..... I've never forgotten her telling me that. I added it to the lore I collect for building a successful romance "hero."

So in an effort to make the whole process easier and more efficient, I started searching for heroes in celebrities of which there are copious pictures. Once I found the images of the hero and heroine in pictures of real people, my job became a lot easier.  .....  As a side note, I should add that *all* of my heroes are good-looking, alpha and heroic. All of my heroines are beautiful. After all, if I'm creating a fantasy, isn't that how it should be?

Adam Rodriguez.

The process is not always instant. For example, I searched for days for an image I wanted to imagine as Troy Rattigan in THE HORSEMAN. Troy's mother is half Hispanic with thick black hair and deep brown eyes. His father is blond, tall and lean and Scots-Irish. I started looking for a celebrity whose appearance might be the result of that mix.

Then I started thinking about the personality I was creating for this character. He's a friendly, fun-loving guy, so that attitude had to reflect in his appearance. Believe it or not, it wasn't that easy to find. I ended up with the actor, Adam Rodriguez. What do you think? Is he a hero you can envision in a romance novel?

The heroine, Samantha Karol, was almost impossible. I ended up buying a picture of her. She's small, with a bushel of thick black hair that hangs past her waist (of which, she's very proud). She has intriguing blue-green eyes that look at you directly and full, cherry-red lips. I have a friend who has blue-green eyes and as long as I've known her, the color of her eyes is so riveting, they're distracting when we talk. I can never tell what she's thinking.

I thought that intense characteristic would be fitting for a woman who had grown up an orphan with a no-nonsense toughness about her. She's a survivor. I don't know this model's name, but she came the closest. Can you picture Troy being so attracted to her he can't keep from falling in love?

These are the stars in THE HORSEMAN. Does their appearance make you want to read the book? Let me know what you think.

New Old Book.....

Getting the rights to a book back from a large publishing house can be a challenge. I spent at least three years trying to get the rights back on my last traditionally published book, MAN OF THE WEST.

Last year, I finally got that letter returning all rights to me. I'm now currently in the process of making some revisions and will soon be releasing it as an Anna Jeffrey book. It was originally published under the pseudonym Sadie Callahan.

I had to have a new cover designed. First, you aren't allowed to use the publishing house's original cover because they own it. Second, it had Sadie Callahan's name on it, a pen name that I will probably never use again. So I called on the fabulous Kim Killion (as I always do) to design the new cover.

COMING SOON!

This book is a sequel to LONE STAR WOMAN. The hero is the second Strayhorn cousin who is still trying to live down his father's disgrace.

Sheriff of a small, remote town in the Texas Panhandle, Jake Strayhorn’s calm and uncomplicated life changes when he meets the Circle C Ranch's new cook. He’s drawn instantly to her wholesome beauty, different from any other woman he’s ever known. As a career cop, his honed instincts detect she’s running from something, but she refuses to reveal her past. How can he protect her if he doesn’t know what's making her so skittish?

Escaping an abusive, drug-addicted husband in the dead of night, Jolie Jensen found the perfect hiding place on the Circle C Ranch, working as a cook. This seems to be the safest place she's found in years, yet fear lingers. Billy Jensen’s bound to find her and their daughter, and with no family, the only person she knows she can lean on is the too-attractive sheriff. He’s shown himself willing to be her protector, but can she protect her heart from the quiet, strong Jake Strayhorn?

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 I love writing sagas about big families and all of the drama that can be associated with them. And here's the blurb to LONE STAR WOMAN, a book that was also originally released as a Sadie Callahan book.

Jude Strayhorn, the only child of the vast Circle C Ranch’s CEO, is in constant conflict with her father and grandfather. Her greatest desire is to exert her education and influence on the ranch’s operation, but the two men thwart her at every turn. Giving up, she goes outside the Circle C intending to use her trust fund to buy a small spread from a deceased widow’s estate where she can put her ideas into practice. That is, until she runs headlong into the widow’s heir, Brady Fallon, who has his own plans for the 6-0 Ranch.

Brady Fallon is no stranger to Willard County, though he hasn’t been around since childhood. His inheritance needs a lot of work and he needs money to put it back into shape and revive it as a cattle operation. He hires on as a hand at the Circle C Ranch, a move that leads to unexpected benefits for his future as well as unwanted conflict with his boss’s daughter. Can he set his attraction to her aside for his own good?

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A third book is planned for this series. It will be the third Strayhorn cousin's story. The title is SON OF THE PLAINS.

That's Entertainment.....

Most people who read or write books also like plays and movies. I've even had the notion I should write a screenplay. 

I've been a movie fan for as long as I can remember. It started at an early age. When I was a small child, I lived with my grandparents. Their home was in a rural West Texas town that wasn't much more than a village really. We had scant outside entertainment, but we always had books, magazines and newspapers around the house. This is where I learned to read and love and sometimes watch fiction.

A movie was a rare treat. Two or three times a year, "tent movies" would come to town and stay for a week or so. They would set up a big tent in what passed for the town square, line up metal chairs for the audience to sit on and show a repertoire that included everything from silent movies accompanied by piano music to the "talkies." Sometimes we even had music where you could sing along, following the bouncing ball on screen. I think the price of admission might have been a quarter or less.

I found this picture on a site called "Old Magazine Articles," which tells about the traveling tent movies. It hauntingly reminds me so much of my childhood. If you want to read more about this slice of Americana and see more pictures, here's a link: http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/Traveling-Movie-Theaters-pdf

I and my great-grandpa were enthralled by those old movies. He walked to town every night to watch whatever was shown on the screen, good or bad. He was past 80 and practically deaf, so he had to sit on the very front row. I sometimes went with him, though I didn't get to go every night. 

What was even more fantastical was they had buttered popcorn and cotton candy. I was fascinated by cotton candy. As I recall, it cost a nickel. 

I'm still a movie fan and that's what my post is about. My husband is a movie fan, too. Or at least, he used to be. Last week, we decided to watch a 5-star movie on Netflix called "The Place beyond the Pines." I don't think we got half-way through it. Can you say dark and depressing?

We moved on from there to Amazon and another 5-star movie called "Winter's Bone." Didn't finish that one either. More dark and depressing. Then we chose "Hello, My Name is Doris," also well reviewed.  Didn't even get a quarter of the way through that one and I used to be a fan of Sally Fields. 

We ended up watching "50 First Dates" with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, a movie that had terrible reviews. It did have good reviews on Amazon from people who bought it and watched it. Believe it or not, we actually finished that one and furthermore, we liked it. It presented an interesting situation, I liked the premise and the performances of the actors and it was upbeat.

I guess, bottom line, whether it's books or movies, I don't want to be depressed while I'm trying to be entertained. Movies, as well as good books, were a happy part of my childhood and that's what I still want to see. I don't want to be broken-hearted, preached at or  shamed by social issues I can't remedy. I just want to be entertained.

Every movie they make these days, if it isn't car crashing and giant robots fighting, it's dark, Dystopian themes telling me how grim the future is going to be. I don't want to think about that. Dark and depressing isn't where I park my imagination. I see enough of it on the news.