Down the Rabbit Hole: Authors love research!

Oddly enough, one of the things most authors really do love about crafting a novel is the research we do into the subjects we’re writing about. My fellow writers and I swap stories all the time about the rabbit holes we fall into while researching a fun topic. We joke, too, that it’s often a good thing authorities can’t see our search histories. Imagine what could happen to those of us who Google “what poisons can kill without leaving a trace?” or “where can you buy plutonium?”.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to look into anything too nefarious for my latest release, “Heating Up Paradise.” My biggest research project was learning about the training and lives of smokejumper firefighters, and about the characteristics of wildfires.  I thought I’d share a few of the amazing tidbits I discovered that didn’t make it into the book.  Fun fact: 98% of the information learned on any given subject doesn’t reach the reader—but everything an author learns gives what is in the book its believability. 

At the beginning of "Heating Up Paradise," my hero, Damien Finney, is a rookie smokejumper.  I had a great time learning about everything Damien had to go through in order to make it onto a smokejumper crew--and, boy, was I impressed with these men and women!

We’ve all heard of Hotshots—the amazing firefighters who trek into the heart of wildfires and fight for days at a time. Smokejumpers take wildfire fighting to the next level by parachuting into areas that are burning but are unreachable by foot or vehicle. Currently, there are fewer than 350 certified smokejumpers in the country. Here are a few more smokejumper facts.

“Smokejumping” was pioneered in the United States, and smokejumpers have been active here since 1939. The first women joined the smokejumper program in 1981. 

 Smokejumper training is extremely rigorous, and crew members have to pass the physical tests every year in order to remain on their crews.  The minimum physical training test at one of the biggest bases in the country consists of the following:

            7 pull-ups

45 sit-ups

25 push-ups

Run 1.5 miles in less than 11 minutes

They also must be able to carry 110-pounds of gear a distance of three miles in 90 minutes or less—to prove they can pack out their gear after a fire, sometimes up to 10 miles or more.

In addition to physical fitness, smokejumpers have to have further specialized skills:

Aircraft exiting procedures

Parachute malfunction and emergency procedures

Parachute maneuvering

Parachute and cargo retrieval

Tree climbing

Fire line operations and management.

Smokejumper suits are custom made because they are so specialized—with high collars, heavy padding to cushion landings and friction rings to help them climb up and down trees. Smokejumpers are their own tailors and they also repair all other equipment like parachutes and harnesses.

One of the most important members of a smokejumper crew is a spotter. This is an expert with years of experience who can gauge the fire, wind speed, and geography from the plane so that he or she can coordinate the jumps and make sure the firefighters land safely.

When fire activity nationwide is low, smoke jumpers participate in disaster relief, emergency management, and act as advisors for other fire suppression work. They also help in many situations where parachuting isn’t required—they are the elites of the firefighting world and many have advanced degrees in wildfire management and fire rescue.

One of the things that got me interested in smokejumpers many years ago was reading Nora Roberts’ 2011 book “Chasing Fire.” It's the story of a brilliant female smokejumper wrongfully accused of causing a fellow firefighter’s death. The detail in the book is astounding, and after all my research, I believe it was accurate, too.
That’s one of the reasons writers like research so much—one little thing sparks an interest, takes us “down the rabbit hole” to learn more and, with luck, results in a book we’re proud to share!

I hope you enjoyed sharing a little of my recent research. What books have drawn you in over the years because they contained information on a subject you love or learned to love by reading?

Lizbeth Selvig

Heating Up Paradise -- Book 5 in the Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys series. 

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E.E. Burkes Valentine's Day Special

One sale this week for only 99 cents at Amazon

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with a Valentine's Bride? 

A chance meeting and the gift of a Valentine’s card bring together a jaded madam and a blind peddler whose love challenges a mining town to change the rules.

Jolie LaFemme has been a working girl at La Maison for four long years. She’s jaded, distrustful and blind to the possibility of love. Until a traveling salesman gives her a beautiful handmade Valentine's card.

Hank Donavan arrives in Noelle with a plan to ensure his sister's financial security and regain his pride. He has a chance to invest in the town’s richest silver mine, but only if he finds a bride. Who would marry a man without his sight when there are plenty of hale and hearty men to go around?

Journey to Noelle and meet one of the town's least likely Valentine's Day brides and the extraordinary man who offers her a second chance at life and love.

Here's an excerpt:

     Someone knocked on the front door.
     “I’ll get that,” Jolie called out. She paused to check her hair in the mirror, and smoothed down wayward strands.  Yikes, she needed another treatment to bring out the auburn, and she was pale as a corpse. She bit her lips and pinched her cheeks—that didn’t really help—then grimaced at her reflection before she turned away. Hopefully, it was no one important. The regulars knew better than to call before noon. 
     If it did happen to be a customer, she’d call down one of the other girls to entertain him. That was one advantage of being the madam, not having to work upstairs in order to make a living. One of the worst parts of being in the business was putting up with men that were, in a word, repulsive. 
     Jolie opened the door and sucked in a gasp. 
     The least repulsive man she’d ever seen stood on the front porch. Arresting blue eyes framed with dark lashes; rich brown hair, clean and shiny and just long enough to tempt a woman’s fingers to comb through it; smooth-shaven face with strong lines, yet too classic to be called rugged. He wore a clean, pressed suit—which put him in a minority in the rough mining town—and held a battered case with leather straps. Next to him sat a huge brindle-colored dog. 
     A smile tugged at Jolie’s lips. She hadn’t seen a dog that large since she’d bid goodbye to her beloved childhood pet, Soldier. For a heartbeat, she couldn’t decide whether the man or the dog was a more welcome sight. 
     “Good afternoon.” The man’s rich baritone sent shivers down Jolie’s spine. His gaze appeared to be trained on a spot a bit to the right, as if he were looking over her shoulder. She glanced back to see if Angelique stood behind her. No, no one else there. 
     “It’s not quite after noon,” she pointed out.
     “Is this La Maison?” He appeared uncertain. 
     Could he not read the sign? She’d paid dearly to have a new one painted and had even asked the French-speaking artist to create an image of a chateau. The idiot had painted a hat. Chapeau, he’d proclaimed proudly. It would’ve cost much to repaint it. Maybe that’s what had confused this man.
     “Yes, this is La Maison. May I ask your business?”
     “Yes, ma’am…or is it Miss?” 
     “Neither. You can call me Jolie.”
     His remarkable blue eyes shifted to her face and narrowed in a way that suggested he was evaluating her features. “As in très jolie?”
     Ah, a smooth-talker or he was having a joke at her expense. Either way, she didn’t appreciate it. “No, just Jolie.”

     “Pleased to meet you. I’m Hank Donovan, but just Hank will do. May I come in, Jolie?”
     “Yes, of course, just Hank.” 
     His lips twisted in amusement. How nice to know he could take a joke, as well as deliver one. Too many men were sadly lacking in humor and she’d borne the bruises to prove it. 
She moved out of the way so Hank could enter. Business was business, after all. She didn’t turn down a chance to make money and neither did the other girls, especially when a customer looked as nice as this one.

***

What Amazon reviewers are saying about JOLIE

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  Touching, emotional and so much more. LOVED IT! 

This story is a big win for me it has just about everything you could ask for sorrow, trust issues, starting over, finding one’s self, humor, danger, a delightful big dog that I wish I could have and so much love. I doubt you can read this without it touching you in some way. I laughed, smiled and wanted to cry. This author held me in the palm of her hand as she twisted my heart right around her finger. There was nothing I didn’t love about this story, I loved it so much I picked it as one of my favorite reads for the year.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Insightful novel

E.E. Burke brings a great novella to this amazing series. In this case two characters who deal with personal issues which could make them outcasts become incredibly strong characters to the growing town of Noelle.Sometimes sight is not necessary to see clearly into one's heart. Hank, Jolie and of course Bear become so memorable -especially on Valentine's Day.

E.E.'s Fun Facts

Jolie is part of Brides of Noelle, which came about as a result of the wonderful response we had to our multi-author series, Twelve Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides. Three of our crew members wrote for this series (E.E., Amanda and Jacqui). 

Where is Noelle?

It is a fictional town inspired by a real place: Leadville, Co. We've taken a few liberties, but for the most part we've stayed true to the history of that area where the richest silver strike in the state was accidentally discovered! 

Does Hank have a seeing-eye dog? 

Not exactly, but... After World War I, a doctor in Germany noticed the protective behavior of his dog around patients and set up some experiments, then the first recorded training occurred in England. That's not to say there weren't blind people who discovered how smart dogs were long before that. Hank, being a very smart man, connects with Bear, a very smart dog, and the two learn from each other. Yes, I'm taking liberties by having Hank "train" Bear, but I don't think it's so far off to be unbelievable. Initially, the formal schools didn't accept the idea that dogs could be trained, but eventually the dogs showed them it could be done!

What were the attitudes toward prostitution in the Old West? 

"Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em." That pretty well sums it up. In the mid-1800s, men, primarily single, younger men, fanned out across the frontier and prostitution (the oldest profession, as they say) followed. Men wanted access to women for all kinds of reasons (not only sex, also a sense of female companionship they sorely missed). Women entered prostitution for all kinds of reasons (abandonment, abuse, to avoid starvation, for the lure of easy money, etc.). But these were Victorian times, and a woman who expected to marry was also expected to remain "pure." Men put "pure" women on pedestals. They used the services of whores, enjoyed being with them, but most would not marry one. That isn't to say it didn't happen. Some men did want to marry their painted ladies. In quite a few cases, well-off working girls or madams didn't wish to be married because it meant giving up their relative freedom and handing their husbands power over them. In Jolie's case, it takes a very special and unique man to convince her to leave behind her hard-won position, the only security she knows, and take a risk on love.

Why pick a "fallen woman" as a heroine?

Simply put, she was a character I thought most needed her own love story. She's resentful of the brides when they arrive and really gives them a hard time. Saying she's jealous doesn't get at all the emotions behind her reaction to being evicted from her home to make room for a passel of new brides.

When I first conceived this story, I was a little concerned about featuring a prostitute as the heroine because I wasn't sure readers would be able to "relate" to her. Although this is a Sweet Romance, I didn't sanitize Jolie. I did try very hard to humanize her and explore emotions that we can all, as women understand and appreciate. I thought her story would be fascinating to write. Finding her perfect hero, now that was a challenge!

Pick up JOLIE for only 99 cents during Valentine's Week. 

You can find the original Twelve Days of Christmas Mail Order Brides series here

All Brides of Noelle books can be found here.

E.E. Burke is a bestselling author of historical fiction and romances that combine her unique blend of wit and warmth. Her books have been nominated for numerous national and regional awards, including Booksellers' Best, National Readers' Choice and Kindle Best Book. She was also a finalist in the RWA's prestigious Golden Heart® contest. Over the years, she’s been a disc jockey, a journalist and an advertising executive, before finally getting around to living the dream--writing stories readers can get lost in. Find out more about her books at her website: www.eeburke.com.

I have a special offer for Get Lost In A Story readers today.  Enter my raffle for a Gift Card to Christopher Elbow Chocolates. My favorite place in Kansas City to indulge! 

What is the best Valentine's gift you've ever received?

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THROUGH MY LENS

 PALO DURO CANYON

February 2013

Researching the Amarillo area for my book THE MARINE'S LAST DEFENSE, we stopped south of there for a quick, cold walk through Palo Duro Canyon. We still haven't made it back when it wasn't 30 degrees.  The smaller, fearless dog is our precious Dallas who died later that month of a seizure. I wrote her spunkiness into THE MARINE'S LAST DEFENSE.

Writing THE MARINE'S LAST DEFENSE was very therapeutic for me. Dallas was so special and I wanted to write that courage into my story. 

'Til next week !!

GOOD GOOD VIBRATIONS from the hearts of the Crew!

It's been a long year and with a new year ahead, we here at Get Lost in a Story want to wish you hope, peace, faith and love this Valentines day!

As storytellers, our hope is in the potential and possibility of what can be, despite the difficulties and obstacles thrown in the paths of our characters. In real life, we know its not always as easy and we recognize that part as well.

So as we celebrate a fresh new year, lets our hearts be washed anew with hope, with the promise of better things--especially the gratitude of little things--laughter, family, friends, kindness, the earth's beauty (and our ability to preserve it!)

HAPPY VALENTINES Week
from the GLIAS CREW!!

From Amanda ~

From E.E ~

From Lizbeth ~

From Jacqui ~ 

From C.H. ~

From Angi ~

We encourage you to perform random acts of kindness this month and share them on post here. Let's make those good vibrations felt for all of us worldwide!

INSPIRATIONAL SAYINGS

 . . .WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED?

I love inspirational sayings. I have one in my kitchen that states: Three wrongs don't make a right...but three lefts do. I'm looking at one right now for my writing: Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day... Most people don't see any. Do you use them to inspire you? Do you have one that you live by? Do you send them to friends you're thinking about?  The hosts of Get Lost in a Story hope to inspire you this year so we're sharing a little that inspires us. Let us know your favorite inspirational saying or quote for a chance to win the giveaway.

FOLLOW YOUR DREAM

I often feel as if my life's course goals change every day--certainly they do every year, and in the past five years--boy howdy! I had no idea that at my age (which is not insubstantial) I'd be learning the new things about writing--about life!--that I'm learning today. But in all the changes I think the most important thing I've learned is to believe in myself and the few talents I've gained. I have three favorite quotes that both inspire me and make me laugh/give me hope. 

 

Here's the first:

"We don't like their sound and guitar music is on the way out."  This was the Decca Recording Company executive who rejected the Beatles in 1962. This always reminds me that I should write what I love and what I'm best at writing. Somewhere down the road, I will prove the naysayers wrong!

Here's the second:

"I don't write five words but that I change seven."  Dorothy Parker was known for her irreverence and snark, but I fully admit, this is my process completely. It's funny all right, but it's also taken me many years and fifteen books to accept that my messy process can't be altered. I am not a plotter--I need to fill my paper with a story and then change seven out of five words!

And the last--and one of my favorites:

"When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk, you'll be the Pope.' Instead, I wound up as a painter and became Picasso." -- Maybe this was Pablo Picasso bragging that he became the painters' equivalent of a general, but I don't know. To me this says--if you trust yourself and believe in yourself, you will be the very best you that it's possible to be. I would like to someday be the general, the Pope, the Picasso of me, Liz!

 

I hope everyone can learn to do her/his best and then live, laugh, love, and trust that it's everything you're meant to and want to be! 

LOVE YOUR LIFE

Like many folks, I have had my share of “re-inventing myself.” I like to call myself a renaissance woman having worked in a number of jobs since high school, from actuarial to insurance, from parenting to newspaper columnist, from book reviewer to author. Our lives are like a book, really…chapter by chapter we turn the pages, not always liking the challenges, the obstacles, having to sludge through the muck, and yet in the next moment enjoying the mountain-top moments with great zeal and joy! 

What I have learned, especially in this past year, is that life is short and it’s best lived when you recognize the importance of living in the present. Not the past, not the future—but the here and now. Life may not always be optimal, it may not be perfect, people will disappoint us, we may disappoint ourselves. But we can still love our life. 

Here is the inspiration that helps me to “love my life” with trust and gratitude (so important!) of who breathes life in me, who has given me the gifts I have to share. It is my favorite passage and I repeat it often, especially when I don’t “feel” like loving my life… “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer & supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts & minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7)

ALWAYS ROOM TO GROW

Life is full of twists and turns. Sometimes there are dead-ends, potholes, and detours. How we react to these unavoidable obstructions in the road of life influences the decisions we make, which in turn affect our future. We can choose to learn from the dead-ends, potholes, and detours of life, or ignore them. By ignoring them, we learn nothing and are poorer from the experience. 

By accepting and/or adapting to the changes that lay ahead, we grow. We learn to compromise by turning completely around when faced with a dead-end. We learn flexibility by dodging to the left or the right of a pothole. We embrace possibilities when we take the fork to the left: the tangled overgrown path. 

And like my favorite Robert Frost poem, The Road Not Taken, it will make all the difference. We can experience amazing growth, renewal of purpose, or even realize a new dream. By embracing it, we add another aspect to our collection of life lessons that ultimately help us grow as individuals. And remember, there is always room to grow!

DON'T GIVE UP

In most novels, protagonists share one thing in common. They refuse to give up on whatever goal they are pursuing. In fact, this is one crucial component of good storytelling. It gives us someone to cheer for and a sense that anything can be accomplished if we just figure out how. This common human trait could be called delusion, but I prefer to label it hope. 

We humans cannot exist on instinct. We are hardwired for community, we long to give ourselves to something or someone or some greater power, in our quest for meaning and immortality. If we give up on this quest, we give up on our humanity. That’s why it’s so important for us to tell each other stories about people who don’t give up. It shows the rest of us how to navigate the difficulties in life that slow us down or wound us or loom large as obstacles in our quest for survival with purpose and meaning.

For a time I worried that writing novels wasn’t actually giving much back to the world, but I’ve come to realize that’s not true. Storytelling is one of the greatest gifts given to man, and telling stories is an honor and privilege, which I don’t take for granted. I will never give up on becoming the best storyteller I can be, and through my stories stir the hope that is in our hearts, that divine spark that makes us human. 

IMAGINE

The last 12 months have been extra challenging. My mind has often felt clogged with chaotic and unproductive thoughts. Whenever that happens I try to remember Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “You are what you think all day long.” Then I tell myself to…close your eyes, remember to breathe, and imagine. See it in your head. Feel it in your heart. And if I do that enough times, I’m on my way to a better, more productive place—in my imagination and my life. 

What’s the “it”? I’m imagining the “it” can be anything. Hopes and dreams and goals for life and writing. I can imagine words, sentences, and scenes. I can imagine inciting incidents, challenges, successes, and dark moments. 

I can also imagine there’s always the potential for a happy ending because as William Arthur Ward said, "If you can imagine it, you can achieve it." ~ Jacqui

REMEMBER WHY YOU STARTED

Most days this applies to just writing a book. In the beginning it always sounds great and I'm so excited to get started. I think most authors agree that it's the most fun part of the book to write. But then comes the middle and with that come the daily reminders that it isn't crap, that you are a good writer, that you've finished a book before AND that someone (even if it's just your mother) liked it. But this also applies to my writing career. Why did I start? Because I had a story to tell. AND...I'm not finished yet.

Let us know your favorite inspirational saying or quote for a chance to win the surprise giveaway.

LEFTOVER WORDS

 

Yeah, it's Wednesday. I don't know about you, but I have to look at a calendar to verify what day of the week it is. Most of my days are the same with some exceptions of fostering puppies, getting them adopted, Vet visits. Most days are the same whether it's Wednesday OR Friday.

I love this saying though. It expresses a lot of my earlier days when I was working a nine-to-five job. I especially like the meme using Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character, but I honestly didn't know how to tie pirates into a "Leftover Words" column. So I looked for an appropriate free picture only to realize that I probably owned my own. LOL

The photo above was taken on my senior trip in high school. It's appropriate this week because two in the picture are just getting over Co-Vid 19. I can't tell you anything about that trip. Not because I'm sworn to secrecy, but because I honestly don't remember much about it. We went to a lake for a weekend. Chaperoned and on school buses. Around 50 18-year-olds who could legally buy beer--and did. I remember paddle boats, a swimming pool and the bus ride.  

We graduated soon after. Not many of us actually left my small home town and honestly, I'm not that far away in Dallas. I like the adults my friends grew up to be. 

Hard to believe I could fit into that
"safety" swing. Harder still to believe my
drill team instructor thought I was "too big".

Yep, I used to be a Burnette.

It was the time of suspenders,
velour shirts and Dorothy Hamill hairdos.

I think these guys were in a paddle boat.

It was the year Magnum PI (the original) was filmed. And guys really did where shorts like that.

Do you have special memories from high school? I hope you do. Share with me.

E.E. Burke's Best of the West: Featuring Bestselling Author Rosanne Bittner

Journey to High Lonesome is a thrilling read set against the magnificent western landscape of America’s historic Outlaw Trail

In 1868 Gainesville, Texas, Ashley Vale, 22, welcomes home Nick Calhoun, the man she loves and who has been missing for six years after marching off to war. But events involving an escape from a Union prison have left Nick a wanted man, and he has come home only to say good-bye again. Believing Ashley deserves a better life than he can give her, Nick heads to Outlaw Country without her. 

Her heart shattered, Ashley leaves Gainesville to start a new life under the Homestead Act, but circumstances lead her to being framed for a soldier’s murder. Nick learns of Ashley’s fate and bravely risks his life – and prison - to rescue her. Long-neglected desires explode into white-hot passion as, together, Nick and Ashley challenge a lawless land in search of peace . . . and a place to escape from a past that tore them apart. 

Buy it today on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3sJ8fTO

About the Author

USA TODAY best-seller Rosanne Bittner has published 73 novels over nearly 40 years of writing.  Her first love is America’s Old West and Native Americans, and she has won numerous writing awards, including a WILLA award from Women Writing the West for WHERE HEAVEN BEGINS. Romantic Times Reviews nominated her second “Outlaw Hearts” book, DO NOT FORSAKE ME, for best western romance for 2015. Most of Rosanne’s novels garner five-star reviews from Amazon readers and great reviews from Publisher’s Weekly. She and her husband of over 50 years live in southwest Michigan.

www.rosannebittner.com

www.rosannebittner.blogspot.com

Twitter – Facebook – Goodreads – Instagram – Amazon - Sourcebooks and more!

E.E.: What inspired you to write this series? 

This was actually my editor’s idea to begin with. She suggested writing about the Outlaw Trail and bringing in characters from older books. The plan was to feed readers’ interest/curiosity about some of my other books and make they want to read about those characters. The first one, Ride the High Lonesome, was published by Sourcebooks and included Jake Harkner (from my Outlaw Hearts series) when he lived on the Outlaw Trail for two years after a big gunfight in California. Jake played a minor role in the book – helped the hero in his own gunfight. Lawman In The High Lonesome involved Sage Lightfoot from my book Paradise Valley. And Journey to High Lonesome involved Moses (Moss) Tucker from Lawless Love (a really, really old book). I plan to write sequels to all 3 books.

E.E.: Tell us a little about the hero of Journey to High Lonesome.

The hero, Nick Calhoun, comes from NYC and a rough past and was orphaned in his teens. His father died and his mother was murdered. He went after the ruffian who killed her. He got in a fight with him and accidentally killed him, so Nick fled to Texas, thinking he was in trouble. My heroes always pull at a woman’s heart because they are usually “bad men with a good heart” and usually very alone and unloved.

Get all three books today!

RIDE THE HIGH LONESOME 

LAWMAN IN THE HIGH LONESOME

JOURNEY TO HIGH LONESOME

E.E.: How important is the setting in this series?

  
The basic setting for my High Lonesome books is the Outlaw Trail, so they ALL need to be connected to that rugged country. In the case of JOURNEY, however, the story is about how fate leads the hero and heroine to outlaw country by necessity, so it’s really about the journey there and only the ending takes place in outlaw country.

E.E.: Who is your favorite hero out of all the books you’ve written?

JAKE HARKNER, JAKE HARKNER and JAKE HARKNER from my Outlaw Hearts series. All my fans are crazy in love with Jake, and I am currently writing a sixth book about him – BLAZE OF GLORY – to be published late fall 2021. Running neck and neck with Jake is half-breed ZEKE MONROE from my SAVAGE DESTINY series. Jake is my favorite outlaw and Zeke is my favorite Indian. I love these two so much that I plan a future book in which one of Jake’s grandsons marries one of Zeke’s granddaughters. I want to bring the two families together, and both original heroes had ranches in Colorado, so it makes sense they could inter-act.
However, I have to say that I love ALL MY HEROES, or I wouldn’t write their stories. And when I think about them, the are ALL based in part on the personalities of Jake Harkner and Zeke Monroe. Nearly all of them are the classic bad man with a good heart – handsome – loveable – lonely – extremely adept at protecting and defending – and they always love and respect the women they marry. They love their women in the romantic way all women want to be loved – I should say – adored.

E.E.: What’s coming next?

I hope to start writing another (new) hero later this year who has been in my mind and heart for about 25 years – my first “white woman/Native American/Lakota man contemporary romance. Although set in today’s time, the hero is so “Indian” in manners and custom that parts of the story echo back to Native American history, so the story will be very much like my old Indian romances, but set in today’s time. I could write pages and pages about this book and how powerful this story will be, but for now, I’ll concentrate on scenarios for my High Lonesome sequels and on finishing BLAZE OF GLORY.

Rosanne will be giving away a copy of the first Outlaw Trail book, Ride the High Lonesome. 

Enter the drawing below and be sure to leave a comment.

Do you have a favorite hero from one of Rosanne's books? Who is he and why is he your favorite?

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