When Fiction Becomes Our Reality

In the Shadow of the Mountains

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Genre: Historical Western Romance
Release January 19, 2016
Published by: Diversion Books
Length: 673 Pages

Bold, headstrong, and passionate, the indomitable Kirklands struggled to survive in a treacherous, hostile land. From penniless settlers to wealthy mine owners to Denver's regal first family, together—and separately—they pursued their dazzling dreams of love and glory. From the era of the covered wagon to the rise of the western railroad, from the gold rush years through the golden age of the American West, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAINS is the breathtaking saga of a remarkable family who endured tragedy and hardship to build a glorious mountain empire.

Savage Destiny Series - New Covers and Now Available in Kindle and Print! {with #Giveaway}

After over thirty years of being in print, my SAVAGE DESTINY books are still selling. I consider this such a blessing, because I poured so much research and hard work into those books, and the hero and heroine will live forever in my heart – and from the feedback I get from my readers, they live in a special place in their hearts too. The seven books in this classic series cover about 45 years in the lives of Zeke and Abigail Monroe, beginning when they meet on a wagon train west when Abbie is only 16 and Zeke, half Cheyenne, is 25. From this union comes seven children and a herd of grandchildren, stories about many of them wound into the main story about the hero and heroine - all the tragedies and triumphs any family faces over the years. In this case the challenges are especially difficult because of Zeke’s Indian blood. He has three full-blood Cheyenne brothers in Colorado and three full-blood white brothers (in Tennessee), and Zeke lives torn between two worlds, as do his children, some of whom deny their Indian blood.

Saying Good-Bye

Monday July 7th I will turn in my story DO NOT FORSAKE ME. It’s been a long journey, starting 20 years ago when I wrote the first book about Jake Harkner called OUTLAW HEARTS, which will be reissued next June, followed in July with its sequel, DO NOT FORSAKE ME. I have lived with these characters all these twenty years, and during that time I begged and pleaded and fought to be able to write this sequel and get someone to buy it and publish it. Finally Sourcebooks actually ASKED ME to write this book and wanted to reissue the first one, so that was like a dream come true. That was last December, and by March 2014 I had finished the book – all 563 pages! I have since been working on edits and re-writes, and now it’s finally ready to submit.

Valentine's Party and Giveaway

I'm having a Valentine's Day Party this week to celebrate romance!

Please stop by my party site to see updated news about my books. And, while you're there, don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of my latest release, Paradise Valley and a Kindle!

Past And Present … Some Thoughts On Both …

Sorry, but I’m a rather lazy blogger. It’s not that I don’t think about getting a new message out there. It’s on my mind every day. I’m grateful to all of you who visit my site often, probably hoping to see a new message, and I apologize for not “visiting” you more often.

I guess I wouldn’t really call myself lazy, because I am actually a very busy person, probably TOO busy! I think not getting around to blogging is really from being so busy that I have to set priorities. Since we returned from an extended vacation in Las Vegas a month ago, I have been inundated with family business matters that have taken up most of my days – catching up on all kinds of reports – getting things ready for tax time – catching up with my grandsons – proofreading two books (I got the proofs to the Kindle version of EAGLE’S SONG, Book #7 of my Savage Destiny Series, which will soon be available for your Kindles!) and also proofreading my new book, PARADISE VALLEY (July 2013) so it can go into production. And by the way, it’s already up on Amazon for pre-orders, so be sure to get your order in! On top of all that, I’m catching up on treasurer duties for two different organizations, and trying to get busy on a new book I’ve been trying to get started for months.

The days slip by too fast, and before I know it I’m worn out and realize I still haven’t blogged in a while. Sometimes all this social networking can make it difficult to get our daily work done, and even though I am 68 years old, I am far from retired!! I don’t think that will ever happen. I don’t look or feel my age and I sure don’t intend to ACT my age! Nor can I picture myself visiting a senior center every day playing cards and bingo. No thank you! That’s not me! Life goes by too fast and I still have too much to do.

So here I am, finally blogging, and not really saying much. Let’s see – what can I say that is enlightening and interesting? Well, I don’t know about enlightening, but my 12 year old grandson said something yesterday that made me feel good and “enlightened” me as to what’s going through his 12 year old mind. He said that as far as he can see, from talks he has with me and from books and movies and the old TV shows I “make” him watch when he stays at our house (he’s actually come to enjoy them), he thinks the “old days” were much better than today’s times. This from a kid who is immersed in today’s social media, video games, and all the other things thrown at kids today. He said it seems like “back then” people had more respect for each other, were kinder to each other, and dressed nicer.

Right on! I was so happy to hear him say that, because I love when young people see and understand those things. He even asked how and why things have changed so much. I told him I think it’s mainly that the “personal touch” has been removed from so many things. Neighbors don’t need their neighbors any more (or at least they think they don’t until there is a disaster); we don’t know our neighbors and we stand in line at the grocery store completely ignoring those waiting ahead of us and behind us. TV has opened us up to all that’s going on in the world, and sometimes it’s all overwhelmingly depressing and brings out our fears and makes us want to lock our doors and keep the “world” out. Entertainers strut on stage practically naked, sitcoms are about single parents and broken homes, prayer is gone from schools (and teachers can’t even hug a child any more), kids come home to no one there, and drugs are passed around like glasses of water. Fewer and fewer children are introduced to God and church. TV, movies and video games are about murder and mayhem, and nowadays a person of fame and/or power can do something sinful and against the law and then brush it all off with “I’m sorry for what I did.” Sorry? They got caught!! If they were truly sorry, they would have admitted their mistake in the first place before they were found out.

And so it goes. These things take away from personal relationships, take away from closeness with friends and neighbors, lend a hardness to feelings, bring out fears and feelings of self-defense. i.e. – “If I stay away from my neighbors … if I don’t talk to the stranger standing beside me … if I’m careful not to open myself up to anyone, I’ll be safer.”

Sitting in a McDonald’s this morning having breakfast with another of my grandsons, there was a young man in a booth nearby who was a bit scrubby, wore a hooded sweatshirt and was avidly typing away on a computer. My first thought? He could be a serial killer, or maybe some guy planning to kill a bunch of kids and conferring with a cohort via e-mail. Why did I immediately jump to that conclusion? Today’s news and all the terrible things happening caused me to distrust that young man, who was probably just some college kid working on a thesis. Who knows? It’s too bad that today we have to think the worst of those around us “just in case” they are a killer and we need to be “aware” so we can escape quickly if we need to. That’s sad.

I told my 12 year old grandson about when I was little and stayed with my grandma, she at first didn’t even have electricity – used a wood-burning stove to cook and had an ice box. He said that sounded like fun. Well, it WAS fun for a little kid. I didn’t think a thing about it. I loved my grandma and always had fun there. When she finally got electricity we’d sit in front of the radio and “listen” to stories, including the first GUNSMOKE programs before it went to TV. Yesterday I found a channel on my satellite radio (called Radio Classics) that plays those old programs. What memories! I was instantly 8 years old again. Where has all the time gone?

Well, apparently some of the things I’ve told my grandsons have sunk in and they have an appreciation for the “old days.” At the same time, I’m grateful for today’s times mainly because of the medical help we have now that we didn’t have then. Other than that, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t rather go back in time. But then I would not have the gift of social networking that helps me reach the world with news about my books, so I am grateful for that.

So here I am caught up in both past and present. I prefer not to think about the future because I’m not really sure how great it will be for my grandsons – and at my age you tend to just be grateful for each new day and not worry about ten years from now. I hope that all of you out there will do the same, because all we have is today. The past is gone, and there really is no tomorrow because when you get there it’s “today” again. Enjoy life and try to instill some of that old-time respect in your children and grandchildren – respect and love not only for others, but also for themselves. Teach them it’s okay to have feelings, to want to hug someone, and to search for their spiritual side. Teach them that if they don’t like some of the things going on in the world, there are things they can do to help change that … and that human nature makes us basically still yearn for love, still care about others and still be “good neighbors.”

I hope you wave to your neighbor tomorrow and maybe smile and say hello to the stranger standing in line with you at the grocery store. And I promise to try to blog more often after this!

Traveling Conversations

When I finished this blog I decided it consisted of a “traveling” conversation. That’s what I call a lot of rambling on about nothing … which leads into topics not even planned … and that’s what happened here, so here goes.

October 6, 2012

As I sit here at my desk unable to sleep because in a few hours I’ll be hosting a memorial for my mother, many things go through my mind about life in general and all the things each of us goes through from childhood through high school and young love, marriage, our own children, then grandchildren and the inevitable experience of caring for our own parents as they once had to care for us. THE LION KING’S “Circle of Life” song is so fitting, for we are all part of that circle. My favorite picture of my mom and dad is when they were first married. My mom was only seventeen, and she’s looking at my dad as though he walked on water … such adoration in her eyes. Now they are together again … and young again.

Savage Destiny Re-Release Party!

 

I'm having a Re-Release Party for my  Savage Destiny Series!     Visit my Indian Summer Site for Details

Savage Destiny Series on Kindle!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, if you aren’t familiar with true action-packed western historical romance with a hero to die for, read SAVAGE DESTINY! After a total of 57 published novels, I still find them the best books I ever wrote, packed with real history about Colorado and the Cheyenne Indians, filled with endless action, and probably the best love story I ever penned.

SAVAGE DESTINY is a seven-book series covering about 50 years of history, as seen through the eyes of Zeke and Abbie Monroe. They meet on a wagon train west when Abbie is only 15 and the wagon train scout, Zeke, (best known as Cheyenne Zeke) is 25. Abbie hands Zeke a cup of coffee, their fingers touch, and pow! An epic love story is born, a story that epitomizes the ruggedness of the untamed land, the immense challenges to the pioneers, the lawless atmosphere, the wild and rapid way in which America was settled, and the traumatic affect opening the West had on the Native Americans, especially (in my story) the Cheyenne. I am not embarrassed to say that I am in love all over again with Zeke Monroe. I’d nearly forgotten what a provocative, masculine, handsome, rugged hero he is – and Abbie is the perfect strong, devoted, patient woman at his side, a woman who understands Zeke like few others do.

When I proofread the books for the Kindle edition, I learned a lot about Zeke that I never saw when I wrote these books – that in spite of his virile demeanor and his ability to fight and survive and the fact that he has no fear – Zeke Monroe is quite vulnerable when it comes to Abbie. He will do anything for her, and throughout their years together he lives with the constant fear that Abbie will suffer for being married to a half-breed, something that in the 1800’s was considered shameful. Throughout their life together he protects her with a fierceness seldom found in any human. He truly cherishes this woman, and I think that is what draws women readers to Zeke – the fact that this man cherishes his wife. Cherish is a term we seldom hear today, let alone experience emotionally.

Men, too, love these stories, mainly because of the rugged bravery of Zeke Monroe, the real history, and the almost non-stop action. The books follow Zeke and Abbie from that first meeting through tragedy and triumph that includes not only them but also their children and grandchildren, who all follow his and her unique stories in how history and their heritage affect their lives. There are numerous side-character stories in these novels, and all these characters affect Zeke and Abbie - and history itself – in one way or another.

Over the years, readers have told me that these are the best books they ever read and the best love story they have ever experienced; and most want to know if these characters really lived. To me, when readers ask something like that, I’ve done a good job.

I am proud of SAVAGE DESTINY, and am so happy these books will again be available to everyone, especially new, younger readers who have never read them

By the way, I am now "Kindle-graphing" my Amazon.com e-books -- which means I can send you personalized digital inscriptions for any of my books offered in Kindle edition by Amazon.com! Click here for details and available e-books.

Book 1: SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION . The ninth book that I wrote, SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION was the first to be published. It tells the powerful love story of 15-year-old Abigail Trent, who is traveling west with her family; and a very rugged plainsman, Zeke Monroe, the half-Cheyenne guide who wins Abbie's heart as they journey through an untamed land beset with Indians, outlaws and nature's harsh challenges. Although Zeke and Abbie come from very different worlds, violence and personal loss bring them together in unexpected ways, including a very poignant situation that involves Abbie's little brother. By journey's end, Abbie has changed from an innocent young girl to a strong woman whose courage and determination to survive make her the perfect woman for the sometimes violent Zeke, whose past and upbringing make him a challenge only Abbie's love and personal faith can overcome. SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION is the beginning of many more stories about this unforgettable couple and their life together as they face the perils of settling America's Old West and learn that love can conquer anything. 

 Book 2: RIDE THE FREE WIND continues the love story of Zeke and Abbie Monroe. For the first five years of her marriage Abbie lives among the Cheyenne, learning their customs and beliefs and giving birth to a son who is as wild and free as his Native American family, and a daughter who will one day be forced to choose between her Indian and white blood. Through real historical events involving the government and Native Americans, Zeke and Abbie cling to one another through danger and torn loyalties. This story vividly depicts the "right" and "wrong" of both sides in the bloody conflicts that arose as the West was settled. Through it all Zeke strives to reach the point where he can provide his Abbie with a real "white woman's" home, where she can set a prized family heirloom, a mantle clock, over a fireplace in a house with real wood floors and a cooking hearth. Though his heart is as wild as his Cheyenne blood, Zeke will give up that life for his beloved Abbie. 

 Book 3: RIVER OF LOVE finds Zeke and Abbie Monroe settled into a cabin along the Arkansas River in southern Colorado, where they build a horse ranch amid challenges to their love and their contrasting worlds. As Abbie bears more children carrying their mixed blood, finding a peaceful family life is something that does not come easily. Zeke's Cheyenne relatives face broken treaties, and the building of the Union Pacific cuts a swath of violence and change through the lives of white and Cheyenne alike, forcing the Monroe children to face deeply torn loyalties. New and powerful enemies enter this spellbinding story, and Zeke's love for his Abbie is tested in a totally unexpected way that would devastate the love of most couples with even the strongest relationship. No two people demonstrate the power of love more vividly and with more poignancy than Zeke and Abbie Monroe in RIVER OF LOVE. 

 Book 4: EMBRACE THE WILD LAND. The American Civil War plunges Zeke and Abbie Monroe into violence and separation, danger and torn loyalties. Their first-born son, Wolf's Blood, takes part in the Sun Dance, a tortuous ritual that initiates him into life with the Cheyenne. Then war forces Zeke to leave his family to join his white brother, Danny, in the conflict. Abbie is left to face a horrible fate at the hands of Zeke's worst enemy while he is gone. For the first time in their beloved marriage her strong, brave, warrior husband is not there to protect her. When Zeke returns to learn her fate, the worst violence in his savage soul rages forth to seek sweet revenge. Zeke and Abbie's love transcends loss and tragedy thrown at them by savage people in a savage land that can be tamed by only the bravest souls in EMBRACE THE WILD LAND.

 Book 5: CLIMB THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN. Zeke and Abbie are forced to defend their children against challenges faced because of their mixed blood. More settlers come west under the Homestead Act, causing the gradual and final demise of the Cheyenne way of life. The surge of new settlers brings with it a wealthy Englishman, Edward Tynes, who builds a cattle ranch near the Monroe homestead and falls in love with Abbie, admiring her strength and bravery, and jealous of her undying love for a man who cannot give her the pampered life Tynes feels she deserves. Zeke leaves to join his warrior son, Wolf's Blood, in new Indian wars, and for the first time Abbie's loyalty to her husband is tested. But no man can replace the fiercely brave, strong, handsome Zeke Monroe in Abbie's life. 

 Book 6: MEET THE NEW DAWN . A relentless wave of frontier progress forces itself into the lives of Zeke and Abbie Monroe, threatening their many years of abiding love and forcing a separation unlike any other they have experienced. Zeke joins the Cheyenne in their last effort to hold on to the freedom they knew until the white man invaded their pristine domain and destroyed their game, their hunting grounds, their beautiful innocence. MEET THE NEW DAWN is a keenly powerful and poignant story about the last years of Zeke and Abbie Monroe's life together, and how their love and their passion for each other lingers on into their twilight years as proof that age and the challenges of life cannot dim the love these two share, a love that causes a man and woman to see each other only as the fifteen-year-old girl who once touched a savage older man's hand over a campfire, a touch that changed both their lives forever. Get out the Kleenex for this powerful read you will never, ever forget! 

Book 7 (Not yet available on Kindle - New Cover Coming Soon): EAGLE'S SONG. After I finished Book 6, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I had to get away from the Monroe family. The first six books were published between 1983 and 1985, and it took me eleven years to walk back into the lives of all the characters who had become so dear to me. There was Abbie, waiting for me to finish her story, and also tell the stories of some of her grandchildren. In EAGLE'S SONG, the clan gathered for a long-awaited reunion on their sprawling Colorado ranch, but old hatreds and new passions exploded...in heartbreaking tragedy for eldest son Wolf's Blood; in a forbidden love affair between Abbie's wild grandson Zeke and a rancher's headstrong daughter; and in an agonizing choice Wolf's Blood's young son must make--a choice that could seal his father's fate.

Autumn

Well finally, the horribly hot summer is over and we are headed into my favorite time of year … Autumn. Here in Michigan, Fall is the most beautiful time of year. And for me the return of college and pro football just makes the season that much better! Leaves will be turning soon and although that means we are headed for cold and snow, I don’t really care. Anything is better than the kind of summer we had this year!

Been busy proofreading my SAVAGE DESTINY books for their reissue by Amazon as e-books – mostly likely by October 1st! Be sure to watch my web and blog sites for news about an up-coming “Indian Summer” contest to celebrate the return of these books, which were first published almost 30 years ago and are still selling! Hero Cheyenne Zeke will live in my heart forever, as will his “Abbie-girl.” From what I hear from readers, they feel the same way. If you’ve never read these books, join my contest to win a free Kindle reader and you can download them to that and read up a storm! This is an unforgettable series that follows the settling of Colorado and its effects on the Cheyenne Indians as well as on the family of Zeke Monroe, a half-breed who lives torn between two worlds. The stories follow Zeke and Abbie, as well as some of their children and grandchildren, through about 50 years of a very powerful loved story set against real American history. I would say these stories compare strongly to James Michener’s book/movie CENTENNIAL.

I am also working on edits for my brand new book, PARADISE VALLEY, coming next July. The cover is just about ready but needs a couple more tweaks, so watch for it, along with a short description of the story. Can’t wait for everybody to read it! I will be pushing the book next May at the Romantic Times Conference in Kansas City, where many of the big-name romance authors from the 80’s and 90’s will be honored as “Divas of Romance!” It’s going to be so much fun and a big reunion of some of us lovers of bodice-rippers and the best of historical romance! I can’t wait! Meantime, keep an eye out for my contest – and watch Amazon for those SAVAGE DESTINY books. There aren’t many Native America stories around that are any better than these.

Good Ole’ True, Sure & Solid Historical Romance At Its Best …

Right now I am proofreading the conversions of my Savage Destiny books for Amazon. They will soon be available as e-books, and those of you who would like a “forever” copy of these books will be able to download them and save them to your Kindles or PC e-readers. I am so happy these books, the first of which is almost 30 years old, will again be available to everyone, especially new, younger readers who have never read them.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you aren’t familiar with true action-packed western historical romance with a hero to die for, read SAVAGE DESTINY! In spite of how long ago they were written and published, they have never stopped selling. And after a total of 57 published novels, I still find them the best books I ever wrote, packed with real history about Colorado and the Cheyenne Indians, filled with endless action, and probably the best love story I ever penned, other than, perhaps, OUTLAW HEARTS, my other favorite story. But that is a single book, whereas SAVAGE DESTINY is 7 books total and covers about 50 years of history, staying with the basic couple, Zeke and Abbie Monroe, throughout the series. They meet on a wagon train west when Abbie is only 15 and the wagon train scout, Zeke, (best known as Cheyenne Zeke) is 25. Abbie hands Zeke a cup of coffee, their fingers touch, and pow! An epic love story is born, a story that epitomizes the ruggedness of the untamed land, the immense challenges to the pioneers, the lawless atmosphere, the wild and rapid way in which America was settled, and the traumatic affect opening the West had on the Native Americans, especially (in my story) the Cheyenne.

I honestly do not intend to brag here. I am just stating a fact that as I proofread my own stories – and I can’t put them down! I am reading the books back to back and have hardly taken a break. I am not embarrassed to say that I am in love all over again with Zeke Monroe. I’d nearly forgotten what a provocative, masculine, handsome, rugged hero he is – and Abbie is the perfect strong, devoted, patient woman at his side, a woman who understands Zeke like few others do. I am learning a lot about Zeke that I never saw when I wrote these books – that in spite of his virile demeanor and his ability to fight and survive and the fact that he has no fear – Zeke Monroe is quite vulnerable when it comes to Abbie. He will do anything for her, and throughout their years together he lives with the constant fear that Abbie will suffer for being married to a half-breed, something that in the 1800’s was considered by many whites to be more deplorable than a white woman marrying a black man or a full-blood Indian. A tragedy Zeke experienced before meeting Abbie made him vow never to be close to or to marry another white woman, but there is something about Abbie that keeps drawing Zeke back into her arms and finally convinces him he can’t live without her. Throughout their life together he protects here with a fierceness seldom found in any human. He truly cherishes this woman, and I think that is what comes out in these books that draws women to Zeke – the fact that this man cherishes his wife. Cherish is a term we seldom hear today, let alone experience emotionally.

Men, too, love these stories, mainly because of the rugged bravery of Zeke Monroe, the real history, and the almost non-stop action. The books follow Zeke and Abbie from that first meeting through nearly 50 years of the settling of Colorado, through tragedy and triumph that includes not only them but also their children and grandchildren, who all follow his and her unique story in how history and their heritage affect their lives. There are numerous side-character stories in these novels, and all these characters affect Zeke and Abbie - and history itself – in one way or another.

I noticed as I read each story that the writing itself gets a little better with each one, as though I was learning as I went along, which is exactly what was happening. The writing in Book #1 could have been better, I’ll admit; but the story is so damn good that apparently most readers of this series hardly noticed. All I’ve ever heard from them is that these are the best books they ever read and the best love story they have ever experienced; and most want to know if these characters really lived. To me, when readers ask something like that, I’ve done a good job.

I now remember why I wrote these books with such passion – I was in love with Zeke Monroe and the whole family, and I didn’t want to leave them! I had absolutely no outline for these stories. They just poured out of me. And I think the reason they turned out so good and continue to sell is because of the passion that went into each story. My favorite way to write is to simply create the characters, put them into a particular time period time period/historical events, and then just turn them loose and see what happens. The story unfolds all by itself.

I am proud of SAVAGE DESTINY, and I hope those of you who have never read it will download each book to your e-readers and just ENJOY! 

Rosanne