Monday, October 4, 2021

Love on the Range releases TOMORROW!

 When you write a three book series, it's a little tricky to introduce the characters who will populate the series but keep the main romantic hero and heroine front and center, while developing the secondary characters with an eye toward setting them up for their own story.

So, Molly and Wyatt. They've very definitely played parts in the earlier books but Molly is mainly taking care of the house and cooking for everyone, for which she has a strong talent.

And Wyatt has mostly been working. While Cheyenne, his half-sister runs off in a temper in the first book, then chases after bad guys while falling in love in the second book, Wyatt has needed to keep the ranch running.

So what it amounts to is, Molly and Wyatt have been doing all the work.

Now it's their turn. I ended the last book with Wyatt getting shot. Now we start this book with him with a broken collarbone, mostly tied up to keep one arm from moving and Molly waiting on his hand and foot. Now it's everyone else's turn to do all Wyatt's work.

And Molly is getting tired of being doing everything.

And she's exhausted, and for a mild mannered woman, a very RESERVED woman, she's getting a little cranky.

Love on the Range

There is still one day to pre-order on Baker Book House. On Sale and free shipping! Click to Buy

Buy on Amazon Here

Wyatt woke up to a woman in his bed.

            Very few things in his life had ever been stranger.

            She had her hand resting on his chest. Flat, right over his heart. Her head resting on his shoulder. Which wasn’t the shoulder that’d been shot. His arm was around her.

            She was on top of the covers and he was under, but it was still the strangest and most wonderful thing that’d ever happened to him.

            And he’d once watched a cow sniff a little cloud that rolled into a mountain valley, leading a horde of clouds that settled into fog.

            That fog rolling in, like little balls of fluff, that sniffing cow, that’d been the strangest and most wonderful thing…up until now.

            Molly. And boy oh boy, this was now number one and the sniffing cow wasn’t even a close second.

Molly What? What was her name? He’d hardly ever talked to her. Well, a few times. And she’d served him delicious food. She was a way better cook than Cheyenne and a fair sight better than Win. She’d patched some of his clothes, washed them, hung them on the line, he’d seen her doing it. She’d cleaned up after all of them, washed dishes. She’d kept this house running through a time of madness.

And now she was sleeping in his bed, in his arms, and it felt…right.

Most everyone around here was named Hunt. His mind rabbited around to Win marrying Kevin and then like a jolt of lightning, he remembered Cheyenne marrying Falcon. He leapt out of bed…except he didn’t.

            He tried. Realized he was all but tied up. Remembered why—his broken bone--and figured he was too late to stop the wedding anyway.

            So he just stayed where he was and watched Molly sleep. He’d done some wiggling when he’d tried to sit up and she’d slept through it so she must be exhausted. Poor thing.

            He realized that her name could be Hunt too, if he married up with her. And shouldn’t a man marry a woman he shared a bed with?

            Especially when he was so uncommonly pleased to wake up next to her.

            There were dark shadows under her eyes. His head was clear enough to remember being in and out of consciousness, fighting a blazing fever, a lot of it was blurred, but he knew whatever else was going on, whoever else was around, Molly had always been here.

            Marrying a woman he really didn’t know at all, just because he liked waking up next to her, struck him as a lunatic notion. But his life was one lunatic moment after another lately.

            Anyway, she didn’t like him much. So he set the idea aside.

Garner. Molly Garner.

            There, somehow knowing her name released him from any plans to change her name to Hunt by marrying up with her. He could remain single.

            Relief swept through him and that relief told him he’d made the right decision.

            Still, she was a pretty little thing.

Today tell me if you've ever wrote a series. How do you do it? Some series are just set in the same place but not largely populated by the same characters. If you don't write in series, why not? Leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for a signed copy of Love on the Range.

AND ON SALE NOW! \

THE ACCIDENTAL GUARDIAN

BOOK #1 OF THE HIGH SIERRA SWEETHEARTS SERIES. 

ON KINDLE ONLY FOR $1.99. 


When Trace Riley finds the smoldering ruins of a small wagon train, he recognizes the hand behind the attack as the same group who left him as sole survivor years ago. Living off the wilderness since then, he'd finally carved out a home and started a herd--while serving as a self-appointed guardian of the trail, driving off dangerous men. He'd
hoped those days were over, but the latest attack shows he was wrong.

Deborah Harkness saved her younger sister and two toddlers during the attack, and now finds herself at the mercy of her rescuer. Trace offers the only shelter for miles around, and agrees to take them in until she can safely continue. His simple bachelor existence never anticipated kids and women in the picture and their arrival is unsettling--yet enticing.

Working to survive the winter and finally bring justice to the trail, Trace and Deborah find themselves drawn together--yet every day approaches the moment she'll leave forever.

27 comments:

  1. I am loving this series, Mary, and can't wait to read Love on the Range! I think I'm really going to enjoy the sparks that fly between Molly & Wyatt! :)

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    1. Thanks Beth. I think their romance ends up being just wonderful. Did I mention the serial killer???????!!!

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  2. Congrats on another excellent series. I think this is your best one yet!

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    1. Lee-Ann thank you! I keep waiting for someone to say, "Mary, you're losing it. You're done!" So this means a LOT to me. :)

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  3. Does writing a series of letters count? Not being a writer of books, I've not written a series. I do enjoy reading them! Looking forward to reading this series of yours, Mary!

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    1. Anne we LOVE readers here at Seekerville, so do NOT worry about reading rather than writing! You are very welcome to come and join us!

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  4. I love writing series, and I think it's because I love reading them!

    One of my series (The Amish of Weaver's Creek) centered around a location - the neighborhood surrounding Weaver's Creek. So the heroines for all three books were set in place from the first book. The heroes kind of wandered in for their stories.

    Another series (The Journey to Pleasant Prairie) moved. Each book was set in a different location on the journey. The second book was the most challenging, since the characters were actually moving from Pennsylvania to Indiana during the story. But that allowed the characters to respond to the changing setting as the books progressed.

    The series I'm writing now (a cozy mystery series) is even more fun. The main character is new to the setting (the Black Hills,) so each book expands her horizons a little bit more. The first one took place mostly in the B&B where she works. The second is set in the B&B, but expands into the town. The third will take her farther afield into the Hills.

    What's not to like about a series?

    I'm SO looking forward to reading this one! I have some catching up to do, though. I haven't started the first one yet. :-/

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    1. Jan this is so interesting, the different ways you can handle a series. love the cozy mystery Black Hills setting!

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  5. Well, I'm not an author so I've never written a series, but I'd imagine trying to keep track of all the characters could get complicated. I can't wait to read Wyatt and Molly's story!

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    1. Elizabeth, it's not just keeping track of them in my own head, it's introducing them to the reader so THEY can keep track of them. In this book all six romantic leads are right there in the first chapter. I got a few comments about it being hard to sort them all out!!!

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  6. I like writing series. When I first started writing, I aimed more towards single standalone books, but then I fell in love with the characters, their friends and family. So, I started dreaming up additional books.

    I like to read series books too because I get to stay in the world the author created longer, and I like seeing characters I have met before tell their story.

    Thank you, Mary, for telling so many great stories and introducing me to some of my favorite fictional people. :)

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    1. Five of my first six books were all written as stand alone books before I got the idea of making them a series. So lots of revisions! Which was good for the books.

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  7. I just finished reading this book and loved it, Mary! I love your wit and humor and this was perfect for my reading mood.

    I'm a reader, not a writer, so my comments are from a reader's point of view. I enjoy series books as long as there are no big cliffhangers. Each book needs to be complete in itself. Usually there are a few threads still hanging until the last book ties them off. The only downside about series books is that I have to wait a while for the next book in the series to be released.

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    1. Winnie, I try and have each book have a beginning, middle and end but with some overarching trouble lurking out there to be finished.
      I hope I don't leave you dangling too often!!!

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    2. You do a great job, and you're quite quick about getting the books out, too, so I don't have to wait so long for the next one!

      I'll try to get my review posted all over soon. I still haven't got the print copy from Bethany House, so I had to read the NetGalley one. I prefer print copies if I have them. I haven't received any of the Bethany ones that release tomorrow. They're waaaaaayyy late this time!

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  8. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post group birthday card online

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  9. Mary, I love your heroes. They're always so innocent and in awe of the women you match them with. Wyatt is adorable, and he made me laugh and want to read more of his story!

    I've done a 9-book series but each story was a stand-alone so I only had a few characters that kept reoccuring and they were secondary. A three-book Amish series had an overarching theme that resolved at the end of the series. I did keep notes, but I didn't have a "bible" as some folks call it when an author keeps track of people and places in a special file. Series are fun and yours sounds delightful!

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    1. Hi Debby. I've got three...three-book series that end up as a sort-of nine book series. the first three books go together. Lassoed in Texas series. The next three books go together. Montana Marriages series. Then the NEXT three books interweave series one and two and drag in all those other characters (Or at least a whole lot of them). Not exactly a nine book series but close. :)

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  10. Congratulations! Can’t wait to read.

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  11. I intended to write one book telling the fictionally enhanced story of my grandmother. Next thing I knew, everyone was encouraging me to write more, saying, "You can't stop there!" It wasn't a cliffhanger, it ended with a sweet couple getting married. Fast forward, I am now on book six of the series and trying to wrap it up.
    I stopped at #4 and that was the end...I thought.
    I started writing another series and had finished book 3 of that series when my readers begged me not to stop the first series yet. So, I put the second series to the side, edited (thanks Beth) but not published until I could FINISH the first series.
    I love to read series, but I wait until the entire series is out before I read them. I can't stand to wait between books!
    Regardless if I am a reader or writer, I love connecting with the characters and feel like they are family. I was worried about switching to a new family in the new series, thinking I wouldn't love them as much, but I do, and it didn't take long. Now I have to finish this final book and I am more than ready to get the next series polished and published!
    Mary, I love your books and you have been such an inspiration and help to me. I could never thank you enough. I am pretty sure I own most of your books now and have enjoyed every single one! I will be adding this new one to my collection. It sounds wonderful, and I can't wait!

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    1. Lynne, I love it, a long series your readers are clamoring for. Sounds like a whole career in one town!!!

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  12. Mary, I didn't make it over here yesterday but popping in now. I love series. I haven't written one, but want to make my tornado novel I'm writing into a series, with a natural disaster part of each one. It will be set in the same town. This series looks good. Please put me in the drawing.

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    1. I think we've talked about this, Sandy. What a great idea, a town in the aftermath of a tornado. A hundred great stories as people rebuild their lives.

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    2. Sandy, this sounds like it would be a great series!!

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  13. You know I love series and this one is so stinkin' good! I am in love with your writing, the sniffing cow... gadzooks, that's country poetry, I love it!

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