When Fictional Characters Take Over Your Life

Hi everyone! Brandi Creek here.

There's something nobody warns you about when you become an author.

Your fictional characters apparently don't understand that they're fictional.

When I start writing a book, I usually have a pretty good idea of who my characters are, where their story is going, and how everything will eventually work out. After all, I'm the author. I'm supposed to be in charge, right?

Yeah, about that.

Somewhere along the way, these imaginary people develop personalities, opinions, and a remarkable ability to make my life more complicated.

A character who was supposed to be quiet and reserved suddenly has a sarcastic streak a mile wide. Someone I intended to be a minor character becomes so entertaining that I keep finding excuses to bring them into another scene. And occasionally, two characters have so much chemistry that I start wondering whether they need a book of their own.

Before I know it, the story I thought I was writing has taken a few unexpected turns.

And don't even get me started on the side characters.

I love creating ranch families, close friendships, and communities where everyone knows everyone else's business. The problem is that once I've created all these people, they refuse to stay politely in the background.

The ranch cook has opinions. The brothers can't stop giving each other a hard time. Somebody's grandmother knows entirely too much about what's happening in everyone's love life. And there's always at least one character who thinks it's their personal responsibility to meddle in everybody else's relationships.

Honestly, it's a wonder anyone on my fictional ranches gets any work done.

But that's also one of my favorite things about writing a series.

As the books progress, the characters become familiar. The couple who fell in love in the first book doesn't simply disappear when their story ends. They're still around, raising families, helping their friends, arguing with their siblings, and occasionally offering advice nobody asked for.

And somewhere along the way, they start to feel like old friends.

Of course, spending hours every day with imaginary people does come with a few occupational hazards.

I'll be making dinner, folding laundry, or doing something completely unrelated to writing when an idea pops into my head. Suddenly, I'm mentally working through a conversation between two characters who don't actually exist.

Or I'll be trying to fall asleep when I realize exactly how a scene should play out.

Apparently, my imagination doesn't believe in business hours.

And then there's the strange experience of finishing a series. After spending so much time with these characters, saying goodbye can be surprisingly difficult. I've laughed with them, cried with them, wanted to shake some sense into them, and celebrated when they finally figured out what the reader and I knew all along.

They're meant for each other!

Maybe that's why I love writing connected series so much. I don't have to say goodbye quite so quickly. There's always another brother, another friend, or another stubborn cowboy waiting for his turn.

So, if you've ever wondered what goes on inside an author's head, picture a whole bunch of fictional people talking at once while the author desperately tries to get everyone organized.

And just when I think I've finally got them under control, another cowboy shows up with a story to tell.

I'd love to hear from you! Have you ever read a book and fallen so in love with a side character that you wished they'd get their own story?

Happy reading,

Brandi

hello@brandicreekauthor.com 

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Mancos, More Than the Town

 

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Aerial View of Mancos and Mancos Valley
from Wikipedia

How many have heard of Mancos? For those of us who live in Colorado, it is the name of the town and river in southwest Colorado.

The name, Rio de Los Mancos, first appears in the records of the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition. The story is that one of the writers fell and hurt his hand; thus the word mancos which means left-handed or one-armed.

The Mancos River, originally called El Rio de San Lazaro,  begins Northeast of the town of Mancos. At that point, the West Mancos and East Mancos rivers join and continue South through that part of Colorado into northern New Mexico, near the Four Corners region.

For some of you, this may sound familiar. Why? It is also one of the entrances to Mesa Verde National Park. Along with the Ute Mountain Ute Mancos Canyon Historic District, a private park, it makes up one of the largest archaeological preserves in the United States. This region is important as a window into the culture of the Anasazi present in the area before the influx of the Spanish, English, and others.

Image Property of the Author

The Mancos Valley, where the town of Mancos is situated, was described in an 1897 article as “lying along the eastern border of the county of Montezuma. It is about twelve miles long and from two to three miles in width. It is the oldest farming section of the county, having been first settled around 1877. Probably three thousand acres are under cultivation in this valley, which is famous for its immense yields of alfalfa, wheat, and oats.”  The article also says the town of Mancos is incorporated and has all the different branches of business and industry that make up a thriving western town. It is a supply point for the La Plata mines in Montezuma County. Ranching also took place in the general area.

As I research for my next National Park Brides Book, titled “Pauline,” I shall continue the search into Montezuma County, Mancos, Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, and the stories this historically rich area has to offer.

Until next time:

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

 

The Price of Progress on the Prairie ~ D. K. Deters

Have you ever wondered how or why something happened when it might have been easier to call it quits?

I recently read an article about Montgomery Ward and Company that got me thinking about that question.

Aaron Montgomery Ward began his business training in a general store in St. Joseph, Michigan. Within three years, he rose to general manager. During the Civil War, Ward stayed at his job and sent money home to help his family.

Later, while working for other wholesale houses, he learned about the difficulties farmers faced in the marketplace. He realized rural customers wanted many of the same comforts and goods available to city residents and envisioned a mail-order business.

Aaron Montgomery Ward

In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the inventory he had put into the venture. Yet Ward didn't give up. He started over.

Ward launched Montgomery Ward and Company in 1872. After his original partners left, his brother-in-law, George R. Thorne, became an equal partner in late 1873.

In 1875, Ward introduced an innovation that helped build trust with rural customers: “Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.” Although similar guarantees existed, Ward is widely credited with pioneering the policy in the national mail-order business. It addressed a major concern: How could a farmer trust a merchant whose merchandise he couldn’t see or touch before paying for it?

Montgomery Ward’s catalogs let farm families buy goods from distant cities, revealing the commercial potential of rural America. But customers still had to travel to the local post office to collect their mail.

Ward’s mail-order business helped highlight the need for better access to rural customers, but he did not cause the Post Office to establish Rural Free Delivery (RFD).

The federal government was already considering rural delivery. By 1890, nearly 41 million Americans lived in rural areas. When RFD began experimentally in 1896, farmers could receive mail at home instead of traveling to town. The service expanded rapidly and became permanent in 1902.

Parcel Post, introduced in 1913, further boosted mail-order businesses such as Montgomery Ward and Sears by making it easier to ship merchandise through the mail.

There’s a bit of irony here. RFD improved life for rural Americans, but it also contributed to undermining some local businesses. Before mail-order houses became popular, a country merchant might have been the only source for certain goods. Now rural Americans could compare the local merchant’s price with a price printed in a Montgomery Ward or Sears catalog.

The same postal system that connected isolated Western homesteads to the national marketplace also weakened the isolation that had defined rural life.

And perhaps that’s the part of the story that stayed with me. Ward could have given up after the Great Chicago Fire destroyed his first inventory. Instead, he started over—and ultimately helped change American commerce.

Soures:

Smithsonian National Postal Museum - The Growth of the Mail

Chicago History Museum - Montgomery Ward's First Catalog

The Steel Guitar ~ Julie Lence

 With the exception of the 50’s/60’s era rock-n-roll, I grew up on country music. Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Charlie Pride; Dad had his favorites, and it wasn’t long until his favorites became my favorites. To this day, I still remember how I couldn’t wrap my head around Mom telling me Loretta Lynn wasn’t married to Conway Twitty. I stared at her as though she was the crazy one and not me. Loretta sang with Conway (Dad had the albums) just like Tammy Wynette sang with George Jones (He had those albums, too). And since Tammy was married to George, my little girl mind reasoned Loretta was married to Conway. But Mom explained that just because a girl and a guy sang together didn’t mean they were married. I remember walking away completely dumbfounded, and still loving Dad’s albums. 

Fast forward a few years and my love of country music shifted to the background as disco and 70’s/80’s rock became my norm. I enjoyed school dances, and club hopping with friends hubby before ricocheting back to country music in the late 80’s. I don’t recall the reason for this, but blame George Strait (lol!). He’s my all-time favorite and all I can think is I must’ve heard him sing and realized how much I missed this type of music. Through George, I gravitated toward other artists, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Lorrie Morgan, to name a few. I became a concert junkie, collected cd’s, tee-shirts, and magnets, and through the madness, one thing stood firm in my admiration for the genre; the steel guitar. Every time George or someone else featured the steel guitar on a song, chills ran up and down my spine, which is probably why George’s, Amarilla By Morning, is one of my all-time favorite songs.  

Native to Hawaii from the late 19^th century, the steel guitar is a guitar in which one hand lightly presses a steel bar (or something similar that is hard) against the strings while the fingers on the other hand pluck the strings. The bar is the ‘steel’ part and is different from a regular guitar in that is has no frets, only markers that look like frets, and produces both a crying sound and deep vibrato imitating a human singing voice.    

Known as the Hawaiian guitar, from its shortening the length of the strings to change the pitch, the instrument became popular in the U.S. in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and saw a change in design to accommodate the shortening of the strings. The steel lap guitar came on scene, allowing the player to hold the instrument flat on his lap, but the guitar was not as loud as other instruments and often couldn't be heard at large performances. George Beauchamp and Adolf Rickenbacker changed that in 1934 with their invention of the pickup; picking up the sound of the strings through electrical signals which could be amplified.     

The earliest use of the steel guitar in country music is believed to have occurred in the 1920’s when cowboy movie actor Hoot Gibson brought Sol Ho ‘opi’ o to L.A. to perform in his band. From there, duo Darby and Tarleton featured the steel guitar on their recording of ‘Birmingham Jail’. The 1930’s ushered in the western swing, played on the newly electrified steel. The 1940’s saw Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, and others using the steel in their honky-tonk country music songs, with the pedal being perfected and added to the steel in 1948, creating a new sound for the guitar and for 1950's Nashville. Through the 1990's and even today, cowboys and cowgirls hit the dance floor Friday and Saturday nights to two-step or slow dance to the twang of a steel guitar, what I consider the true heart and soul of country music, alongside the fiddle.     

***A fret is a metal strip embedded in the neck's fretboard   

 

Small Towns and Autumn Romance

 

There’s something so inviting about a ranch romance in autumn. 

Perhaps it’s the crisp leaves scattered along a fence line or the promise of a warm kitchen after a chilly day outside. Add a cowboy who insists he isn’t looking for love, and you have the makings of a story that begs to be enjoyed curled up with a hot cup of cider and a cozy fire.

Autumn has a wonderful way of bringing characters together. 

Chores on a ranch don’t stop when the temperature drops, and neither does the opportunity for a little unexpected romance. An injured animal might need watching through a cold night in a drafty barn. A final load of hay might mean sharing the bench seat of an old pickup whose heater works only when it feels like it.

Suddenly, two people who planned to keep their distance are sharing a blanket, sharing truths, and discovering that silence can feel surprisingly comfortable with the right person.

Then there’s the landscape. 

Summer’s brightness softens into amber light, stretching long shadows across the pastures. Dust rises behind cattle moving toward home, while the hills seem to glow beneath the evening sky. It’s a beautiful backdrop for those small moments that change everything: a lingering glance, an offered hand, or a cowboy slowing his stride so someone can walk beside him.

Of course, a small-town romance rarely belongs to just two people. There’s usually a whole community ready to welcome a newcomer or take a lively interest in who might be falling in love.

Harvest festivals, Friday-night football games, and barn dances offer opportunities for flirting. They give a character who feels out of place a chance to find friends, familiar faces, and a seat saved just for her. Before he knows it, the town he meant to visit has begun to feel like home.

And inside, there is a bustling ranch kitchen, supper sizzling in a cast-iron skillet, and an extra plate at the table can say more than a grand speech. 

Perhaps that’s what makes autumn such a lovely season for these sweet romance stories. Between the golden pastures and the warm kitchen lights, love finds room to grow.

What draws you into an autumn ranch romance—the cowboy, the cozy setting, or the small town that feels like family?

One of my favorite beginnings to a sweet and wholesome romance begins in a wheat field with an unexpected kiss in Distracting the Deputy. 

He’s sworn to uphold the law. Her life is riddled with closely guarded secrets.

When the past catches up to her, will she rush to him or run away?

When he’s not evading grabby-handed octogenarians, mentoring troubled teens, or rescuing rascally youngsters from disaster, Deputy Knox Strickland can be found upholding the law in the eastern Oregon region he patrols. He avoids making plans for tomorrow, focusing instead on doing his best today. Then one chance encounter with a beautiful woman in a wheat field turns his world upside down. Knox is left questioning what secrets she’s hiding, and how hard he’ll have to work to scale the fortress she's built around her heart.

Zadie Redmond isn’t like most women. A life spent looking over her shoulder has destroyed the promising future she’d once envisioned. Her days are spent leading hunting and fishing adventures, or teaching tiny ballerinas the proper way to plié. She fills her evenings with do-it-yourself projects while worrying about the day her past catches up with her. In an unexpected moment, the local deputy swoops into her world like a storybook hero and she knows nothing will ever be the same. Zadie will do anything to keep Knox safe from the danger lurking in the shadows, even if it destroys her chance at love.

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.

Western Romances with a Paranormal Twist

By Kristy McCaffrey

It’s October, so how about western romances with a bit of the other.

 

INTO THE LAND OF SHADOWS is a steamy standalone historical western novel set in 1893 Arizona Territory.

Rancher Ethan Barstow has spent years carrying the weight of his broken bond with his brother, Charley. Deciding to track him down is easy. Far more complicated is the journey itself, especially when he’s forced to travel alongside Kate Kinsella, Charley’s supposed fiancée. 

As they cross Navajo country, something stirs in the vast, haunted landscape. Whispers of the unseen and a growing, undeniable attraction pull Ethan and Kate closer together, drawing them into danger, mystery, and ultimately, each other. 

“…pure entertainment—a good old-fashioned western, a romance and an adventure with a tiny bit of comedy and a good twist of paranormal thrown in. I loved it!” ~ Barnes and Noble Reviewer

LEARN MORE about Into The Land of Shadows

THE SPARROW is Book Three in the Wings of the West series but can be read as a standalone. It’s a historical western novel with medium spice.

In 1877, Emma Hart comes to Grand Canyon—a wild, rugged, and, until recently, undiscovered area. Plagued by visions and gifted with a second sight, she searches for answers about the tragedy of her past, the betrayal of her present, and an elusive future that echoes through her very soul. Joined by her power animal Sparrow, she ventures into the depths of Hopi folklore, forced to confront an evil that has lived through the ages.

Texas Ranger Nathan Blackmore tracks Emma Hart to the Colorado River, stunned by her determination to ride a wooden dory along its course. But in a place where the ripples of time run deep, he’ll be faced with a choice. He must accept the unseen realm, the world beside this world, that he turned away from years ago, or risk losing the woman he has come to love more than life itself.

LEARN MORE about The Sparrow

In THE CROW BROTHERS COLLECTION it’s Hallowtide in the Old West. Join three bounty hunters fighting dark magic and the women destined to love them in these three short stories.

The Crow and The Coyote

Among the red-rock canyons of the Navajo, bounty hunter Jack Boggs—known as The Crow—aids Hannah Dobbin in a quest to save her pa's soul during Hallowtide.

The Crow and The Bear

When no one will help Jennie Livingstone enter a haunted ravine to find her papa, she must accept the aid of enigmatic bounty hunter Callum Boggs, sometimes called The Crow.

A Murder of Crows

Eliza McCulloch is determined to reclaim her family book of spells and her only hope is Kester Boggs, a manhunter named The Crow.

LEARN MORE about The Crow Brothers

BLUE SAGE is a contemporary western novella set in Northern Arizona.

Braden Delaney has taken over the family cattle business after the death of his father, but faced with difficult financial decisions, he contemplates selling a portion of the massive Delaney ranch holdings known as Whisper Rock, a place of unusual occurrences. Archaeologist Audrey Driggs arrives in the remote wilderness of Northern Arizona looking for clues to a life-altering experience from her childhood. Together, they’ll uncover a long-lost secret.

“Wow, what a story! … main characters were extremely likeable and the hint of the paranormal added a depth … that was awesome.” ~ Goodreads review

LEARN MORE about Blue Sage

And while ANCIENT WINDS isn’t a western romance, it does feature supernatural elements (shamanic time travel) in a contemporary jungle romance setting with medium spice.

Archaeologist Brynn Galloway is one bad headline away from professional ruin. When a rare Sumerian artifact resurfaces—one tied to a theory no serious academic will touch—she’s summoned to Bolivia, where the truth may cost her credibility… or her life.

The jungle holds more than lost ruins. It holds answers.

Pulled into a dangerous hunt for a stolen cuneiform tablet, Brynn finds herself reluctantly partnered with Dr. Tristan Magee—a talented, infuriating mercenary physicist whose theories about ancient visitors from the stars are as seductive as the man himself. He’s determined to reclaim the artifact at any cost. She’s determined not to become a footnote in someone else’s madness.

But as rivals close in and the jungle reveals secrets buried beyond recorded time, Brynn and Tristan discover the artifact may not just change history—it may fracture it.

Forced to trust each other in a place where survival is never guaranteed, attraction ignites in the heat and danger of the Bolivian jungle.

Perfect for fans of Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone, with a slow-burn romantic edge and a touch of The X-Files.

LEARN MORE about Ancient Winds

Connect with Kristy

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13 Haunted Places Where Checkout Is Apparently Optional

I love historic hotels. Give me creaky floors, old-fashioned saloons, brass beds, and enough Wild West history to make me wonder who walked those hallways hundreds of years ago.

Then somebody says: “Oh, by the way. It's haunted.” And I’m hooked.

So, in honor of October, I found 13 historic hotels across the American West where cowboys, gamblers, miners, lawmen, outlaws, and a few mysterious residents once crossed the threshold.

The hotels are real.

The history is real.

The ghosts? I'll let you decide.

Would I actually spend the night?

Maybe. Maybe not. But no way would I want the room said to be haunted. 

I'm incredibly brave ... while sitting at my computer in broad daylight.

Still, I'd love to visit these places because behind every ghost story is something even better.

Are you brave or a little bit scared? I’d love to hear what you would do and which hotels you have visited.

Niki J. Mitchell

 

 

1.    Bullock Hotel — Deadwood, South Dakota

The Bullock Hotel opened in 1896 by famous Deadwood lawman and businessman Seth Bullock and his partner, Sol Star. Visitors have reported seeing Bullock's ghost wandering the hotel, and the hotel even offers ghost tours. According to legend, Seth still checks on the place. Guests and employees have reported seeing his apparition.

Would I stay? Probably not. But it’s on my bucket list to visit.

 

2.    The Occidental Hotel — Buffalo, Wyoming

This one absolutely belongs near the top. Founded in 1880, the Occidental hosted figures including Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. A resident ghost known as Emily, a young girl visitors claim to have heard laughing and seen wandering the building.

Would I stay? 

That’s the plan. But I'm sleeping with the light on.

 

3.    St. James Hotel — Cimarron, New Mexico

 Built in 1872, this is about as Wild West as we can get. Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody, Billy the Kid and other famous Western figures stayed there. Room 18 is associated with the ghost legend of gambler T.J. Wright who supposedly won the hotel in a poker game before being shot. The room is kept locked. Room 17 is associated with Mary Lambert, wife of hotel founder Henri Lambert. Guests have reported rose perfume, tapping, and a female apparition. 

Would I go? 

Yes, but no way would I open that door.

 

4.    Silver Queen Hotel — Virginia City, Nevada

      Built in 1876, the Silver Queen has its own collection of paranormal tales, including the legend of a woman called Rosie who is said to appear around Room 11 and the staircase. Guests have heard footsteps, whispering, doors moving, and other unexplained activity.

Would I stay?  

Sure. Just don't give me the room everyone describes as the haunted one.

 

5.    Gold Hill Hotel & Saloon — Gold Hill, Nevada

     This is a fantastic addition because it dates to 1861 and is Nevada's oldest operating hotel. Rooms 4 and 5 are associated with spirits called Rosie and William. The hotel itself describes them as friendly. 

Would I stay? 

Most likely.

 

6.    Copper Queen Hotel — Bisbee, Arizona

      A classic Arizona mining-town hotel with several longstanding ghost stories. The Copper Queen has several reported ghosts, including a woman called Julia Lowell, a young boy named Billy, and even ghostly miners. Guests have reported strange noises, apparitions, and unexplained activity.

Would I stay? 

No, but I have visited the hotel. It’a well worth your while. Make sure to get a drink at the bar.

 

 1.    Jerome Grand Hotel — Jerome, Arizona

This is the one we talked about. It occupies Jerome's former hospital building, so it brings a very different type of history to the list. Which already sounds like the beginning of a ghost story. Guests have reported footsteps, voices, apparitions, and other unexplained happenings. Stories involving nurses and former patients have become part of the hotel's paranormal lore.

Would I spend the night?

Maybe. Would I investigate a strange noise in the hallway at 2:00 a.m.?

Absolutely not. That's what hotel management is for.

2.    Connor Hotel — Jerome, Arizona
The Connor gives us the older Jerome connection. It dates to the mining boom and originally combined lodging with the kind of drinking and gambling atmosphere we'd expect from a Western mining town.

Would I spend the night? Why not. Mining towns are fascinating.

3.    Hotel Monte Vista — Flagstaff, Arizona
Opened in 1927, so it's later than our classic Old West period, but its famous phantom bellboy story is too much fun to leave out. John Wayne is among the people associated with that tale.

Did I stayed there when I visited? No. But I did enjoy the hotel tour.

 

4.    The Stanley Hotel — Estes Park, Colorado
The Stanley opened in 1909 and later became famous after Stephen King stayed there. His visit helped inspire The Shining. Guests have reported mysterious music, laughter, footsteps, and apparitions.

 

Would I stay? 

Probably not because the hotel inspired a horror story.

 

5.    Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Hotel Colorado opened in 1893 and has hosted everyone from wealthy travelers to Theodore Roosevelt. Visitors have reported unexplained noises and apparitions throughout the historic property.

 

Would I stay? Yes because there are hot springs nearby. I have priorities. But the lights will stay on all night.

6.    The Bird Cage Theatre, Tombstone, Arizona

The Bird Cage opened in 1881 as a theater, saloon, gambling hall, and brothel. Visitors have mentioned phantom music, laughter, footsteps, and even a handsome cowboy appearing out of nowhere?

Have I been there? 

Yes. This town is way smaller than I expected, but it well worth visiting. Make sure to take on the trolley tour.

 

Happy haunting seems fitting for the month of October.

Why do I like ghost stories? 

It’s plain fascinating and a little bit scary. In Goldi’s Grumpy Cowboy, she asks to stay in room 211 because it’s said to be haunted. And when the infamous ghost named Tom Devlin appears and spins a translucent gun, she stands up to him and tells him to put it away. 

Would I be that brave? 

No way. 

I have hints of ghost in my next two stories, but I plan to have Tom show up in other stories. He’s too interesting of a character.

Niki J. Mitchell