Hello, Cowboy Kisses! My name is Dorothy Wiley and I'm so excited to be writing my first blog here. Thank you, Julie Lence, for inviting me. Julie suggested that I use the first blog to introduce myself. So here it is in a Q. & A. format answering the questions I get most often.
How long have you been writing?
I majored in journalism at The University of Texas at Austin and graduated with honors in 1977.
During my career as a PR and
marketing executive, I used my writing skills every day but I didn’t publish a
book until 2014. That year, I “retired” and published two novels that I had
worked on part-time for years.
How many books have you published? I’ve published twelve full-length novels and I’m working on the
thirteenth now. I have three multi-generational family sagas—American
Wilderness Series (6 books), Wilderness Hearts Series (4 books), and
Wilderness Dawning Series (2 books so far). Each book may be read
independently, but they are best read in order because many of the characters
from the first series also appear in the second and third series.
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| American Wilderness Series |
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| Wilderness Hearts Series |
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| Wilderness Dawning Series |
What's coming up? BUCKSKIN ANGEL. This will be a novel about two of my most popular characters, Captain Sam and Bear, and their two sons, Alexander and Rory. They travel from Kentucky to the Province of Texas in 1824 to see family. Here's the beautiful cover designed by Kim Killion:
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| Coming soon! |
Heat level? My first series is the most sensuous, but it is still very clean. Every love scene is between a married couple with an emphasis on love, not body parts! My other six novels would be considered sweet, yet they are tastefully romantic.
How do you feel about your awards? My awards are a source of pride for me, particularly the
gold medal from Readers’ Favorite for NEW FRONTIER OF LOVE. But I am even
prouder of and honored by, the ratings and reviews I have received from my readers.
On Amazon, I have more than 1,500 five-star reviews and my twelve novels have an
average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. That makes me smile!
Why do you write? I enjoy the process of blending historical research with
creativity. And developing complex characters and vivid setting descriptions
that come alive for readers is so rewarding. Also, unraveling a compelling tale
is a lot of fun. Most of the time, I have no idea what’s going to happen when I
sit down to write. My stories are character-driven which means I try to let my
hero or heroine tell me what they want to do. I just follow them. I can’t wait
to find out what’s going to happen next myself!
When did you know this is what you
wanted to do? When I finished the first chapter of
the first book. It was so exciting for me to read it and share it with others.
I knew I wanted to write books that were both realistic and idealistic. Bad
things sometimes happen in my books because the stories must acknowledge the
harsh realities of the frontier. But my novels are also idealistic and include
the values and ideals I admire—heroic courage, boundless hope, strong family,
deep faith, and of course, forever love.
Why historical and western romance? I love U.S. history and westward expansion was one of the
most extraordinary periods in our country’s history. The wilderness was
beautiful but challenging in so many ways. My novels convey what my characters
might have actually experienced in early America between 1797 – 1824. I wanted
to write about those challenges to honor the brave pioneers who settled
America’s first frontiers. We should remember them with grateful hearts.
I’ve loved westerns for so long it’s
hard to remember exactly when I fell in love with the genre. It may have
started in junior high when I read all the Little House on the Prairie books or
in high school when I watched a young Clint Eastwood on Rawhide. I loved all
those old western shows like Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, The Big
Valley, and Bonanza. I still love them. Even as a freshman in a high school in
southern California during the big days of surfing, I remember telling my
friends that I wanted to live on a ranch someday. And now I do.
And I’m a romantic. Like most
people, I enjoy love stories. So blending history and romance was a perfect fit
for me. My books are foremost moving love stories set on the dangerous frontier
at a time when first Kentucky and then Texas were the “West.” They are gritty,
emotional, gripping adventures wrapped around a love story.
Who is your audience? My audience is mostly women, but a have some male fans.
Women like my novels because of their emphasis on love and family. And men say
they like them because they teem with heart-pounding action. Like watching a
John Wayne movie, there’s something for everyone. Here’s a five-star review a
man recently left on Amazon, “Great series. This is a series that most men
will probably pass up. That would be a mistake. IF you love the history of the
American frontier you will enjoy the series. Personally, I was skeptical but
early on in book one, I was hooked. I just finished book 6. Thank you, Dorothy
Wiley.”
Life philosophy? My life philosophy is to love and honor Jesus, my family,
and my country and help others to do the same.
Who inspires you? People who strive for success and believe they can do good
things despite the adversities they face whether it be age, economic situation,
education, health, or family issues.
What is something people would be
surprised to know about you? I’m
a breast cancer survivor and a strong advocate for annual mammograms. Mine
saved my life. Praise God, I have been cancer-free for almost eight years.
Family? My husband Larry and I have been
happily married since 1977! He’s my real-life hero and a 7th
generation Texan. His ancestors inspired my novels. We have a daughter,
Melissa, and a son, Robert. Both have successful careers, are married to
fantastic spouses, and have beautiful children that I love dearly. Our grandchildren
are 18, 13, and 3.
Anything else you think is worth
mentioning? With every book I write, my
gratitude to my loyal readers grows. I enormously appreciate all their kind
reviews, thoughtful notes sent to me through my website, and caring Facebook
comments. I keep writing because of readers like this one:
“Ms. Wiley is a genius! I've read
every book in her first series, American Wilderness a while back. Loved every
single one of them! Her description of people and places are so realistic that
you feel like you're right there in the moment with them. Even if the events
and people are pure fiction, her ability to capture your imagination is real.
This book, Love's Whisper, is my first in the Wilderness Hearts series, and
it's just what I expected. There was suspense, excitement, humor, and of course
romance. There were a few times I even cried. Dorothy Wiley is such a talented
and gifted author to be able to continue the Wyllie family saga through
multiple books and even intertwine other characters and historical events in
each book. I'd consider these a "clean romance" however they are far
from boring. I have all the other books in the Wilderness Hearts series and
then I look forward to reading all of the Wilderness Dawning series as well.
Best wilderness series, ever!!!👍”
Hobbies? Most of my spare time is spent reading. I love to read.
Other things I enjoy are spending time with family, baking, photography, and
walking.
How do readers follow you?
Where can your books be purchased? Ebooks and print, and some audiobooks, at www.amazon.com/author/dorothywiley.
4 comments:
Welcome to the Cowboy Kisses team, Dorothy! We are so happy to have you join us. Hugs!
Wonderful getting to know you, Dorothy! Welcome to Cowboy Kisses.
HI Dorothy. So nice to learn more about you and your writing. Your series sound wonderful, and so well researched. Looking forward to your future blog posts.
I can vouch for all three of Dorothy's series. I have read each and every one at least twice and some of them three times. Dorothy can't write fast enough for me. I absolutely love her writing style. Such a talented author. Check out her books... you won't be sorry.
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