Going Out with a Poof! by Paty Jager

December is a month of anticipation. To see what if Santa thought you were a good girl or boy and you receive a good present, and it is the last month of the year. which brings on the anticipation of what the new year will hold.

For me, the new year will bring me hopefully a respite from one thing that the past year has crept up on me and I felt I didn't give it enough of my time. That is my every other month post to this blog. And for that reason, this is the last time I will be posting on this blog. 

My writing life has moved from romance to murder mysteries. And while they are set in the west and my characters live rural, they don't really fit into the romance category or the term "Cowboy Kisses." Because of that and I can never think of anything to write here, I am bowing out to pursue more time for my own blogs, Writing into the Sunset and Ladies of Mystery.

 My 8th book in the Gabriel Hawke police procedural series, Churlish Badger, published last month. This is what a reviewer had to say:

I loved her comparing my character's struggles in unraveling the truth to a tangle of yarn. It seemed fitting this time of year. 

Speaking of this time of year. I do a lot of baking and one of my favorite things to make is gingerbread cookies. This year I decided to switch things up and instead of decorating the cookies to look like family members, I'm going to turn the cookies upside down and make them into reindeer.  I saw a photo on Facebook and knew I had to do that this year. 

Here is my Gingerbread Cookie Recipe:

These are the same recipe. Just not gingerbread men. 

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground allspice

½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

2 TBSP orange zest

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup molasses

2 eggs

Place flour cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda, allspice, crystallized ginger, and orange zest in a bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside, Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and eggs until well blended. Beat in flour mixture at low-speed until well blended. Divide dough into 3 equal portions; cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease large cookie sheets; set aside. Wo4rking with 1 portion at a time, roll out dough on lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out dough with 3-inch cookie cutters. (my gingerbread cutters are more like 4 inches) Place cookie on prepared cookie sheets, leaving room for expansion. Bake 10 minutes or until bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Let stand on cookie sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks and cool completely. Once they are cool, you can frost and decorate them.

If you like to listen to audiobooks, for the month of December I have Yuletide Slayings, book 6 in the Shandra Higheable mystery series on sale for half price at Authors Direct. At this sight you'll also find other holiday audiobooks on sale and some are free: https://shop.authors-direct.com/collections/holiday-2021

I wish you all the merriest of Christmases and a Happy Healthy New Year. See you around social media! 

And the Parties Begin! by Paty Jager

I haven't been writing straight western romance these days. I have finally returned to the genre I love to write and read--mystery. 

However, my mysteries do have elements of western life and in some more than others a bit of romance. The series are all set in areas where there is ranching and rural life.  

You are probably wondering what parties has to do with my mystery writing. I will be participating in the Cowboy Kisses Annual Round Up, on Wednesday. 

I have some cute, old fashioned Christmas ornaments I'll be giving as a prize along with a print book with three of my contemporary western novellas from the Tumbling Creek Ranch series, and the first book in my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. 

The Shandra Higheagle Mysteries have the most romance in them, so far, of my mystery books. I'm starting to heat up things a bit in the Spotted Pony Casino mystery series by adding another male character who is interested in my female main character. Who isn't looking for a guy in her life. And now she has two! 

All of the Cowboy Kisses authors who blog here will be spending time at the Cowboy Kisses Facebook Page to visit with you and share how you can win prizes from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm (Mountain Time) at the Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/993015697431197

October is the month that starts the holiday season. We live too far from anyone to get Trick or Treaters other than our grandchildren. But I still like to decorate for each holiday- Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It just makes things feel more festive. 

Do you like to attend holiday parties? Do you have a favorite holiday? 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 51 novels, 8 novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”

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Beads and Flutes by Paty Jager

 

My favorite part of writing a book is getting to research topics that I’m interested in and sometimes I learn new things that I find interesting. The newest release in my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series is set at a powwow.

I attended a powwow about 6 years ago. It was a kaleidoscope of color, interesting music, and unique vendors. The atmosphere is one of rejoicing and roots. This book is set at a different powwow which meant I needed help from my friend Carmen Peone, who lives on the reservation where I set my story. She helped me with maps of the powwow setup and information that only someone who has been there can give. I hope the reader gets a good sense of what the event is all about when reading Vanishing Dream.

While doing my research, from both my attending a powwow and gathering information about the one where my story is set, I was intrigued by the various vendors who set up booths and sell either products they themselves make or products to help make regalia (the clothing worn during the powwow dancing), jewelry, leather, feathers, sage, beads, and other items. There are also t-shirt booths and kitsch items.

From the moment this story came to me I wanted the victim to be a woman who did beadwork. I wanted her strangled with one of her own necklaces. Not because the woman deserved it, but because it was a symbol for the person who did the killing.  

Jingle dress

I’ve done very little crafting with beads and found it interesting to watch beading    videos, look up beading terms, and even the types of beads used by Native Americans.

Before glass and metal beads were introduced from Europe, beads were hand  carved from bone, shell, copper, and stone. These days the tiny glass seed beads  are what are used in the beadwork that can at times tell a story.

Jingle cones are metal cones that are sewn on dresses in a pattern so they will          knock together as the Jingle Dancer moves. This is a distinctive noise made by the  Jingle Dancer. The sound is like sleigh bells.

When I started writing books with Native American characters over ten years ago, I began listening to Native American flute and drum music. I love the flutes. Their  ethereal tone and the journey they take me on while listening to the music is      something I enjoy. Because of my love of the music, I made another booth in my    story that of a flute maker. The character makes authentic flutes from elderberry    wood

The first legend of the flute as told by deceased Lakota Elder, Phillip Brown Bear (Phil Lane) can be found on Wind Dancer Flutes website. This is a website where you can purchase handmade flutes or CDs by Roger McGee. Roger’s CDs are part of the music I listen to when I write. This is a photo of one of Roger’s flutes. 

One of Roger McGee's creations

Vanishing Dream

Book 16 in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery Series

Deceit, Gluttony, Murder

Shandra Higheagle Greer’s deceased Nez Perce grandmother appears in her dream, dancing at a powwow. Since Grandmother only appears when there is trouble, Shandra believes, she, Ryan, and the twins should attend the yearly Powwow at the Colville Reservation.

While out for a walk the first night, Shandra sees someone lurking in the dark between the vendor tents. The following morning a vendor is discovered strangled with her own beads.

When members of Shandra’s family are attacked, she finds it hard to stay out of the investigation. Following a suspect, she’s captured. No one knows her whereabouts. Trying to call upon her grandmother to come to her aid, Shandra realizes the dreams are vanishing and fears so could her life. 

Universal Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/u/4XLkvg

 

Paty Jager is the award-winning author of over 50 murder mystery and western romance books. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. You can contact her through her website: https://www.patyjager.net

Fiction can Impart Fact by Paty Jager

Agency house on Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation

I have always been an advocate for unjust things. When I see an injustice, I have a need to help in some way no matter how small.

When I first saw a post on Facebook about missing and murdered Indigenous women my heart cracked for the women and children who suffered and their families who never had answers. Before I started writing my Gabriel Hawke series, I subscribed to the CUJ (Confederated Umatilla Journal) the newspaper written and put out by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. I wanted to know more about the area where I had imagined my character growing up and where his mother still lived. It helped me to see him better and to learn more about where he came from.

Every time I receive one of the newspapers, I read it from front to back. When the stories about the missing and murder women and the cause--women speaking out and making noise--I was drawn to the movement. The more I read and learned how many Indigenous women, children, and men were lost to their families because of lack of concern by the authorities, my anger rose. I wanted to help.

The best way I knew was to use my voice—and being a writer, that meant my writing voice. I decided Hawke would be called to the reservation by his mother to help find a missing woman. Once the idea took root, I couldn’t shake it.

And to not only spread the word, I decided that proceeds from the sale of the book would go to the non-profit organization, Enough Iz Enough. This organization is on the Umatilla Reservation with classes on how to protect and watch out for potential dangers, and to give voice to the missing tribal members.

I was fortunate when I began pulling information together to write the book to ask the organizer of the program if she would be willing to help me make sure my portrayal of the situation was accurate as well as logistics and information about the reservation. She was accepting of my request. And with good reason. She has lost four family members. Two were found murdered, the killer never caught and two have never been found. The cause is personal for her. And hearing her story of loss and futile efforts for answers, the cause became personal to me.

After reading the finished product, she gave me a lovely review: “The story was captivating, I couldn’t put it down. So many memories were brought to surface, so many emotions, like this has been lived before, because it has, this is a glimpse into our reality in the Reservation. Thank you for seeing us & helping tell part of the story.”  Kola Shippentower-Thompson Enough Iz Enough, Co-Founder & Director

Is there a cause that you have felt compelled to help? What made you decide to be part of a solution?

Stolen Butterfly, Book 7 in the Gabriel Hawke Novels is now available

Excerpt:

“We told the woman who called in, we have to wait seventy-two hours. These reservation women get liquored up and forget they have kids at home or decide they’ve had enough and walk out.”

Hawke stared at the bald-headed detective in his fifties that he’d been referred to when he explained why he was there. “Detective Lockland. You are stereotyping the reservation women. Most have strong motherly instincts and wouldn’t go on a drunk or walk away from their families. This woman happens to be one of those. She works at the bank in town, never misses picking her son up from the sitter, and doesn’t go out partying and drinking.”

“How do you know that? Her family could be lying to you.” The man wasn’t about to back down from his stand on what he thought to be the truth.

Ignorance about his people was something Hawke had fought all his life. “I know because I’ve been interviewing the people she works with and the people she spends time with. Something that might help us find her faster if you had done the same last night when my mother called you.”

The man leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Now I see. You’re one of them. Does your superior know you’re here poking around in someone else’s case?”

“Then you are going to investigate? If this is your case?” Hawke held back the disdain he felt for the man as the detective stuttered and tried to say it wasn’t a case until seventy-two hours had passed.

 Here is the back cover blurb:

The proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the non-profit Enough Iz Enough. This is a community outreach organization that advocates for MMIP on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation. 

Stolen Butterfly

Gabriel Hawke Novel #7

Missing or Murdered

When the local authorities tell State Trooper Gabriel Hawke’s mother to wait 72 hours before reporting a missing Umatilla woman, she calls her son and rallies members of the community to search.

Hawke arrives at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and learns the single mother of a boy his mom watches would never leave her son. Angered over how the local officials respond to his investigating, Hawke teams up with a security guard at the Indian casino and an FBI agent. Following the leads, they discover the woman was targeted by a human trafficking ring at the Spotted Pony Casino.

Hawke, Dela Alvaro, and FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce join forces to bring the woman home and close down the trafficking operation before someone else goes missing.

Link for all ebook vendors:  https://books2read.com/u/baZEPq

 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 50 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

 

Knowing the history helps the story by Paty Jager

I’ve been interested in history, specifically the Pacific Northwest where I grew up and continue to live. If you’ve read my books, you know I like to write about this area and its history. I hope that with each book I write I sneak in a fact or two about either how people lived ( if it’s historical) or about a place or culture. I don’t pull things out of the air and put them in my books.

Well, okay, there is a lot of fiction in my fiction, but, I don’t make up cultures and tribes. I had one person leave a review saying I didn’t know what I was talking about, there wasn’t a tribe called the Cayuse.

I stared and stared at that review. All they had to do was google or look it up in an encyclopedia. Granted now there are no true pure blood Cayuse tribal members. But they were a tribe who lived in SE Washington and NE Oregon. I have a book titled: The Cayuse Indians; Imperial Tribesmen of Old Oregon by Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown.

They were a small and insular group. That was one of the things that caused their language to nearly become extinct. They spoke it only among themselves. They didn’t use it publicly. They were a unique tribe who only spoke their language and remained together in their territory. The area they claimed as their home held all they needed to sustain them. They were nomadic traveling from the Blue Mountains to the foot of Mt. Hood and north to the plains of SE Washington, staying within the boundaries of the heads of the Grande Ronde, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Rivers and the Deschutes River in Oregon and Washington

But because they remained close, when a disease hit, it would wipe out whole families and villages. With this happening they had to allow men and women to marry outside of the tribe. With their marrying into the neighboring Nez Perce and Walla Walla tribes, they slowly began to speak those languages. The Cayuse language slowly died each time an elder passed.

Their neighbor tribes were the Walla Walla and the Nez Perce. These tribes were all well known for their horse breeding and horsemanship. In the 1840s, the European settlers following the Oregon trail arrived in their territory. While they were curious and allowed Walt Whitman to establish a mission in their territory, when the white people brought measles which killed many of the Cayuse, they retaliated by killing and kidnapping settlers. This only brought the soldiers and more trouble which landed them on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation with members of the Walla Walla and the Umatilla tribes.

It is believed there is no longer a 100% Cayuse tribal member, but they are a rare and strong group of individuals that have grown and become prosperous on the Umatilla Reservation. I have been subscribed to the CUJ- Confederated Umatilla Journal- the newspaper printed on the reservation for several years. I enjoy reading about the business and social happenings along with the school information. They have a wonderful cultural center that I have visited multiple times.

My main character in the Gabriel Hawke Novels, is from this reservation and his mother still lives there. My 50th published book, Stolen Butterfly, book 7 in the Gabreil Hawke Novels is set on the reservation. It was written to bring more noticed to the MMIW organization. (You are the first to see this cover)

And now this reservation is the location of my new Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries. There is an Indian Casino on the reservation but I made up my own casino so I can have murders and events happen there that wouldn’t actually happen at the real casino. And I didn’t have to adhere to how one is run. 😉

This is my rebuttal to the reviewer who said, there isn’t a tribe called Cayuse. Google it!

I wanted to let you know that in May my 50^th book will be published or at least on pre-order. Because of that, I’m having a 50Book Bash! all month long on Facebook. Here’s the link if you want to sign up to say you're coming and get a reminder of the event. It will be a month of fun and chances to win prizes. I’m giving away prizes every day to people who comment.

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 50 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. This is what Books a Plenty Book Reviews has to say about the Gabriel Hawke series: "The blend of nature tracking, clues, and the animals makes for a fascinating mystery that is hard to put down." 

  blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

 

The excitement of starting a new series by Paty Jager

Having always had a creative mind, I'm not sure if everyone gets excited when they come up with something that they think will be fun and challenging to make or do. However, I swear, little skyrockets go off in my head when I get excited about a project. 

That's the way it was when I wrote a short story for an anthology contest (it didn't get picked) and after I'd formulated my main character, I knew she would have to have her own series. The skyrockets went off and I started writing down everything I knew about her and what I didn't know. Where she would live and work. How she looked, her temperament, what made her the way she is.  

And before I knew it, I had secondary characters popping into my head. I saw where she worked. That was fun spending half a day sketching the Indian owned casino where she works. I made it fictional, but in a setting where there is an Indian Casino and Reservation. I'm using the real reservation. I hope I can make this book as authentic as possible without offending anyone. 

There is that downside, but I feel confident this series will be as well liked and hopefully bring more of the Native American culture to people who don't really understand it. Just with talking to one woman who has been helping me with a Gabriel Hawke novel which introduces my new character, I have learned a few things that are stereotypes and hope to enlighten more non-Natives while entertaining them with a good mystery.

Starting a new series comes with lots of fun things to consider. I've named the series The Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries. My cover designer and I have been working on a logo for the series and how I want the covers to look like. Since the series is about a casino I've decided the titles will have gambling titles.  I've already figured out the first three books- titles and premise for the stories. The titles are: Poker Face, House Edge, Double-down.  

Let's see, I have my character, some of the secondary characters, the setting, the vibe, the series title, book titles, oh! Since in my other mysteries the main characters have pets, I decided the other day that in the first book, my character will find an injured dog, and it will have to have a leg amputated. Because my character is an amputee, she decides to adopt the dog. I've been going through dog breeds and trying to decide what breeds her mutt might be mixed with. I haven't decided what size yet. I tend to like large dogs, but at the same time, I could see her relaxing with a small fluffy dog on her lap. But she's an outdoors kind of gal, so she would need a dog that would go on hikes and jog with her. So who knows, maybe down the road she'll adopt a lapdog or a cat. 

As a reader have you every wondered how an author comes up with new books or series? As an author, do you do this much before hand information or do you just come up with a character or a story and go for it? 

The first book in The Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries will be out in June. In May, my character Dela Alvaro will be in the Gabriel Hawke Novel, Stolen Butterfly. 

  

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 49 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. This is what Books a Plenty Book Reviews has to say about the Gabriel Hawke series: "The blend of nature tracking, clues, and the animals makes for a fascinating mystery that is hard to put down."

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Christmas Scene by Paty Jager

Ever wonder what happens to scenes in a book when a writer decides they aren't necessary to the story?  You're about to find out! 

When I was writing a short story to give away at Christmas to hopefully intrigue readers enough to check out my Isabella Mumphrey series, I started the story with the excerpt below. But after finishing the story, I decided the excerpt wasn't essential to the story and took it out. Today, you get to read the thrown away excerpt and will find a link at the bottom to download the short story for FREE from your choice of ebook vendor. Merry Christmas!

REMOVED EXCERPT

This was the first time in over twenty years she would have a real Christmas. She’d purchased a fresh, well, fresh for Arizona, evergreen tree. The five-foot noble fir stood in the small living room waiting for Tino, her sexy Venezuelan boyfriend, to return from his latest DEA mission.

During the Thanksgiving shopping crush, she and Tino had braved the throngs of bargain shoppers to find ornaments for the tree she talked about buying. Three days from Christmas and Tino was on his way home. She couldn’t wait for tonight. They’d decorate the tree, sip wine, and enjoy the first family Christmas either of them had had in years.

Once she’d discovered there wasn’t a real Santa Claus, her parents had stopped making Christmas a magical time. Her seventh Christmas she’d come home from the boarding school and found only the housekeeper at the apartment. They’d watched Christmas specials on TV and the next morning there were two packages under the tree; a bright colored scarf from the housekeeper and a new coat from her parents. Once she became a teenage, her Christmas presents from her parents were their voices in a phone call.

Christmas wasn’t about material things. It never had been, but the more her parents drifted away, the more she mourned the way her family had celebrated those first six Christmases. The three of them putting out cookies for Santa and on Christmas morning gathering around a Christmas tree her mother had delivered from a department store to see what Santa had brought. And the Christmas day brunch. One of the few occasions throughout the year when they all sat down together as a family and had a meal.

Isabella shook off her melancholy thoughts.

This year was different. She had Tino. This was the first Christmas since he’d lost his family that he’d felt like celebrating. He’d told her how he always took the assignments that would last through the holidays because he’d rather forget there was a family holiday he was missing.

Isabella pulled the last pan of cookies from the oven and walked into the living room. There may not be snow and blustery weather outside, but she’d set up a winter wonderland inside with a small village scene, pine-scented warming oil, and mistletoe dangling in front of every doorway. She didn’t want to miss any chances to capture a kiss from Tino.

They were only three months off the last assignment they’d more or less worked together. As a WIA operative, she’d discovered how and where Aztec treasures were being sold on the black market, and Tino had cracked a notorious Columbian drug ring as a DEA agent. They’d fulfilled their missions, but Tino was still lamenting the fact he didn’t shoot the drug lord responsible for his family’s deaths and that a crooked DEA agent got away. Her heart was heavy from knowing a young man was killed because she involved him in her operation.

They both deserved a wonderful Christmas.

“Querida, this apartment looks like a Christmas postcard.” Tino stood in the apartment doorway. His dark gaze drifted around the room and stopped on her. His handsome face lit up with a heated smile. He dropped his duffle bag to the side and closed the door.

A shiver of delight danced up her spine as it always did hearing Tino’s accent and knowing he loved her. As an awkward, genius-level kid growing up among jeers and fears from the older males in her academic life, she’d shied away from men. Never did she dream of being able to capture the attention of such a handsome, charismatic man.

She rushed across the room before he stepped out from under the mistletoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. “This is going to be the best Christmas ever,” she said, pressing her lips to his and falling into a kiss that made her knees weak and her body hum.

His hands cradled her head as he took the kiss even deeper, turning his face, melding their mouths, and gliding his tongue over hers in an intimate dance.

Her body sagged, and he caught her before she melted into a puddle of desire on the ceramic floor.

“Querida, the way you melt from my kisses gives me a big head.”

The sultry words registered in her euphoric mind. “Which head?”

Tino’s deep hearty laugh echoed through the apartment and reverberated in her heart.

“Your quick mind is one of the many things I love about you.” He kissed her nose. “We have much to do. Christmas is only three days away.” He released her and picked up his duffle bag.

“You need help with that,” Isabella asked, following him to the bedroom door.

He hustled through the door and out from under the mistletoe before she caught up to him. “I can manage fine. It smells as if you are baking, no?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have presents?” She hadn’t received a present from anyone for years. She always gave to charities and helped at the soup kitchen on Christmas Eve.

“If I do, they are a surprise. Go bake.” He shot her a mischievous grin and closed the door.

The click of the lock made her giggle. If she really wanted in, that lock was easy to pick. Isabella wandered into the kitchen. Tino had told her of a Venezuelan tradition he missed. She’d scoured the internet and found a recipe for Hallaca, a plantain-leaf-wrapped food that required days to prepare.

“Might as well get started.”

SECRETS OF A CHRISTMAS BOX

FREE!!

I’m pleased to have my short story, Secrets of a Christmas Box FREE to introduce you to Dr. Isabella Mumphrey, a female MacGyver/Indiana Jones character.

Isabella’s plans of a wonderful Christmas are thwarted when her father hands her a World Intelligence Agency mission.

Download link- https://books2read.com/u/m2E8k3

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!!

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 48 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Have I Got Specials for You by Paty Jager

I sound like some kind of salesman, don't I? I'm not, I'm just excited. Fall and the coming months are my favorite time of the year. I love the colors, the weather, the family gatherings, and just the feeling life is good. 

This year, with all that has happened, I feel especially blessed for family, my community, and my readers. While I've missed the conferences and events I'd planned to attend,  I've had more time at home to enjoy the things, that past summers, I've had to let go. My flowers looked good and I had a wee bit better garden than usual. My hubby believes in only watering what can shade or feed you, so if I'm not home, the flowers don't get watered. He doesn't understand they feed my soul.

This month, October, I'm participating in the Cowboy Kisses Annual Facebook Party. See the meme below for date and time. I'm on at noon Mountain time. I'll be visiting with those who are there and giving away free ebooks and some other goodies. 

I'll also talk about my new release- preorder now- Collateral Love, Novella #4 in the Tumbling Creek Ranch series. This book will be $0.99 through the end of the month! Here is the universal buy link but it won't be $0.99 everywhere until the 22nd. https://books2read.com/u/4jLrP2

And November, I'm having a Facebook event "Where in the World is Isabella Mumphrey" to reveal the new covers for my Isabella Mumphrey Adventure/Romantic Suspense/Thriller series. I LOVE the new covers. But you'll have to mark your calendars for November 14th and watch my Facebook and newsletter for info about where and when the event will take place. There will be prizes and a fun challenge to find Isabella Mumphrey. 

Late November, I hope to publish book 6 in the Gabriel Hawke series, Turkey's Fiery Roost.

These are all the book related fun things coming up. As for personal, our oldest granddaughter and I are having a pumpkin carving contest, we'll celebrate our oldest grandson's 16th birthday, enjoy whatever family is around for Thanksgiving, and plan to decorate like mad for Christmas. My hope is to have a good showing of kids and grandkids for that holiday. 

 What do you have planned for the rest of your year? Anything fun? Check the dates for my two Facebook events and come on by! 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 47 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub

Colorful Language and Characters by Paty Jager

 

Years ago, when I started writing historical western romance, I came across a book that I found interesting. It is titled: Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams. It was the sub-title that caught my attention. "A Dictionary of the slack-jaw words and whangdoodle ways of the American west."

I thought, this is a book I need. And sure enough, not only have I used it to reference information from ranching, nicknames and figure of speech, it has given me hours of entertainment. 

In the book it discusses how many a cowboy didn't use the usual one or two word words that are prominent today. They would put a whole string of words together to not only show their dismay or anger but to ridicule the person or critter who offended them.  "You flea-bitten sack of bones get your tail back over the fence." "If a house cat and a Jack rabbit were dumb enough to mate, you'd be the outcome."

I tend to use this philosophy with secondary characters who are older. Rather than have them spout curse words they have colorful expressions. These are mainly in my contemporary western romance and my mystery books. I find that by giving them these unusual phrases, it makes the reader remember them better than if they'd shouted a cuss word.  Mumbling "Corn mush and mosquito guts" catches the attention of the reader's attention better. 

Cowboy Lingo has also helped me with words that are still used in ranching and it has a section on brands and earmarks. If a book is set in cattle country, that's always a good thing to know.   

The chapters on cattle, riding equipment, horses and cattle also have helped me to make my characters knowledgeable and sound as if they do work on or own a ranch.

While this book was first published in 1936 it is still a very useful tool today. Especially for the writer of contemporary or historical western fiction.

You'll find a few uses of words I found in this book in my ebook box set or print anthology of the first three books in my Tumbling Creek Ranch series.  Yes, you read that correctly. You can purchase the first three books in one book in print if you prefer that over an ebook. If you would like a signed copy contact me through my website.

Love at Tumbling Creek Ranch

Three steamy contemporary western novellas set around a Dude Ranch in Montana.

8 Seconds to Love

The bull rider brought into Jared McIntyre’s ER is the girl he couldn’t get out of his head the last fifteen years. During his tour in Iraq, he lost another thrill-seeking woman, and he isn’t about to let this one destroy her life.

Love Me Anyway

Melanie Trask ran away from an abusive husband and found a job at a dude ranch with a wonderful caring cowboy, Brett Wallis. When they can no longer deny their feelings, Brett offers to help her divorce her husband. But she has one more secret she hasn’t revealed…

The Wrong Cowboy to Love

Ruby Cutter allows her cousin, the bride, to give her a makeover for the upcoming wedding because she wants to catch the attention of her high school crush. But while she’s infatuated with one man, she may be falling for another…

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Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 46 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

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All About Bull by Paty Jager

I've got the bull by the horns- or not.  I'm currently writing the next story in my Tumbling Creek Ranch contemporary western romance series. The heroine is a rough stock contractor- specifically bulls.

For those who may not know a lot about rodeos, rough stock are the animals used in rodeos. The bulls and bucking horses that are rode and the steers that are rope and bulldogged. There are ranches and individuals who raise the livestock that is used in the rodeo world. The bulls and horses, when they are athletic and best the riders more than the riders besting them, get their photos and names in the Rodeo Hall of Fame.

The first book of this series had a woman bull rider. There aren't many at the professional level but having a friend's daughter ride bulls in high school, I wanted to have a woman who made it to the NFR- National Finals Rodeo. And that was how my character was born.

It happens that twin sisters, who I knew through 4-H and my husband knew the family through his job with a fertilizer outfit, started their own rough stock company. They raise and breed for bucking bulls. Knowing them and using them to learn more about the business of rough stock, I decided my heroine needed to be a contractor who supplied bulls to rodeos.

Here is a bit of what I've learned about a rough stock contractor:

The ranch needs safe fencing to keep the animals in and not have them come to harm.  Just like an athlete animals need to be well fed and have plenty of fresh water and exercise. Some contractors have bull riders come to their ranches on the off season to practice and to see how up and coming bulls buck.

It helps if the contractor or someone in their employ knows about the health and care of the livestock. There are injuries, vaccinations and breeding to be dealt with and determined. As much care as the owner can do on his own without a veterinarian, is more money in his pocket. There needs to be younger stock coming along to replace the older stock.  A good contractor also has mares or cows to breed to keep the herd growing and to find the most athletic and responsive buckers.

Another asset to the contractor is to have trucks and trailers to haul the animals safely to the rodeos or to contract the hauling. It needs to be decided if they will do their own hauling or contract it out. This is all knowledge and business sense that is needed to have a profitable organization. Someone needs to find the rodeos that work for their stock and to keep track of the expenses.

Depending on the size of the event a contractor can get from $100 - $8,000 per animal that is being used at a rodeo.   In addition, bulls that are used in special bucking events can win up to $250,000. These are the most athletic or cunning bulls that have a reputation of being hard to ride. 

Having gained all this information and the questions I sent to the twins about day to day information, I feel like I'm prepared to tackle a character with a unique occupation.

Myself, having visited with some bull riders in Deadwood a few years ago before a PBR event, I respect that they feel the need to get on a 2000+ creature and prove they can stay on, but I don't see the thrill and cringe most of the time when bodies go flying through the air and a bull comes down on a rider. I can't stomach it. But I admire the almost gypsy way of life and pride they have in what they do.

Have you ever been to a rodeo or a bull riding event? 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 45 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

This is what Romance Junkies has to say about the Tumbling Creek Ranch series: “There are twists and turns to the story with a nice flow and a depth to the characters. The vivid scenic descriptions made me feel like I was there… I hope to return to Tumbling Creek Ranch over and over again.”

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photo source: Paty Jager