Building Worlds in the Dark by Richard Prosch

I’m currently writing stories set in three different worlds. Not at the same time, but one after another. First I write about Jo Harper, the young protagonist of an adventure series set in 1910 Wyoming. Then I write about Whit Branham, the matter-of-fact deputy sheriff living in Holt County, Nebraska during the 1880s. After that, it’s a story about John Coburn, a wandering gun with roots in the high plains but no permanent home other than the late 1800s. Then back to Jo. 

Each character’s world contains a string of friends, foes, and familiar “landmarks” to help ground the reader in whatever new adventure unfolds. 

And that’s where things get tricky. Really fast.

When I first started writing fiction, I outlined every bit of my stories, practically down to the sentence. In those days, world building wasn’t a separate concept from writing the story. In fact…I indulged too much in that part of it. 

Years of comic book reading trained me well in lining up the continuity of my universe. (And if you’re familiar with Marvel or DC super heroes, in print or the current TV shows and movies, you know what I mean.) I planted, tended, and pruned family trees. I researched details and wrote ‘em in stone. I imposed traits on my characters like iron handcuffs. 

For example, if my outline or bible said Biff was the stoic one, well then, Biff never smiled. If, by 1890, all Native Americans were supposed to be living on reservations, well then, my Indian character wouldn’t appear without a long-winded explanation as to why he wasn’t on the rez. Pretty soon, things got heavy. 

And no fun.

So a couple years ago, I stopped outlining and started just writing stories. After all, the story was the fun part! So, writing without an outline. Some people call it pantsing, but I like what Dean Wesley Smith calls it: writing into the dark. For me, the story became the thing. And, like all of you know, the story often sweeps you along, taking you on its own merry way. 

Along that road, the devil really is in the details. Especially when writing a series.

Does Jo Harper’s friend, Frog, have black hair or brown hair? What kind of gun does Whit Branham carry? What’s the name of John Coburn’s horse? Keeping track of details isn’t too hard for one story, but over the course of a series (and during several months in the real world), it can be tough.

Here’s two things that help me. One is practical. The other might seem sacrilegious. 

First, I have an app on my phone that lets me record voice-to-text memos. So when I introduce a new character, I pick up the phone and say a little about him or her. That becomes a text message that I send myself and include in a story file. It’s quick and I don’t have to open a different program on my writing computer. 

Second, I don’t worry about it. (That really would’ve seemed sacrilegious to me a few years ago.) 

Please don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean I’m deliberately sloppy or that I don’t care. What I’m saying is, I’ve taken those iron handcuffs off my characters. In the real world, people change, settings change. The same holds for fiction. Details are important, but the story takes priority.

So what techniques do you use to keep things straight? How much weight do you put on the details of character or setting? Do you outline, or do you write into the dark?

I’d really enjoy hearing about similar experiences in world building from you Fictioneers.


After growing up on a Nebraska farm, Richard Prosch worked as a professional writer, artist, and teacher in Wyoming, South Carolina, and Missouri. His western crime fiction captures the fleeting history and lonely frontier stories of his youth where characters aren’t always what they seem, and the windburned landscapes are filled with swift, deadly danger. Read more at www.RichardProsch.com

PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS--MAKING A DIFFERENCE by CHERYL PIERSON

In August, 2013, my business partner, Livia Reasoner and I decided to take the plunge and open our own publishing house. So many little companies were bursting on the scene that we wondered if we would be able to make much of a difference in the publishing world. Less than a year later, I want to share with you all what we’ve done.

To start with, I better talk a little about why we wanted to start Prairie Rose Publications to begin with. Livia and I both belong to a professional western writing group, the WESTERN FICTIONEERS, of which we are both very proud to be members. I am currently acting as President of the Western Fictioneers until 2016. We had both noticed that there were many women writers—good women writers—who were having trouble “breaking in” to the western genre. Many of these women wrote “gritty” western stories—not so heavy on the romance as on the “western” aspect; many of them wrote shorter stories than the normal popular length for a novel, or novella; and many were having trouble just because they were women—with the name to prove it.

Lots of publishers don’t like taking a chance on westerns anymore, written by man or woman—but when they have a choice, they’ll be publishing the ones by men—since men are more apt to buy western and science fiction works by another man than by a woman.

Livia and I agreed that one of the submissions requirements for our publishing house would be first and foremost, to submit, you had to be a woman. We have not been sorry, and have had more business than we can handle at times.

Another thing we wanted to do was encourage new writers as well as seasoned ones. We’ve got a fantastic mix of both, and have thoroughly enjoyed working with them all. Our royalty rate is one of the best anywhere, paying 80% net to the authors, who work so hard to write these wonderful tales and hope with everything in them to find a home for their stories. After years of being offered the traditional meager 35% for e-books and 7% for print, our authors are extremely happy with the royalty payments, and so are we.

We can do this because we don’t accept anything that requires heavy editing, so we are able to produce more quality stories and novels in a shorter time span.

It wasn’t long after we opened Prairie Rose Publications that we were asked if we published children’s westerns. And what about contemporary and science fiction? Well, did we also have an imprint for youngsters’ contemporary or fantasy stories? The answer became YES very quickly. Painted Pony Books is our imprint for Middle Grade, YA and New Adult western fare; Tornado Alley Publications is the sister imprint for Middle Grade, YA, and New Adult contemporary stories, and Fire Star Press satisfies contemporary, science fiction and fantasy categories for adults.

All of our imprints except Prairie Rose Publications are open to ANYONE to submit to—men and women, alike; newbies and experienced writers.

Since opening our doors, we have published many anthologies at PRP—Wishing For a Cowboy (Christmas 2013), Hearts and Spurs (Valentine’s Day 2014), Lassoing a Bride, Lassoing a Groom, Lassoing a Mail Order Bride, and Cowboy Cravings (Summer stories, 2014).

We’ve also put out 14 novels in the PRP line, as well as 6 novellas.

In the Painted Pony Books imprint, we’ve published 9 books, some for all three of our age groups.
In the Tornado Alley Publications imprint, we published our first anthology, THIS SUMMER STORM, for YA readers just a few weeks ago in time for summer reading for ages 13-17. We also released a “retro” novel about the Viet Nam era, Echoes in the Night, and will be releasing two more about that era in the next couple of months.



Fire Star Press has seen the release of one novella and one novel, with many more on the way.
Part of what we want to do with our company is to inspire people in many ways, and one of these ways is by helping others. We have partnered with some charities that are so rewarding and exciting to work with. One of them, The Lighthouse For Recovery Ministries, has many branches that reach out to all segments of the Birmingham, Alabama community—the homeless, abused animals, addiction programs, and programs for veterans who need help. http://www.thelighthouseforrecoveryministries.org/

Another of our “pet projects” has been helping with Westie rescue expenses by donating books to the Westie Rescue Missouri Fundraising Auction (here is the Facebook page for their event, for anyone who might be interested): https://www.facebook.com/groups/WestieRSQMissouriAuction/


What do we have coming up in the next year? More of the same! Prairie Rose Publications will have its first Halloween anthology, Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico making a debut in late September. But there’ll also be an anthology from Tornado Alley Publications for Middle Grade Readers this fall called My Dog Can Do Magic! For New Adult readers, we’ll have an anthology just in time for Halloween—It Could Happen—stories that have a love story with a Halloween twist. We have submission calls open for all three of these anthologies, if you have a story you think might meet the requirements!


Christmas will see two anthologies, Present for a Cowboy and Present for a Cowgirl in our PRP line.
And Valentine’s Day will be marked by another new anthology to be released in the middle part of January.

But even more immediately, we have a special CHRISTMAS IN JULY event coming up from July 25-Aug. 1! During that time period, we’ll have many new Christmas-themed novellas and short stories available for purchase at our brand new website!


We’ll have a lot of giveaways going on, too! We hope you’ll come join us during National Week of the Cowboy, the week we’ve chosen for our Christmas in July event—and get to know our authors. But don’t wait until then—here’s the link, come on over and join us now!

PRP WEBSITE: http://s528097299.onlinehome.us/books-2/christmas-in-july-2/



PRP blog: www.prairierosepublications.blogspot.com

Questions? Ideas? Thoughts? Please leave a comment with your contact information! I will be drawing the names of 3 lucky winners today!


Here’s what’s up for grabs from the PRP goodie bag!
1 signed print copy of GABRIEL'S LAW
1 digital copy of COWBOY CRAVINGS
1 digit copy of LASSOING A MAIL ORDER BRIDE
Winners will be announced tonight! Thanks so much for stopping by and celebrating with me!

Review Roundup: Riding with the Rangers

Lone Star Ranger 1: A Ranger to Ride With
By James J. Griffin
Painted Pony Books, April 2014
$8.09 paperback, ISBN 1497514045
$2.99 Kindle, ASIN B00JJ8NWOU
$2.99 most other e-formats, ISBN 9781310568404
120 pages

When fourteen-year-old Nate Stewart’s father uproots his family and moves them all from Delaware to a small farm and ranch in Texas, Nate doesn’t rebel. Instead, he mourns the loss of friends and the city life he understood. He was just discovering girls. He knew where he belonged in the pecking order, and everyone was safe in their homes.

Nothing is the same in Texas. The family lives in a dog-trot cabin far from the closest small town. They struggle to raise their own food, they have only one another for company, and the threat of outlaw and Indian raids looms on the outskirts of their existence. Even worse, Nate has no skills for living off the land and even less innate ability. Though his friends expressed excitement about the cowboy life—and his older brother lives it—Nate feels inept and useless.

All that changes when a surprise attack by some very bad men leaves Nate the sole survivor. When he balks at returning to Delaware to live with an aunt, uncle, and eight cousins he’s never admired, a company of Texas Rangers bends the rules and recruits him, promising more than a chance to avenge the death of everyone Nate held dear. The Rangers offer him a chance to become an honorable man.

Lone Star Ranger 1: A Ranger to Ride With, James J. Griffin’s first young-adult novel, offers few surprises to those familiar with the author’s work. The Rangers are tough as rawhide, the outlaws are as evil as they come, and the hero is a good-hearted man-to-be forced into a role he never intended to play. The tale is a throwback to the westerns of yore, when good and evil were easy to identify, tough frontier hombres had soft hearts, and villains always got their just desserts. Griffin is a master of the form.

Nate’s adventure is full of the gunfights, primitive living, and aw-shucks-ma’am joshing typical of Griffin’s stories. (Also typical is the way shirts disappear with reckless abandon.) As expected of this author’s work, the good guys possess unerring moral compasses and horses play a central role. Griffin, through the Ranger characters, spends quite a bit of time teaching Nate and readers how to care for and ride a cowboy’s best friend. The author also is crafty about imparting Texas Ranger history and lore, a subject about which he is an expert. Under the Rangers’ patient, protective tutelage, Nate grows into the cowboy he never thought he could be—and an estimable human being, to boot.

Texans will enjoy the book. Young readers will enjoy the book. Adults will enjoy it, too, thanks to a style that never condescends. The conclusion may be too open-ended for some, but if kids and their parents have half as much fun reading as Griffin evidently had writing, the cover price is a bargain.


Kathleen Rice Adams is a Texan, a voracious reader, a professional journalist, and an author. She received a review copy of Lone Star Ranger 1: A Ranger to Ride With from the publisher. Her opinions are her own and are neither endorsed nor necessarily supported by Western Fictioneers or individual members of the organization. Links in the review are for convenience only; they do not produce affiliate revenue.

WESTERN READING FOR ALL AGES! by Cheryl Pierson

If you’re like me, you have a few rules for writing–and for reading. In my writing there are some things I would “never” do. Here’s a list of the top three:

Rule #1 – I never write in first person.
Rule #2 – I never write from a child’s point of view.
Rule #3 – I always have romance somewhere in my stories.

Well…one out of three ain’t bad.

I threw Rule #1 out the window when I picked up my pen and started RED EAGLE'S WAR. (This book was published previously with another company under the title Kane's Redemption.) I wrote it in first person. It’s the first work of fiction I’ve ever written from this perspective, and after I wrote it, I knew there would be two more of these novellas to follow. There was no better way to tell this story of young Will Green and Jacobi Kane – and the secret that stands between them.

Will is a child when the story begins, but a young man by the conclusion. So, I guess you could say I broke my own “Rule #2” as well. But there are some stories that have to be told by the child, to take hold of the innocence that only a child possesses and manages to hold on to in the face of reality. Who could have told Scout’s story better than Scout, in To Kill a Mockingbird? No one. She was the perfect character to tell us what was happening and the perfect filter for us to see for ourselves those things she couldn’t put into words. Through her eyes, we saw everything. I knew that Will had to tell the story of what happened to him and how Jacobi Kane rescued him…and what happened afterward.

Growing up in the 1800’s on the prairie of the southwest would make an adult of you quickly; even quicker if you watched your entire family murdered in the space of five minutes. This story is not just about Will, though – it’s also about Jacobi Kane, who has some secrets of his own. Although he rescues Will, he wrestles with demons that can’t be fought alone – but how can Will help? In the end, who is the true rescuer – Will, or Jacobi Kane?

Romance? Well, there’s a bit of that. But it’s the romance that comes with new beginnings and the kiss of forgiveness–sweet, touching and straight from the heart. Come to think of it, the romance in RED EAGLE'S WAR is a bit different from anything else I’ve ever written, too.

This story came from somewhere deep; a place I didn’t know existed. It’s a gift I hope you will take as much pleasure in reading as I did in writing. These stories are not just for the younger set--they're stories that adults will enjoy, too!

Book 2 in the trilogy, RED EAGLE'S REVENGE, and book 3, TEXAS FOREVER, were both re-released at the same time RED EAGLE'S WAR was -- just this week. (They were previously released as Kane's Promise and Kane's Destiny with another company.)

RED EAGLE'S WAR is #24 of the Kindle top 100 list for Children's Westerns. This is a realistic trilogy that is a "coming of age" story you will not forget. At $1.99 each, these stories are perfect for the 10+ age group--and not just for boys.

I will be giving away a copy of RED EAGLE'S WAR today! All you have to do is leave a comment, and please leave your e-mail address so I can contact you! I will leave you with the blurb and an excerpt. Hope you enjoy!

BLURB:
A ten-year-old boy fights for his life when he is taken prisoner by a band of raiding Apache. Steeling himself for death, Will Green is shocked when a lone man walks into the Apache camp to rescue him several days later.

Driven by the secret he carries, Jacobi Kane has followed the Indians for days and needs to make his move to save the boy. With the odds stacked eight against one, his chances for success look pretty slim. But even if he’s able to rescue the boy and they get out alive, what then?

THE SET UP:
Tonight would be my night to die. Red Eagle and his men had kept me alive to their own end, for the last several days. Now, they argued, and though I didn’t speak Apache, it wasn’t hard to tell what they meant. We had ridden across endless miles of desert, populated only by saguaro cactus and rattlesnakes for days. I wasn’t sure how many. The men talked amongst themselves, their faces smeared with war paint. Garish and frightening, they had seemed to me from the moment they took me. Now, they seemed hideous, almost laughable.

EXCERPT FROM RED EAGLE'S WAR:
Red Eagle moved back just as fast as before and I felt my cheek burning. Blood dripped off his blade and that was it. I went after that red devil like I had lost my wits. I guess, truthfully, I had – because I don’t remember anything about it, except how good the first smash of my fist in his face felt.

Blood ran from Red Eagle’s nose and he cried out in a snarl of anger and pain...and surprise.

I felt a pulse of energy rush through me, and I wrapped my fingers around his throat like he’d done to Mama. I tightened them and his blood streamed warm and slick over my grip. His eyes began to bulge, and I thought in another minute, maybe I could have the vengeance I had wanted so badly for the past week.

Papa always said a man’s quick wits are sometimes his only defense. I was exultant. I may have been foolish for what I did, and I felt sure Papa and I would disagree sharply on the use of my wits. But I did what I had to do.

Suddenly, rough hands were upon me, pulling at me. But I was like a mad dog, snarling, and foaming at the mouth in my pent up anger and hatred that was finally spilling out. What a glorious opportunity! Even if I died for it, I knew I couldn’t have passed it up – whether Papa might have approved, or not.

The Indians were all speaking at once, yelling, calling out, laughing. The moon was full, providing even more light than what the fire gave, making the night seem even hotter, as if the sun still shone on us. From somewhere in the distance of the woods beyond, I heard the call of the owls, and I knew enough Injun to know what that meant to them.

Someone was going to die. It might be me, but I was doing my best to take Red Eagle with me.

A gunshot split the night air. “Stop it!” Hands like steel bands wrapped around my shoulders and jerked me off of Red Eagle. “Stop it!”

I couldn’t answer. I was breathing too hard, panting like the mad dog I had become. My hands balled into fists and flexed open again and again, and my fingers were sticky with Red Eagle’s blood. My own pulse sang through my veins in a triumph I had never experienced before.

“Boy, straighten up or you’re gonna get us both killed.” The voice was calm. I stopped struggling and looked up into the face of a white man. A white man had walked right into Red Eagle’s camp. I figured, now, those owls would have plenty more to tell – at least one more death.

But he didn’t seem worried. He held his rifle at the ready, pointed in the general direction of the group of eight Indians that rode in Red Eagle’s band. I glanced around the half-circle of painted faces, and I couldn’t help gloating. They all looked as if they’d met up with some kind of spirit or demon more wicked than they were. And that was going some.

“Can you ride bareback?”

I nodded. I guessed I could, I wanted to tell him. Been doin’ it for a dang week.

“Need help getting on?”

I shook my head and he let me go real slow. “Pick the one you can manage best and get settled on him. Take Red Eagle’s rifle and bullets.”

“Wait!” Red Eagle challenged. He rolled onto his side, wiping the blood from his nose. It pleased me greatly to hear that he wheezed when he spoke. “You take our horses, our weapons—”

“I ain’t takin’ your lives. And I ain’t takin’ all your weapons,” the big man answered in a slow drawl. “Only yours. Pitch that knife over this way, and do it easy. My trigger finger is mighty nervous tonight.”

For RED EAGLE'S WAR, RED EAGLE'S REVENGE, and TEXAS FOREVER as well as all my other work, click here:
https://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a pdf copy of RED EAGLE'S WAR!

WESTERN READING FOR THE YOUNGER SET by CHERYL PIERSON

There’s been some discussion about how to get younger readers interested in western books in our group, and since today is “Six Sentence Saturday” I’d like to show everyone what James and Livia Reasoner have been working on.

James and Livia just had a book released through Painted Pony Books. It’s called THE PHANTOM RANGER AND THE SKATEBOARD GANG, and it’s for Middle Grade Readers, ages 9-12.
It’s an excellent story about a young girl, Codi Jackson, who solves the mystery of the "skateboard gang”—a group of kids who are terrorizing the local mall by stealing purses. Codi does this with the help of her great-great-great grandfather, Cody Jackson. Did I mention…he’s a ghost? It’s great reading and would make a wonderful Christmas gift for any young reader!

Here’s the blurb:
Codi Jackson and her father have been forced to move again. Codi’s getting used to being the “new girl” in her fifth grade class—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it. Can’t life just be normal? With her mother out of the picture and her father working odd shifts as a police officer, friends are important—as long as they’re not the wrong kind.

When Codi and a classmate, Keith Wright, are assigned to work on a history project, Codi has to make some hard decisions about her popularity in her new school.
But everything changes when Codi picks up an old Texas Rangers badge that belonged to one of her ancestors and he appears right before her eyes! Her great-great-great-grandfather says he’s come to help her, but how? And how is she going to explain the ghost of her long-ago Gramps to her history project partner and her father?

I chose the Six Sentences from where the phantom appears to Codi for the first time. I love the way he’s likable enough not to scare the socks off of Codi, but still, who wouldn’t be a little frightened ? Codi’s heart for adventure shines through and allows her to accept her ancestor and get to know him (that’s where the history part comes in!)

The badge started to feel warm. No, not warm, Codi realized. It was actually getting hot. She dropped it.
"Whut in tarnation?"
Codi gasped at the strange voice. She looked up, and her mouth fell open in shock. Her eyes grew wide as she pressed back against the headboard of her bed. Patches crouched and let out an angry hiss.
A man was standing at the foot of Codi's bed. A man with a short white beard and a big white hat...


The Phantom Ranger and the Skateboard Gang is available here:
http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Ranger-Skateboard-Gang-ebook/dp/B00GYAOFU6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386439687&sr=1-1&keywords=The+PHantom+Ranger+and+the+Skateboard+Gang

THE LITTLE PUBLISHER THAT COULD by CHERYL PIERSON

In August, my good friend Livia W. Reasoner and I decided to open our own publishing house called PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS. We limited our submissions to women only, since it’s traditionally been so very hard for women to break into the western writing genre. We also included historical stories as well as western historical romance among our genres.

It wasn’t long until we knew we were going to have to add a contemporary imprint, FIRE STAR PRESS. As much as we’ve talked about getting younger people involved in reading historical stories, we decided to also include an imprint for Middle Grade Readers (9-12), Young Adults (13-17) and New Adults (18-24). PAINTED PONY BOOKS was born. Not wanting to leave out contemporary reading for these ages, we also created TORNADO ALLEY PUBLICATIONS. These three imprints are open to anyone to submit to.

Our first anthology at Prairie Rose Publications, WISHING FOR A COWBOY, made its debut the last week in October, and just this past week had already climbed to #49 in Books > Romance > Westerns, #8 in Books > Westerns and #9 in Kindle > Westerns. Our little anthology was in the TOP 10 in two categories!

But with the amazing talent of the authors, Phyliss Miranda, Tanya Hanson, Jacquie Rogers, Livia Reasoner, Tracy Garrett, Sarah McNeal, and Kathleen Rice Adams—how could it not? I’m very excited to have my story included in this anthology with all these wonderful authors.

Tanya Hanson, a seasoned author, also made her inspirational debut with her first full length inspirational western historical romance novel through Prairie Rose Publications, and has a sequel on the way. Her book is called CLAIMING HIS HEART.

We’ve got two other novels slated for release in the next few weeks. Gail Jenner’s Willa Award winning novel, ACROSS THE SWEET GRASS HILLS, will be out very soon. Kristy McCaffrey has a brand new offering called INTO THE LAND OF SHADOWS, also to be released sometime in December.

Prairie Rose Publications will also be releasing another anthology in time for Valentine’s Day, HEARTS AND SPURS, and in addition to the eight authors from WISHING FOR A COWBOY, it will also include veteran romance novelist Linda Broday.


We’ve got some great things planned for our other imprints, coming soon, as well! Livia and James Reasoner have a wonderful story for TORNADO ALLEY PUBLICATIONS for our Middle Grade Reader list—THE PHANTOM RANGER AND THE SKATEBOARD GANG—an exciting adventure about a young girl who sees the ghost of her great-great-great grandfather who was a REAL Texas Ranger.


From PAINTED PONY BOOKS, Sarah McNeal’s FLY AWAY HEART will be releasing in February, giving us more insight into the Wilding and Pierpont families she has created, with the story of Robin Pierpont and Lilith Wilding set in the early 1900’s.
We’ve got many more projects in the works as well, and are just thrilled with the way our small publishing house is “coming together” with much hard work from Livia, me and our fantastic authors. We’re very proud of our first three months!

Come visit us at our PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS website:
http://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/

PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS' DEBUT ANTHOLOGY IS HERE! by CHERYL PIERSON

Two short months ago, Livia J. Washburn and I decided to take a plunge and open our own publishing house, PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS. It was a dream come true for me because I definitely do not have the computer skills and savvy that Livia possesses! So I would never have undertaken this project on my own. My part of the partnership is publicizing, acquiring new manuscripts, and editing. It is a match made in heaven for both of us. May I share with you all what our “dream company” has done in two short months?

Let’s start with our debut anthology WISHING FOR A COWBOY. We were so fortunate to have such wonderful contributors to this collection! Phyliss Miranda, Tanya Hanson, Sarah McNeal, our own Jacquie Rogers, Tracy Garrett, reviewer Kathleen Rice Adams, Livia and me. This short story grouping is western historical romance, in the sweet to sensual category. All the stories mention a certain holiday food, and the story is either built around the food or can just bring it up casually. The recipes will be included in the back of the book, so there'll be lots of great eating! WISHING FOR A COWBOY was (surprisingly!) available early, as of yesterday, October 29 rather than the planned November 1 release date. It is available in print and digital formats—it’ll make a great Christmas gift for anyone!
KINDLE LINK:
http://www.amazon.com/Wishing-for-a-Cowboy-ebook/dp/B00G9GTWVC/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383171524&sr=1-1-fkmr2&keywords=wishing+for+a+cowboy+print+and

PRINT LINK:
http://www.amazon.com/Wishing-Cowboy-Cheryl-Pierson/dp/061591070X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383171663&sr=1-1&keywords=Wishing+for+a+Cowboy

Our next anthology, HEARTS AND SPURS, will be available on January 15, 2014, for Valentine’s Day gift-giving and reading for those who want to “self-gift.” We were thrilled to have every one of the above authors sign up once more for this anthology as well, and we added another author, Linda Broday!

Also in the mix, one of our anthology contributors, Tanya Hanson, has a brand new inspirational historical western romance, CLAIMING HIS HEART, coming out this month, and we’re all very excited about this one…because she’s talking about a sequel!

We’ve also got two other authors who have novels coming out with PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONSin the near future, so we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Livia and I decided to “go for the gusto” when people began to ask about other submissions avenues—Do you publish contemporary or science fiction stories? Do you publish children’s westerns or historicalstories? What about children’s contemporary stories?

Well, what could we do? With that much support and those requests, we had to immediately branch out! We opened PAINTED PONY BOOKS, an imprint for youthful readers of historical/western stories with three levels of submissions/readership: Middle Grade readers (ages 9-12), Young Adult (ages 13-17) and New Adult (ages 18-24)

TORNADO ALLEY PUBLICATIONS is the “sister” imprint for these same ages, but for the contemporary, futuristic, and fantasy categories.

Finally, FIRE STAR PRESS is our imprint for contemporary, futuristic and fantasy categories for adults.

Already, we have several unique and wonderful books and anthologies planned for these different companies that offer a wide variety of reading for all ages.

While PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS accepts submissions from women only, the other imprints are co-ed! If you know of anyone who might be looking for an honest publisher, please send them our way! We appreciate you spreading the word for us, and all the support and well wishes we’ve received in the short time we’ve been in business.

You can e-mail us here: prairierosepublications@yahoo.com
We have a brand new website here: http://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/