GOOD WESTERN READING! CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY! by Cheryl Pierson

A very Merry Christmas to everyone! I had an excellent "early" present this year--two anthologies with a story of mine in them both released within one week of each other.

JACK SORENSON'S "A COWBOY CHRISTMAS"


The first one is called BOURBON & A GOOD CIGAR, and is the third of its kind, the brainchild of Scott Harris. Scott comes up with some of the best prompts and then signs up 51 of the rest of us to each write a 500-word story using that prompt. I have to say, this has been so much fun, and it's helped me really remember how to tighten things up and get to the point of what I'm saying in the tale. Most of these prompts can be used anywhere in the story--there was only one that had to be used at the beginning, and that was for the 2nd book, A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT.

Here's what Scott's prompt was for BOURBON & A GOOD CIGAR: I slowly poured a full glass of bourbon and took my time lighting a good cigar.

Oh, the possibilities! It's amazing what 52 fertile minds can come up with that are so different from one short prompt. Lots of western fun, and be sure to check out the other books that came before this one, THE SHOT RANG OUT, A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, and of course, BOURBON AND A GOOD CIGAR. The 4th one will make its debut early next year.

As I said, these stories are short at only 500 words, but here’s the beginning of mine to whet your appetite and see what everyone else came up with! For only .99 for the Kindle version, it’s a steal, and print versions are available as well.

My story is called “THE FIXER”—here’s an excerpt:

The click of the gun from the doorway gave me pause, but only for a moment. I already had the crystal decanter in my hand, and I needed a drink now more than I had five minutes earlier…before I had a .44 pointed at my head.

I slowly poured a full glass of bourbon and took my time lighting a good cigar that my soon-to-be father-in-law had so thoughtfully provided.

Finally, I looked up from where I sat at his desk—the desk he ran his cattle empire and his life from—to meet his thunderous gaze.

“Trouble, sir?” I took a draw from the cigar, savoring the fine tobacco. Then, I leaned back in his leather chair, as if it belonged to me, easing my back. But I kept the pain from my face. I’d never let him know how thorough his two thugs had been in the beating I’d taken last night. Tom Duncan was the kind of man who’d prey upon the slightest weakness. He was a bastard—a deadly one.

But, so was I.


You can snap this collection up at Amazon, and be sure to check out the other books that Scott's come up with, too, while you're there!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LCYC6B2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

A few days after the release of BOURBON & A GOOD CIGAR, Sundown Press released a collection of traditional western stories, TALES OF THE OLD WEST. This anthology has some excellent stories in it by L.J. Washburn, James Reasoner, John Nesbitt, Darrel Sparkman, and David Amendola--and I’m sure proud to have mine included, as well.

My story is called HIDDEN TRAILS, and it was nominated for a WF Peacemaker award a few years back. I hope you’ll snap this collection up for some action-packed reading in these winter months to come. Here’s the blurb and buy links!

Get ready for seven action-packed stories of the old West that will pull you right in and take you along for the ride of your life! If you love traditional stories of bygone western days, this collection of tales is for you. You’ll find a wide variety of stories included in this anthology by James Reasoner, John D. Nesbitt, Livia J. Washburn, Cheryl Pierson, Darrel Sparkman, and David W. Amendola.

Saddle up and ride the dangerous range of Indian Territory, search for a deadly mysterious beast, track outlaws, or solve a grisly mystery—and never leave your easy chair! This collection makes a great gift to yourself or other fans of TALES OF THE OLD WEST!

https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Old-West-James-Reasoner-ebook/dp/B07L4X9PCV/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1545230897&sr=1-3&keywords=tales+of+the+old+west


May you all have a wonderful Christmas and here’s hoping that 2019 will bring us all the very best! Thanks for stopping in today!

WRITING--AND READING-- "SHORT" CAN SPARK YOUR IMAGINATION--by Cheryl Pierson

Hi everyone! It’s near the end of winter, thank goodness, and spring is right around the corner. I have never been a “winter” person, and it seems like the older I get the less I like to see the approach of those cold, dreary winter months. We had our yearly ice storm—we get a lot of that here in Oklahoma—but it’s over!

Growing up, I don’t remember having “cabin fever”—I was always able to entertain myself with indoor activities—coloring, paper dolls, board games, reading, and yes, even writing. This winter I was asked to participate in a little fun exercise that was very different, and not my “norm” for my writing self.

The story was to be a western historical very short piece. Two sentences were given: The shot rang out. I heard her scream at the same time the bottle crashed to the floor.

These sentences had to be used in this exact form—without any modification. The only “change” that was useable was the fact that they could come anywhere in the story, as long as they came together as shown here. And the story must be 500 words long—no longer. Mine came in at 497—and let me tell you, that was not easy for me!

It’s been a long time since I was this excited over something different like this—just something fun to try. There are 51 other participants as well, using these same two sentences. I’m so curious to see where this leads! The book will be sold for Kindle, but none of us are anticipating getting rich from it—whatever royalties it garners will go into a scholarship fund for a young writer. For me, the rewards were huge.

Also, keep your eyes peeled, as there'll be one of these coming out each quarter. I just got my copy today, and plan to settle in this evening and see what everyone else wrote with their 500 words. My imagination took off, and I know my co-authors' did, too.

I had such fun with this! Here it is—see what you think!

Two men, waiting for something. One of them is in for a huge surprise. What about the other one? Will he make it out alive?

I CAN WAIT by CHERYL PIERSON

FROM: THE SHOT RANG OUT!


“Let’s see…‘The shot rang out. I heard her scream at the same time the bottle crashed to the floor.’ That’s your story, right, fast gun?” Marshal Ferris smirked as he moved closer to the chair where his prisoner, Johnny Kilgore, was tied.

“Yeah,” Johnny muttered through split lips, blood streaming from the busted nose Ferris had given him. “It’s my story because that’s how it happened, pendejo.”

Ferris shot him a wary glance, unsure if he’d been insulted.

Johnny looked toward the narrow, barred window just in time to see a small hand disappear. Seeing things? Hoping for a miracle… He shook his head to clear it in the stifling air.

Ferris leaned down close, blocking Johnny’s view of the window. “You killed that woman, and you’re gonna admit it, you son of a bitch. We got all night. I can wait.” Ferris cracked his knuckles. Another vicious uppercut rocked Johnny’s head back. “You’re gonna write your confession.”

Who was the kid outside the window? Damn…why even think of that? I’ll be dead before midnight. There’s no help coming. No miracle for me…not this time… Wrong place, wrong time, just once too often…

He’d killed—but he’d never murdered a woman—especially not this one. Maria Lopez had been little more than a girl herself—and her scream from her upstairs room had been one of pure terror. By the time Johnny’d gotten to her, she was already dead. She wasn’t going to tell who did it, but Johnny had a fair idea from the dogged way Ferris kept after him about a confession.

Ferris crossed his arms. “It’s gonna be a long night. I got a powerful hunger. You just sit tight—I’ll be back after dinner. Just in time for you to confess…before you try to escape, and get killed doing it. Think about that while I’m gone,” he chortled as he walked away toward the outer office, banging the door shut like a death knell.

Johnny slipped his hands through the loose knots of the rope Ferris had tied him with. He untied his ankles, then stood and stumbled to the window. He told himself he didn’t believe in miracles anymore, but a pistol had been placed on the sill inside the bars—if that wasn’t a miracle, he didn’t know what was. He broke it open to be sure it was loaded. Six bullets.

“Señor.” The husky whisper with a hint of tears came from the outside wall. “Marshal Ferris killed my sister. I beg you…”

“Lo siento, m’ijo,” Johnny answered quietly. “I’ll do what I can. Thank you for this.”

The small hand appeared again, laying a hatpin on the ledge. His “key” to the cell door. Johnny smiled, even though it hurt.
One last miracle was his tonight, and with a little luck, he’d be halfway to the border by sunrise. After he killed Ferris.

He settled in behind the door. It's gonna be a long night. But I can wait…

PROCEEDS GO TO A SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR A YOUNG WRITER SET UP BY SCOTT HARRIS. You can't find a better reading bargain anywhere for only .99!
BUY IT HERE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C2GFV2B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523322349&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Shot+Rang+Out+by+Scott+Harris

The Story Behind the Unfinished Story

Writers have their own kind of jargon.

People who write without a formal outline on hand sometimes refer to themselves as “pantsers” as in “writing by the seat of the pants.” Or we say that we “write into the dark.”

This month you might hear your normally lucid and rational writer friend start babbling about “NaNoWriMo” —which stands for National Novel Writing Month, a time when some hunker down during the holidays to finally finish that WIP.

And there’s another one! (WIP is—of course—an acronym for Work in Progress.)

The piece of jargon I’ve been thinking about today is “Trunk Story.” How many of you reading this have a trunk story you could dredge up, probably within a few minutes? How many of you have more than one?

Here’s another question. Should a Trunk Story be complete?

Is it a finished work, but put away in the trunk—nowadays usually an electronic trunk—because it didn’t find a home or was deemed unworthy?

Or, like old scraps stashed away in a quilter’s horde, is a lot of the material in your trunk in pieces?

Three years ago, I started on one such scrap, a story called “If Stars Hate Wire.”

It started off well enough. It ended without an ending. Or and ending that left me thinking...what next?

Tuck O’Brian and Ron Bruce are two cowboys in 1903 Nebraska, working on the Graham-Jessom spread. Like a lot of ranch hands at the time, they’re forced to deal with a changing landscape. The Kinkaiders are coming, and these new settlers (often called “nesters”) seem to be getting all the breaks.

And all the sympathy.

I had two reasons I wanted to explore Tuck and Ron’s story. One was to take a look at the traditional rancher vs. farmer conflict from the POV of a typical cowboy of the times. I also wanted to write about the general development of the Nebraska Sandhills.

I got a few pages in, enjoyed what I had written.

And just stopped.

Sometimes we stop because we can’t see light at the end of the tunnel.

Sometimes we’re just not happy with what we’ve done. We don’t like the characters. Or maybe the setting seems wrong.

In this case, I stopped because I realized early on that this was going to be longer than a few thousand words. The scope of the story was more than I was comfortable committing to in the few days I had to write.

Now that it's back out in the open...I'm not so sure.  Please give it a read and tell me what you would do. Would you wrap it up, or continue? Or put it back in the trunk?

Please share some comments, and your own Trunk Story stories below.

You can read the unfinished story “If the Stars Hate Wire,” here.


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. In 2016, Richard roped the Spur Award for short fiction given by Western Writers of America. Read more at www.RichardProsch.com

NEW RELEASES FOR THE HOLIDAYS! by CHERYL PIERSON

Hey everyone! The holiday season is upon us! I know--I'm saying "ALREADY?" right along with everyone else. I'm really excited right now because I have several new releases that all just came about at the same time--and let me say, I am THRILLED!

One of my favorite stories that is current is THE DEVIL AND MISS JULIA JACKSON. This was a story that started out as a short story, but I quickly realized there was more to it than that--and luckily, this summer I had a chance of a lifetime to spend several days a week with my 28-year-old son working on our writing projects together--he on his Masters' thesis in Engineering Physics and me on my ongoing writing projects, of which this was one.

A woman with no home…
Beautiful Southern belle Julia Jackson has just been informed she and her niece must find a new home immediately—or else. With no family to turn to in Georgia, Julia takes a mighty gamble and answers an advertisement for a nursemaid in wild Indian Territory—for the child of a man she knows nothing about. Together, she and five-year-old Lauralee waste no time as they flee to the safety of the new position Julia has accepted. She can only hope this move will be the start of a bright future for them away from Lauralee’s dangerous much older half-brother.

A rancher with no heart…
The death of Devlin Campbell’s young daughter has ripped the light from his life. Though the birth of his son, little Jamie, should have been a source of happiness, the subsequent loss of his wife forces Dev to ignore his emotions and trudge through life’s joyless responsibilities. But all that changes with the arrival of Miss Julia Jackson from Atlanta! Not at all what Dev is expecting in response to his ad, his resentment boils over at her failure to mention her tag-along niece—a painful reminder of the loss of his own little girl just two years earlier. Yet, how can he deny the sunshine Julie brings into his drab existence with her very presence?

Can love find a way?
In the depths of Dev’s boundless sorrow and his accompanying anger, is there room in his life for anyone else as Christmas approaches? Can Julie convince him that love is the cure for a broken heart, and hope is the only recipe for a new beginning between THE DEVIL AND MISS JULIA JACKSON…


GET IT HERE: AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND DIGITAL!

        

For the western reader on your Christmas list--or for YOURSELF--try this fantastic anthology of western short stories by a variety of authors--(yep, there's even a Christmas story in there by Big Jim Williams!)

Grab a cup of coffee and settle down into your easy chair to ride the range with some of the most exciting tales of the Old West you’ll find anywhere! This collection is called BEST OF THE WEST for a very good reason—IT IS!

These fourteen stories will have you standing beside lawmen and outlaws as the bullets fly, saddling up some of the best horseflesh to be found West of the Mississippi, and wagering your livelihood on the turn of a card. Tales that include savvy swindles, gunfights, loves lost (and found!), the making of an outlaw and the secret protection of a president will draw you in and hang on tight.

This anthology is bustin’ with acclaimed Western authors such as James Reasoner, Livia J. Washburn, Jackson Lowry, Kit Prate, Charlie Steel, Richard Prosch, Big Jim Williams, Cheryl Pierson, J.L. Guin, Clay More, and David Amendola.
What are you waitin’ for, pardner? You’re burnin’ daylight! Happy trails!

GET IT HERE: AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND DIGITAL!

       

The holidays are a time for SWEET THINGS! Right? Treats AND stories! Here's a collection that will definitely fit the bill--because not only are the stories sweet, this collection is complete with the recipes that are mentioned so that you can make all these scrumptious things for yourself at home! Take a look at SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS!

Christmas in Texas couldn’t be sweeter than these stories of lost love found and new love discovered at the most joyous time of the year! SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS is a boxed set of Christmas novellas that will warm your heart and keep you reading long into the night to see how these couples find their happily-ever-after ending!

With the holiday season in full swing, these western heroes and their ladies come together in a delightful collection of four deliciously sweet Yuletide stories you’re sure to love and remember. Authors Stacey Coverstone, Cheryl Pierson, Sarah McNeal, and Marie Piper have penned these scrumptious Christmas tales just for your reading pleasure, along with a special surprise in each story!

Each of these holiday tales includes a delectable dessert recipe guaranteed to bring an added measure of Christmas sweetness your way! There’s nothing quite like a SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS!

GET IT HERE: AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND DIGITAL!

     

Does anyone love a good mail-order bride story? How about FOUR of them? Take a look at this wonderful set of stories--and these are all full-length BOOKS, not short stories, about the Remington sisters. This set is available for pre-order right this minute, and will magically appear on your Kindle on NOVEMBER 16! Best of all? The entire set is only .99 right now!

Boxed set of four full length mail order bride novels.

Brought up in the wealth and comfort of Eastern “old money” in staid and proper Philadelphia, the Remington sisters are forced to scatter to the four winds and become mail-order brides. In order to gain a fortune, their sinister step-father, Josiah Bloodworth, has made plans to marry them off in loveless marriages. Time is running out, and no matter what lies ahead in their uncertain futures, it has to be better than the evil they’re running from…

LIZZY: Livia J. Washburn
Elizabeth Remington’s world is turned upside down when she is forced to become a mail-order bride. With her cat, Fulton, Lizzy flees to Alaska—only to discover the man she’s to marry is not who she thought he was! Now, she must protect herself from the biggest danger of all—her own heart. Handsome Flint McKinnon has signed his soul away to her step-father, hasn’t he? He’s chased Lizzy across the continent, but can she believe him when he says he loves her?

BELLE: Jacquie Rogers
Belle Remington must marry someone before the dangerous Neville Fenster catches up with her. She hightails it out of Philadelphia to the wilds of Idaho Territory to become a bootmaker's bride, but when she arrives in Oreana, she discovers her groom has been murdered! Now, handsome, inebriated rancher Cord Callahan insists on fulfilling the marriage contract himself. Belle is beautiful and smart as a whip. But she has a secret. When Fenster shows up, can Cord protect the woman he wants to love forever?

SABRINA: Cheryl Pierson
Impulsive Sabrina Remington, the youngest, weds a man she knows her family would disapprove of. Though Cameron Fraser’s family owns a ranch in lawless Indian Territory, he’s made his way in the world with a gun, living barely on the right side of the law. With everything on the line as Bloodworth and his henchmen close in, will Cam be able to protect Sabrina from the desperate man who means to kidnap her for his own wicked purposes?

LOLA: Celia Yeary
Sensible Lola Remington, the eldest of the four sisters, must be certain the others are on their way to safety before she can think of fleeing Philadelphia herself. With the help of a local bridal agency, Lola finds the perfect husband for herself—in the wild countryside of Texas. Jack Rains owns a ranch and he’s in need of a bride—and children, of course! But just when Lola starts to believe there might be a future for them, she discovers a hidden letter from another woman…Jack’s first wife.

GET IT HERE: AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE!

That does it for my new releases until January, when I'll have an old favorite, FIRE EYES, included in a new boxed set grouping. Christmas is my favorite time of year, but mainly because I always carve out a little bit of time to just sit by the fire and relax with a good book!

The Story Behind the Story: Tell Tail

by Richard Prosch

When I was little, the house we lived in was situated next to a grove of trees. Well kept with a floor of pine needles, the little forest had a variety of trees—all relatively short in stature.

In fact, you might call it an orchard since it featured an apple tree, cherry trees and a raspberry bush.

And right along our sidewalk, with dozens of branches hanging overhead, a mulberry tree.

Every spring into summer, the mulberries fell like rain.

Fun for a kid on a hot afternoon. Scrumptious to be sure.

Fun for the birds too, who plopped their colorful calling cards onto the sidewalk amidst the purples and blue stains.

I’ve always wanted to write a story about those trees, and the headache it caused for my mom when I would come in with a stained shirt, shorts or shoe.

Fast forward to a few weeks back when, walking along the Missouri River, I found myself once more under a canopy of dropping mulberries, dodging the little landmines on the trail even while I enjoyed the shade against the afternoon heat.  Ahead of me, a young woman with a Great Dane was pulling mightily on his leash, scolding him for scarfing up the free fruit.

And just like that, the following story came together.

So I was again surprised by how stories can spring into life. But another surprise waited when I sat down to the keyboard.

As the first few sentences came out, the voice seemed familiar.

Sensing, er…”Poe-tential,”  I listened to the voice and ended up with one of the few pastiche stories I’ve ever written.

As you know, a pastiche is work done in a style that imitates another work, artist, or period (Thanks, Google!).

If you don’t get it from the title, it won’t be hard to quickly see where “Tell Tail” got its last bit of inspiration. 

It was a fun one to write. I hope you have fun reading it. 

You can read Tell Tail by clicking here. Please drop a comment and let me know what you think.

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. In 2016, Richard roped the Spur Award for short fiction given by Western Writers of America. Read more at www.RichardProsch.com