A NOVEL REBORN--WISH FOR THE MOON

Celia in a secret location--oh, okay--it's Las Vegas.

Wish for the Moon is a story I thought no one would take. I was writing romance novels and romantic short stories, and I knew this book would not fit any guidelines of the romance publishers I knew...and had books with.

I held the complete manuscript for a year or more, wondering where and when I would try for publication.

After studying several epresses, I found one who had no major agenda. They only looked for stories they liked. I took a deep breath and submitted it.

After one week, I was offered a contract with the note that read, "This is a wonderful story."

This was all well and good, but the problem was selling it. The small publisher did nothing, and I did not have an audience who might like it. So, it sat four years, earning little pittance.

Enter Prairie Rose Publications.

After a while I knew they had the attitude I did.

"A good story is...a good story."   

Perhaps all authors have a story they've written they call "the book of my heart." I use this term to describe a story I would write even though I might not find a publisher for it, and even though not one person would ever read it.

Why? Because the setting and some characters came from my childhood memories that I hold dear in my heart.

The setting I use is a tiny North Texas community called Salesville, which lies eight miles north of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County. First off, it is my birthplace--in 1940, and yes, I'm that old--and in that decade and even later in time, some people lived then as their ancestors had in the Nineteenth Century.

An abandoned farm that reminds me a bit of my grandparents' home in North Texas.

The particular place in my story is the family farm of my paternal grandparents, those wonderful loving people I called Granny and Papa.

But I wanted the story to take place in 1901. No problem, because in the 1940s, their house had no running water and no indoor plumbing as if the year was 1901. They did have electricity because I remember one light bulb that hung from a cord in the center of each room. Still, they used a kerosene lantern much of the time at night.

So, I have the setting, my grandparents' rickety weather-beaten house, a rose garden to one side, a screened-in porch attached to the back of the house, a barn, a pasture, and a well.

The story centers around the baby of the family, sixteen-year-old Annie McGinnis and her relationship with others in her world as she becomes a woman:
Her family~~mother; father; handsome, smart brother Kyle; and her big slow-witted brother Clifford.
Max Landry~~a troubled, bereft young man who wanders to their farm and stays a short while.
Old Blind Jerral~~a blind man who lives on a small place behind the McGinnis farm with his elderly mother. (I used my uncle as  model for Jerral. My uncle was blinded as a young man and lived on the farm for a long time.)
Later in the story, Jerral will play a big role in Annie's life.
Two Texas Rangers.

BLURB:
At the dawn of the Twentieth Century, sixteen-year-old Annie McGinnis wishes for a chance to see more of the world, since all she’s ever known is the family farm in North Texas. A mysterious visitor arrives who will change not only her life, but her family’s as well. To save Max Landry from a bogus charge, she follows him and the Texas Rangers back to the coal-mining town one county over where a murder occurred. The short journey sets Annie on a path of discovery—new horizons, an inner strength, and quite possibly…love.

EXCERPT:
   She stood still and studied him, frightened, sorrowful. “Max?”
   “What, sweet Annie?”
   “Why did you kiss me?”
   Max looked into her eyes, shaking his head slightly, pausing before he said, “You know, I shouldn’t have done that. It was wrong of me. I do apologize.”
   Sudden anger rose in her breast. She jerked her hands from his and stepped back. “That is very cruel, Max Landry. Did you know that? Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve made me seem pathetic. Kissing me so sweetly and then taking it back. That’s not a kind thing to do. Suppose…suppose some girl fell in love with you, when…you did that to her. Don’t you see it would break her heart? If I were you, I would do some thinking on how you go about kissing girls all over the place!”
    She whirled away from him and began to walk, taking long, angry strides. He watched her for a moment; then took off after her. By the time they were about a couple of hundred yards from the back fence, he walked beside her, but neither spoke. All Annie wanted to do was to get home and go to her room for while. She needed to be alone.
    Their arrival was not how she envisioned it, however. Tied at the post at the side of the house were two horses. Both carried a rifle in a sheath on one side of the saddle. At that moment, Grover and Helen walked out the back door of the screened porch. Two men, dressed alike in brown Western-style pants, white shirts with black string ties, and tan Stetsons, walked out behind them.
   Even from this distance, Annie could see the silver circle-star badge of the Texas Rangers pinned to their shirts and imprinted on their big oval belt buckles.
~~*~~
I'll give away a free copy of Wish for the Moon. Leave a comment, please. And thank you one and all for visiting.

Amazon Link:  http://amzn.com/B00SM09DSK 

Nook Link:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wish-for-the-moon-celia-yeary/1104178133?ean=2940149980390

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas

 

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