THE WILDINGS
I’ve been writing about
the Wildings for several years. It all started with a time travel western
romance in which Lola Barton inherits a haunted plantation in Virginia from a
mysterious relative who terrified her on the one occasion of their meeting.
Lola falls into an antique trunk that takes her back to 1910 just in time to
hear the words, “I now pronounce you man and wife.” She is immediately accosted
by a horrible man who thinks she’s another woman named Callie. With nowhere
else to turn, Lola goes home with her new husband Joe Wilding. I only intended
to write this one story, HARMONICA JOE’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, but something
happened.
Banjo, an intelligent and
courageous, albeit wild teenager raised by whores until he was 10 saved Lola’s
life, almost died in the attempt, and won my heart. I simply could not let go
of him until I wrote his story in a sequel to Harmonica Joe. Joe’s father
adopted Banjo and gave him the last name of Wilding in the novel FOR LOVE OF
BANJO.
My fictional town of
Hazard, Wyoming cast a spell over me (I have to blame it on something so it may
as well be magic) and I decided to write about the second generation of
Wildings: Joe and Lola’s two daughters and one son and Banjo and Maggie’s 3
sons, the last two of whom are twins. I also brought to Hazard Teekonka Red Sky
who has been searching for his nephew, Banjo. He falls in love with the English
immigrant Jane Pierpont who has been raising her son, Robin, on her own after
her husband died on the Titanic.
I have written stories of
the Wilding children now all grown in the 1950’s. The last of Banjo’s twin
sons, Kit Wilding ,a survivor of WWII with battle fatigue now called PTSD has
settled into marriage in the story IT’S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE presently under
contract, but not yet released from Prairie Rose’s imprint, Fire Star Press.
And now I’m on my final
story with Kyle Red Sky and Mia Beckett. Because it is the final book in the
Wilding series I want to somehow bring the entire clan together one last time
to say goodbye. Maybe it will be a funeral, or perhaps a wedding, but I can’t
let them go without some kind of acknowledgement. These characters have been
like my family all this time. I have lived through their adventures,
heartbreak, and triumphs. I have fallen asleep thinking about them and I confess
I will miss them.
You might wonder what I’m
going to do now. I’m starting with my contribution to the SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS
anthology for Prairie Rose this year with A Christmas Visitor. The hero of my
story, Sterling Thoroughgood, has one last stop before he leaves Texas to make
his way home to the growing little town of Hazard, Wyoming.
Have you ever written a
series? Was it hard to let go of your characters? How did you write the final
volume in your series?
THE WILDINGS WESTERN ROMANCE SERIES IN ORDER OF PUBLICATION:
HARMONICA
JOE’S RELUCTANT BRIDE (time travel western novel)
This
book is where the Wildings series begins with Joe and Lola in the fictional
town of Hazard, Wyoming 1910
Logline:
A haunted house, a trunk and a date with
destiny.
Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride is
included in a 5 novel collection titled A COWBOY’S BRAND by veteran western
authors for the incredible price of 99 cents. I’m not kidding—99 cents.
FOR
LOVE OF BANJO (novel)
Banjo
was the street wise teenager, raised by prostitutes that Joe and Lola took
compassion on and Joe’s father, Ben, adopted. World War I era story in which
Banjo searches for his biological father and attempts to prove he’s worthy of
Maggie, the woman he loves.
Logline: Deceit stands
between Banjo Wilding’s love for Maggie O’Leary and his search for the father
he never knew.
A
HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS (year 1919 short story also included in the Christmas
anthology titled WISHING FOR A COWBOY as well as a single)
While
in New York, Banjo saved an English immigrant, Jane Pierpont and her son, Robin,
and brought them to Wyoming. Banjo’s uncle, Teekonka Red Sky, has fallen for
the widow Jane, but his chances of winning her are slim…until one magical
Christmas…
Logline: A night of horror… a wish for a
new life...and a secret love
FLY
AWAY HEART (novella Great Depression era)
Now only 99 cents
Lola
and Joe’s oldest daughter, Lilith, has fallen in love with the English lad,
Robin Pierpont, whom Banjo saved along with Jane, the boy’s mother for a
factory fire. But now they’re grown and Robin, who loves flying airplanes,
finds himself in a desperate flight to save Lilith.
Logline:
The Great Depression…Rum Runners and Old
Fears…Love Against the Odds
FLY AWAY HEART is also in a collection of
sweet western romance novellas titled
LOVE’S FIRST TOUCH (collection
of 4 sweet western romance novels)
that includes myself and 4 other western
writers, Celia Yeary Sarah McNeal Meg Mims Agnes Alexander
and Karen
Mihaljevich All of these stories
for a ridiculous price of 99 cents! AMAZON
HOLLOW HEART (post World War II short story
also included in the Valentine anthology, HEARTS AND SPURS as well as a single)
The grown up orphan, Madeline, was engaged to
marry Sam Wilding, Banjo’s oldest son. But when the War ends, Sam doesn’t
return and now Madeline is faced with a lifetime ahead without him. Now what?
Logline: Lost
love and the hope for possibilities
THE BEAST OF HAZARD (1940’s
short story included in the Halloween anthology, COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO, Volume 1)
Joe and Lola’s youngest child and only son,
Joey Wilding, has transformed the family ranch into a veterinary clinic where
he treats anything from house cats to cattle. He meets a circus performer who
finds herself in desperate straights.
Logline: A
Terrorized Town…A Killer Beast…And Deliverance
The
Beast of Hazard is available as a single, but if you’re looking for a real
bargain, you can buy a boxed set that includes COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO
VOLUMES 1&2 for only 99 cents. Volumes 1&2 Boxed Set
UNEXPECTED
BLESSINGS (1950’s short story also included in the summer anthology,
LASSOING
A BRIDE)
Joe
and Lola Wilding’s youngest daughter, Juliet, has cancelled her wedding to
Harry O’Connor when she learns some devastating news. What happens next may
surprise them both.
Logline:
A broken dream…a cancelled wedding…and an unexpected blessing
WHEN
LOVES COMES KNOCKING (a short story also included in the Christmas anthology, A
PRESENT FOR A COWBOY) Buy Links: AMAZON
This
story takes you back to 1910 before Banjo was adopted by Ben Wilding. Later in
his life, Banjo speaks kindly of the widow, Penelope Thoroughgood. When Love
Comes Knocking is the widow Penelope’s story which takes place at Christmas
time.
Logline:
A lonely widow…an indiscretion…a gift for redemption
HOME
FOR THE HEART (Contemporary Wilding novel)
Logline:
Love
doesn’t come easy…for some, it may never come at all.
Blurb:
Lucille
Thoroughgood is a social worker for orphan children. She is known to the town’s
folk as dependable, logical, determined, and…well…stubborn. But Lucille has a
secret affection for the determined bachelor, Hank Wilding.
Hank
Wilding loved hard and lost. He has sworn to never marry. After Lucille makes a
bargain with him, he agrees to allow troubled and physically challenged children
from the orphanage to ride his horses as equine therapy. One of the orphans is
a half Lakota boy, Chayton, who reminds Hank of his own father’s painful
childhood.
But
a Lakota prophesy holds a shadow over the rejected, embittered teenager, threatens
the happiness of the inhabitants of Hazard, Wyoming, and may end in tragedy for
Lucy.
Excerpt:
Smoothing
her hands over her lavender shirtwaist dress, Lucy took a deep breath. Hank is never going to be interested in a
plain woman like me. She turned from the mirror just as she heard the knock
on the front door downstairs.
Her
mother called up the stairs. “Lucy, honey, Hank is here.”
A
thrill rippled through Lucy’s core. Hank.
Handsome, unattainable, Hank Wilding.
A reminder flashed through her mind. Even if she was beautiful, it wouldn’t
matter. Hank was a self-proclaimed bachelor. Guard your heart, Lucille Thoroughgood. It will only get broken.
The
sight of Hank standing with his hat held politely in his hands at the bottom of
the stairs caused her heart to leap into her throat and beat so fast she could
barely breathe. Her hands shook from the surge of adrenaline. No man should be
that beautiful. A lock of his bronzed hair had an enticing way of falling over
his brow. She wanted so much to touch it and sweep it back just so she could
feel its texture. Hank gazed up the stairs at her with his dark brown eyes and
seemed to hold her in his spell. And if that wasn’t enough, he grinned at her
in that charming, crooked way she found so endearing. It wasn’t often Hank
smiled. He frowned most of the time. It was a good thing, too, because, if he
did smile often, women all over town would be swooning at his feet.
Excerpt:
Banjo comforts his son, Hank
His
hands shook as he placed the telephone receiver back in the cradle. The
magnitude of what had happened hit him like a freight train. His knees felt
weak like they might give out and his breath seemed to shut off. His whole
world seemed to be falling apart. The earth swayed. His life shifted. Banjo
stepped forward and grabbed him into his arms. His father hugged him so tight
Hank didn’t think he could draw breath. He didn’t care because he realized then
and there how much a father’s love truly meant.
“I’m
scared, Dad. I’m so damned scared.”
“I
know, son.” Banjo ran his hand through Hank’s hair and smoothed it the way he’d
done when Hank was just a kid. Hank found it comforting.
“Do
you think Mom will come soon?”
Banjo
grinned. “You know your mother, she’s already on her way.”
Buy
Links:
Another Wilding story under contract and coming in the near future:
IT’S
ONLY MAKE BELIEVE (contemporary Wilding romance)
June believed
Kit loved her…until she married him
June Wingate has just married the man of her dreams only to
overhear a conversation at her wedding reception regarding the truth about why
he married her and that her marriage is a pretense. Her heart and trust are
broken.
The newly elected mayor of Hazard, Kit Wilding, needs a wife
because the town demands that their mayor be a married man. He trusts June, but
now that they’re married, his wife has become distant and secretive. Kit wants
to fix things. He is not the kind of man to give up easily.
I
DREAM OF YOU (Work in Progress--final book)
A
Dream of Love and a Foreboding Danger
Blurb:
Kyle
Red Sky dreamed of the woman with fire in her hair, but when she comes to town,
she doesn’t seem to recognize him. Something dark and dangerous follows her. He
wants to help her, but she is reclusive, secretive, and avoids him. Something
is very wrong.
Mia
Beckett is a survivor. Finally, she has found sanctuary in a small western town
far from danger where no one knows her or her past and she intends to keep it
that way. Unfortunately, a man she saw once in a strange dream told her the
paths they walked were destined to meet and he would be waiting for her at the
crossroads. When she awoke, she wished the dream would come true.
Kyle
Red Sky is the man from her dream, but now she realizes, if she allows the
dream to become reality, she will put them both in danger.
Sarah
J. McNeal is a multi-published author of several
genres including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She
is a retired ER and Critical Care nurse who lives in North Carolina with her
four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides
her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several
instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and
short stories may be found at Prairie Rose Publications and its imprints Painted
Pony Books, and Fire Star Press. She welcomes you to her website and
social media:
