NEW RELEASE AND GIVEAWAY--DARK TRAIL RISING BY CHERYL PIERSON

I wanted to talk a bit about my single author anthology, DARK TRAIL RISING that will be making its debut today! Dark Trail Rising is a collection of four of my short stories, The Keepers of Camelot, The Kindness of Strangers, Shot for a Dog, and Hidden Trails.

These are all historical western stories with no romance except for Hidden Trails. Oh, shoot. How can I say any story that has Guinevere, Arthur, and Lancelot as characters ISN’T romantic? So I suppose in one sense of the word, The Keepers of Camelot has romance in it too, but not in the conventional way we think of when we think of western historical romance.

You know that question people always ask you about “Which one of these stories is your favorite?” In this case, I’d have to truly say they all are, but for different reasons.

The Keepers of Camelot was a favorite because it was so different. I love the concept of the three main characters of the Camelot legend meeting centuries later, and finally being able to understand that forgiveness will bring them peace. It’s a Christmas tale, but one of redemption, and keeping the legend of Camelot alive in a young boy who loves it –hundreds of years later—just as Arthur did in the beginning. The Keepers of Camelot was a finalist in the Western Fictioneers short story category in the 2013 Peacemaker Awards.

The Kindness of Strangers is a favorite because it’s the first one I wrote that had no romance in it. A man is searching for the raiders who killed his wife and daughters. But when he finds them…will revenge keep him from saving three children who need him now that their parents are dead? This story was my first submission to a Western Fictioneers anthology—another reason it’s special to me.

Shot for a Dog…you know, this one was one of those stories that just came to me—you know the type. You try to put it off, say “Let me finish this other one first…” But it just won’t leave you alone until you give it what it wants—to be written! So I did, and it really was one of those that just twisted me up inside and wouldn’t let go. Lucas is jealous of his younger brother to the point of madness. Once he goes over the edge, he doesn’t know if he’s got hydrophobia or if he’s going insane.

Hidden Trails is the “true” romance of the bunch. It’s one I had thought I would put in the Valentine anthology last year…but sometimes, a story just gets out of hand and won’t let you end it where you’d thought you might. It’s got a lot of twists and turns in it, and I really loved the way it turned out for everyone.

What I’m really happy about is that these were all single sells or in other anthologies, but this is the first time they’re all together and IN PRINT!

Release day is today, and I’m giving away an e-copy to a lucky commenter!

Here are the blurbs to whet your appetite for more!

These four incredible western tales with a twist by Cheryl Pierson won’t let you rest until you’ve read the entire single author collection. DARK TRAIL RISING is an anthology of old west stories that will keep you wondering and thinking long after you read the last line.

THE KEEPERS OF CAMELOT—When King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot are again united on the 1880’s western frontier, can forgiveness bring them the peace that has eluded them for centuries? It’s an unforgettable Christmas brought about through one young boy’s steadfast belief in rekindling the glorious hope of the greatest legend of all time. THE KEEPERS OF CAMELOT was a 2013 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award finalist in the short story category.

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS—Jericho Dean has one thing on his mind: revenge for the murders of his wife and two little girls. As he closes in on the ruthless gang of Comancheros responsible for the crime, he is joined by an odd cowboy, Freeman Hart, who possesses some powerful magic. The two men come upon the outlaw band as they are attacking another homestead, and Jericho must make a decision. Will the relentless pursuit of vengeance destroy him, or will he find redemption and a reason to live in the eyes of three orphans who are left with no one to care for them but him?

SHOT FOR A DOG—At sixteen, Lucas Marshal is eight years older than his half-brother, Jeremiah. His hatred and jealousy of Jeremiah is all-consuming, until one dark day, it gets the best of him. Luke does the unthinkable, and shoots the family dog, Shadow. In trying to prevent it, Jeremiah is killed, as well. Forced to leave home by what he has done, Luke finds he has a companion he didn’t count on, and can’t get rid of. A river runs with blood, he hears voices—does he have hydrophobia, or is he losing his mind? The doctor is his only chance. But when he gets to town, somehow, the townspeople already have learned what he’s done—and the sheriff has a terrible secret of his own that may, indeed, be the death of Lucas Marshal.

HIDDEN TRAILS—Levi Connor has never run from anything in his life, and he doesn’t intend to start now. Wounded and riding through a blinding February snowstorm, he discovers a reason to exist when a beautiful mixed-blood girl takes him in and heals him. Valentine Reneau lives in fear that her father will find her someday. Time runs out when a stranger shows up on her land with two hired guns—and the devil in his plans. Will Levi kill for a woman he barely knows? The chips are down, the guns blaze, and everything finally comes clear along these HIDDEN TRAILS…but who’ll be left alive?


Now if you just can’t wait to see if you won a copy, here are the links to jump over and snap one up! Thanks to everyone for stopping by today!


Buy Links         Barnes and Noble Nook         Smashwords         Kobo

SOME COWBOY DUDS

Over the Labor Day Holiday weekend, dh and I headed south to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for Shootin’ In the Shade, the Arkansas State Championship for Cowboy Action Shooting. I didn’t shoot all that well, but we had a lot of fun.

I thought you’d enjoy seeing some of the costumes worn on the shooting range and the dress-up duds from the party. Some of these cowboys clean up real nice!

Here's a typical morning as the shooting gets started.

Sometimes we get silly. Antelope Ann "lost" to the snake. :)

Gentleman G looked fine in his gambler vest and black hat--if you could see him through the black powder smoke!

All dressed up for the party. (That's me and dh on the left--it was just too hot for taffeta!)

Cowboy barons!

Gentlemen--looking fine!

Cowboy pals!

There were so many beautiful costumes at the party--too many to show here. But we all made quite a pretty picture.

Tracy Garrett

www.TracyGarrett.com

IS IT CHRISTMAS YET? IT IS AT PRP! by Cheryl Pierson

IS IT CHRISTMAS YET? It is here at Prairie Rose Publications! Just look at what we’ve got in store for you for our first annual CHRISTMAS IN JULY sale!
Now, these aren’t all Christmas stories, but a good many of them are, and that's what I'm starting with today--but there'll be more to follow each day! And they’re ALL Christmas-sale priced—so it’s time to stock up on some wonderful holiday reading!

CHARLIE’S PIE—Livia Reasoner Charlie’s Pie was included in PRP’s first anthology ever, WISHING FOR A COWBOY! And guess what? It won the 2013 Western Fictioneers’ Peacemaker Award for Short Fiction! This is a story you won’t want to miss.

A wounded man, a desperate woman, a gang of ruthless outlaws...and the best pecan pie in Parker County!


OUTLAW’S KISS—Cheryl Pierson Outlaw’s Kiss was one of the stories in WISHING FOR A COWBOY, as well. This is one of my favorite stories I’ve ever written, because it has such an unexpected happy ending for everyone—the outlaw, and the lady—and even the villain!

A long-ago schooldays crush is rekindled by an Outlaw*s Kiss that sparks true love, and a new future for Jake Morgan and Talia Delano.


PEACHES—Kathleen Rice Adams Peaches is the story of a hard-bitten rancher who is determined not to let a pretty young mother of three turn his head, but it proves impossible. How will a simple fruit affect their relationship? Read and find out!

When a strong-willed schoolteacher invades an irascible rancher’s Texas range, not even the spirit of Christmas may be able to prevent all-out war.


A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE—Phyliss Miranda Do you believe in Christmas miracles? You will when you read Phyliss’s wonderful tale of how a new doctor and a young woman forge a special bond over a sick child that brings an entire town to an understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.

Acceptance comes not through frosty eyes, but from the warmth of loving hearts.


HER CHRISTMAS WISH—Tracy Garrett Looking for a swoon-worthy hero? Well, here he is! Tracy Garrett has a way of making us fall in love with her heroes and admire her heroines, and this story is no exception! Take a look.

Her only wish for Christmas was the man who left her behind.


A HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS—Sarah J. McNeal If you have not read any of Sarah J. McNeal’s stories in her Wilding series, you are missing out! This is a short story about Jane Pierpont who lost her husband on the Titanic. She finds herself falling in love with someone she never dreamed possible—but it just might work out!

A haunting night of horror and a wish for a new life.


COVENANT—Tanya Hanson She was a mail-order bride, sent for as a mother to his child. What happens when the child is taken from them far too soon? Can they still find the love they were meant to share? The vows they shared were a covenant of sorts, and the springerle cookie roller is a keepsake that means everything—to both of them.

Can a Christmas blizzard ignite love gone cold?


HERE ARE THE AMAZON LINKS FOR THESE WONDERFUL STORIES!

Outlaw's Kiss http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M27PX9M



A Christmas Miracle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M27PDD8



A Husband for Christmas http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M282QV4

Her Christmas Wish http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M2829GQ


Peaches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M28EHKC


Covenant https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M2A98JU

Charlie's Pie http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M2766X4

For our first day of CHRISTMAS IN JULY, we will be giving away one copy EACH of Covenant by Tanya Hanson and A Christmas Miracle by Phyliss Miranda! Be sure to leave your contact info in your comment in case your name is drawn!

For more great CHRISTMAS IN JULY bargains, visit our website at: http://s528097299.onlinehome.us/books-2/christmas-in-july-2/

LOST SISTER--MY FAVE WESTERN SHORT STORY by CHERYL PIERSON

I know we’ve talked before about Dorothy M. Johnson, the iconic western short story writer who penned such classics as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Hanging Tree, and A Man Called Horse; but today, I wanted to tell you about another short story of hers that I read a few days ago. Quite possibly, the best short story –in any genre—that I’ve ever read.

You may never have heard of it. It wasn’t made into a movie, because it too closely mirrored the true life of a real person, Cynthia Ann Parker, mother of Quanah Parker. The story is called Lost Sister.

I’d heard this story mentioned before by a couple of friends, and thought, “I need to read that—I’ve never read much of Mrs. Johnson’s work but the movies have all been good.” I know. I hate it when people say that, too. Anyhow, I bought a collection from Amazon that contained the three stories I mentioned in the first paragraph and Lost Sister as the fourth. Of course, I had to read The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, since that’s tied for my all-time favorite western movie, along with Shane. I was so disappointed. The characters in the short story were not the same as my beloved Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne! Hmmm. Well, even though I was disappointed, I decided to give Lost Sister a shot.

It more than made up for my lukewarm feelings for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

Lost Sister is the story of a woman who has been kidnapped as a young child by “the hostiles”. She has an older sister, who remembers her well from childhood, and loves her with the devotion that most older sisters have for a younger sister. Through the forty years she has been gone, the oldest sister, Mary, has cherished memories of her younger sibling.

There are three younger sisters, as well, who have no recollection of the Lost Sister, Bessie. The older sister doesn’t live with them, but in a different town a thousand miles away. The three sisters are notified that their sister, Bessie, has been “rescued” and is being brought back to them. The story is told from the eyes of a nine-year-old boy, whose mother lives with the sisters. She is the widow of their brother, who was killed by the Indians. The boy has dreams of growing up and avenging his father’s death, but something changes once his Aunt Bessie comes back to live with them.

Up until Bessie is returned to them, they have gotten much attention from the neighbors, and have been pitied as being the family who had a sister stolen by the savages so many years ago. Once Bessie is returned, their standing in the community takes a subtle twist. The other sisters don’t know how to handle Bessie’s homecoming. They make plans to go into her room and “visit” with her every day. One of them decides to read to Bessie from the Bible for thirty minutes each day. The others come up with similar plans, none of which include trying to understand Bessie’s feelings at being ripped away from her Indian family.

The oldest sister, Mary, comes to visit. What’s different? Mary loves Bessie, and accepts her; and Bessie loves her—they both remember their childhood time together. The language of love overcomes the barriers of the spoken language that neither of them can understand, for Bessie has forgotten English, and Mary doesn’t know Bessie’s Indian dialect. But Bessie has a picture of her son, and Mary admires it, and by the time Mary is to go home, she has made arrangements for Bessie to come live with her—a huge relief to the other pious sisters who had made such sympathetic noises about her being reunited with them in the beginning.

In a fateful twist, Bessie makes her own decision about what she will do, taking her own life back, and helping her son avoid capture. This is one story you will not forget. Once you read it, it will stay with you and you’ll find yourself thinking about it again and again. It doesn’t fit the mold of a romance story, except for the fact that I think of Bessie being in love with her husband, having children with him, and then being “rescued” and forced to live in a society she had no ties with any longer…except one—the love and understanding of her older sister, Mary.

No specific Indian tribe is mentioned in the story, probably for a purpose. I think, one of the main reasons is to show us the cultural differences and how, in this case, the “civilized” world that Bessie had come from and been returned to was not as civilized as the “savages” who had kidnapped her. Also, as I say, Cynthia Ann Parker’s story, at the time this story was published, was not that old. There were still raw feelings and rough relations between whites and Indians. But by leaving the particular tribe out of the story, it provides a broader base for humanity to examine the motives for “rescue” and the outcome for all concerned, of a situation such as this in which it would have been better to have let Bessie (Cynthia Ann) remain “lost.”

I’ve posted the link below for the story as it was printed in Collier’s Weekly on March 30, 1956. It’s also available on Amazon in several collections.
http://www.unz.org/Pub/Colliers-1956mar30-00066

INCORPORATING FAMILY HISTORY INTO OUR STORIES by CHERYL PIERSON

Have any of you ever incorporated your family history into your writing? Do you like to read books that are based, however loosely, on factual happenings?

My mom was the oldest of eleven children. She knew everyone in our family and how they were related. Because she and my dad grew up together in a tiny little town in southeast Oklahoma (their high school had a graduating class of twelve), she also knew quite a lot about his side of the family as well.

But when I was younger, I was not interested in the stories she told me. It was only later, when I
was grown and had children of my own, that I began to wonder and ask questions, and by that time, her memory had already begun to decline.

If you have ever read the book, The Education of Little Tree, (by Forrest Carter) or seen the HBO movie, this story might sound familiar. When Andrew Jackson decided that the Indians were to be assimilated into the white man’s world, he put lots of plans into action that would take years to snowball and evolve into what they eventually became—a truly shameful period in the US governmental policies and procedures. One of Jackson’s plans, besides Removal, that was carried through into subsequent presidencies, was the idea of assimilating Native American children in white homes to integrate them more completely. The Native American children were taken from their villages
and given to willing white families (along with a tidy little government stipend for their troubles) to raise.

My great-great-great grandfather was one of these children. We don’t know his real name. It was changed when he was delivered to his new “family,” a Presbyterian minister and his wife. Their last name was Walls. So his name was changed to Walls, and he was given the first name, David. Forbidden to speak his language, he was forced to forget all the ways of his People, and dress in white man’s clothing, go to white school. But he was never going to be white, and his place in the world was divided so drastically that he could not fit in anywhere. Eventually, the Rev. Walls sent David to medical school in Missouri. When he returned to the small town where he’d been raised, he was a doctor who rode to his patients on horseback. Later, he married and had children, but it was not a happy union and his son, my great-great grandfather, became an alcoholic whose own children, in turn, left home as soon as they possibly could. My great grandmother, his daughter, married at 13. Her older sister left home one day and never returned. No one ever knew what became of her. This is a picture of my great grandmother, Josie Belle Walls McLain Martin (1882-1972). She was around the age of 25 when this was taken in 1907. (Not a lot to smile about--she had four children and her first husband had been killed in an accident. She married a man who had 6 children of his own, and they eventually had 7 together...times were really hard.)

JOSIE BELLE WALLS MCLAIN MARTIN--made around 1907 when she was 25 years old. Already getting gray.



I’ve often thought of these children that were abducted by our cavalrymen, and taken away to their white “families”, forbidden everything familiar and forced to adopt completely new and different ways, even down to their speech and childhood games—and their own names. Can you imagine it? To never be allowed to see your mother and father again. Siblings separated and “given” to different families, their heritage and connection with one another lost forever. How many tears must they have shed? And how lonely and separate they must have felt, how isolated, even into adulthood…so that most of them, I imagine, never were able to fit in anywhere in the world.

ONE MAGIC NIGHT by CHERYL PIERSON (Cover by Livia Reasoner)

Thanks for stopping by today! I will leave you with an excerpt of ONE MAGIC NIGHT, and a look at the brand new cover (which I am in love with!) I'm giving away TWO COPIES of ONE MAGIC NIGHT! Leave a comment with your contact information in case you are one of my winners!


BLURB:

Dr. Shay Logan has just returned to Talihina, Indian Territory, from medical school in Missouri. Shay
hopes to settle down and make a life for himself, but how? He doesn’t belong to either world, Anglo or Indian He's made the acquaintance of Katrina Whitworth at the July 4th town social, and the attraction is mutual from the very beginning. Shay begins to have hopes and dreams that may be out of the question…but Katrina seems to have stars in her eyes for him as well. Will she risk everything to be with him?

THE SET UP: Katrina makes a social blunder, and Shay follows her into the woods to apologize to her, but when they return, Katrina's drunken father humiliates her. To make matters worse, her former beau shows a side of himself she had not seen before. Can Katrina and Shay have a life together that they so badly want?

FROM ONE MAGIC NIGHT:

As his hand started its descent, Katrina turned away. But Shay’s arm shot out, grasping Whitworth’s hand and holding it immobile.

“You will not.”

Three words, quietly spoken, but with a heat that could have melted iron, a force that could have
toppled mountains.

Katrina’s father’s face contorted, his teeth bared, finally, as he tried to jerk away. He didn’t utter a word. He stared up into Shay Logan’s eyes that promised retribution, as the seconds ticked by. Finally, he lunged once more, trying to pull free, but Shay still held him locked in a grip of steel. Only when he released that grip was Whitworth freed.

“You presume too much, Doctor Logan, unless you are assuming the care and responsibility of my
daughter.”

“Papa! Oh, please!” Katrina felt herself dissolving into a puddle of less than nothing beneath
stares of the townspeople of Talihina. What had started as an exciting, beautiful evening had become an embarrassing nightmare. It was torture to think that she was the cause of it all. How she wished she had stayed home with Jeremy as she’d first planned, before Mrs. Howard had volunteered to keep him company.

Now, Papa was saying these things that she knew he would regret later. It was always this way when he drank too much. These accusations had gone beyond the pale of anything he’d ever said before. But Shay Logan wouldn’t realize that. He wouldn’t know that Papa would be sorry tomorrow.

Evidently, there was one thing Shay did recognize, though. She saw the very slight flare of his nostrils as he drew in the scent of alcohol on her father’s breath, and in that instant, there was a flash of understanding in his eyes.

“You’ve had too much to drink, Mr. Whitworth,” he said in an even tone. “I will overlook your behavior toward me because of that, but not toward your daughter. She has done nothing, yet you would strike her, and cause her shame.”

“She’s my daughter,” Whitworth replied sullenly.

“But not your property, Whitworth. Never that. You owe her an apology.”

“No, Shay, really—” Katrina began, then as her father whirled to look at her, she broke off, realizing her mistake. ‘Shay,’ she had called him. As if she had known him forever. As if she was entitled to use his given name freely. As if she were his betrothed.

“‘Shay’ is it, daughter? Not, ‘Dr. Logan’? Shay.” He spat the words out bitterly. He drew himself up, looking Shay in the face. “I’ll not be apologizing to her—or to you. And I’ll expect nothing less than a wedding before this week’s end. Do you understand me, Doctor?”

Shay had lost any patience he might have harbored. “You understand me, Whitworth. You will not dictate to me, or to your daughter on such matters of the heart. As I say, the alcohol has got you saying things you’re going to regret, and—”

“Threatening me, are you? Threatening me?”

“Truman.” Jack Thompson stepped out of the crowd and smoothly came to stand beside Katrina. “Let’s put this…unfortunate incident…behind us, shall we?” He confidently tucked Katrina’s hand around his arm. “I can see that the church auxiliary ladies have almost got everything set up for this wonderful Independence Day meal—” he frowned at Mrs. Beal, nodding at the picnic tables behind her. She jumped, motioning the other ladies to resume the preparation.

He gave a sweeping glance around the group of onlookers. “I, for one, am ready to eat! How about you all?”

Katrina was swept along at his side as he walked toward the tables, speaking to acquaintances and friends, laughing and…and seething with tense anger the entire time. She could feel it in his body, with every step he took and the tightness of his grip as he covered her hand with his. Katrina glanced back over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Shay, but the crowd blocked her view.

“Smile, my dear,” Jack gritted into her ear. “I’m hoping we can still salvage your virtue, no matter what happened, really, between you and the good doctor. If I see him near you again, I’ll kill him.”



For more great new releases from PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS, click here!
www.prairierosepublications.com

PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS CALL OUT FOR SUMMER ANTHOLOGIES

PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS is open for submissions for stories for four summer anthologies in the historical western romance genre.

LASSOING A BRIDE: This collection of stories will be sweet/sensual. The stories selected for this anthology will have to do with a summer wedding, or courtship leading up to a wedding—by a bride who might not be so willing in the beginning. How is her intended going to “lasso” her and woo her to be his bride? That’s what we want to know, too! Word count for each selection will be around 10K, more or less. We want you to tell a good story and not worry if you run over the word count by a few words. Spots are limited!

LASSOING A GROOM: This collection of stories will be sweet/sensual. The stories selected for this anthology will have to do with a summer wedding, or courtship leading up to a wedding—by a groom who might not be so willing in the beginning. But as women all know, there’s more than one way to romance a man! Silken bonds and words of love can be just as binding as any lasso. Word count for each selection will be around 10K, more or less. We want you to tell a good story and not worry if you run over the word count by a few words. Spots are limited!

LASSOING A MAIL-ORDER BRIDE: This collection of stories will be sweet/sensual. The stories selected for this anthology will have to do with a summer wedding, or courtship leading up to a wedding—by a groom who needs a bride and is willing to order one by mail! What circumstances could lead to a man advertising for a bride, sight unseen—and a woman in such dire straits that she travels from her home and everything familiar to marry a man she doesn’t know? There are any number of situations that “might be”—and we’re waiting to see what can happen when love blossoms in the most unlikely circumstances! Word count for each selection will be around 10K, more or less. We want you to tell a good story and not worry if you run over the word count by a few words. Spots are limited!

COWBOY CRAVINGS: This collection of stories will be spicy/hot. The stories selected for this anthology will definitely take place in the heat of the summer and will feature some hot western men—cowboys, outlaws, lawmen—who will make not only the heroine but the reader crave the happily-ever-after outcome that’s sure to happen! What’s not to love about these strong, tough heroes or bad boys finally getting what THEY crave—a good woman to love! Word count for each selection will be around 10K, more or less. We want you to tell a good story and not worry if you run over the word count by a few words. Spots are limited!

SUBMISSIONS FOR ALL ANTHOLOGIES ARE DUE BY APRIL 15, 2014.
If you think you might have a story that would fit, please submit to Cheryl at: prairierosepublications@yahoo.com