I'm very pleased to welcome fellow Wild Rose Press author Paty Jager to the blog today as part of her blog tour!
(see giveaway details below!)
Hi, Paty! *waves* Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.
Hi Laura, thank you for hosting me on my blog tour. I've been writing for over twenty years, and published my first book, a historical western romance, in 2006. It's now available on Kindle and Smashwords for $.99. I've always had problems catching the eye of the large publishers. While I write a good story, it isn't unique or out of the box enough or too out of the norm for them to be willing to take a chance on me.
So I started with a small ebook and print publisher, The Wild Rose Press. They have published nine of my books and I just finished up the tenth for them. I've slowly been gathering my rights back and putting the books up in ebook myself and I have two series I started that don't fit in TWRP's guidelines that I’m contemplating self-publishing as well. I wouldn't even think of it if I hadn't spent nearly five years as an editor for a small ebook publisher. That experience and my awesome critique partners gave me the confidence to try self-publishing. So look for my books at The Wild Rose Press and at Kindle and Smashwords.
I went off topic. I have five historical western romance, two contemporary western romance, and two historical paranormal western books published. And I've written a contemporary action/adventure romance that isn't published yet.
Wow, you’re very prolific! It’s inspirational! Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.
My latest release, Spirit of the Lake, is about the spirit hero, Wewukiye (Way-woo-key- ya) who saves a Nez Perce or Nimiipuu (as they call themselves) maiden. Dove was attacked by a Whtieman who the Nimiipuu leaders believe is a friend. She finds herself with child and no one willing to listen to how she became that way. Because of the treaty of 1862 that the Wallowa Nimiipuu didn't sign that took away their country, they are not willing to cause trouble with the Whitemen living in their area. Wewukiye vows to help her carry the baby to term and prove the Whiteman's deceit. Only through the eight months, he grows to love Dove and she begins to show powers other mortals don't possess.
I’m a historian by training, so I’m totally hooked! Which character is your favorite and why?
In Spirit of the Lake? I'd have to say the secondary character Crazy One. She is the daughter of Wewukiye's older brother who became mortal to be with his love in Spirit of the Mountain. She talks in questions which was fun to figure out how to make her conversations all in questions. And she sees things—the future, insights in to people. She was fun to put on paper.
She does sound like a great character. It’s always interesting when those secondary characters pop off the page like that. Okay, as the author, what surprised you about this story?
I'm surprised in every book when I write a scene and wonder why I put something in, and then a couple scenes later it's apparent why I put that in. Because it works beautifully with the plot that I didn't know was happening. That's the fun of writing. Having an end goal but never quite knowing how you're going to get there and the process by which it will happen. I love that.
Yup, that’s me, too! Will there be any sequels or other books in the same series?
Spirit of the Lake is the second book or a trilogy. Spirit of the Mountain was about Himiin, the older brother and wolf spirit, and Spirit of the Sky with the sister, Sa-qan, a bald Eagle, is finished and getting polished to go to my editor. The trilogy starts out before the Whiteman sets foot in their country, then the second book is then they begin to clash with eh Whiteman and the third book is about their flight to Canada to avoid being put on a reservation.
Awesome sound series! So, what are you working on right now?
My next project will be the last Halsey brother book. These are a series of books about five brothers. The first four are available but I've had glitches in coming up with Hank's story and I think I finally figured it out so that is my next project. Logger in Petticoats.
What happened to the first book you ever wrote?
It was a mystery and it's in a tote box under my goodie table. It was written on a typewriter. That tells you how long ago it was written.
LOL Have you incorporated actual events or people from your own life into your books?
I use many of my everyday life experiences and people I've come across in my writing but none specific. My EPPIE award book, Perfectly Good Nanny, a contemporary western, has a scene where they have to get a cow up out of a mud hole. That was written after my husband and I had to get a pregnant cow up after she'd gone down in an irrigation ditch and couldn't get out. And one of my unpubbed stories has a heroine who looks like a girl I saw at one of my daughter's volleyball tournaments. Her striking hair and heart-shaped face became the features of a heroine.
Oh, man, poor cow! LOL Is there a theme or message that runs through your work?
Righting wrongs, maybe. I've always rooted for the underdog. Talk to the kid the others made fun of. I think some of that comes through in my books.
I love that. What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?
I'm an introvert. I could easily go to our cabin at our other property and never leave. I like solitude. I don’t like talking on the phone. When my daughters call, I just listen and "uh huh," once in a while and wish they'd finish their conversation so I can hang up. I love them dearly and I want to know what's going on with their lives and the grandkids, but I just hate talking on a phone. I don’t know why, but I do. And for that reason I don't call family members as much as I should.
Okay, here’s some questions just for fun:
Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Dove dark chocolate, hands down.
Salty or sweet? Depends on the day. Some days I crave one and some days the other.
Bed or kitchen table? LOL If you're insinuating what I think you're insinuating, I'm old—the bed. But there was a time….
Beach or mountains? I grew up in the mountains and LOVE the beach.
Give or receive? Give most definitely. I love giving. It's more fun to see how the person responds to the gift.
Spirit of the Lake Blurb:
Two generations after his brother became mortal, Wewukiye, the lake spirit, prevents a Nimiipuu maiden from drowning and becomes caught up in her sorrow and her heart. Her tribe ignores Dove's shameful accusations—a White man took her body, leaving her pregnant, and he plans to take their land.Wewukiye vows to care for her until she gives birth, to help her prove the White man is deceitful and restore her place in her tribe.
As they travel on their quest for justice, Dove reveals spiritual abilities yet unknown in her people, ensnaring Wewukiye’s respect and awe. But can love between a mortal and a spirit grow without consequences?
Blog Tour Giveaway:
This post is part of a blog tour.
Leave a comment here and on as many of my guest blogs as you can and the person who travels with me the most will receive an autographed copy of
Spirit of the Lake, a sweatshirt, and cowboy chocolate. To find all the places I’m visiting go to my blog:
www.patyjager.blogspot.com The contest runs from May 18
th – May 29
th covering over thirteen blogs. I'll notify the winner on May 30
th. In the event of a tie I will draw a name and the ties will receive a cowboy boot shot glass.
Woohoo! Leave a comment folks and enter to win! Thanks, Paty, for being coming on the blog! Where can we find you on the web?
Thanks for being here today, Paty, and thanks to everyone for stopping by, reading, and commenting!
Laura & Paty
