Hello Jacquie! Thank you for
sharing at Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf.
Questions for Jacquie:
Q1 What inspired you to write western romance?
JR: Thanks so much for inviting
me today, Martha! Ah, western romance—I
have a contemporary out although right now I’m peddling my western historical
series, ♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥, so I can apply the answer to both. Mostly it has to do with where I grew up,
which is in Owyhee County in the southwest corner of Idaho.
Time sorta passed us by out there, although we were blissfully unaware of it. Our family went to Grange dances on Saturday
nights where they played Little Brown Jug and old songs of that ilk. Not a week went by but what there would be
some sort of community event—a farmer might be laid up and need his fields
plowed, disked, harrowed, and planted; or maybe someone was building a
house. We’d pack up food and tools, then
make a day of it. I had no idea that
people didn’t do this everywhere.
Then there’s the history of the
place. Drive south and you can visit a
mining town, Silver
City, that never knew it
was supposed to be a ghost town. Many of
the buildings have be preserved and made into residences. The Idaho Hotel is still in operation. And it still doesn’t have electricity. It’s a wonderful place to spend a day.
Not too far from our farm is an
old stage stop. We explored every inch
of it as kids, played cowboys and robbers, and had a ball. Oh, and we rode our horses all over
everywhere. In the other direction from
the stage stop is Graveyard Point, which is well-known in rockhound circles for
its geodes. We didn’t much care about
that but we sure had a lot of fun riding there and swimming in the canal
below. Some of these features are in the
third book in the series, Much Ado About Mavericks, which will
be released in a couple weeks.
What specifically inspired
me? Maybe it was those Holsteins—I
wanted them to be Texas Longhorns. Or it
could’ve been Dad’s Buick, which I thought of as a stagecoach under
attack. As a kid, my mind kept thinking
up all these stories and, well, I guess I just never grew up!
Q2 I just
reviewed Much Ado About Marshals
and I see that you have a new title out called
Much Ado About Madams.
Are your books stand alone or part of a series and if series did you have each
book plotted out before you started the first one or did the subsequent book(s)
flow from the first?
JR: The series, ♥ Hearts of
Owyhee ♥, is actually a set of books connected by time, location, and a few
peripheral characters. It’s not a true series
with an overall story arc, or any cliffhanger endings. The books can be standalone and read in any
order. In fact, the second book,
Much
Ado About Madams, actually takes place a couple years before
MuchAdo About Marshals, which was released first. I’m currently writing Daisy’s sister’s story in
the fourth book,
Much Ado About Miners.
I’m not very far into that book yet so it will be at least six months
before it sees the light of day.
Q3 Please share with us one surprising thing
about your experience writing Much Ado
About Marshals, or about something else related to your career as a writer.
JR: I had to do quite a bit of
research into patent medicines and I, in my naïveté, had no idea that heroine
and cocaine were common ingredients in them.
Anyone could get these medicines and many substances that are illegal or
regulated now were as common as aspirin.
(Side note: In 1900, Bayer trademarked both Aspirin and Heroin, but lost
the trademarks in 1919 as part of the Treaty of Versailles.)
I used Hoffstetter’s Stomach
Bitters, which contained heroine, so the widows, who both took it for
“nervousness,” displayed signs of heroin addiction, which I also had to
research. Of course, addiction wasn’t
common knowledge so my characters’ perspective was mostly that the widows were
a little crazy. Another patent medicine,
Dr. Liebig’s Lost Manhood Restorer, well, I’ll just let everyone wonder how I
used that. Hahaha.
Q4 How do find your characters and
personalities? Is there any special
inspiration?
JR: Cole Richards came from
several sources. His pure heart and
altruism come from a man who owned a farm near ours. His dilemma came from a song about a woman
who was in love with two men, and I wondered what that would be like if the two
men were brothers, from the “losing” brother’s point of view. And the identity issues come straight from
Shakespeare, who loved to write romantic comedies where no one was who anyone
else thought they were. I find that
concept irresistible!
Daisy was one of the most
stubborn characters I ever worked with. I
knew the moment I imagined her bounding up the steps of the Oreana general
store (now a church) carrying a package,
that this was a fireball of a woman who knew what she wanted and was absolutely
determined to get it, whether it was appropriate or not. But I didn’t know exactly what she did want,
and she simply wouldn’t tell me. She taunted
me and refused to cooperate until I guessed her secret. She’d let me write about two chapters, then
slam on the brakes. Finally, after many
iterations, there she was pouring her heart out to me, but still laughing at me
because she’d given me a rocky ride.
Q5 Which word would you use to describe yourself
and your personality?
JR: Happy.
Q6 What gave you the idea to create the smart,
loveable character of Katie, the
mule?
JR: Her owner was rather
eccentric—he over-compensated for his small stature by learning Kung Fu, and he
certainly didn’t follow any trends.
Others thought they had it made when they could buy a blooded horse, so
he bought a blooded mule. Then I did
quite a bit if research on mules because I’ve never owned one. I always thought they were like horses only
more stubborn. Come to find out, mules
that come from superior horse and donkey stock are far smarter, stronger, and
have completely different personalities than horses do. In one training manual, the author equates
mule personality more to that of a dog only more intelligent. Add in the current passion for mule racing,
and Katie the racing mule was
born.
She doesn’t play a large part in
the book, but a strong one. And even
more importantly, she spawned the idea for Socrates in Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues
and Merlin in Willow,
Wish For Me.
Questions for Daisy:
Q1 Which word would you use to describe yourself
and your personality?
Daisy: Determined.
Q2 What is something you would never be caught
dead doing/saying?
Daisy: I’d never be stuck out on
a farm raising chickens and children while my husband had all the fun.
Q3 Do you have any pet peeves?
Daisy: I simply cannot abide
dishonesty. If a man can’t tell the
truth, I won’t be giving him the time of day.
Q4 When did you first become interested in crime
investigation?
Daisy: I’m not sure whether my
interest in forensic criminology came from the dime novel heroine, Honey
Beaulieu, Lady Detective, or whether she triggered my latent interest. Have you read Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi? Fascinating book, and in that story,
fingerprints were used to identify the murderer. And in real life, there was Kate Warne who worked as a Pinkerton detective
before the War Between the States. I
always admired her.
Q5 What is the one thing your readers would be
surprised to know about you?
Daisy: I can track clues, sort
out what’s real and what’s bogus, and spend hours examining whorls in a
fingerprint, but those organizational skills don’t transfer to, um, (whispers)
housekeeping.
Find Jacquie and her books at these links:
Thank you to Jacquie for offering a
GIVEAWAY for one lucky commenter:
US Only: Autographed print copy of
MuchAdo About Marshals
Canada or International:
Kindle copy of
Much Ado About Marshals and
a $10 Amazon gift
certificate.
Daisy's Final Question for
the giveaway:
Daisy: If faced with the dilemma
where being honest and true to the person you love would place your closest
friend in danger of losing his life, you’d __________.
TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY:
1. Make a meaningful comment on the Interview or
Review - something more specific please than "nice review", "good interview" - note some detail. :-).
2. For an extra 2 entries, answer Daisy's Final Question.
3. For an extra entry, become
a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.
(Four total entries possible.)
THERE WILL BE ONE WINNER - either print or kindle + GC!
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on June 1, 2012.
The winners will be randomly selected from all entries and announced on June 2 with 72 hours to complete the winners form.
