Debra Parmley on Western fiction

I've had reviewers say my western romance stories are gritty. The genre has allowed me to write about the harsh circumstances women were sometimes under in the wild west. A Desperate Journey is the story of a woman who was married to an abusive man who kidnapped their son. Normally it's one of those taboos to have a married heroine fall in love with the hero, but she learns her husband was a bigamist and their marriage wasn't legal. In Dangerous Ties, the hero finds the heroine strung up over a mine shaft and the rope is breaking. She's been tortured and is branded on one breast. Both women could be viewed as victims and at first they do view themselves that way. But their stories begin from the point of change just after some very bad things have happened and they move on from that point to see themselves as survivors. These stories are about women who adapt to changing circumstances, overcome obstacles, find and fall in love with their soul mates and triumph over their past circumstances to start a new life. I believe most western stories, whether they are straight westerns or western romance show how others face difficulties and through courage and intelligence and self reliance manage to survive and triumph. The stories can inspire readers to believe they too can do that and the stories can inspire while entertaining and paying homage to the history of our American past.

A personal quote you may have read before or heard me speak is this - "It is not the things that are done to us that define us. It is the things that come from inside of us." This is an underlying principle I believe in which carries through all of my writing, but I believe the western romances I've written have allowed me to show that in perhaps a stronger less subtle way than my other fiction.

 

Please comment and let Debra know you are interested in her work. All comments are read and all questions answered!

EXCERPT
Nick's horse made her way carefully down the mountain, his pack horse following along behind.

He wasn't far from town, and looking forward to a warm bath to wash away the dust of the trip and then a good hot meal. Maybe if he were lucky there'd be a warm and willing woman too. He'd been a long time without a woman.

It was then he saw her. Long golden hair, which caught the rays of the setting sun, lighting those tresses up like a flame. Red-gold hair swinging in a gust of wind.

What the hell?

He blinked twice to clear his head, in case he was seeing some fools gold of a dream.

But when he opened his eyes she was still there, bound by her wrists, suspended over a wide mineshaft; her bare feet tied together at the ankles and her long hair blowing in the wind.

Who had strung her up and why?

He pulled his rifle out and rode closer, his senses on alert. The area appeared to have been abandoned, but he knew you could never trust appearances.

The appaloosa lost her footing briefly and rocks rumbled down the mountain. He tensed, waiting for a sound or for the end of a rifle to appear, but all was silent and still.

He slowly rode closer. The only sounds on the mountain were the wind and the steadier footsteps of his horse.

By the time he reached the woman it was clear there was no one else about.

He swallowed hard, shifted in the saddle as his thoughts shifted.

Damn, she's beautiful. The knots are all wrong. Whoever tied her was no cowboy. If she struggled those knots will only tighten more, hurting her worse.

His fist tightened around the reins.

That's no way to treat a woman.

Her long hair blew in the breeze again. He rode around to the other side. He had yet to see her face.

*****

She heard horses through her dizziness, through a haze of pain. The horses' hooves steadily clopped closer and closer, bringing God only knew what. Her heart began to race.

Dear God, not them again. Please don't let it be them. Not again. I can't take much more. I don't want to die here, today.

The horses stopped and the only other sound was the wind. She could feel eyes upon her.

She didn't want to look, didn't want to open her eyes for fear of what she'd see.

But she forced herself to open them, fought the fear and the dizziness and for one brief moment her gaze met his.

Long enough to see his eyes were like summer lightning, intense and flashing with some dark emotion.

Then her world went black.

Dangerous Ties, release Feb 15, 2012, Desert Breeze Publishing
A Desperate Journey, March 2009, Samhain
contemporary romance:
Aboard the Wishing Star release Oct 2012, Desert Breeze Publishing
http://www.debraparmley.com

 "Spreading love one story at a time."

Buy Dangerous Ties today at http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-299/Dangerous-Ties/Detail.bok

Stephenia H. McGee on the secret to writing with preschool boys!

Is this completely out of imagination, or are there elements of your real life experience in the plot/characters?

Most of the story is out of my imagination. However, during his time at the ranch, Jim Anderson learns the art of natural horsemanship. This is a way of teaching horses by essentially learning to “speak” their language. Training horses this way has been a large part of my life. Because of back issues, it is something I no longer do, but I worked as a “horse teacher” for several years. In the story, you’ll see the bond that Jim has with his horse. It is definitely something I drew out of my own life and my relationship with my mare, Fancy.

Do you have a schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I wish there was a schedule! I am a very schedule-oriented person. But I think God has a sense of humor, because the more I try to make schedules, the less I’m able to follow them. My best bet is that on Wednesdays I have a babysitter come for six solid hours so I can have time away from my precious, but rambunctious, preschool boys. If I don’t have any doctor or other appointments best done without the kids, this is the time I shut off the phone and hide away to get some real writing done. When I can get several hours without interruption, the story really flows.

How about the people you share space with. Do they know not to bother you when you are writing, or are there constant interruptions?

Constant interruptions!  But what else can you expect from a two and four year old? They like to be with me, and sometimes that makes doing any writing difficult. Most of the time I work when they have rest time each afternoon. This only gives me about an hour and a half, but I can be more productive then than at any other time of the day. For the most part, though, writing is done on Wednesdays.

What does your husband think of your writing? Do you ever ask for advice? Editing?

My husband is a huge support. He is the one that gently (and sometimes not so gently) pushed me to follow my dream of writing a book. He has gone to writer’s conferences with me, and he is always the first person I bounce ideas off of. He is also my first editor, and reads through my first drafts helping me see when things don’t make sense or flow right. He has also become somewhat of a marketing director as well! He took it upon himself to find a few people to do reviews and write about my book in print magazines that will be coming out in the next few months.

Buy today at http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-273/A-Legacy-of-Lies/Detail.bok

Where can readers find you on line?

www.StepheniaMcGee.com

www.facebook.com/StepheniaHMcGee

www.twitter.com/StepheniaHMcGee

StepheniaMcGee@yahoo.com

A sizzling excerpt today at the publisher's blog

When she has time to really look at him, Paige is drawn to everything about Joshua. His open friendliness, his care when helping her in the yard, his excitement over finding the treasures, and the heat of that first kiss. Check in at my publisher's blog for the second kiss. Now that Paige is free of her job she is also free to fall in love. http://desertbreezepublishing.blogspot.com

Comment and Follow here or there for a chance to win the amethyst pendant from the book (see below).

Dangerous Ties by Debra Parmer released today

Lynette: Well, Debra, the day is here. Your second book, Dangerous Ties, was released today. Tell us a little about it.
Debra: How about a short exerpt? Here is how the book opens:

Nevada 1860

Pain erased all sense of time. Lillian didn't know how long she'd hung, her muscles exhausted from the strain, her mind full of warnings she was helpless to do anything about.

Her throat was raw from screaming before Grady had gagged her. Now the cloth gag stuck to her dry tongue. She squinted through tired eyes at the pail of water sitting by the edge of the mineshaft. She could look right down into it, the water taunting her with how good it looked, how it would taste cool and refreshing as it slid over her tongue, down her throat. It would soothe her throat if she could just reach it.

But there was no hope of that.

They'd tied her up and left her to die of thirst. Lillian closed her eyes.

No, don't look at it. Don't think of it. Think of something else.

Pain shot from her broken right toe up her ankle and leg. The scent of burnt flesh still filled her nostrils. He'd seared the brand across the top of her breast. Memory lodged in her body where pain radiated along with heat, echoes of his laughter still ringing in her ears.

A single tear slipped out and ran down her cheek.

It hadn't mattered what he did to her or how relentless they were. She still couldn't tell them where the money was. She couldn't tell because she didn't know. And no amount of torture could change that one fact.

Lillian squeezed her eyes tight and prayed her lie had bought enough time to get away. Though how she'd ever get out of this she didn't know.

She had to get away before he returned, angrier than ever because she'd lied.

Mr. Thomas Shelton, her former fiancé, was probably well to California by now, and rich as the cream Lillian used to pour into her tea every afternoon. He'd done more than abandon her along with the promises he'd made to her. He'd left her to face the anger of everyone in town who he had robbed.

Lynette: Oh, WOW,  now I have to go and read it as soon as we are finished today. Sounds very intense.
If you could bring one character to life, who would it be and why?

Debra: My characters feel very real to me, and I love them all.  I think it would be great fun to have a dinner party and have them all show up.  But if I have to choose just one, I’d say the hero in the novel I am working on now.  His dark hair of his is just so touchable and those deep brown eyes… not to mention the way his voice makes my toes want to curl, and that slow smile when he gets that look in his eyes, makes me want to ….Oh,dear. *blush* (Now what were we talking about?  It is so hard to concentrate once he enters the room.)

Lynette: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Debra: I think if we do the things that bring us joy, those things can never be the wrong things to do.  For me, the act of writing brings great joy.  If you, as an aspiring writer, have that joy in your writing, it is one thing you can hold onto when the hurricane winds come. And those winds do come. Beyond that, it takes a certain amount of persistence and drive to be published, along with a belief in yourself.                                                                                  I collect quotes, some of which you can find on my website and this is one of my favorites: “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that, but the really great make youfeel that you, too can become great.” – Mark Twain

I would add one thing.  Sometimes it is impossible to keep away from such small persons, and if so, you absolutely must ignore them.                       Lynette: Is there anything else that you would like to share with us?    Debra: Oh, yes! There are so many things I’m looking forward to!  My first novel, A Desperate Journey, is also available as an ebook   https://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/shop/product.da/a-desperate-journey

Please visit my website.

http://www.debraparmley.com/