Rain Trueax's New Book Release

Thanks, Peggy for having me on your blog today. Tucson Moon is my new release, a book that nearly wrote itself. I had the characters from my earlier book, Arizona Sunset, now it was thinking about what was going to happen to them. I began with my heroine, Priscilla Wesley’s visit to psychic, relying on some of my own experiences from some years back when I visited several and for some of Priscilla’s reasons.

Just for fun when I got to the part of the psychic, Connie Sicilla, doing a Tarot reading for Priscilla, I used my own deck to see what I would get for this young woman. The reading came out perfectly for the story that was about to unfold. Because my deck and images were not available in 1886, but many seers made their own decks as well as used regular playing cards, I left what images Connie saw out of the reading but used what they meant. Tarot is a fascinating subject but it’s only the beginning of what Priscilla is about to learn as she is tested in many ways during a turbulent time in Southern Arizona.

Tucson Moon

In 1886, Arizona territory was undergoing significant change. None would be more tested than Priscilla Wesley, who has had a life of prestige and wealth. Her parents are off on a vacation to the East while she maintains the businesses, helps many in the community, and is trying to get rid of Martin Matthews, a persistent wanta-be suitor whom she at one time encouraged, much to her regret. Visiting a recommended psychic doesn’t appear to help so much as give her more questions.

Every time she runs into the too handsome U.S Deputy Marshal Cord O’Brian she finds him annoying and they bicker, which is hiding the real attraction they share knowing it’s an impossible match. Priscilla wants nothing to do with a man who makes his living by a gun. Cord has no interest in a spoiled, rich young woman.

A letter arrives for Cord telling him that his nine-year old daughter is on a train west and will soon be in Tucson. Cord is not prepared to be a father, had thought he did the right thing letting Grace live with his wife’s parents after she died in childbirth, but they hated him and had done all they could to turn Grace against him. Now here she is on the train platform but fortunately so is Priscilla who, taking in the situation, once again offers to help someone. Grace can stay in her big home where she has two employees to keep things running smoothly while Cord visits, and father and daughter become acquainted with no pressure.

The Christmas season, proximity, and love work their magic; but will it be enough when the barriers are very real and even more when a cunning enemy awaits? Political consequences of the time, danger, relationships, nature, the meaning of family, and a smidgen of the mystical are aspects of this book bringing forward characters from Arizona Sunset to provide yet more answers regarding another family.

Excerpt as friends and family gather to decorate the tree:

With dinner over, dessert consumed, Priscilla said, “Now it’s time to work for your supper, isn’t it, Grace?”

The little girl nodded with a big smile as they headed into the parlor where the beautiful pine stood proudly in one corner. “We made chains today,” she offered with one of the rare times she ventured anything without being asked.

“We did. And now we can string some popcorn,” Rose suggested as she brought a big bowl into the table now in the center of the room.

Priscilla looked up at the tree and then picked up a golden star. “Marshal, you are the tallest man here-- as such it’s your job to put up the star.”

He looked at the delicate crystal star a little dubiously but could see it had a hole at its base and wire that looked as though if attached to the top of the tree, it’d stay; so he nodded his agreement. Reaching up, he found he was just tall enough to set it in place.

When he stepped back, he turned to Priscilla. “How do you usually do it? As I remember your father, he’s not all that tall a man.”

“When I was little, he lifted me to do it. When I got too big and he got too old for that, a chair sufficed.” She grinned at him.

“You did it beautifully,” Melissa said standing at Cord’s other side. “It’s perfectly straight.”

Priscilla glanced over at her realizing Melissa was mesmerized by the marshal. She wondered if that had been a long going fascination or just from that night. She didn’t recall ever seeing her with a beau. Maybe she was standing beside the reason.

Ellen had come to the other side of Melissa. “I think it’s a little crooked myself.” She smiled smugly but stopped grinning when Cord picked her up by the waist, lifted her easily into the air and said, “Fix it.”

Everyone laughed, but Ellen was a good sport and tilted it slightly to the right assuring herself it was as straight as the top allowed.

As the women set about putting up ornaments, the men gathered at the sideboard with brandy where James poured them each a small glass.

Joe stood by Cord studying his face. “You figured it out yet?” Cord asked made uneasy at the close observation.

“Not really.”

“What’s bothering you? The ruthless lawman look not a good subject for a painting?” Cord asked with a laugh and wishing for a cigar.

“Hanging out with the men I do, you know that’s not it. It’s… Where do you come from, Marshal?”

“A bit of a prying question, Mr. Fox. Out here men aren’t usually asked from where they originate,” the Judge said as he was listening to their conversation. “It can lead to unpleasantness.”

“I have no secrets,” Cord said. “I was born in Kansas. I’ve lived a few other places but not for long enough to count.”

“Seeings as how you didn’t punch me out for that… How old are you?”

“Is there a reason for this inquisition?” Cord asked. “I can guarantee you there are no warrants out for me. Can you say the same?”

Joe chuckled. “None that I know of. Just… you look a lot like somebody, and I was trying to figure out if there could be a relationship.”

Priscilla had come to join them and looked from Joe to the marshal. “Who is it, Joe?” she asked realizing she already knew.

“Sam, of course. I’ve done his face so many times. Drawn him. Now painted him. The bone structure, eyes. Not so much the mouth but the rest, coloring. You two could be brothers.”

“That’s not possible. I don’t have any brothers,” Cord said not liking anything about this conversation.

“Well then just one of those things,” Joe said letting it go.

Reluctantly, Cord began to put a few things together himself. He was thirty-two. It was obvious Sam Ryker was a few years older. They did share coloring now that he thought about it. It wasn’t possible; and then he thought about his own father’s lifestyle, how it had been before and even after he’d married. He had never thought much about from where Sam Ryker had come. The name… He stopped, not wanting to take the thinking farther. It was impossible.

“I’m sorry, Marshal,” Joe said. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just the way of an artist, I guess. Putting together pieces.”

Cord managed a smile. “I thought that was the way of a marshal.” He sipped on the brandy wishing it was something stiffer.

Priscilla put her hand on his arm. “Actually I do have something stronger if any of you gentlemen would prefer. Father had some whiskey in the cabinet. I am sure he’d not mind.”

He looked uneasily at her wondering if she was a mind reader, not a good thought. He shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

He watched with pleasure at his daughter stringing popcorn with Ellen’s help. He wished he found it easy to say the words to her that he knew fathers said to their daughters. Actually he knew none of that other than what he’d read in books. The idyllic version of fatherhood hadn’t been part of his life except in fiction. It looked as though it was something he and his daughter shared. Maybe he could change that—if he could figure out how. It seemed unlikely as long as he was a marshal.

“Have you met our Territory’s new United States Marshal yet?” Judge Emerson asked as he moved to stand next to Cord.

“Only by reputation.”

“It’s a long way from a good system with marshals being replaced with every new administration. Perhaps you should consider becoming Tucson’s sheriff with a little more job stability. You know we don’t have one worth talking about right now.”

That involves politics which I hate.”

“Can you ignore politics given the nature of things?”

Cord shrugged. “More than Meade.”

“You like him?”

“I don’t know him but he sounds like a good man. He has the experience. He won’t be as disliked asTidball.”

“Life is all politics, of course. Meade will offend someone and then it’ll start all over if he even makes it to the next administration.” The Judge chuckled. “Shall we discuss this outside with a cigar?”

Cord grinned. “It’s pretty cold out there.”

“Gentlemen,” Priscilla said, “my father smoked in the den. Please feel free to do likewise. Better than freezing.”

Cord realized then she had been listening to the conversation, which surprised him. He had expected her to find shopping more of interest than state and city politics.

“We aren’t all frivolous flowers, Marshal,” she said tartly telling him his expression had again revealed too much as she turned back to helping attach ornaments with Melissa.

Trailer at:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXFIOdJFZ68

 eBook:

 http://www.amazon.com/Tucson-Moon-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B00GYL9DVQ

Paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989807525/ref=cm_cd_asin_lnk

Video discussion of writing Tucson Moon:

http://videosanddiscussions.blogspot.com/2013/11/elements-of-tucson-moon-discussion.html

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You can find me at these sites. Please come and visit.

Rain Trueax blog:  http://raintrueax.blogspot.com

Trailers to all of my books: http://rainydaytrailers.blogspot.com/

Amazon Central with profile and my books: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006UX64X8

Twitter: Rain Trueax@RainTrueax

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/raintrueax/boards/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rain-Trueax/200584236675973

Wednesday First Page - Rain Trueax and Arizona Sunset

A new feature on the blog that I hope will become a regular feature is what I call a First Look, where I showcase an author's first page of their book or a favorite scene. First up is Rain Trueax, with her newest book Arizona Sunset, which will release on August 31st.

Tucson, Arizona Territory-- June 1883

            She leaned against the wood frame door, arms crossed over her chest, watching dust devils whirling up the street. The faint breeze that had kicked up the spinning spirals did nothing to cool her skin. The sun blazed down with an intensity that seemed to suck the life from all living things. She shifted her gaze to the distant mountains, a hazy purple, their outlines jagged against the intense blue of the sky. Somewhere up there, they said it was cool. She’d have to take their word for it as her world allowed for no such escapes.

            In the office behind her, the uneven clicking of Martin Matthew’s typewriter told her he was struggling with the report for her father. Loud voices carried up the street from one of the string of saloons that began at the corner of Congress and Meyer Streets. Apparently, she thought with a cross between amusement and disapproval, there were a few activities that weren't affected by heat.

A woman’s voice rang out with joy—most likely coming from one of the bawdy establishments north of Congress, the Tenderloin, which no gentle woman was supposed to know existed. As to why it was called by such an odd name she could only speculate because she could never ask anyone apt to know.

            Farther away she heard the steady beat of a blacksmith's hammer, a horse's nicker. A heavily loaded wagon lumbered past, accompanied by the clip clop of hooves, muffled curses of the driver, and squeak of the springs. The heat put man and beast in a foul mood… well, except for those in the Tenderloin.

            "Abigail, I could use help on this," came Martin's whine. She moved farther onto the boardwalk. Holding her dress away from her skin, she wished for the hundredth time since April that she could wear the loose cotton blouses and skirts of the Mexican women. At this time of day, they would be down along the Santa Cruz, their colorful laundry stretched across bushes to dry while they chattered and enjoyed the shade of big, overhanging cottonwoods.

            Changing one’s station in life, however, was not an option. She sighed. A woman was born where she was; and from that time on, important decisions were taken from her control. She either washed clothing along a river bank or she wore clothing ill suited to the climate. Little of it mattered what the woman wanted.

            Martin’s complaints penetrated her thoughts. Why on god’s green earth, not that there was much of that in this land, was it a threat to his manhood for her to dare to go outside for a few moments?

            She heard his chair squeak as he rose from it. She waited. “What are you doing out here?” he protested as he squinted at her against the glare of the sun.

            "Nothing, Martin. Absolutely nothing."

            "You should come inside."

            “It’s not cooler inside.”

“Abigail, ladies do not stand on boardwalks.”

“How do you know that?”

When he had no answer for her, his irritation grew and turned his face pinker. It wasn’t as though she should blame him for what he was. He was doing what was written out for him also. She wondered if he thought he was going to be able to grow a full beard and mustache. The scanty effort on his face seemed rather sad. Was he fond of those starched shirts, tidy ties. Perhaps he was as trapped as she. Did he even think of such things?

Despite what she knew had to be a mutual lack of attraction between them, she had begun to believe he was the man her father hoped she would marry whenever he, instead of hinting, got around to doing something about it. Of course, she would be expected to approve the convenient arrangement.

She knew she was not a pretty woman. Beyond marriageable age, she had no prospects to change that. The fact that she wanted no prospects was beside the point. She had spent her twenty-five years obeying her father’s dictates; and with such a opportune marriage, she could continue to take care of him, merely adding a husband and any children that might be immaculately conceived.

She was determined that there would be no marriage-- not to Martin Matthews, nor any demanding, unappreciative male creature. She didn't know how she would escape the trap that had sprung closed on her long deceased mother and, so far as she could tell, the spirits of all women; but she would find a way.

            Martin’s eyes reflected nervousness as he glanced down the street and back at her. "I must insist you come into the office.”

            "No."

            "No?"

            She smiled, raising her eyebrows. "No."

            He glared. "I cannot accept that, Abigail."

            "I don’t see what you can do… other than tell on me."

            He opened his mouth like a fish; then shut it. She expected more arguments, but he swung on his heels and headed into the office, the footsteps not stopping at the front desk, but heading for her father's inner sanctum. She almost laughed. He was going to do it. He was going to tell on her.

            She turned her gaze to the street where she noticed for the first time men coming out of the Pedrales Bar. They were roughly garbed, laughing, their boisterous voices and crude words carrying on the heavy air.

            If she hadn't known that to go into the office now would make Martin believe he had won, she might have ducked inside when she saw several of the men mount their horses and wheel them up the street, a route that would take them past her.

A tall man, garbed in black, strode from the cantina, cast a last laughing comment behind him, and gave a quick running leap to vault into his saddle. The whole movement had been like that of a big cat. She found her attention held by the grace of the man's seat on a large black horse that showed its spirit by rearing up, then settling down under a sure hand on the reins.

            In seconds the man had wheeled his horse and was heading up the street at a fast canter. Abigail pressed herself against the wall. She could not explain the mix of emotions-- repulsion and fascination-- in equal parts. She didn’t turn her gaze away even when she saw his head turn toward her. He wouldn't see her, wouldn't notice a mousy woman like her even if he had, but she felt a sudden fear.

A heavy gun belt hung on his hip, slung low. That gun identified him as clearly as her own plain, gray cotton dress and tightly bound hair would identify her. He was a gunman; she was a spinster.

            Startled, she saw him wheel his horse to a sudden halt in the street in front of her.  Good Lord. His black shirt was open almost to his waist and she saw through the opening a bare chest. Good god. She should look away but she couldn’t tear her eyes from him. He took his hat from his head, ran a muscular forearm across his forehead as he turned and looked straight at her. No gentleman would have done such a thing; he would’ve pretended not to see her. Not that she had any reason to suspect such a man to be a gentleman.

Their gazes met and then to her shock, he looked her up and down, giving her a clear view of an angular face. Beneath his bold stroke of a mustache and heavy beard, she could not tell if he was smiling. She sensed for one wild moment that he was considering coming toward her, saying something, but he settled his hat onto his head and kicked his horse into a gallop, leaving a cloud of dust and hundreds of tiny dust devils in his wake.

            In moments he was at the head of the other men. Like the pack of wolves they resembled, they raced, yelping for the outskirts of town, woe unto the human or beast in their way. She watched until the desert haze swallowed every sign that they had passed. Only then did she go into the office.

Available on Amazon in kindle and paperback August 31st

In the meantime, you can find Rain here:

http://raintrueax.blogspot.com/

http://videosanddiscussions.blogspot.com/

http://rainydaytrailers.blogspot.com/

http://rainydayromances.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/RainTrueax

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rain-Trueax/200584236675973

http://pinterest.com/raintrueax/boards/

  

Guest Author Rain Trueax

 I'm excited to welcome historical romance author, Rain Trueax today! So glad you're here, Rain. Please introduce yourself. Tell us a little about the person behind the pen.

My name is Rain Trueax. Most of my life has been lived back of beyond. Currently my home is on a small ranch in Oregon’s Coast Range where my husband and I raise cattle and sheep. We also have a vacation rental (which means we rarely get there) in Tucson AZ. I used to say my heart was divided by wanting to be in Oregon as well as Arizona. Now I have a third love in Montana and Wyoming.
Getting away even for a vacation can be tough when you raise livestock. I write, paint, sculpt, and consider photography one of my loves. Married almost 49 years, with two happily married, grown children, and four grandchildren, for the most part, I live the life I want. I enjoy writing as well as being able see my stories available for others to buy. When I turn 70 (in just over a month), I will be looking forward to the start of a new decade and new experiences.

 Why did you decide to write historical romances? What is the appeal?

I’d been writing a mix of contemporary and historical romances since my 20s. I like the historicals for the fun of doing research but also visualizing a world very different from my own. My first, a story of the Oregon Trail, was written when I was in my late teens, polished off and on through the years and will be out as both paperback and eBook in the spring of 2014. It’s the longest book I’ve ever written, and I still love the coming of age romance with the Oregon Trail as a metaphor for growth and its difficulties.
My recent release and first published historical, Arizona Sunset, is set in the mid-1880s and again has an underlying theme of  change and how do we bring that about. One thing I always like in my books is to tell an interesting story, a believable romance, but with a deeper message. That’s the fun of writing as well as the challenge and is true of contemporary stories as well as historical ones.

 How much research goes into your books, and how do you tackle that?

Because I have always loved history, especially of the settling of the United States, I generally know quite a bit about a region before I plot a story there. What I go looking for will be the little details like what kind of cloth they would have worn, food, medicines, tools, guns. I have an extensive collection of books on the American West. The Web is a wonderful place to get little, seemingly inconsequential facts, the ones that give grace notes to a story, making research a breeze in comparison to what it used to be.
Contemporary books also take research when I am writing a story about something like say adult ramifications of childhood abuse or cult groups. I am putting myself into a situation where I have not personally experienced. Memoirs and journals help a lot. I keep my stories to the American West—contemporary or historical. I also only set them in places I have lived or spent considerable time as to me the energy of place, how that impacts someone’s life, is a big part of any of my stories.

What is the best comment you ever received from a reader? The worst or weirdest?

My books haven’t really drawn a lot of comments, which I wish was otherwise, but whoever knows why readers are willing to take the time to leave their critique. My best one came from a man who said-- “"Desert Inferno" is not what I thought a Romance book would be like. Apparently there are different styles of them, which does make sense. I can't really call it a mystery as you know who the bad guy is early on but it is a great story to read about the characters involved and how they relate to each other. They are interesting, believable people and it is fun to read about how their relationships develop. Rain knows the desert country of Arizona and "paints" these places in words so the reader can form their mental image of the countryside. And there is plenty of action all through the story.”

 Tell us a little about your writing style? Do you plan and plot your stories, or do you just plow through them?

I know the outline of where a story will be going as I do a lot of trying out various plot ideas in my head before I ever touch a keyboard. By the time I start writing, I know these characters pretty well and their beginning goals (which as with life may be changed by circumstances). I am though the one in control and characters don’t take it over. What I find along the way are surprises that add to my enjoyment as scenes open up that I didn’t originally think about. So within the framework, the characters can influence new and better ways of getting to the end but they don’t change the end.

 Can you tell us a little about your current work, Arizona Sunset? Is there a story behind the story?

This book was written well over 20 years ago and came out of my thinking how it’d be for a woman in Arizona’s 1880s who wanted to do the right things but felt totally repressed. She hadn’t chosen her life and she didn’t see a way out. I would say the story behind it is how we can all be repressed in different ways, and it takes looking around for the options that might be there. Sometimes a culture or family put restrictions on us, but most of us have more choices than we often think. We just need to look for them and be prepared to pay the cost. Sometimes when we are on a well-worn path, it’s hard to take the flak from others when we decided to take a less traveled one to get where we most want to be.

Arizona Sunset will be out at Amazon in paperback and on Kindle on Saturday, August 31.

   
What sets your heroine, Abigail, apart from all the other women in your hero, Sam’s life? Why is she perfect for him?

She is the good woman and he’s never been close to such because of the life he has led. His beginnings were not totally unusual for his time but they were not conducive to any kind of normal family life—not even when he was a child. He has had a lot of expectations as to what his life would be like with a ‘good woman’ but finds he has to make some painful readjustments if he hopes to keep her with him.
Basically this is a story of two people who each had expectations for what it’d be like with someone on the ‘other’ side.

 Have you ever had writer’s block? How do you deal with it?

I don’t really get writer’s block because I can write so many different places; so if I’m not feeling it for a book, I switch to the blogs. Before I start a fiction story it might appear nothing is happening but it’s all in my head which makes the actual first draft go pretty fast.
I have started a few books to find they were going nowhere. It hasn’t happened a lot but when it does, I put them aside, try something else, and keep the partial in my mind for some future story or maybe just totally discard it.  I get more painter’s block than writer’s block.

 Can you give us a little background on your hero, Sam Ryker, that’s only in your author notes, and not found in your story? What inspired you to create this character?

Well, I guess the only thing I can think of here is that when I was doing regressions, which is a hypnotic approach to gaining access to past lives, I think he was in them. I do not necessarily believe such past-life story retrievals means there is reincarnation as it might be we are accessing something deep in our brain that is a accumulation of many images. Anyway some years after I had written the book, I met the man in real life and although he was a contemporary friend, his life experiences did generally resemble the basics of those lived out by Sam. What that all meant I have no idea but it does make me wonder from where a lot of our stories have come.

 Describe a favorite scene in your current novel?

I like a lot of them; but maybe when Abby is learning to milk a cow and Sam, in giving her instructions, is teasing as well as telling her something about his love making skills. The scene has humor, reality (yes, I’ve milked), and the kind of by-play between a man and woman that makes love not just romantic but fun.

 What else do you have in store for your readers?

Come November, a sequel to Arizona Sunset will come out. It’s titled Tucson Moon and will carry on some of the characters, reveal more about one family, and have its own love story.
Me, I’ll be writing on the fourth of the Oregon series, which is the one swirling around in my head right now. I’ve put off the writing, as I want a bit more research (traveling to the area where it’s set one more time). It is the continuing story of one family that headed for Oregon in 1852. This romance will be set after the Civil War and deal with the Indian Wars in the John Day region as well as a few other things going in a complex time in Oregon’s history.

Be sure to come back Wednesday, when Rain will share a First Page look at Arizona Sunset. 

My links:
http://raintrueax.blogspot.com/
http://videosanddiscussions.blogspot.com/
http://rainydaytrailers.blogspot.com/
http://rainydayromances.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/RainTrueax
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rain-Trueax/200584236675973
http://pinterest.com/raintrueax/boards/
Contemporary romances:  Desert Inferno, Bannister’s Way, Evening Star, Moon Dust, Second Chance, Hidden Pearl, Her Dark Angel, From Here to There, A Montana Christmas (a novella), Sky Daughter, and Luck of the Draw.  All books are based in the American West-- danger mixed with romance.
Historical romances: Arizona Sunset with Tucson Moon scheduled to come out in late November.