Coming down the pike

I just turned in my next story. The title is "Thank You, Ranch Romances." I think you all will like it because it is a trip down memory lane. We're doing a PAX --not sure what the group title will be yet but working title is Getting Connected. We all know there are many ways to meet Mr. or Ms. Right. They have changed some over the years but the idea is still the same.

In a local writer's group I've been with for about a year we're working on memoir and personal/family history essays and stories. I wrote one recently about how people managed to find friends and meet new lovers before the internet. It was mostly about an old institution called pen pals.  When I was growing up--giving my age away here LOL--a  lot of magazines had pen pal columns. There really was a pulp fiction magazine called Ranch Romances and it really did have a column to seek friends, mail order brides and the like. Before I had finished the essay, the idea for a story had taken root and I knew what I'd be doing for that PAX.

I "met" Wade first, a recently widowed New Mexico rancher with two young children who is desperately in need of a housekeeper and nanny. Then at the other end of that ad, Darnell appeared. The story is set in 1949--I really do not remember that year too well as I was very young but it became more real as the story developed. How different things were then but also how similar a lot still is. Anyway, as soon as I have a release date and a cover to share they will be here--I expect perhaps about November but we'll see. Then I have three more pieces due the first of December that will be coming out in 2016 so look forward to learning about them in a few weeks.

I just learned from my editor that the release is to be in November, normally the month's PAX comes out the 3rd weekend. I gave Trace (Trace Edward Zaber, an owner and senior partner of AQ and a fabulous cover artist) more ideas than usual for a cover and can't wait to see what he comes up with! I suspect it will be special. And as soon as the edits are done, I'll try to get an excerpt up for you.

Meanwhile two more tales are underway, one is a spin off of The Mule Man, a late 2014 release and is titled A Mule for a Princess and the other with the planned title of A New Leash on Life. You will be hearing more about them before long. They will be coming out in 2016, probably the first quarter. Stay tuned!

New Print Collection Out!

This month my new offering is another print collection of four stories previously only available in ebook format. These, like my last collection (Daring Directions, released in July) are four tales that all are close to my heart.
Duty and Daring Vol 2 by Deirdre O'Dare, http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/2249-Duty-And-Daring-Vol-2.aspx

They have in common a theme I visited in a prior collection, Duty and Daring, so this batch is Duty and Daring Vol 2. (Real original LOL!)  Another connection among the four tales is that all of them are set in New Mexico. If you have read more than one or two of my stories you know that setting is almost a secondary character in most of them. I find the atmosphere and ambiance of a place has a major impact on what happens there and how the characters live and respond to the events that unfold. For a long time the bulk of my work was set in Arizona which was my home for the longest part of my life. Then I spent a couple of years in Colorado, my second time there, and set some tales in that state. Now I live in southern New Mexico and guess what, I'm writing adventures set around my new home! I believe Rez Dogs was one of the first that I wrote here.

You may have read one or more of these but if not here is a chance to get all of them at once and on sale for a short while as a new release. Below  to refresh your memory are the four covers. I love almost every cover that the amazingly talented Trace Edward Zaber does for my stories but these are some real faves. I especially like Red Tails--those eyes!!  I'd chase that guy around the hanger even if he is gay! Hey, I'm a tomboy!

Do you really want an excerpt snippet of each story? I am inclined not to do it because you can find them on my page at Amber Quill and a brief blurb at the site URL given above where the book is for sale. If you whine, maybe I will, just a teensy bit of each one!! But why not just buy the book!?!?