Week 19 - Western Romance

Photo by Ronald Plett

This week, I'm headed into the wild, wild West with a Western romance novel called To Ride the River.

BUT before I tell you more about it, I have to say that this week I'm going to tackle a brand new challenge that will test my limits of quick writing. I'm going to be writing not ONE but TWO books. And here's why...

Last year, I entered the 3-Day Novel Contest, which is, incidentally, a contest that's older than I am. It was my first year doing it, and I actually was in a bit of a time crunch. The contest takes place over the 3 days of the Labor Day holiday, which was fine for me to do. But then right afterward I went in for major surgery and was out of commission for a while. I almost missed the deadline to turn in my book - even though it was written, I hadn't formatted it and parts of it had been typed, parts handwritten.

Long story short, I finally got the whole thing together and turned it in on the very last day I could. And I was thrilled when I discovered earlier this year that my book was longlisted for the contest! The results of the shortlist and winner should be out later this year, but I'm thrilled to have my work recognized by the judges and in such wonderful company.

However, what that means is I wanted to do it again. And I signed up for the contest, which is at the end of this week. BUT I still have to complete my Author Versus AI book at the same time too. So... that means I will be writing 2 books this week.

I'll be hopefully cranking out my Author Versus AI one in the first five days, Monday-Friday. I've already gotten started today. And then when the weekend hits, I'll switch gears and spend Saturday-Monday writing the 3-Day Novel. Then, on Tuesday, I'll get started on next week's book.

So, I might not get all my videos out this week on Sunday/Monday as I usually do, since I'll be pedal to the metal on writing. BUT I will emerge from my cave on Tuesday to get myself back on track. Don't worry if you don't hear from me until next week - I'm still alive and still writing up a storm.

And NOW, here's what this week's book is all about:

Killara is an Aussie gal who’s always wanted to visit an American dude ranch. When she wins a trip through an online contest, she arrives in the US to find a very handsome cowboy waiting to greet her… but the image is somewhat spoiled when he opens his mouth. Instead of a Southern drawl, he has an upper-crust British accent. Prescott is a transplant, although he’s been in the United States for fifteen years and knows more about being a cowboy than most Americans born and bred.
 
Killara feels disappointed that like most things in her life, she falls short in picking the right kind of cowboy to crush on. That is, until she gets to know Prescott through her time on the dude ranch. She discovers that he has a passion equal to hers about the Wild West—and that passion might spark something between the two of them too. And Killara might just learn that not every fantasy has to be set in stone.

Hope everyone has a good Monday. See you next week after a gazillion words!