Thursday, March 10, 2011

LEIGH GREENWOOD--REAL MEN WRITE AND READ ROMANCE!

Leigh Greenwood
Award-winning author Leigh Greenwood's name is an icon of romance, especially western romance. WYOMING WILDFIRE was published by Zebra in 1987, only a couple of years after he joined Romance Writers of America (he later served two years as the national president). Since then he's published 45 more books and four novellas. He has a BA in Voice and an MA in Musicology from the University of North Carolina. His minor in history has no doubt served his writing well. He taught music in schools and/or was an organist/choir director in churches for thirty-two years before retiring to write full time. He has three grown children who occupy distant parts of the United States. In addition to writing, he enjoys gardening and singing in both church and community choirs. Most of all, he says he would love some grandchildren before he gets too old to play with them. If you want to know if one of his books is still available, contact Dorchester at 1-800-481-9191 or contact Leigh through his website http://www.leigh-greenwood.com/.  
And now, here's Leigh:  

Available NOW in e-book;
Coming in trade-size print in October

As some of you may know, the past year has been full of change and uncertainty.  And at my age – I’ll be seventy this year – I’ve come to appreciate predictability as I never could thirty or forty years ago.   I won’t go into detail because there were times the situation seemed to change each week, but the end result is that my publisher of nearly twenty years stopped publishing my books in paperback format and backed out of a contract for the last two books in the Night Rider series.  Almost as bad, my back list was suddenly unavailable.  And the last three books in a bargain edition of the Seven Brides series were never released.  Readers were bombarding me with questions neither my agent or I could answer.  The obvious answer to all this was to seek a new publisher, but even that had to wait while questions of rights were worked out.  There is still more to be done on that score, but I have now moved forward.

    In December, I reached agreement with Sourcebooks to publish the last two books in the Night Rider series.  They are scheduled to be released in April and October of 2012, but these dates can change.  The previous five books in the series are TEXAS HOMECOMING, TEXAS BRIDE, BORN TO LOVE, SOMEONE LIKE YOU and WHEN LOVE COMES.
    TEXAS NOBLE (working title) is the story of Ivan Nikolai, a Polish prince whose family lost their estates when Prussia, Austria, and Russia divided Poland among themselves.  He came to America to seek his fortune but got caught up in the Civil War then ended up working on a cattle ranch in Texas.  Unexpectedly, he is given the opportunity to earn enough money to return to Poland and assume his position among the nobility.


    Carla Reece is prepared to dislike Ivan before she even meets him because she believes Laveau diViere cheated her brother out of the half of their ranch which he has asked Ivan to manage.  Neither of them is prepared for the attraction they feel for each other.  Though their interests are opposite, they soon find themselves working together to uncover still another piece of villainy perpetrated by Laveau diViere.  This leads to a closeness that soon has both of them considering possibilities they would never have given a second thought just weeks earlier.


    The last book in the series – as yet untitled – is about Nate Dolan who lost his brother when Laveau diViere betrayed their troop to Union soldiers.  Nate has bought a ranch and met a young woman, Roberta, who everyone hopes will enable him to think more about the future than about the past.  That all changes when Laveau diViere engineers a raid in which her father is killed.  When the blame for the raid settles on Nate’s shoulders, Roberta vows revenge.  In the exciting conclusion to the series, we finally learn what happens to Laveau.  I doubt it’s what you expected.


    What will I do after that?  I don’t know.  I have an outline for another series, but there are many decisions still to be made in the aftermath of the Dorchester debacle.  The most important, in my mind, is seeing that all the books in the Seven Brides, the Cowboys, and the Night Riders are available once again.  In the meantime, I’ll soon start the last book in the Night Rider series.  I’m always relieved when I manage to complete a series.  I dread the possibility of leaving one unfinished.  I remember feeling a huge sigh of relief when I finished the last of the Seven Brides.


    Wish me luck for the coming year.  Maybe this time the news will all be good. 

10 comments:

  1. Welcome, Leigh Greenwood. I'm so happy to finally "meet" you. We here at Sweethearts love Western Historical above all else, although I think all of us also write contemporary.
    We have much in common--same age (don't tell anyone)--and a love of series. I began writing late in life so I only had one Texas series--after the first two with one publisher, we had a big...disagreement about the third, so I pulled it and the last. I felt as though I were tearing a family apart--I was, because it was a family saga. Now, though the last of the four has a release date April 1. Whew!
    As you say, Now what?
    I've never read one of your books, only because there are so many out there to read. But I've known about you for years. Now, I'll read one. Of all you Westerns, which one would a sweet grandmother like best? (that would me me.)
    We had a gentlemen on earlier and sort of allowed him to be an adopted Sweetheart--now, he has competition!
    Congratulations on your new release! Celia

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  2. Leigh, thank you for sharing with us on Sweethearts of the West. I look forward to TEXAS NOBLE and the following book--as well as whatever you write in the future.

    Best wishes for continued success for as long as your care to write!

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  3. Hi Leigh,
    We met many years ago on the Oregon Coast at a writers event.
    It seems like many authors have been thrown off by many publishing events lately. I hope you find the best home for you and your books.
    Paty Jager

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  4. Good luck, Leigh! Sounds like a great story!

    I do know men who both read and write romances, but most men seem to disparage the genre and they're always the ones who've never read it.

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  5. Leigh Greenwood, it's great to have you on Sweethearts of the West. I hope you'll come by often. I've read your Seven Brides series and loved every one of the books. I have the originals. :-)
    I also write Western historical romance.
    I'm looking forward to reading more of your books. So glad you found a home for them.
    Congratulations on your new release!
    Jeanmarie

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  6. I have my flower names (as Zach as the ladies) on my keeper shelf. I love all your westerns and it was your stories that inspired me to write my own Historical western that I'm revising right now.

    Thanks for entertaining stories that I love and are treasure classics. And best of luck on your career when I see your name, I put my dollars down.

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  7. Leigh:
    At this time in your life, it's a shame to have to deal with the problems associated with a publisher who has financial problems. I met you years ago at a meeting on the east coast. I am a native of SC., but now live in Texas. I remember seeing your name on the program and thinking you were a woman. What a suprise! Good luck on your current and future books.

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  8. Hello Leigh. Good to read that you're able to finish the series. Although it's important to authors, it's "really" important to readers, too, who are looking forward to the next or the last in the series. What a horrible let-down to never have that appear.

    Celia, I'm so happy that your last in a series will see black of print in a few days. Good for you!

    All best to both of you.

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  9. Hi Leigh
    I've read a few of your books and really enjoyed them! I'm excited that you were able to find a home at Sourcebooks for the last two stories in your Night Riders series! I too would hate to not be able to finish a series. The publishing business is such a roller coaster ride, I wish you the best with all your future releases.

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  10. Hello!

    We have much in common, as Celia said, although I'm senior to both of you! Thanks for you're blog regarding your troubles with Dorchester. Sorry to say, I've gone through the same thing, although with fewer books. There is life after a year of hassles with a former publisher.

    I'm glad you're able to finish your series. I've read you for...ever, even have a "judged" contest entry by you (which I kept!) from back in the day prior to being published.

    Best wishes to you as you continue writing stories I/we love to read.

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