Welcome, Darlene Franklin! Readers, please leave a comment to be eligible for a hard copy of Darlene's newest release, "A Ranger's Trail." And now, here she is, to tell us all about herself and her writing--expecially her Texas novels.
Recently a reviewer called the Texas Trails series an “epic.” The description startled me, but the more I thought about it, the more it resonated. The six books of the series sweep through fifty years of Texas history (1846-1896), touching on major milestones of the period: immigration, settlement, Indian wars, range wars, cowboys, the Rangers, stagecoaches, the War Between the States, the discovery of oil.
But when Susan Page Davis (Captive Trail and Cowgirl Trail), Vickie McDonough (Long Trail Home and The End of the Trail) put together the proposal, we weren’t thinking “epic.” We were looking for a way to tie six books about
Our agent, Chip McGregor, suggested the idea and teamed the three of us together. Susan, Vickie and I have worked together before. I felt privileged to work with such great writers. Not only that, but we work well together. Not all teams do!
Why
Vickie is from
I not only grew up in
Texas Trails begins on the
In A Ranger’s Trail, Jud’s son Buck is a Texas Ranger assigned to quiet a range war that’s taking place in
In preparation for writing the series, I took a trip down that line from
In A Ranger’s Trail, I included quotes from contemporary accounts of the
SHORT BLURB:
TEXAS TRAILS: Doubt meets hope and fear gives way to faith in the Morgan family.
A RANGER’S TRAIL: When Leta Denning’s husband is murdered at the beginning of the Mason County War, she wants one thing: revenge. Buck Morgan, a Texas Ranger called in to investigate, has ties to a German family involved in Denning’s death.
Buck’s ability to remain impartial and bring the murderer to justice has Leta anxious. As she struggles to keep her ranch afloat, Buck offers to help—all the while searching for the truth. A tentative trail emerges, one forged by respect and bound by vengeance and forgiveness.
FIRST
“Found not guilty of any wrongdoing. Praise the Lord.” Derrick Denning lifted his cup of coffee in a mock salute to his wife, Leta. “As the Good Book says, ‘Thou hast maintained my right and my cause.’ Though I feel bad about the fines the other fellows have to pay.
The Denning family sat around the table enjoying a celebratory dinner in their cabin on the D-Bar-D Ranch. Young Ricky clapped his hands on the table, although he didn’t know what they were celebrating. Leta looked into her husband’s eyes over their son’s head and smiled. The baby inside her stirred, as if contently joining in on the joy.
“I’ll read up on that new law about transporting cattle over county lines before I go on any more cattle drives. Right and legal aren’t always the same thing, and we want to be sure we stick on the side of the law.”
“It’s not right, the other men getting fined.” Leta’s brother Andy stopped shoveling beans into his mouth long enough to grumble. “They didn’t do nothing wrong. The cattle belonged to Mr. Roberts and Mr. Thomas.”
When her husband was arrested for helping M.B. Thomas and Allen Roberts take their cattle to
The German cattlemen had grumbled at the verdict. Tensions between Anglos and Germans already ran high, since German settlers had opposed seceding from the
~*~*~*~
Buy Link: A Ranger's Trail on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/A-Rangers-Trail-ebook/dp/B006YYGUFK
Darlene's Blog:
http://darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com/
Good morning, Darlene-we're very glad to meet another Western Historical Romance author. We here at the Sweethearts write a Variety of contegories of Western Romance.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, romance is the name of the game!
Hi Darlene,
ReplyDeleteGood to have you here at Sweethearts of the West today. I'm a native Oklahoman and think there's just no finer place to be on earth...though I know Celia woudl argue with me! LOL But I have a love for Texas as well, since my ancestors got to OK by way of TX and we have a lot of family history there, too. Your stories sound wonderful, as does the entire series!
Cheryl
Darlene, this sounds like a very interesting book and touches on a subject I was not even aware of. As a lone, who has never even had a critique partner, I also find your trilogy of authors working together very interesting. Perhaps my stand-alone attitude stems from being an only child? I wish you and your partners much success with these books. Linda
ReplyDeleteOoops, I'm a loneR, I need to proof before sedning. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I WILL proof this time. That's SEND.
ReplyDeleteI love series and getting to spend time with characters in more than one book. Your epic sounds exciting and so much history to learn about.
ReplyDeleteNice meeting you today and getting to learn about your stories.
Celia, thanks for having me here today!
ReplyDeleteCheryl: I'm wishing I was at least ten years younger and could enjoy everything OK has to offer . . . in addition to those precious grandbabies! I am enjoying my time here.
ReplyDeleteCheryl: I'm wishing I was at least ten years younger and could enjoy everything OK has to offer . . . in addition to those precious grandbabies! I am enjoying my time here.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I had to laugh at your comment about being an only child. So am I! Being part of a writing community is essential to my mental health, but an easy working relationship between two authors (let alone hree!)doesn't happen all that often.
ReplyDeleteHi Paisley, I hope you get to experience Texas through our eyes. . .
ReplyDeleteIf an aussie can enter I would love to enter.
ReplyDeleteI would agree this is a epic series as it follows one family over decades. I have loved all three books so far and have been waiting for the rest to come out.
Darlene, Texas historical romance is by far my favorite. So glad to "meet" you and learn some new titles to read. Thanks for visiting the Sweethearts if the West.
ReplyDeleteJenny, thanks for your kind words! Caroline, glad to provide more books for your Texas history addiction!
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm a day late, Darlene. I can't imagine living in Maine and not writing about it even though I love western stories. I've lived in Texas and it was loads of fun, such interesting places to explore that aren't even famous.
ReplyDeleteI've never written a story with another author and I've never figured out how that works but it must be nice to have company working on a story and auto critiquing, too.
I enjoyed your blog and I wish you every success.
So far I haven't written any stories set in Maine (my friend Susan Davis has written bunches!) but writing about Vermont allowed me to revisit my beloved New England! Thanks for stopping by my blog, Sarah.
ReplyDeleteThese were stories waiting to be told. The German immigration, their culture, innovations and tensions have to be consuming reading. Thanks to you and your friends, Darlene, they ill now be told..as well as so much more about that era and area. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteArletta, I love the way you put it. "Stories waiting to be told." Like the book I'm currently working on, Bride's Rogue--idea came to me when I read about the first female steamboat pilot on the Mississippi.
ReplyDeleteYour WIP sounds fascinating. I just finished re-reading Huck Finn and his adventures along the ol' Miss. I'd love to read abut your plucky female pilot!
ReplyDelete