No, this is not a post about how to write on a kitchen stove! 😆 This is about the Kindle western series by Wolfpack Publishing that I have a book in. Yep, I actually wrote a western novel!
I was approached about this project early last year. It seems my ongoing Jezebel Johnston pirate series and the one short story I had done for a Pro Se reboot of Senorita Scorpion were what recommended me for this project. I'd been wanting to write a full-length western for a while anyway, but this came out of the blue. At least I know someone was paying attention to what I've been writing. When I saw the house name of A.W. Hart, I knew the Universe was telling me to say yes and do this. Hart was the surname that I kind of missed out on sharing with the rest of my birth family. (Long story there for another time...) Well, I always have loved western TV shows and movies, and I had started reading a bunch of classic western fiction over the last few years, so it was one of those serendipitous moments when things just fall into place.
The premise with the Black Rose series is quite different than what you'd expect from your average western novel. First of all, it is initially based in turn of the 20th century southwest Texas, near the Mexican border. There is a surviving Spanish mission in this lawless area where a healing mineral spring makes the land well worth appropriating. The priestly hierarchy of the mission is decidedly corrupt and inept. So the nuns have taken it on themselves to combat the continual infiltration of crime elements and they willingly fight for the oppressed and downtrodden of the area. In their struggles, these women of faith use some of the most interesting weapons and skills you could ever imagine—all of which are based on actual armaments and techniques found around the world. Trouble is always brewing in the area or in more far-flung places where justice is not always served and vengeance is cold-blooded and ruthless. Heading up this group of freedom fighters is Catalina Cristiana Rivera, a young woman with martial arts and weapons training who has lost everything dear to her except for a charred black rosary and her will to survive long enough to right some wrongs. Along with the Reverend Mother and the other sisters who fight for what they believe in, they make up the Order Of The Black Rose, a secret society within the convent confines that are willing to do whatever is necessary to clamp down on the criminal behavior and corruption that has plagued the entire area. It's how this all gets done that makes the stories so unique.
All the stories revolve around Catalina, who is known as 'Sister Lina' when she's not in the guise of the Black Rose. But it is often a team effort and there are recurring characters throughout as well as brand new ones. My book in this collection is titled FIRE OF THE BLACK ROSE. The entire series is filled with action/adventure of the typical fast paced pulp style, and there's plenty of western backdrop and parlance to savor along with some pretty extraordinary circumstances. Thrilling entertainment for a pittance is something we can all use right now, when the news is full of woeful tidings and many of us are still hunkering down at home. That's why we write stuff like this you know; to give readers a chance to slip away from their everyday world and go somewhere else for a while.
A lot of time and effort has gone into bringing this project to potential readers, both on a personal and a company basis. If you're interested, I'd appreciate it very much if you'd pick up a copy. If you enjoy it, please do drop us a quick review note. Doesn't need to say much, just what you found interesting about it. That tells the publisher that people are reading what we write and that it was worth investing more time into working in this genre. And it gives us writers a boost in both morale and industry chops. Writing, like riding herd is a lonesome business where you're mostly on your own, so until something hits print you've no idea how it will be received. The only way we can know if we're wasting our time or not is by what you folks tell us. Without that feedback, we're all in the dark in the midst of a stampede of other things that vie for readers' attention. So please, so let us know that you got a copy and how you found it. It might just lead to more of the same. I know I've got the bug for it now, I'd certainly love to write another western.
Yeehaw!
~NANCY
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