BOOK 3 IS GETTIN' A MIGHTY FINE SHINE!
The pressure - oh, the pressure!
First, my loyal readers and fans are waiting patiently for Book 3 of Alias Jeannie Delaney. Second, author burnout did my head in this summer and I had to take a month's break. It's in danger of doing my head in again if I'm not careful.
Book 3 is taking a while to come to fruition. Mainly because the plot has been laid down over the years, little by little, and today, with PA hubby's help, I'm making more sense of the result. I'm researching and making the plot credible. Lots of detail in which I know most of the facts, but need to be sure, and also change some of the details to fit with the story. Hubby has been checking chapters, and the timeline events in the latest chapter is downright tricky. The question of what happens when, how and with whom (who!). Weaving factual detail into your fictional story is a challenge, to say the least.
The current part, and a fundamental component of the plot, concerns horse and cattle ranching - not something I'm particularly interested in. That might surprise readers because the story revolves around that in this last book, but ranching is something Jeannie grows up with and ultimately she becomes a powerful rancher.
When I began writing the story, I had to work out where Jeannie is born and what year. I juggled around in my head for solutions that would both fit the storyline and was credible. I ended up in New Orleans in the summer of 1865, at the end of the American Civil War.
I'm fascinated by the wild west (duh) but not the war. Jeannie is born after the war, so I had to research that period. Funnily enough, because I'm writing it in connection with my story, and the facts fitted, I was okay with researching it and actually became kind of interested. The same applies to ranching. Not that I want to become an American Civil War reenactor or a dude ranch visitor. I wouldn't go that far.
I first conceived the story line as a teenager during the late sixties, when I was disgruntled over the lack or complete absence of female role models in westerns back then. I daydreamed Jeannie before I went to sleep. So exciting! The story was written - thrown down almost - on and off over the years after my kids were born in 1985 and '88, without a lot of thought. Now I'm facing up to the nitty gritty of facts, and not necessarily what I envisaged originally. So I'm having to double check facts. As hubby said, if your facts are not factual, you'll lose credibility. One particular chapter needs a rewrite. Dammit! Just as I thought all was going well. The danger, however, is reaching for perfectionism, which I'm prone to doing. That's the way to madness, as husband keeps telling me.
After the first professional (my editor) assured me that the story and my writing were 24 carat, I came down from the ceiling, hired a cover designer (Jeannie doesn't look like my Jeannie, but I was persuaded that readers don't tend to think about that) we launched Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 1 - Go West, Girl! on Amazon during the summer of 2023. The following summer we launched Book 2 - The Outlaw's Return. Considering the story is such a niche subject, I've done extremely well, accruing over 1410 readers and approaching fifty 5* reviews and ratings on Amazon. We'd planned to launch Book 3 this summer, but author burnout struck, so tough! I took a month off and we're aiming for a spring release in 2026.
Meanwhile hubby has been navigating the jungle that is Amazon advertising. He worked on Facebook advertising before this, but
times have changed and AI arrived. Both Amazon and Facebook author advertising have recently gone through the mill. Both of them have encountered difficulties because of the sheer number of authors requiring promotion, plus the introduction of AI has created further issues. Oh, it's a minefield out there...
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THE AUTHOR & HER PA HUSBAND |
If you enjoy these stories,
you might like Alias Jeannie Delaney!
ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - THE STORYLINE
Dynamic pants-wearing cowgirl Jeannie Morgan is the fastest gun west of the Mississippi, but when she discovers that her sexuality is as fluid as a miner's whiskey & both men & women enjoy her magnificent lovemaking, she feels as though she's been trampled by a cattle stampede.
She's born in vibrant New Orleans in 1865 and strongly rebels against the upbringing of a Victorian girl. The family head west where she finds her true calling on her Pa's ranch. However, the explosive combination of her tomboy beauty, her powerful persona and her lethal gun go against her and people want her out or dead.
How will she survive? Will she survive? Or will those very qualities see her through to a charismatic conclusion?
IF YOU'VE READ & ENJOYED THE STORY SO FAR, I'D BE INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD LEAVE A POSITIVE REVIEW ON AMAZON. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Book 2 - The Outlaw's Return
Available as e-novel & paperback & on Kindle Unlimited.
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MY ORIGINAL DRAWINGS OF JEANNIE |
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CHAPTER SAMPLE BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL!
CHAPTER SAMPLE BOOK 2 - THE OUTLAW'S RETURN
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ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY BOOKS 1 & 2 HAVE APPEARED IN
THE FOLLOWING BLOGS & ON YOUTUBE:
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