Northern Roses and Southern Belles Finalist in the 2011 EPIC

I’m thrilled to share with all our readers that the anthology, Northern Roses and Southern Belles has finaled in the 2011 EPIC eBook Awards Competition.

This anthology of Civil War era stories, written by me and five other authors at the Wild Rose Press, continues to entertain readers. We all wrote novellas which take place in the Civil War era, before, during, or after the war as in my story, Are You Going to the Dance?

My Texas family’s experiences inspired me. Although my story does not actually represent my Dutch great great grandfather or my French great great grandmother, they, along with many folks in the German communities of the Texas Hill Country, believed strongly in preserving the Union. Towards that end my great great grandfather took the mules he raised to the Union army. He would have been shot by the Confederate army if he had been caught.

The community where they lived in Texas voted to form local militia units rather than send fathers and sons to fight with the Confederate army. My ancestors’ son joined the local militia unit and took part in protecting their town and the surrounding farmers. This group of settlers attended church every Sunday and enjoyed weekend gatherings where they danced and socialized.

My great great grandmother was known for her kindness and independent spirit. It is said of her that she would rather have been outside riding her horse and working with the men than working inside the house. One night, she found a Comanche brave who had been wounded during a raid, but not discovered in the field by the farmers who strove to protect their crops. She saved his life without the farmers knowing, and as a result his tribe never again raided their farm.

With TWRP’s support, our anthology, Northern Roses and Southern Belles, came together easily. Encouraged by the response from our readers, I next wrote Moonlight Desperado, also inspired by an incident which happened to my Texas family after the war was over. For fun I added shape shifters to this story and published it with Siren-BookStrand Mainstream.

Along with all our anthology stories, it has been a pleasure to see Are You Going to the Dance? in print because the story that inspired it is dear to my heart.

The Civil War as you’ve never read it! Northern Roses and Southern Belles now available from the The Wild Rose Press and other eBook sellers! For an excerpt, visit my web site http://www.JeanmarieHamilton.com
Enjoy!
Jeanmarie Hamilton

How do You Celebrate July 4th?

July 4th was one day that we always closed the shop and took off from work in our family business. On this national holiday we have always had a family get-together. There's something about the 4th. There are so many great ways to celebrate. Some places have parades during the day. In other communities there are softball games, picnics at the park, music under the stars, to name a few activities, followed by fireworks displays.

When I was young we would have a family picnic out in the desert sand hills. Where I live that was a very big deal back then. My grandparents did the same when my mom was little. Some families still like to do that. We'd have a campfire and fix hamburgers. After dinner we'd use the hot coals to light a punk, and use the punk to light the fireworks. I vividly remember one time when my sister was holding a Roman Candle in her hands and it started to shoot balls of flame in all directions. My dad dove for the ground as one went right for him. If I remember correctly that was the end of holding Roman Candles in our family. A good thing. We always cleaned up the area so no trash was left behind, including those used sparklers.

Did you ever step on a spent sparkler in your bare feet? Not a good thing. These days, we watch the fireworks displays from my mom's house or the foothills on the church grounds. There's always a neighbor nearby shooting off small rockets. It makes for an exciting if noisy backyard party. We follow up by watching the celebrations on TV that are taking place in D.C. and Boston. It's amazing what they can do with music and fireworks.

The 4th always begins as a day of taking it easy and ends with rousing celebrations of our national heritage.

How do you celebrate the 4th? Leave your story in a comment. I'd love to read about it. And have a safe and happy 4th of July.

Jeanmarie Hamilton
www.JeanmarieHamilton.com

Moonlight Desperado Setting Near Castroville, Texas, and the Medina River

I thought you'd like to see some photos of the area of Texas where my novella, Moonlight Desperado, takes place.

One of the homes of my Texas ancestors became the inspiration for the house where my story unfolds. Built in Castroville, Texas in 1867, the Gerhart Ihnken home is shown below. The house faces west. The backyard is part of several acres of pastureland which slope down to the Medina River. This house reflects the architectural style of many of the Alsatian homes constructed in Castroville.

The builders of these homes were the families who came from Alsace Lorraine and settled Castroville in 1844. They traveled from France by ship. My family came in the L'Ebro. Most of the original settlers came from towns in Alsace Lorraine. Many of their homes show the same architecture and are recorded on the Historic Heritage list for Texas.


Some of the homes still have the giant old pecan trees growing in the yard.


Southwest of the Gerhart Ihnken home, the Medina River bends west before flowing south again. The photo below shows the trees growing in the Medina River along the bend. I couldn't resist describing the river and those moss covered trees, after I saw them late one day on a trip to Castroville for research about my family. Shadows beneath the trees and moss created the most mysterious and foreboding feeling.
Perfect for the beginning of Moonlight Desperado.

Scenes like the one with the trees in the Medina River are fantastic inspiration and give flight to a writer's imagination. And my werewolf writer's muse was no exception.

Have you been to Castroville, Texas? I hope you've enjoyed this quick trip to the country with me. When you're in the area, be sure to take in the atmosphere and dining in the old Alsatian town just west of San Antonio. Many thanks to the web site of Castroville for the photos. http://www.castroville.com/
Jeanmarie Hamilton
www.JeanmarieHamilton.com

Possible Link Between Accuracy of Facts and 4 Star RT Book Review

In the May issue of RT Book Reviews is a 4 Star rating and book review for Northern Roses and Southern Belles. I'm thrilled that this anthology of Civil War stories and one post Civil War story found recognition not only by a reviewer for RT Book Reviews, but also other reviewers.

How did this happen? Was it pure luck, or did we six authors bring it about by writing the best stories we could that incorporated the most accurate facts we found? I believe it's the latter rather than pure luck. We researched incidents surrounding the Civil War and chose our external plots according to what interested each of us the most. Discovering all the facts followed next as we each studied our selected bit of history.

We gathered information and facts from various sources. Even though a couple of us chose stories that came from our family history, we researched the historical incidents involved. I used the Handbook of Texas Online where I found articles about people who had been involved in the history surrounding my story, "Are You Going to the Dance?" In addition, I used information from notes I had taken years ago from a couple of library books about intriguing incidents in Texas after the Civil War.

We wrote down our ideas and ran them by each other. Satisfied we were on the right track, we wrote rough drafts. After another round of critiques we fleshed out our stories. More critiquing followed until we each felt we'd written the best story we could.

In addition to our research and careful writing, we had an excellent editor from The Wild Rose Press who helped us fine tune our stories. The project took a lot of hard work from all of us to achieve the great results we've enjoyed. We crafted romance stories based on historical facts. Not only can our readers enjoy reading the romances, but they can learn a bit of history at the same time. We're confident we wrote romances that entertain while being historically accurate. For readers of historical romance, isn't that what makes a great story?

Northern Roses and Southern Belles, by Susan Macatee, Mary Ann Webber, Jeanmarie Hamilton, Jennifer Ross, Isabel Roman, and Caroline Clemmons, can be found at The Wild Rose Press, Amazon.com, and various other booksellers online.

Jeanmarie Hamilton
www.JeanmarieHamilton.com

Texas and Werewolves and Vamps, Oh My!

The title of this blog was inspired by a line in the movie, The Wizard of Oz. Wonderful characters and imaginary animals filled the screen during the movie. We haven’t lost our love for imaginary characters and animals, have we? The movies prove that every year, and now werewolves have hit the screen in a big way. The current popular movie, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, features both the villain and the hero as werewolves.

Fortunately, our entertainment doesn’t have to stop with movies. Werewolf fans can find plenty of exciting fiction books featuring werewolves. As a romance writer, I find werewolves make for both tragic and heroic characters. I can let my imagination run wild. I can envision the story with things I’ve seen and experienced in my own life. I’ll always remember following the narrow dirt road from the family cabin to the fishing hole, and the tree root which formed a menacing claw at the edge of the thick woods I had to walk through to reach the stream. When I was young I imagined the claw shaped roots to be a warning of danger which lurked in the trees’ shadows.

I remember a trip with my family across Texas, trees covered with moss at the shadowed edge of a river at dusk. We drove through the darkness of night and saw a flock of huge birds which flew in front of our car as we crossed a bridge over a river. I’d never seen anything like those giant birds before and had no idea what they were or why they were flying at night. I know they weren’t owls. They’ve become an important part of one of my romance stories about shape shifters which includes werewolves.

Adding romance to a shape shifter story heightens the stakes for the characters. A hero with an emotionally monumental past to overcome is perfect for a werewolf, a larger than life alpha male. He must not only overcome the evil villain, but he must face sacrificing everything, and put his life on the line to protect the woman he loves. Such actions endear him forever to a romance reader's heart.

Following is the story blurb for Moonlight Desperado :

In Texas after the Civil War, Mary Ann Beauclere is imprisoned by soldiers turned raiders. Outraged when Captain Craig Wolfe steals a kiss, and more, in front of the men, she follows his orders, desperate to protect her little sisters asleep upstairs. The outlaws demand bedding and food. Captain Wolfe helps her, and she softens toward the desperado, allowing his kisses, drawn to him as to no other.

Confederate spy, Craig despairs of finding his life mate. Hiding his assignment from the raiders, he only intends to protect Miss Beauclere, until he recognizes Mary Ann as the woman he will love forever. Her courage tempts him to dream of a future together. Will she love him, a werewolf? If not, he’ll spend his life alone.

When Craig claims her as his life mate, secret identities and a vicious pack member threaten their future and their lives. Can they save each other?

I hope you’ll enjoy reading Moonlight Desperado, my latest werewolf romance story, available soon, late December or early January, from Siren-Bookstrand Mainstream.

Jeanmarie Hamilton
www.JeanmarieHamilton.com

Western Historical, Seduction, and Inspiration from Songs ... Jeanmarie Hamilton

My book, Seduction began as an idea inspired from both a family story and Texas history. Further inspired by songs and singing, the story took shape with the heroine performing as a vocalist in a theater to support herself and build her future.

Here's the back cover summary of Seduction:

They challenged the town and each other with their forbidden affair.
Belinda Rose is two people. On stage, she's a confident vocalist who entertains her audiences. Alone, she longs for a secure home and her own opera house where she can entertain or book others to perform. She carries with her the painful memories of her past, but won't be denied her future. Can her love for a handsome businessman derail her plans? Cole MacPherson has become a wealthy entrepreneur in spite of his loveless childhood. What a shock when a beautiful singer knocks him for a loop. Could he learn to love? Does he dare?

The hero of Seduction, Cole, enjoys entertainers, including accomplished vocalists, and contracts them to perform in his theater out west in the small town of Sterling Springs.

Music has been a huge influence on my life through my mother's singing and my father's love of music. My daughter also loves music. So it was easy for me to write about a singer.

I've heard that many authors play music for inspiration and mood while writing. I'm so sensitive to music I find it very hard to think about what I want to write while music plays in the background. Even so, songs often inspire my story ideas.

The hint of a story comes to me sometimes with just one scene. It usually involves the strong feelings of only one or two characters. The emotion driving the characters in a scene often hits while I'm listening to a song.

Do you enjoy music? I like all forms of music. However, country music inspires my writing most often. Some of the slow songs by Tim McGraw have brought powerful story ideas to me. I've found inspiration for contemporary stories from Rascal Flatts' fast tempo songs. Trisha Yearwood's recordings evoke wonderful emotion for the various moods of my heroines.

A couple of my favorites other than country are Josh Groban and Bon Jovi. Some of the American Idol stars have inspired me with their powerful or sensitive renditions. For my shapeshifter historicals I find inspiration from many music sources including Robert Mirabal's dvd, Warrior Magician. The music of the movie King Arthur, with Clive Owen and Keira Knightley starring, is an amazing blend of powerful and poignant passages.

Does music help you? What music inspires you the most? I'd enjoy hearing your comments.

Jeanmarie Hamilton
http://www.JeanmarieHamilton.com
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SEDUCTION ~ out now/ Amazon.com
American Title II Contest finalist
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ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE? ~ July 2009/
The Wild Rose Press
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