Excerpt

In 3 days time, Princess and the Ox will be available for purchase.  I am so excited to share this book, as I loved the characters of Erika and Jay.  Here is just a small snippet to wet your appetite.

She called his name and danced between the gently swaying willows along the river bank.  He came toward her and gathered her into his arms.  Joy filled her heart as his mouth slowly descended toward her own.  He spoke her name, sounding like music to her ears.  Beaming with pure happiness, she fastened her hands around him and drew him close.

“Erika.”

Ryan.

Her sweet, beautiful Ryan.

Pleasure welled up inside while a feeling of pure satisfaction overcame her.  A smile spread across her lips as she buried further into his warm embrace.

“Erika,” he said again.  “Sweetheart, you’re going to have to let go of Jay.”

Jay?  What on earth was he talking about?

Her eyes flew open and she had to blink hard several times to focus.  Morning had arrived and with it, daylight.  Enough, that was, for her to see clearly the woolen coat directly in front of her face.  And the large, robust neck inside it.

With a horrified gasp, she realized she was clutching at him like a drowning woman.  Hurriedly, she scrambled out of his arms.  “How dare you touch me, Jay Colby!”

He sighed with irritation.  “There’s gratitude for ya.”

“You insolent man!”  Her eyes blazed with distaste.  “How dare you take advantage of me and then expect gratitude.”

A matching flame lit his eyes as he pushed himself up from the ground and stood at his full enormous height.  Glaring down at her, he said, “You were freezing and weeping like a babe snatched from its mama’s breast.”

She gasped at his vulgar description and felt a flood of rage at his comparison of her to that of a baby.  “Well I certainly never asked you to keep me warm.  And I most certainly never asked you to—to—to hold me.”

“I didn’t hear any objections.”  He pointed out.

She stiffened from humiliation.  The memory of the patent joy that overcame her when she melted into his arms was far too clear in her mind.  In her defense, she had sincerely thought he was Ryan.

“Just stay away from me, Jay Colby.”  She hoisted her skirts and stepped over the small snow drifts he had built as their shelter.

“With pleasure,” he growled in response.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NMM6BZ6

Prettiest Town in Canada

In my next book release, Princess and the Ox, the fictional town of Placid is actually modelled after the real town of Goderich, Ontario.  If you haven't ever been, its unique feature is its octagon streets in the core of the city they refer to as the square, even though it is in fact the shape of an octagon.

In the center of the octagon is the courthouse.  The one presently standing replaced the original courthouse which burned down in the 50's.

How Placid would have appeared during the period of my story.

The unique architectural design of the city continues with the historical county gaol (pronounced jail).  Which my hero spends a short stay in thanks to my heroine's grandfather.

This historical site has the proud distinction of being the location of the last public hanging in Canada.

Of course, the town's other distinctive trait is the lake itself.  Goderich is located on the eastern shoreline of Lake Huron and is the location for some of the world's most breathtaking sunsets.

The Maitland River empties into Lake Huron where the Menesetung Bridge sits across the mouth of the river overlooking the lake.

I love old trains and railroads and incorporate them into my stories whenever possible.  My heroine used this bridge often when hiking over to her beloved's farm.  It was also the setting of a romantic scene in the book.  Today, the bridge is no longer used for trains and is instead part of a walking trail, so if wanted, you could follow my heroine's footsteps.

One of the reasons I love this city and used it as my model for the book, was how well they preserved history.  They have a museum that showcases everything from mercantile items to war artifacts.  And, yes, they even have a full sized locomotive inside the building!

The museum itself is located in the historical high school, which became the inspiration for my heroine's cause.

From the historical buildings, to the unusual layout of the streets, to the bluffs with their remarkable views, Goderich is a beautiful town and has many historical houses still standing today preserved in their original splendour.

It's no wonder Queen Elizabeth herself claimed Goderich to be the "prettiest town in Canada".

Follow Fest

Name: Peggy Ann Craig

Fiction or nonfiction? Fiction

What genres do you write? Historical romance, westerns

Are you published? Yes, self-published.

Do you do anything in addition to writing?

Farm.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am the fifth child in a family of six. I have 3 beautiful children.  I love photography and spend a lot of time behind my camera.  I have a serious pygmy goat addiction.  I love the great outdoors, the country, hiking in the woods, the Rocky Mountains, my dogs, and Dr. Pepper.  I hate the city and avoid it at all cost.  I'm a recluse but have no qualms with that.

What are you reading right now?

I've got lots of books on the go but the two I'm trying to plow through at the moment (not that they are hard reads because they are very good, just long) is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and Mountain Wild by Judith Bronte.

Which authors influenced you the most?

I can't really say any one author influenced me.  Stories are what influences me.  Especially a well written one.  A lot of heart and emotion in a story goes a long way for me.

Where can people connect with you?

My Blogs

http://peggyanncraig.blogspot.ca/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/peggyanncraig

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/peggyanncraig

Goodreads 

https://www.goodreads.com/peggyanncraig

Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterpeg/

Website 

http://peggyanncraig.com/

Do you have a newsletter?

No. But sure would love to figure out how to set one up.
(Updated:  I now have a newsletter!)

Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

I've been absent from the writing community for almost ten years now and the one I have returned to has changed so much that I feel lost but am trying to catch up.   

Book Covers

I'm horribly neglectful of this blog.  I don't mean to but I sincerely don't have anything to blog about.  However, I do now!  And it's all about book covers!

I finally comissioned a new cover for On the Mountain.  This was the old cover, and even though it is nice, it reminded me too much of a brochure.

And no fear, I can criticize the above cover all I want as I am the artist--or photographer.  Both images (photoshoppped) are mine.  But I wanted something flashy, eye-catching.  However, I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted.  I know what I DIDN'T want and that was a shirtless cowboy, or a couple in a romantic embrace.  Mainly a shirtless cowboy did not represent the feel of the story and a couple embracing would have been difficult as my heroine is disguised as a teenage boy for most of the book so didn't want it to represent the wrong theme.  I found a great website that had some really artistic looking covers and commissioned them to do one for On the Mountain.  I sincerely was expecting something to come back with a cowboy only on the cover but was so shocked that they had managed to put the heroine on it instead.  Here it is:

I admit I wasn't sure what to think of it at first.  It was so anti-western.  But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that's what I loved about it.  It didn't box my story into one genre.  It was universal and modern.  Though the story is very much a western, I felt at least it will get those who aren't generally western fans to click on the book and read the blurb.  I would at least get them past the cover.  Hopefully, I may even be able to snag a few new readers.

On Thursday, September 18, 2014, my second book, The Color of Ivy, is being released.  I did not have the book cover commissioned for this ebook.  It is again, one of my own work, and it particularly catches the theme of the story brilliantly, not to mention the heroine.  So, for now, it is staying.  (Be sure to pick up a promotional free copy of The Color of Ivy on Sept. 18 & 19 thru Amazon by clicking here.)

With the release of The Color of Ivy, I wanted to make sure that my follow-up book, Princess and the Ox, would be available for pre-order for any readers wanting to buy any more of my books.  I am in the process of editing but went ahead and commissioned a cover.  This time around, I chose a more traditional cover.  Unlike the other two books, there isn't a dark theme or mystery involved.  It is a more light-hearted romance of two people falling in love.  So I chose the usual romantic clinch and am very pleased with it.  It depicts the theme of the story perfectly and look an awful lot like the characters I imagined.  

It will be interesting to watch which bookcover will govern the most interest or sales.

Giveaway Alert!

I have been invited to be a guest author at the book launch of author, Jael Friese, on Tuesday, September 2, 2014.  I will be giving away two free copies of my book, On the Mountain, between 2:00-2:30 PDT or 5:00-5:30 EDT .  Please come by as she has a huge list of other authors dropping in all day long also giving away freebies!

Love Comes to Cookesville Release Party

My Favorite Film Westerns

I loved film westerns long before I fell in love with the novel versions.  I have watched many many westerns and loved them all.  However, there have only been a few that have really stuck in my head and I will watch them over and over again.  They definitely helped influence my taste in westerns.  Here are just some of the westerns that lured me into the genre.

Jeremiah Johnson

Robert Redford as a mountain man is explanation enough, but seriously, this was the first western movie I felt was authentic.  Loved the location, costumes, Jeremiah's struggle to survive in the wilderness, and his relationship with the Indian squaw.   This is by far my favorite Robert Redford western.

Two Mules for Sister Sara

LOVED this movie and cemented my love of Clint Eatwood westerns.  Though this differed slightly from what he was doing at that time.  But ranks up there as one of my favorite Clint Eastwood westerns.

The Missing

This is a more recent movie but is one of my favorites.  Again, I love how authentic the movie feels.  I love the strong protagonist and the extent she will go for her children.  Love the mystery and suspense the opening scenes deliver.

Happy Birthday!

Today Annie Oakley would have turned 154 years old!

In celebration I'm sharing my favorite song from the musical based on her life.  First heard this song while working in a theater store many years ago and once the song got in my head, I couldn't get it out.  It's one of those fun melodies.