I once heard a saying: the greatest days of a man's life are the day he buys a boat and the day he sells it. lol
Maybe there's a parallel for authors: the best days of an author's working life are the day he/she starts a new novel and the day he/she turns it in. I'm pretty sure that's the case for me, anyway.
Yesterday I submitted a new novel, tenatively titled "The Stolen Suitor", to Dreamspinner. It's a very plotty book with lots going on. It weighs in at 65K words, which is fairly long for me!
I wrote "A Prairie Dog's Love Song" in the spring of 2013 and it came out Dec of 2013. It's not one of my best-received books, but it's one of my own favorite. Even though it's contemporary, it has a folksy, down-home, cowboyish tone that was inspired by one of my favorite romance authors, Pamela Morsi ("Simple Jess", "Courting Miss Hattie").
When I wrote "Prairie Dog", I already had a sequel/series in mind, but nothing immediately came of it. Finally, I got to return to Clyde's Corner, Montana. "The Stolen Suitor" is the result. Joshua and Ben make an appearance in "The Stolen Suitor", but it's about a new couple and can be read as a stand alone.
Here's the (temporary, a quickie written by me) blurb:
The Stolen Suitor – by Eli Easton
Summary/blurb:
Mabe Crassen has an idea—a wicked, brilliant idea. She wants her older son, Eric, to court the pretty widow in town. If Eric marries her, the Crassens will own the biggest ranch in Clyde’s Corner, Montana. Unfortunately, the widow already has a suitor, Chris Ramsey, the local dandy. Mabe suspects Chris is light in the loafers and sets her younger son, Jeremy, to lure him astray.
Jeremy Crassen wants to go off to college and become a writer. Ever since his father went to prison when he was only seven, the name ‘Crassen’ has been the lowest of the low of Clyde’s Corner. Jeremy grew up hiding behind his long hair and disappearing into his stories. So when his mother promises to give him her blessing for college if he seduces away the suitor of a local widow, Jeremy agrees. Now shy, virginal, secretly gay Jeremy has to figure out how to attract Chris Ramsey, the rich son of the town’s Mercantile, who may or may not like men.
Chris Ramsey is back in Clyde’s Corner after ten years of living in Denver. The death of his best friend convinced Chris he was needed at home. Chris is a settling-down, family kind of guy, and his last free-loving boyfriend convinced Chris he’d never have that with a man. It seems like the right thing to do to marry up with Trix, his best friend’s widow, and help raise 4-year-old Janie. After all, there’s more to life than passion and sex.
It’s when we know exactly where we’re headed in life that lightening can strike out of nowhere. With any lucky we’ll end up, not with what we want, but with what we really need.
What do you think? Are you in?
Eli