Whew! I’m glad I got that worked out!

Injuries and illness have kept me from doing some things I totally planned to do.

I had a very productive writing and publishing year a couple of years back. But doing so much work in such a short time literally burned me out, and I fell prey to some ailments that prevented my onward progress.

I sincerely hope all that is done with!

I am writing a novel about a neighbor of the Owen Family, Charity Bingham, and an unexpected event that changed her future. The book will be in the “Shenandoah Neighbors” line, which already contains “Mended by Moonlight,” “Ned’s Choice,” “Broken,” and “Bloodied Leather.”

I hope you look forward to the upcoming novel, “Surprising Charity,” as much as I do. Talk to you later!

Update on 2016 Publishing Plans

Remember back in January when I told you what the Characters in Marsha’s Head had planned for publication in 2016?

The year started out well, with the ebook release of The Zion Trail on February 19, followed on March 25 with the print edition (yes, there was enough reader demand for a print version). This book features Julia Owen’s first cousin, Elijah “Lije” Marshall, and is the first novel in a trilogy labeled “Promised Valley.”

From there, things got interesting.

Instead of letting me finish and publish Mended by Moonlight and purchase a cover for that “gloves” story so it could appear, other Characters horned in and gummed up my plans by demanding their time in the spotlight. So . . .

Wes and Lonnie Haught got their moment when I released the novella Blood at Haught Springs on May 27. These Characters have no relationship at all to the Owen Family. They live in frontier Texas. This is the first of three works in the “Men of Haught Springs” series. The ebook contains two bonus short stories, Cottonwood Cowboys and No More Strangers.

With Mended by Moonlight still unfinished when the calendar approached July, I chose to publish Faith and the Foreman instead, which is a stand-alone novella that was first seen as part of the Old West Collection, A Timeless Romance Anthology Book 9 from 2014. These Characters are also unrelated to any of the Owen family, as they live in frontier Arizona. A bonus story, The Usual Game, is also set in Arizona, in the early days of Statehood.

Then somebody in a review mentioned their displeasure that the book they’d read from The Owen Family Saga seemed to be out of order. I agreed. I’d had my struggles with putting Gone for a Soldier as Book 5 in the series, since chronologically, it is Book 1. I decided the best way to address the problem was to publish the books of the Saga in chronological order, in one huge ebook. I polled several of my author friends on whether I should do such a project, and they thought it was a great idea. On September 30, I released The Complete Owen Family Saga as an ebook. All the favorite Characters from the series are intact. Sales so far have validated the idea of publishing this box set containing the five Owen Family Saga novels in the best reading order.

I don’t know if I will publish anything else this year. I am working on three projects at the same time, bouncing back and forth between what I presume is a novel, a novella, and a non-fiction project. If I finish one of them before the year is out, it will be published. Otherwise, 2017 is right around the corner!

In the meantime, to get purchase links to your favorite online vendor for all of the above books, go to the Simple List at the Bookshelf on my website.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

What the Characters in Marsha’s Head have planned for 2016

2015 was an interesting year for Marsha Ward and the Characters in her Head. Although they didn’t release any new novels, they did a lot of thinking, planning, and writing for 2016’s ambitious publishing program.

Marsha took a few dings from fate, including a painful bout with what the doc called call tennis elbow, but was really just awful pain in one arm from an injury that prevented her from writing as much as she wanted to do; a nasty fall that resulted in bruising to the ego and the body; and the death of a sibling.

Notwithstanding those slings and arrows, Marsha and her Characters worked hand in glove to prepare for a better year in 2016.

First up will be a novel featuring Julia Owen’s first cousin, Elijah (known as Lije to family and friends).  The Zion Trail doesn’t reveal that family relationship, but jumps back to the 1840s to tell the story of teen-aged Lije Marshall’s adventures that begin when he invites traveling preachers to eat lunch with the family. You’ll never believe what happens next!

The ebook will be released in February. If you want the exact date, please sign up to Marsha’s Mailing list. The link is at the top of the sidebar –>

The release of a print version of the book will depend upon reader demand. Use the Contact Form (see menu at top of page) to request that Marsha fight off the Characters long enough to prepare a print edition for you to purchase. Thank you.

Other stories will come throughout the year, including Mended by Moonlight, a heart-warming romance featuring one of the Characters from Gone for a Soldier, and a story featuring gloves.

That’s it for now. Marsha installed a widget that lets you follow the site by email, so click the “Follow Now” button to get an alert for the next post.

Have a Wonderful New Year!

Answers to Last Week’s Quiz

Here are the answers to last week’s quiz about Rulon Owen:

1-b, 2-c, 3-d, 4-b, 5-a, 6-b & d, 7-c, 8-a.

Congratulations to the winner, paige1,  who received a copy of “Happy Halloween,” my contemporary romance “Misty Moments” story.

You may purchase your own copy for only $.99 here.

How Much Do You Know…

…about Rulon Owen? Take this little quiz and see how closely you’ve read the Owen Family Saga books in which he appears.

1. In Gone for a Soldier, how much does Rulon have to pay Mr. Moore for officiating at his wedding?
a. One dollar
b. Two dollars
c. Five dollars
d. Ten dollars

2. What new skill did Rulon learn when he went off to earn money to pay for the wedding?
a. Smelting pig iron
b. Driving a team
c. Felling trees
d. Grinding charcoal

3. What illness struck Rulon that put him into the hospital?
a. Measles
b. Smallpox
c. Polio
d. Mumps

4. Who taught Rulon the skill of tracking?
a. Rod Owen
b. Vernon Earl
c. Garth Von
d. Ren Lovell

5. What secret does Rulon think he’s keeping from his family when he agrees to go west with them?
a. Mary is pregnant
b. He’s addicted to laudanum
c. His war wounds aren’t healing as they should
d. Roddy isn’t his son

6. How does Rulon use his skill of tracking in The Man from Shenandoah?
a. He finds the Great Bend of the Arkansas River
b. He finds a place where someone watched the Owen wagons pass by
c. He finds Ellen in a snowstorm
d. He finds the correct trail of the kidnappers

7. When Pa set out to build a barn in Spinster’s Folly, why was Rulon put in charge of the logging operation?
a. His axe was the sharpest
b. He’s the eldest son
c. He learned to fell trees in Virginia
d. Bill Henry was sick

8. Why did Rulon lose the trail of Marie and Mr. Thorne?
a. Tom Morgan walked his horse over the fresh trail
b. Too many horses had traveled over the tracks
c. He had forgotten how to track
d. A rainstorm washed away the tracks

Congratulations on finishing the quiz! The first person to send me the correct answers by Monday, August 31, using the contact form, will receive a free digital copy of the short story, “Happy Halloween.” Specify the file you prefer: mobi, epub, or pdf.

I will post the answers next Tuesday.