A Peek Behind the Scenes #2

Erica here:

Where is December going? It's already the 10th! I have almost all my shopping done, but I don't have a single thing wrapped. I am terrible at wrapping gifts. I have a Pinterest-inspired idea in my head what my package will look like, but the reality winds up looking like I wrapped the package blindfolded, using just my elbows. Sad, sad, sad. Still, it's the thought that counts, right?

This week's Peek Behind the Scenes of the writing of 7 Brides for 7 Texans takes us to the 7 Heart Ranch.

Each of the sons was to receive a pre-determined parcel of land for his inheritance, and up until GW Hart made his startling announcement on New Year's Day, 1874, none of the boys questioned what part of the vast 7 Heart would come to them.

Before we started writing our stories though, we needed to know whose parcel was where. Gabrielle needed Hays' land to border the Sabinal River, and I wanted Bowie's on the river but a good ride away from the ranch house. Susan needed Crockett's land to have access to their neighbor's the Haymaker's land, and Vickie needed Austin to retain the main ranch complex including the house, El Regalo as his inheritance as the eldest Hart son.

So, I created a map to show where everybody's land was located.

I grabbed a satellite photo of the area we'd chosen for Hartville and the ranch and using a photo-editing program, added the boys' names over their plot of land. I've noted both the Sabinal River and Little Bianco Creek. (Did you know that the Sabinal runs underground when the weather gets very dry? I didn't either!)

The main ranch complex is smack in the center of the Harts' land, and the heart of that complex is El Regalo, the ranch house. El Regalo is The Gift in Spanish, and GW Hart named the house El Regalo because it was a gift from him to his wife, Victoria.

I chose El Castille, an actual Texas ranch house for a couple of reasons. 1) It looks amazing and impressive, and 2) there was a floor plan available.

Not every author needed to have a floor plan of the house, but several of us did have El Regalo in our stories, and just as with the buildings in the town, we needed to have a clear diagram of the house so we could describe it consistently from one story to the next.

Of particular interest is the dining room of the house. The Harts gather for Sunday dinner every week, so several of the stories in the collection include this room.

For the dining room, inspiration was drawn from the magnificent James J. Hill House dining room. Each of the chairs is uniquely carved, the ceiling is hammered gold leaf and coffered, and there is space over the wonderful fireplace to hang Victoria's portrait. In the story, each son has a chair carved with their initials, and when they marry, a similar chair is made for their bride, adding her initials as well.

Once we had these details in place, it was easy to create the Ranch House El Regalo. We got so involved with the stories, I feel as if I had walked the halls, stared up at Victoria's portrait, eaten Sunday dinner with the Harts, and gathered in the parlor after the meal. We hope that readers feel the same way after reading the story.

For the next several weeks the authors of 7 Brides for 7 Texans will be blogging here and elsewhere, and we'd love for you to be able to find us! This week, Susan Davis guest blogged, and she has a message for you:

I am giving away a copy of Seven Brides for Seven Texans on Peg Phifer's blog: http://bit.ly/2h3QGt1 The drawing will be held December 14th, so come on over and leave a comment.

Also, don't forget that next week Amanda Barratt is going to be our lead-blogger, and you won't want to miss her posts! She is the creator of the totally swoon-worthy Dr. Travis Hart, and she is a true romantic. 

The Rafflecopter for a LOADED Kindle Fire is still going on, and we'd love it if you would be so kind as to share the news. If you're on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, have a blog, have family who love to read Christian fiction...or family you wish would read Christian Fiction...spread the word about this book and this giveaway. 

Join us next week when we'll talk about how we divvied up the characters and their personalities and made each brother unique.

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Heroines: Sweet or Spicy? + Cookie Giveaway

Yesterday, I said I'd giveaway a surprise book to one lucky commenter, and I drew Kirsten Rinehart. Congratulations! Please leave me your e-mail in the comments below, so I can get your snail mail address.

And if you weren't chosen this time, keep reading to discover what I'm giving away today.

If this if your first time joining us, let me fill you in. Each of the seven authors of Seven Brides for Seven Texans will be taking turns sharing on this blog. We are appearing in the order of our stories. Since my story "The Heart of Texas" is second in the book, I get to follow the terrific Gabrielle Meyer.  You can go back and read her posts if you missed them, and Erica's from Saturday about the story behind the story. Next week, Amanda Barratt will be your hostess.

Week One: Nov. 28-Dec. 2 ~ Gabrielle Meyer
Week Two:  Dec. 5-9 ~ Lorna Seilstad
Week Three:  Dec. 12-16 ~ Amanda Barratt
Week Four:  Dec. 12-23 ~Keli Gwyn
Week Five:  Dec. 26-30 ~ Susan Page Davis
Week Six:  Jan. 2-6 ~ Vickie McDonough
Week Seven:  Jan. 9-13 ~ Erica Vetsch

Things are Heatin' Up with Caro
What do you like in the heroines you read about? Do you like them to be sweet or do you like them to have a little spice? If you like them spicy, then Caro Cardova will be your kind of gal.

After Caro's father is killed fighting in a rebellion, she and her mother flee Mexico. They find a new home taking care of the ranch house and cooking at the Walking Diamond. When Texas Ranger Chisholm Hart shows up, Caro struggles with his presence. She believes her father's sense of duty made him abandon them and believes the same thing will happen with Chisholm. After all, who's more duty-bound than a Texas Ranger?

Caro's heart and fear might be palpable, but she doesn't wallow in pity.  She's a woman who can take care of herself--or at least she thinks she can--and doesn't want to give her heart to any man with a star on his chest. Situations heat up quickly whenever spicy Caro is around.

One of my favorite scenes in "The Heart of Texas" involves a special dinner plate Caro serves Chisholm. I don't want to give it away, but clearly Caro knows her way around the kitchen. What she doesn't realize is that Chisholm can take anything she dishes out.

Let's Get Cookin'
Since we're on the topic of food, let's get down to some food for ourselves. Like Caro, I love baking. In fact, I sell cookies at Christmas and am known as The Cookie Lady around here. The photo above is from one of the big order days. One year, I made 145 dozen cookies. I make a lot less nowadays--maybe 50 dozen or so.

I have my own tried and true cookie recipes that I seldom share. However, for all of today's special guests, I will giveaway a .pdf of my personal recipe book with the most often ordered cookies to anyone who leaves a comment along with their e-mail. I know it's an unusual giveaway, but hey, Caro is an unusual gal and this is her day! So everyone's a winner today.

Yesterday, I mentioned Mexican Wedding Cakes and promised you all the recipe. That one is in the .pdf along with 21 others. Mexican Wedding Cakes or bizcochitos are an old tradition, however, the name Mexican Wedding Cake is new, dating to the 50's or 60s. These butter-rich shortbread, nut-filled cookies have been served at celebrations, like weddings, since Medieval times.

Mexican Wedding Cakes use the same recipe as Russian Tea Cakes. Growing up, my mother always said that Mexican Wedding Cakes used pecans and Russian Tea Cakes black walnuts, but I can't find anywhere that confirms this. Still, whatever you call them or whatever you put in them, the melt-in-your-mouth texture and the distinctive appearance, like a little powdered sugar dusted snowball, make this a must have cookie recipe.

So grab a cookie and let's chat. How do you like your heroines--sweet or spicy?  What's your favorite Christmas cookie? Have you had any baking disasters? And did any of you recognize my inspiration photo of Caro from an old Western? Erica did. Let me know if you can guess which one.

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Lorna Seilstad

Lorna Seilstad brings history back to life using a generous dash of humor. She is the author of the Lake Manawa Summers Series and the Gregory Sisters Series and is a Carol historical romance finalist. She and her husband are almost empty-nesters and call Iowa home. 

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Find her on her website.

Remember to sign up on Rafflecopter below for a chance to win the LOADED Kindle Fire. 

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"The Heart of Texas": The Story Behind the Story + Giveaway

Have you spotted Seven Brides for Seven Texans in your local bookstores or big box stores? If so, please let us know. It's always so fun for us to hear about book sitings. It's kind of like seeing the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot--only better.

Is it cold where you are today? It is here in Iowa, so I've whipped up some Ghiradelli hot chocolate and some Mexican Wedding Cakes. (I'm known as The Cookie Lady in my other life.) Will you join me for a cup and a cookie? I'll share the Mexican Wedding Cake recipe tomorrow during my post about the Caro Cardova, the heroine of "The Heart of Texas."

And make sure you sign up for a chance to win the loaded Kindle Fire on the Rafflecopter below. Look at all the books you'll receive if you're the lucky winner! 

I'd like to add that I'm giving away a "surprise" book. Yep, you read that right. I'll draw one lucky winner from those who comment today, and that person will receive a book in the mail from one of my favorite authors. I love surprises, and I love it when God surprises me.

Which brings me to my topic today -- the story behind the story. It's a story of God working in a way that only He can.

I hadn't chosen an exact town for the "The Heart of Texas" story to be set in, and I'd written over half of it. Unlike most of the stories in the book, mine wouldn't be set in Hartsville since Chisholm was away from home on Texas Ranger duties. 

I knew my the location of the story had to meet certain criteria to fit what I'd written. It needed to be a town that was around in 1874. It had to be a town large enough to have things like stores and a saloon. The area needed to hilly and be a place where bluebonnets would grow. It needed to have a river or large spring of some kind. I needed it to be hub for area ranches, and it had to be within a week's riding distance of the Hart ranch.

Remember, I had already named my story "The Heart of Texas." As I'm looking through towns that were around in mid to late 1800s, I happened upon Brady City. Something about it stood out to me. I did some additional investigation and found out it fit all of my criteria from rolling vistas of bluebonnets to the wide Brady Creek.

Then, God made me smile. I looked up the town's history and discovered Brady City is called "the heart of Texas" because it is the geographical center of the state of Texas.

What a sweet surprise!

Let's chat now. When was the last time you received a surprise or when you surprised someone? Do you like surprises? If so, what kinds are your favorites? 

Remember, when you leave a comment, you'll be entered in today's "surprise" book giveaway.

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The Novella Newby

Yeehaw! We've sure been having fun celebrating the release of Seven Brides for Seven Texans, and I want to thank all of you for sharing in our excitement. For me as an author, writing with these six women has been a true joy, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to join them.

As a reminder, each of us seven authors will be taking turns sharing on this blog. We are appearing in the order of our stories. Since my story "The Heart of Texas" is second in the book, I get to follow the terrific Gabrielle Meyer. You can go back and read her posts if you missed them, and Erica's yesterday about the story behind the story.

Week One: Nov. 28-Dec. 2 ~ Gabrielle Meyer
Week Two:  Dec. 5-9 ~ Lorna Seilstad
Week Three:  Dec. 12-16 ~ Amanda Barratt
Week Four:  Dec. 12-23 ~Keli Gwyn
Week Five:  Dec. 26-30 ~ Susan Page Davis
Week Six:  Jan. 2-6 ~ Vickie McDonough
Week Seven:  Jan. 9-13 ~ Erica Vetsch

To many of you, I'm sure my name seemed like a new one. I've written six books for Revell (the Lake Manawa Summers series and the Gregory Sisters series) , but this is my first novella. Yep, you read that right. I'm a novella newby. When Erica asked me to join the group, I must admit a little jolt of fear shot through me. You see, my novels were each around 90,000 words. Could I write a story in only 25,000 words?

Then, I remembered that I hadn't always written book-length stories. When my creative writing juices first began flowing, I started out writing Sue Thomas, F.B.I. fan fiction. Did you ever see that show? Fan fiction, in case you aren't familiar with the term, is fiction written by a fan of a particular television series, movie, etc. The writer uses character from the series and creates original stories around them. 

I wrote stories at Romancefanfiction.net. It's gone now. Blew up one sad day in a great cyber cloud, but it was a wonderful place to hone writing skills and get encouragement from other writers. My first story there was only 9,000 words. Now that's short!

It was through writing fan fiction that I discovered I liked writing things with an element of humor in them. We had contests at the Romancefanfiction site, and I decided to try my hand at the humor category. One day, my husband asked what I was doing and I told him. He said, "Why? You're not funny."

"Well," I said, "I'm funnier on paper." 

Seven books later, he claims he didn't say that.

But I know better. 

Wives never forget.

So, after I talked to Erica, I recalled my fan fiction beginnings and remembered I'd written a lot of 25,000 word stories then. Surely, I could do it again. Right? 

I'm glad I tried something new when I started writing fan fiction. I'm glad I tried something new when I started writing humor into my stories, and I'm glad I tried something new when Erica asked me to join this wonderful novella collection. Who knew? I could still tell a story in 25,000 words.

It turns out that my fan fiction was great preparation for this collection in another way. Seven Brides for Seven Texans is like a season of favorite television show with an ensemble cast. Different characters may star in each episode, but you don't have to say good bye completely to anyone.

Now, pull up a chair and let's sit for a spell and chat! I have some warm apple cider with cinnamon sticks just perfect for sipping on a cold day. Tell me, what new things have you tried lately? What's your favorite television series with an ensemble cast? What do you enjoy about books in a series?

And if you have any questions for me, please ask away. I'm an open book. (Author pun intended.)

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Lorna Seilstad

Lorna Seilstad brings history back to life using a generous dash of humor. She is the author of the Lake Manawa Summers Series and the Gregory Sisters Series and is a Carol historical romance finalist. She and her husband are almost empty-nesters and call Iowa home. 

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Find her on Facebook

Find her on her website.

Remember to sign up on Rafflecopter below for a chance to win the LOADED Kindle Fire. 

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A Peek Behind the Scenes #1

Erica here:

Wow, release week is off to a roaring start! The Facebook party was a rousing success, with more than 100 participants and hundreds of comments and likes. There were games and trivia and character sketches and plot summaries, cyber-food and prizes and more. You can scroll through the posts on Facebook by clicking HERE

There are SEVEN copies of the book up for giveaway over on Goodreads: You can find that giveaway by clicking HERE.

And our Loaded Kindle Fire Giveaway is really getting a lot of attention! More than 1000 entries so far! Thank you!!! (Enter below.)

On Saturdays over the next few weeks, we'll be giving you a peek behind the scenes on how seven authors worked so closely together to create a cohesive collection of stories that would read as a single story while keeping the characters all unique enough so as not to cause confusion.

Communication was key, and there were two primary ways we communicated.

1. A secret Facebook Group. This group was set up from the beginning, and it was here that we hashed out things like who would get what character as their hero, what the order of the stories would be, and where all the characters would be at any given point in the stories.

2. The Master Document. This is a 25+ page document where we collated and organized all the information we were deciding in multiple Facebook posts. This document contained character sketches, story synopses, timelines, secondary character charts, maps, photographs, and more!

One of the most crucial items in the Master Document was a map of the fictional town of Hartville, Texas. It was important that if Gabrielle had the church at the south end of town in her story, that Keli not accidentally place it in the north end of town in her story.

So, I did a quick search for a map of an old west town. I had thought to find something like Cowtown in Wichita, KS or Stuhr Village in Grand Island, NE but what I found was a map of the town used in the TV remake The Magnificent Seven. (Kind of appropriate, don't you think? What with there being seven magnificent Hart brothers?)

Here is the original map I found:

As you can see, there are lots of things we wanted to include: a church, a livery, a newspaper office, a hotel.

But we needed to customize the map, too. So as the writers plotted and wrote their stories, if they needed a certain building to be in a certain place in the town, they would post it in the FB group and I would add it to our map in red.

Eventually, this is what the map came to look like:

As you can see, we needed a doctor's office for Travis Hart, a Mercantile, a lawyer's office. I know that I referred to the map while I wrote, and I referred to it even more when it came time for continuity edits. 

It was keeping track of details like this that enabled us to work so well together, to create a cohesive set of stories in a fictional world that feels real.

Be sure to come back next week when our hostess is Lorna Seilstad. She's got a swoony hero who is a Texas Ranger and has the most adorable dimples! You won't want to miss her posts!

And don't forget to enter the giveaway below. Please "Like" our FB pages and sign up for our newsletters to be entered. 

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