The love of his life betrayed him once. Does he pay her back? Or take her back?

           

                                                                  

WILDERNESS CHILD (out now)

 I am running an Amazon giveway from May 4- May 19 for Wilderness Child!

There will be four lucky winners.

Enter the giveaway here!

              During April I took another look at Wilderness Child (Bk 4 Texas: Children of Destiny) and found myself really enjoy revisiting this story I wrote quite a few years ago. In this story a doctor who happens to be a strong-minded feminist is pitted against male chauvinist rancher.

              When I was younger, the last thing my husband always said to me in the evening was, "I'm the boss." I believe he does this to inspire me to write romance novels. We have had our fair share of heated male/female "discussions." As women, we are challenged in our present world and naturally, he has his own viewpoint. 

              Wilderness Child is the fourth book in the acclaimed Texas: Children of Destiny series about the tale of the Jacksons, a South Texas ranching dynasty, in an area that happens to be my home. To write and dream, I happily frequently go to a large ranch to write so am very familiar with that setting. However, Wilderness Child is set in Australia, a land I have never visited... but long and dream to. Tad Jackson, the dashing hero of Wilderness Child, left Texas because he wants to be on his own, away from the long shadow of his older brother, Jeb Jackson. Unfortunately, Tad married the wrong woman (the identical twin of the woman he really loved to boot!), his wife has vanished, and his beloved cattle station is under attack so he is facing challenges on all fronts.

             But, the author, me, can put on her goddess tiara and set things right if she so wills. This goddess-fairy godmother part of being a writer is one of the perks of the job! (Small disclosure: I actually have a wand sitting on my desk near my computer!) So naturally, in my quest to make things right, this is a reunion story beginning with the source of all Tad's problems, Dr. Jessica Bancroft.

             During my rewrite of this classic novel, I enjoyed forcing these two strong-minded characters, Tad Jackson and Dr. Jessica Bancroft, to work with each other. They share a strong love and possessiveness over Tad's sweet daughter. Naturally, sparks flew when they came together despite their better intentions. Quickly their passion for one another began to ignite emotions more powerful than the bitternesses of the past.

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Please enjoy a short excerpt from Wilderness Child published May 2016:
   

                Dr. Jessica Bancroft's first impression of Tad Jackson was that of a primitive male, powerful and dangerous, sinewy muscles rippling in the moonlight.

His unseeing gaze swept the shadows, fixed upon her, and drank in the sight of the shapely perfection of her female form clearly revealed by her transparent nightgown.

The blatant sensuality of the look unnerved Jess.

Her heart froze and then began to pound more violently.

"Jess..."

Her outstretched arms went around his muscled waist. The shock of unexpected contact with his virile body made her gasp. A tremor went through her and through him, as well. The sheet fell away, and cool fingers touched hot, naked male skin.

She, who was rarely afraid, was afraid as she'd never been afraid before.

Arousal sizzled through her like an electric current.

She tried to move away, but he drew her inside the steel circle of his hands, flattening her once more against his chest. "Don't go." He opened his mouth, inviting her to deepen her kiss.

Violent tremors of fresh desire warmed Jess's melting flesh as her mouth lingered on his. She felt his fingers stroke her hips. Her heart fluttered with a strange, thrilled wildness. She caught herself sharply, stunned by the intensity of her emotion. The way she lay against him, it was easy to pretend he didn't really hate her. She felt the hard, muscled contours of his shape burning against her body.

His fingers wound in her hair. "Don't go," he whispered raggedly.

Nothing seemed to matter at the moment. The only reality was his touch, his caress, his burning mouth beneath hers tasting faintly of the sugared medicines she'd forced down him.

"I must,” she protested.

But Tad Jackson was a man used to getting his own way. A man who’d never learned to take no for an answer. She struggled no more…

It was the curse of her life that she’d always wanted him...

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     Some old flames burn too brightly to ever be put out.

The Joy and Headache of Creating A Brand New Series

LOVE WITH AN IMPERFECT COWBOY

The following is the story line for Love With An Imperfect Cowboy, Book One of my new Lone Star Dynasty series that will be published in April:

He’s a decorated soldier/rancher with a tragic past. She’s a runaway bride. How was she to know that seeking refuge in the wrong bar after getting lost in a Texas storm could be so dangerous…or so sexy?

So—how did this story come to be?

I guess the most-frequently-asked question writers get is where do you get your ideas? I’ll start there.

For me ideas are sort of like pieces in a quilt. A writer has a lot of ideas that don’t seem to logically fit together until she starts playing with them and forming them into a new emotional pattern.

I grew up playing cowboys and Indians with my little brother. I rode horses with my cousins and performed in rodeos when I went to camp. My husband is an ex-vet, who was wounded in Viet Nam. I talked to the son of one of my friends who served as a colonel in the army in the Middle East.

Two of my cousins live on ranches and are always sharing stories about their cantankerous horses and the mischief they get up to. I have a friend who lives in the Upper West Side of New York, and she’s always telling me about the different neighborhoods near her.

I live in South Texas and frequently go to a large, legendary ranch to write. While there I hang out with cattle, migrating birds, rattlesnakes, deer, raccoons, killer bees, buzzards, javelina and all sorts of amazing wildlife.

The ranch is situated in a spot about ninety miles north of Mexico where lots of undocumented immigrants travel north to avoid the major highway, and I’ve come across these people on my walks. On the ranch and in the nearby town, everybody knows everybody on a first name basis.

When I began this story, I meant to write a 10,000 word Christmas short story, but the story kept getting more complicated and Christmas came and went. While writing it, I stopped and wrote two thirds of the heroine’s sister’s story, which will be book two. Then I came back and started writing on book one again. I actually wrote book four first. Then I wrote two thirds of book three. Then I began book one and dived into book two, and have just now completed book one. So—writing the series has been a messy process.

I fell in love with the characters of this book and very much wanted them to find happiness together.

Ann

                 

     LOVE WITH AN IMPERFECT COWBOY

Re-visioning An Old Series

     As a writer I have always loved the moment when a new idea strikes me and begins to bloom in my creative soul. Telling a new story is always such an exciting journey. There are frustrations along the way, of course, but exhilaration always follows the headaches when I see a way to resolve whatever problem seems insurmountable.

     I never ever wanted to self-publish because I knew that if I did so, I wouldn’t have nearly enough time to write. That has certainly proved to be true. But rereading and reworking old stories has been an enjoyable and enriching process.  Because every story is a part of who I am at the moment I wrote it, revisiting these stories has been a trip back in time. I can’t help remembering the event in my life that inspired a plot twist or a character trait and I find it enlightening to reflect on those events and what they meant to me then from a more mature perspective.

     Also—I feel a responsibility to bring my story children alive for all those e-readers who missed these books when they were originally published. 

Texas: Children of Destiny series

     I once received a fan letter begging me to republish my Children of Destiny series (now Texas: Children of Destiny). Many of her friends had signed this letter at the bottom. I was moved, but powerless at that time to get these stories republished.  Now I get to do this in the hopes that these characters will go out into the world and make new friends for me.

     I had to write PASSION’S CHILD (the first book) over three times before my editor was satisfied, and when I sent it to New York for the final time, I’m afraid I had few negative feelings about it. Later after it was published, I received a fan letter from a woman who was at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston sitting beside her younger brother, who was dying of cancer. She said that the only moments of joy she’d had during this ordeal was reading about Triple, the heroine’s son in my book. She said Triple’s antics made her laugh. I burst into tears and was so grateful to her for writing that to me since the book had literally drained me emotionally. She made me feel that the effort it took me was worth all the headaches if my character comforted another human being in such terrible distress.

Destiny's Child by Ann Major

     She made me think of all the times I have turned to stories during times of heartbreak when I needed a friend’s shoulder to cry on—but it was the middle of the night and I didn’t want to bother a friend, who’d already suffered enough tears from me.

     Even if I can’t work on new projects as much as I want to right now, it has been an unexpected thrill to breath new life into my older stories.

     Also—I feel a responsibility to bring my story children alive for all e-readers who missed these books when they were originally published.

     I once received a fan letter begging me to republish my Children of Destiny series (now Texas: Children of Destiny). Many of her friends had signed this letter at the bottom. I was moved, but powerless at that time to get these stories republished.  Now I get to do this in the hopes that these characters will go out into the world and make new friends for me.

Passion's Child by Ann Major

     I had to write PASSION’S CHILD (the first book) over three times before my editor was satisfied, and when I sent it to New York for the final time, I’m afraid I had few negative feelings about it. Later after it was published, I received a fan letter from a woman who was at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston sitting beside her younger brother, who was dying of cancer. She said that the only moments of joy she’d had during this ordeal was reading about Triple, the heroine’s son in my book. She said Triple’s antics made her laugh. I burst into tears and was so grateful to her for writing that to me since the book had literally drained me emotionally. She made me feel that the effort it took me was worth all the headaches if my character comforted another human being in such terrible distress.

     She made me think of all the times I have turned to stories during times of heartbreak when I needed a friend’s shoulder to cry on—but it was the middle of the night and I didn’t want to bother a friend, who’d already suffered enough tears from me.

     Even if I can’t work on new projects as much as I want to right now, it has been an unexpected thrill to breath new life into my older stories.

Why I’m proud I still write romance novels

When my first child, a son, was born, I decided to stay home with my precious baby, but I soon found that I needed more than childcare and housework to thrive. So, I decided to write a book. And not just any book, a romance.

My mother-in-law advised me that I should be stimulating her precious grandbaby instead of neglecting him by writing a romance novel.

Five years later Silhouette Books published my first contemporary romance, Wild Lady (Men of the West Bk 1), which I have recently acquired the rights to and have updated for modern readers. I updated as well, The Fairy Tale Girl (Men of the West Bk 1).

                                                      Wild Lady (Men of the West Bk 1)

Why romance? Why did I spend my life spinning tales about love while my husband, a doctor, did much more serious work that included saving lives? My girlfriends told me I should write something worthwhile. I said like what? They suggested, “We have a terrible problem with obesity and diabetes in our community. Why don’t you write something that would help those people?” But I don’t have diabetes, and I’m not an expert in the field, and I had no idea how to help them.

In a world filled with all sorts of pressing problems… female oppression… immigrants fleeing lawless societies…I write love stories for adult women. Many people criticize this genre as being silly and shallow and formulaic, but I feel the hunger for love in the human heart is far from shallow. Indeed, it’s a universal need.

Love elevates one’s sense of worth. It is positive emotion that can bring out the best in human beings. Often longer lasting solutions to problems can be found through love, inspiration, negotiation, compromise, cooperation, nurture, education, and empathy rather than by the use of force. Not that individuals don’t have to stand up for what they believe when attacked. Because they do. We call that tough love.

The best romance novels are about women who solve problems and grow, about women who prove their worth to their heroes, who by the end of the books, come to see them as equal if not superior partners.

Women, who read romances, are juggling careers, marriages, elderly relatives and children. They live in a stressful, constantly changing world. What better thing to read than positive stories that recharge their souls and fill with them with courage. I am proud of what I write and the women I write for.

p.s. My mother-in-law would be proud, too, if she were alive and could see how happy and successful her grandson is despite his iffy start caged in a playpen at his mother’s feet while she penned those sexy love scenes.

  

Why I Love RWA, Harlequin and Caro Carson

Many years ago I was an aspiring writer in Orange, Texas struggling to craft a coherent sentence. I didn’t know a single published writer and imagined them to be glamorous goddesses, who lived in Manhattan and lunched with publishers.

After I’d written nearly a million unpublished words, a worried girlfriend, a lab tech, said, “Hey, maybe you should try to meet somebody in the business.” Eventually I attended a writer’s conference in Houston where I met Rita Estrada, Sondra Stafford, and Parris Bonds and become a part of a group of writers who founded Romance Writers of America (RWA), an organization conceived to nourish romance writers, shorten their journey to publication and success, and to support a published community of romance authors.

More than thirty years later at an RWA conference after I’d become a multi-published Harlequin author, I met Caro Carson, a younger, unpublished writer. We’d both signed up to volunteer at a luncheon. When we weren’t needed for the event she told me she’d graduated from West Point, had been an officer in the Army and now dreamed of being published by Harlequin. At the time she’d been working to achieve her dream of publication for many years. I admired her more than I can say.

          Caro had a dream.

          She struggled.

          She kept perfecting her craft.

          When she failed to sell a story, she either rewrote it or began another.

          She did this for ten years.

Her story is the story of many beginning writers and that of many giants in the romance publishing industry.

Nobody is born published. Romance writers who succeed are smart, determined women who keep working and keep perfecting their craft until they break out. If they don’t believe in themselves, nobody else ever will either.

Since she published, I have read Caro’s Doctor, Soldier, Daddy, as well as the first two books in her Texas Rescue Series:  Not Just a Cowboy and A Texas Rescue Christmas.

I have loved every one of her books. Caro writes about real people with real problems. Her characters connect almost immediately on a soul-deep, authentic level. Caro writes about the kind of love many women can only dream of finding. Books like Caro’s will nourish their dream.

Caro specializes in heroines who are intelligent professionals like her main character in Not Just a Cowboy.  If you like virgin-romances, I was blown away by the tenderness in her truly touching virgin-sex scene in A Texas Rescue Christmas. The hero in this book may see himself as handicapped or damaged, but his talents at loving with a true heart make him an unforgettable character.   I wish Caro Carson was a stock I could invest in because she is definitely a rising star.

I love RWA because it supports writers like Caro have faith in themselves and hold onto their dreams. And because it gave me the opportunity to meet her.

I love Harlequin for bringing this talented author to its worldwide readership. Since I belong to that readership, I became her fan.

Being a writer is about constantly re-inventing oneself. So, even though I've been a writer for a long time, I feel like a beginner who has a big dream, a writer who's willing to work and to fail and to continue working--all in the hope I'll succeed one day.

Like Caro, I’m beginning a new career, only this time in self-publishing. Once again I’m a beginner who has a big dream, a writer who’s willing to work and to fail and to continue working—all in the hope I’ll succeed one day.

I salute your talent, Caro. I’m so glad you had the courage and determination to believe in your writing ability long enough to become the wonderful storyteller you are. This wasn't a selfish battle. Romance readers everywhere who are inspired by love stories like yours will be the richer for it. Writers everywhere will also be inspired by your dedication, talent, and success.

With only a handful of published books to your credit, I am in awe of the excellence, originality, and heart-warming quality of your love stories.

You inspire me to work harder at my own craft, and I’m sure you will inspire other writers.

I dedicate this blog to all struggling writers who have big dreams like you and equally beautiful stories to tell.

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Looking for more romance stories? Check out Ann Major's recent publication, HER PREGNANCY SECRET. A thrilling story of innocence, betrayal, and love that will have you gripping from beginning to end. 

How the Author of the Midnight Louie Series Found Inspiration in my Home Town

I love going to writers’ conferences because so often I meet writers whose works I admire. When I met Carole Nelson Douglas - famed, cat-loving author of the fantastic Midnight Louie series - at the Novelists’ Inc. Conference last month. I’m afraid I turned into a pure fan-girl.  Carole’s every bit as much fun as her wonderful books are. You can visit her website here.

In case you don’t know, Midnight Louie is a twenty-pound, black, tomcat with a larger-than-life, muy macho personality. On top of that, he’s a detective when he isn’t prowling or napping or getting himself locked up on death row at the pound.

In book one, Cat in An Alphabet Soup, he’s in the process of forming a significant relationship with a woman, Temple, who’s been jilted by her human, magician lover. I, for one, think a woman with Temple’s romantic history could do far worse than to take up with a tomcat. I am a cat lover and a mystery lover; I also never mind a dash of humor. So, I love her Midnight Louie series that Carole has relaunched in e-book format with new covers.

Carole, who lives in north Texas, always wanted to have a cat as a child, but her mother told her she couldn’t have one until she grew up.  Since becoming an independent adult, she has shared her life with many lucky cats.

Apparently Midnight Louie was inspired by a real cat she learned about after reading an ad in a newspaper that read, “Midnight Louie, who's at home on your best couch as in your neighbor’s trash can… to the right home… for a mere dollar.” Intrigued, Carole, who was a journalist, interviewed the woman and then wrote her article using Midnight Louie’s tough-guy voice.

Carole Nelson Douglas and Midnight Louie

But never did I suspect that a building in my hometown had inspired her when she imagined her fabulous Midnight Louie series!

When Carole found out that I lived in Corpus Christi, she told me that she was so enchanted by the Executive House on Water Street, with its lovely views of Corpus Christi Bay, that she created Circle Ritz in Las Vegas as the fictional home of Midnight Louie and his feisty human roommate, Temple Barr.  Carole chose Las Vegas as her setting because she wanted “showgirls, bookies, busted gamblers, and other colorful characters attracting lots of tourists.”

Executive House in Corpus Christi, Texas

 That news was amazing since one of my best friends, Sherron Hubler, has a condo in the Executive House! I couldn't believe how small our world was. The Executive House is a six-story, circular condo building, each floor originally having been divided into ten, pie-shaped units.  I, myself, have twice considered buying a unit there!

Sherron Hubler in her Executive House condo in Corpus Christi, Texas  

Sherron moved to The Executive House when she downsized because she loved the water view and had good friends in the building. Since I love visiting Sherron in her charming condo with gorgeous views, I immediately felt closer to Midnight Louie and his pie-wedge unit in the Circle Ritz.

Carole said she fell in love with this building during a trip to Corpus Christi in the 80's. Out of curiosity, she revisited the building in the 2000’s when she was attending the World Fantasy Convention. A friendly resident was kind enough to give her a tour of the building as well as a tour of her apartment.

It’s always fun to learn how Texas inspires the writing of other authors, especially something so close to home! You can read another article discussing Carole's inspiration for Midnight Louie and Circle Ritz here.

If you’re looking for a new mystery series and haven’t read a Midnight Louie book yet, I highly recommend beginning with Cat in An Alphabet Soup. It's a fun, romantic mystery read that will be sure to have you chuckling at Midnight Louie's antics. Carole also recently released the newest Midnight Louie ebook, Cat in a Yellow Spotlight which is highly entertaining. 

Cat in a Yellow Spotlight

Poor Temple Barr hasn’t had much luck with men in the past. Here’s hoping the new male in her life, Midnight Louie, will prove more dependable. Unfortunately, Sherron, who loved her cat, had to give her pet up before moving into the Executive House. She can always enjoy Carole Nelson Douglas's new Midnight Louie ebooks!

Romance in Texas

I want to welcome you to my blog by telling you a little bit about myself. As a child, I always loved stories. I loved reading them and making them up. For many years, I had trouble telling the truth. I tended to embellish, let us say.

My father wanted me to major in French and Spanish, but in second year French, I rebelled and quit going to class because I didn’t want to learn to say the same thing I could already say in English and Spanish in another language. He said, “What do you want to major in?” and I said, “English.” He swore I could never do anything of any value with an English major. But I’ve had so much fun.

I taught English until I had my first child. Suddenly when he was born and I was home all day, I thought that if I ever wanted to write, now was the time. Incredibly with a small baby and real estate to manage I wrote 8 hours a day. I really don’t remember ever dreaming that some day I wanted to be a writer, but I liked lots of creative pursuits.

Babies nap and have their quiet spells. I trained my darling son to a playpen, and he would play in the late afternoon at my feet while I typed. I did this even though my mother-in-law warned me he would be stupid because I wasn’t stimulating him enough. I believed that he needed to develop his imagination. He turned out just fine, and I became a writer.

It took me three years and a million words to get my first book, MIDNIGHT SURRENDER, published. And I’ve been writing ever since. Not that there haven’t been a lot of bumps in the road, the latest being, I bought myself out of my last multiple book contract and have decided to self-publish.

 

This is my most recent book.
Find it on Amazon here!

 Having a publisher that gets you onto bookshelves all over the world has been a wonderful experience. But I’ve had to write to very specific guidelines for the lines I’ve written for and, therefore, had to fulfill very specific editorial visions. Vast as my ignorance is in the self-publishing arena, what I am enjoying the most is having more control, especially about the kind of stories I choose to tell.

In the near future I will be publishing a series of contemporary romance novels set on a legendary ranch in Texas that will not be all that different from what I was doing for Harlequin and yet they will be completely my own.