A Desperate Journey
By: Debra Parmley
Sally Wheeler thought she had the perfect family and farm in
Kansas. Here she was with her husband, son, daughter, and a farm that was
failing. She was in love, and felt that nothing would or could ruin her perfect
happy little family, not even their failing farm.
That is until Sally learned that the love of her life, Luke
Wheeler is a bigamist and the way Luke decides to make his exit interview is by
leaving with her Son, while in the meantime, abandoning her, and their
daughter. And let us not forget, that their farm is failing, which means any
chance of making money there is slim to none.
Now, as we all know, any woman in her right frame of mind,
will go after the person who takes her child, whether he is the love of her
life or not.
So the heart broken Sally travels to Old Chisholm Trail into
Texas with an old mule skinner and a sexy maverick who could change her mind
about men, and let me tell you what, the sounds of this man, just might make
you change your mind about men too. ::evil giggle::
The man she wants to help her, is Rob Truman, and he
personally doesn’t like the Luke Wheeler in the first place, because of the
fact that Luke put him behind bars for seven years, for a crime that he didn’t
commit. Therefore, gladly Rob will see to it Sally gets exactly what she needs,
and wants.
In the meantime, Sally and Rob cannot help but notice that
sparks are starting to light up between the two of them. Sally keep trying to
push her feelings away, after all, she does have a plan. Rob also had no
intentions of romance, because the two of them had bad experiences in the past.
Love is the farthest thing in either one of their minds.
The thing is, in order to rescue Sally’s Son, once the bullets
start flying, Rob and Sally, finally learn to work together in more ways than
one. And rather than tell you everything, this is where I leave you hanging.
This book is a five-star story from the very beginning to the
very end. I was on the edge of my seat worried and then wondering, and then
worrying, and then in love, I just couldn’t keep up with my emotions through
this story! And I loved every moment of it! It is a truly interesting book in so
many ways!
Here are my questions for Debra:
1. What made you write this book and how long did it take?
A Desperate Journey was the first novel I wrote and it took me a whole year, because I’d only written poetry and short stories before. Back then, publishers were requiring romance novels be 100,000 words and that’s a big story. When attending the Ozark Creative Writers event in Eureka Springs AR, Dusty Richards, a western writer challenged each of us to write a first novel, make it a western and if it won his contest his agent would read the whole thing. Well I worked hard to write a western but everything I write turns into a romance no matter how it starts out. So I ended up with a western historical romance. By the next year I had a first draft done but he no longer had an agent. Still, he looked over the first chapters and gave advice. I went on to revise the story several times and will always be thankful to him for the challenge, which got me started on novels. I’ve written romance novels ever since.
A Desperate Journey was the first novel I wrote and it took me a whole year, because I’d only written poetry and short stories before. Back then, publishers were requiring romance novels be 100,000 words and that’s a big story. When attending the Ozark Creative Writers event in Eureka Springs AR, Dusty Richards, a western writer challenged each of us to write a first novel, make it a western and if it won his contest his agent would read the whole thing. Well I worked hard to write a western but everything I write turns into a romance no matter how it starts out. So I ended up with a western historical romance. By the next year I had a first draft done but he no longer had an agent. Still, he looked over the first chapters and gave advice. I went on to revise the story several times and will always be thankful to him for the challenge, which got me started on novels. I’ve written romance novels ever since.
2. What made you decide to do a kind of Wild West setting with a spin on evil?
I saw
on the news where a man who was a bigamist with wives in more than one state
got caught and I thought how much easier it would be to get away with that back
in the wild west when no one had radios or televisions. You could move to a new
town and start over telling them anything you wanted. Then I got an image of
Sally arriving home to find her son had been stolen by her no good husband and
the story took off from there. No one told me when I started writing the story
that a married woman can’t fall in love with another man. I was breaking rules
from the start. That her husband turns out to be a bigamist and the marriage
isn’t legal is what allowed the publisher to look past that. When Rob arrives
looking for Luke and for vengeance he has no intention of falling for the man’s
wife. But true love I believe can pull a hero and heroine through anything. And
A Desperate Journey puts them through many challenges.
3. Which character is your favorite?
3. Which character is your favorite?
I have a fondness for Ole Moss, the mule skinner. He kinda
crept up on me and could have stolen the story if I’d let him. Sometimes my
secondary story people surprise me that way.
4. Can you describe these characters or give us photos of them?
Sally has curly re-gold hair and blue eyes
4. Can you describe these characters or give us photos of them?
Sally has curly re-gold hair and blue eyes
Rob is
tall with gray-blue eyes and dark brown hair
Ole
Moss is a grouchy old mule skinner with a mustache and a soft heart. He’s a
blend of several wonderful old men I have known.
Carolyn
looks like her mama and is three.
Matthew
is seven and had just lost a tooth before his father stole him and ran off to
Texas.
5. How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing since I was a little girl and would write
poetry. My grandmother who raised me while mother worked said I made up sing
song rhymes before I could write. When I was a small girl I’d imagine stories
but never wrote them down. In college I wrote short stories and I still do. You
can find a few of those out in ebook. I’ve been writing stories in my head
since I was a young child.
6. What makes you desire to write?
6. What makes you desire to write?
When I
write there’s a joy and I am happy. I go into another world of romance where
true love always wins and bad guys do not get their way. With my poetry it’s
for expression and that’s true for journaling as well. I can’t go for more than
four days without writing before I start getting grumpy.
7. What are you working on now?
7. What are you working on now?
I’m working on a Kindle World Book! Montana Marine
part of Elle James Brotherhood Protectors series and will be out June 8th!
We’ll have a cover reveal party soon.
8. What is your favorite book of all time and why?
8. What is your favorite book of all time and why?
Oh
that’s a hard one. The answer changes from year to year too. Stardust by Neil
Gaiman is my current favorite. I love the star as heroine. A star come down to
earth, I would love to meet her. Oh and I love fairy tales and folk tales. I
still love to be read to, just like when I was a small girl. Audio books are
nice for that, especially if the voice is nice.
9. Who designed the cover of your book?
Sheri McGathy does all my covers for Belo Dia Publishing. http://coverdesign.sherimcgathy.com/
9. Who designed the cover of your book?
Sheri McGathy does all my covers for Belo Dia Publishing. http://coverdesign.sherimcgathy.com/
10. Please provide for us your social media and book links:
Author Media Links:
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/DebraParmley
Goodreads Lamplighters
Street Team https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/213745-debra-parmley-lamplighters
Book buy links:
Print:
Barnes & Noble print: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/desperate-journey-debra-parmley/1100401309?ean=9780692531624
eBook:
245 symbols: https://www.24symbols.com/book/x/x/x?id=2003279
Smashwords for libraries: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/632684
11. Anything to add:
11. Anything to add:
Deneale,
thank you for this interview and for reviewing A Desperate Journey. These were
good questions and I enjoyed answering them. I have a brand new Goodreads Group
for my Lamplighters Street Team and that is where I’ll be hosting events. I
love to hear from my readers.
A Desperate Journey by Debra ParmleyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sally Wheeler thought she had the perfect family and farm in Kansas. Here she was with her husband, son, daughter, and a farm that was failing. She was in love, and felt that nothing would or could ruin her perfect happy little family, not even their failing farm.
That is until Sally learned that the love of her life, Luke Wheeler is a bigamist and the way Luke decides to make his exit interview is by leaving with her Son, while in the meantime, abandoning her, and their daughter. And let us not forget, that their farm is failing, which means any chance of making money there is slim to none.
Now, as we all know, any woman in her right frame of mind, will go after the person who takes her child, whether he is the love of her life or not.
So the heart broken Sally travels to Old Chisholm Trail into Texas with an old mule skinner and a sexy maverick who could change her mind about men, and let me tell you what, the sounds of this man, just might make you change your mind about men too. ::evil giggle::
The man she wants to help her, is Rob Truman, and he personally doesn’t like the Luke Wheeler in the first place, because of the fact that Luke put him behind bars for seven years, for a crime that he didn’t commit. Therefore, gladly Rob will see to it Sally gets exactly what she needs, and wants.
In the meantime, Sally and Rob cannot help but notice that sparks are starting to light up between the two of them. Sally keep trying to push her feelings away, after all, she does have a plan. Rob also had no intentions of romance, because the two of them had bad experiences in the past. Love is the farthest thing in either one of their minds.
The thing is, in order to rescue Sally’s Son, once the bullets start flying, Rob and Sally, finally learn to work together in more ways than one. And rather than tell you everything, this is where I leave you hanging.
This book is a five-star story from the very beginning to the very end. I was on the edge of my seat worried and then wondering, and then worrying, and then in love, I just couldn’t keep up with my emotions through this story! And I loved every moment of it! It is a truly interesting book in so many ways!
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