E.E.'s 10th Anniversary Celebration: PIcking Up Steam!

Ten years ago, I officially entered the world of romance writing when I submitted a manuscript to the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest. To my utter amazement and delight, I made the finals in November, 2010. That moment gave me the impetus and encouragement I needed to send me down a path to becoming a published author. 

This month, I’m celebrating with a special focus on my original
romance series, Steam! Romance and Rails. It all started with an idea and a friendship with two other 2010 Golden Heart finalists, Jacqui Nelson and Jennifer Jakes. I had been working on a railroad romance, and we were all ardent fans of the series Hell On Wheels. I proposed a joint effort, which we turned into three love stories woven together around a common historical event–a gritty, glamorous railroad race.

The anthology Passion’s Prize launched the series with Adella’s Enemy by Jacqui Nelson, Eden’s Sin by Jennifer Jakes and Kate’s Outlaw by yours truly. You can still pick up each of the novellas originally featured in this anthology. I’ll go into more detail on the historical underpinnings of the series in my next blog post. In the meantime, here is an interview I did shortly after publishing the first full-length novel of the series, Her Bodyguard.

What made you combine romance and rails?

That’s a good question. I guess something about the old steam railroads calls to my adventurous side, and to my romantic nature. But more specifically, when I touring a museum in Fort Scott, Kansas, a few years ago, I came across a small booklet about a railroad race. It had all the makings of an epic: crooked politics, underhanded landlords, angry mobs, liars, cheats, killers…I couldn’t imagine a more perfect setting for a great love story. 

Tell us a little about the series.

The first books in the series are set against the background of a contentious construction race through southeastern Kansas between two powerful railroads with long names. The government promised the winning line free land grants and exclusive rights through this corridor into cattle-rich Texas so you can imagine how they pulled out all the stops and no one was above cheating. 

Her Bodyguard, revolves around the story of the Border Tier. While its crews were trying to win a race, the railroad was feuding with settlers over land rights. That’s really the focus of my book. The heroine, Amy Langford, is a wealthy widow who’s invested heavily in the railroad and is looking for ways to appease the settlers so they’ll stop vandalizing the tracks. Only, someone is out to kill her. The hero, Buck O’Connor, is an outlaw who comes out of hiding to help his cousin avoid financial ruin. Through a twist of fate, he ends up being Amy’s bodyguard. He uses his position to thwart her railroad and help his cousin, while at the same time trying to protect her. You can see that isn’t going to work. But it takes Buck awhile to recognize this. He’s pretty sure of himself.

How much of the story is based in fact?

Quite a bit, actually! Honestly, I couldn’t come up with better scenarios than those I find in history books. The race really happened pretty much as it’s written, the settler’s riots, too. I love to use real events and include historical characters. In this case, I put two people very attracted to each other but with opposing goals in the middle of a cutthroat railroad competition and a land war. It was fun to see how they reacted.

Your books are based in the American West during the nineteenth century. Why that place, and why that era?

 I write what I love best. I’ve always been a history geek, and particularly American history. I really got fascinated with the Western expansion when I first moved to Kansas. That period of expansion had such an impact on this country, good and bad. I don’t think people realize just how much. There are so many stories that haven’t been told and I want to tell them.

I try to strike a balance between gritty realism and romance, though I suppose I do err on the side of romance, but in many ways, that Victorian era was very romantic—even in the “Wild West.”

This month, all books in the series Steam! Romance and Rails are on sale for only 99 cents each. We’ve never offered this series at such a low price, so it’s a great time to forego that mocha latte and treat yourself to stories that will keep you warm all winter!

HER BODYGUARD: A determined railroad investor stalked by a mysterious killer seeks protection from a wanted gunslinger, who is hiding a dangerous secret.

KATE’S OUTLAW: After a railroad heiress is abducted, one of her captors becomes her protector. On the run from danger with enemies on all sides, they discover a love as powerful as it is forbidden.

Originally part of the anthology Passion’s Prize. Catch up on the stories of two other women caught up in a dangerous race for riches in Adella’s Enemy by Jacqui Nelson and Eden’s Sin by Jennifer Jakes.

A DANGEROUS PASSION: An inquisitive author sets out to expose a charismatic railroad baron and becomes ensnared in a deadly mystery and a dangerous passion.

FUGITIVE HEARTS: When a newly-made widow tries to cover up the truth behind her husband’s violent death, her plan backfires, sending her fleeing from a hardened lawman determined to bring her to justice.

Who out there has read books in this series? Do you have a favorite character? Who is it, and why are you drawn to them?

I’ll be doing a drawing to give away a $10 Amazon Gift Card to one commenter.

GLIAS crew, thanks for being on this journey with me!

E.E. Burke's #BestOfTheWest STEAM! Sampler

This coming Tuesday is release day for my new book, Fugitive Hearts, which is the fourth in the series Steam! Romance and Rails. 

To celebrate, I’m hosting a special STEAM! Sampler. From now through Monday, I’ll be blogging about a variety of topics related to the series and holding prize drawings. 

And, I'll be and offering my debut novella, Kate's Outlaw, FREE.

Let’s get rolling with a look at an exciting time in the history of America known as the Railroad Era.

On May 10, 1869, the final spike was driven into tracks connecting a transcontinental railroad line. The impact was immediate and dramatic. Travel between America's east and west coasts was reduced from months to less than a week.

That famous contest between the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific wasn’t the only competition between two behemoths. In 1870, two other lines raced to be first to reach the border of then-Indian Territory and win exclusive rights to lay track into cattle-rich Texas. 

This true story turned out to be a perfect setting for the first two books in my series, Her Bodyguard and Passion's Prize. Let’s take a look at the history behind them:

“If the railroad can be put through next season, we can sell lots enough to make such sinners as we are, rich as sinners ought to be.” Samuel Pomeroy, Kansas Senator

With the Cherokee Treaty of 1866, President Grant establishes a large tract of land in southern Kansas for settlement. Using political pressure, the railroads got the land cheap, less than $1 an acre.

That same month, the President signs the Land Grant bill into law, giving first railroad to reach Indian Territory (modern day Oklahoma) exclusive rights to build through the sovereign nations.

The race between three contenders quickly becomes a cutthroat competition between the two most powerful railroads: the Southern branch of the Union Pacific, dubbed the "Katy", and the "Border Tier" line owned by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, The two men leading the railroads are Eastern investors who get into the business for the easy money. It turns out to be not so easy.

Since the end of the Civil War, settlers have been “squatting” on what is now railroad land. They claim Congress promised it to them and refuse to pay the railroad’s asking price.

 “Hang the RR man as high as Haman, without benefit of clergy”. Spokesman for Crawford County Land League

By late 1869, competitive railroads are racing toward a prescribed crossing point at the border of Indian Territory.  Working for James Joy’s Border Tier line, brilliant engineer Octave Chanute (who gained famed by constructing the first bridge over the Missouri River at Kansas City) draws a straight line south and builds to altitudes of 300 feet, intent on constructing a “first class” railroad.

Further west, Judge Levi Parsons drives the Katy Railroad crews day and night. At one point, crews are laying two miles of track a day, trying to catch up to their rival.

Meanwhile, settlers in Southeastern Kansas organize into armed militias (Land Leagues) to oppose the railroad. Leaguers attack railroad agents, burn out rail crews, steal supplies, tents, articles and camp equipment. 

Federal troops are sent in to keep the peace. The settlers, predominantly Union veterans, face off with the government they’d fought for just a few years earlier. Despite problems with angry settlers, all bets are on the Border Tier Railroad to win the race. They have a comfortable head start on the Katy, and more money. 

But In January 1870, the stockholders of the Katy Railroad meet in Emporia. Parsons has hired a new general manager who will win the race for him: Colonel Robert S. Stevens. While the Border Tier builds a railroad that will last, Stevens tells Katy workers to lay tracks with minimal grading and adjust routes to minimize bridges and curves. He focuses on speed, rather than quality.

“Give me the iron and the big stuff and I’ll put your railroad down if I have to lay it flat on the prairie.” John Scullin to Katy Railroad owner Judge Levi Parsons.

In May, the Border Tier reaches Baxter Springs near the Indian Territory border, still ahead of the Katy, and holds a blowout celebration party—a little prematurely.

Rumor has it Katy spies are stirring up the settlers and encouraging them to riot. The Border Tier strikes back and is accused of vandalism and banditry. Both lines engage in bidding wars for workers. Neither admits to wrongdoing.

“One must be prepared to pay for the victory, or not play at all.” James Joy, Border Tier Railroad president

"Indians" (reputedly men hired by the Katy) direct Octave Chanute to wrong border crossing, a pile of stones that mark an 1837 survey, which is few miles away from the official 1854 border. His railroad crosses at the wrong place. While the Border Tier celebrates, Katy crews lay track in nonstop rain--to the correct borderline. 

The problems with the settlers continue to plague both railroads as they dispute the results of the race. I won’t tell you how it ends, although I will say my books are historically accurate.

Here are blurbs from the first two books in the series. I’ll be giving away signed copies of the first three books in the series in the Steam! Sampler drawing. 

The most dangerous man may be the one she hired.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo |
 iBooks | Smashwords | Google

​For America "Amy" Langford, investing in the Border Tier Railroad isn’t about chasing riches. The savvy businesswoman is after bigger stakes: influence, respect, success her father didn't live to see. Rioting settlers and cutthroat competitors can’t stop her, but a killer might. When a ruggedly handsome drifter comes to her rescue, she trusts her instincts and hires him on the spot as her bodyguard.

    Buck O'Connor has put his violent past behind him, but being a wanted man dictates a life of deceit. So what’s one more lie? He becomes Amy’s protector so he can secretly thwart her railroad’s progress to help his cousin avoid financial ruin. A great scheme...until he falls in love. But the price for deceit is steep, and the secrets he hides could destroy their future...if they survive.

In a race for riches, anything can happen.

 Amazon | B&N | Kobo |
 iBooks | Smashwords | Google

​Outlaws, soldiers and spies bedevil the Katy Railroad as crews rush to reach Indian Territory before their rival and claim the prize. Riches that come with free land. The stakes are just as high for three women whose lives hinge on the outcome. This novel in three parts tells their stories:

​​Adella's Enemy by Jacqui Nelson: A former Rebel spy must choose between living for revenge and dying for love. 

Eden's Sin by Jennifer Jakes: A woman with a soiled past must trust the one man who could ruin her future. ​

Kate's Outlaw by E.E. Burke: A railroad heiress abducted by outlaws must escape her Cherokee captor before he steals something more valuable than her fortune--her heart. 

Tomorrow on the Steam! Sampler, A Dangerous Passion continues the story...

FREE on Amazon for a limited time

This weekend, enter to win:

1 signed copy, Her Bodyguard
1 signed copy, Passion's Prize
1 signed copy, A Dangerous Passion

You can also download my debut novella, Kate's Outlaw, FREE on Amazon from Friday, July 25 to Tuesday, July 28. 

Have you read any of the Steam! series books? If so, who was your favorite character and why? If not, tell us about a favorite book based on a true story or historical event.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Award-Winning Western Romance Author Jennifer Jakes

GET LOST IN THIS STORY…

A man with a bitter past…

After the Civil War, Major Sinclair Bradford fled West to escape the pain of battle and the shame of a failed marriage. Haunted by betrayal and lies, he trusts no one—especially women. The last thing he needs is the lure of a dark haired brothel madam. Not only is she beautiful enough to tempt the devil, she’s deceitful enough to shred what’s left of Sinclair’s heart. But when she asks for his help to investigate the attack of a young girl, he can’t say no to her—nor the aching desire she stirs in him.

A woman with no future…

Eden Gabrielli lives by three rules: Never trust the wealthy, do whatever it takes to survive, and never again believe a decent man could love a whore. After being stabbed and left for dead, she must lie to keep her secrets and protect her sister from a life of prostitution—even if that means deceiving the handsome and determined Major Bradford, the one man who tempts her to break her rules. She might need his help, but she craves his touch, which makes him a dangerous ally. Because if the truth is revealed, more than her rules could be broken…

I’m thrilled to host Jennifer Jakes at Get Lost In A Story today! Not only is she an uber-talented author, she’s one of my writing partners for the Western romance anthology Passion’s Prize, which contains her steamy new novella, Eden’s Sin. Jennifer was a Golden Heart finalist in 2010, the same year I made the finals, both of us with Western romances. She’s an amazing writer, but you’ll find that out as soon as you pick up one of her books.

 After trying several careers—everything from a beautician to a dump truck driver—Jennifer finally returned to her first love, writing. Maybe it was all those Clint Eastwood movies she watched growing up, but in her opinion there is no better read than a steamy western historical.

Married to her very own hero, she lives on seven acres along with two beautiful daughters, two spoiled cats, three hyper dogs and one fat rabbit.

During the summer she does Civil War re-enacting and has found it a great research tool, not to mention she has continued appreciation for her microwave and hot water heater.

Her debut novel, RAFE’S REDEMPTION, was a RWA Golden Heart® finalist and Won BEST ROMANCE 2011 at DITHR and many other awards. RAFE’S REDEMPTION has since become a #1 Best Seller on Amazon! 

Her second book, TWICE IN A LIFETIME, was an International Digital Award finalist. It has also recently become a #1 Best Seller on Amazon! 

An excerpt from Eden’s Sin…

“We can see if Mary Rose feels up to talking now.” Eden stacked the dirty plates into the sink. “The dishes can wait.” Better to let the major ask his questions and be gone. This evening was too …cozy.

“All right.” He pulled the frying pan free from the heat. “After you.”  He smiled again, and it was discerning as hell. His dimple, the fact his eyes crinkled at the sides…and the way his hair was still mussed did crazy things to her insides. He was nothing like the men she’d been with. High-bred dandies, they were. Alexander being the cream of the crop, or the bottom of the barrel depending on how you looked at it. Nevertheless, all of them were worthless, selfish men who betrayed their wives, their business partners, and anyone dumb enough to associate with them.

She much preferred Sinclair’s class of people. Much preferred a lazy smile from a man willing to help in the kitchen over a rehearsed laugh from a man sprawled over a fainting couch. Much preferred the heady scent of saddle leather over bottled toilet water. Much preferred the man following her over any man she’d met in a long, long, long time.

She felt his gaze scorching her back as she led him through the kitchen to the spare room where Mary Rose rested. What was he thinking as he trailed behind? Was he wondering about her limp? Why she'd become a whore?

Something foreign inside made her want to tell him, wanted him to understand this life had chosen her, not the other way around. That given a choice, she would have been anything but a whore. Could have been a wife, a mother. Could have been someone respectable, wonderful, loved.

Before they reached the door she stopped short and turned – colliding against the major. His arms shot out catching her, wrapping her in his heat for just a moment, but searing her with the memory she wouldn’t soon forget. She glanced up to apologize, but the words froze in her throat. His brown eyes darkened to black, and a thick, languid heat flooded her limbs, making her boneless.

She melted against his hard body. Oh, God, she wanted him, wanted to stay right here in his heat for just a minute or a month. She wanted to feel safe, warm. Wanted, wanted so much.

She lifted her head. His lips were full and so close. His breath brushed across her cheek, warm, sweet from his sugared coffee. His palm slid up her ribs, his fingers achingly close to her breast, closer, closer, so close the breath froze in her lungs. The look he gave her was unguarded, exposed, raw, a look that stirred a spark inside her, sparked embers she'd buried long ago. A spark she thought to keep extinguished forever, but now it scorched her inside out.

And God help her, she liked it.

E.E.: How often to you get lost in a story?

Jennifer: Not nearly as often as I wish I could! But I do manage to read a few chapters each night before bed—even if that means staying up a little too late…LOL

E.E : What’s the first romance book you remember reading? 

Jennifer: Oh, good question! And I actually do remember! I was 11 yrs old and it was summer break. I must have been driving my mom crazy because she handed me a Harlequin and said, “Go read!” The title was Blue Jasmine. And the rest, as they say, is history. I was hooked on romance!

E.E.: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

Jennifer: Is it wrong to have a crush on Flynn Ryder from Tangled….? No, I didn’t think so. He’s the BEST Disney hero ever—not to mention the only one who could grow facial hair and act manly…just sayin’.

E.E.: What sound or noise do you love?

Jennifer: I love rain on a tin roof. Makes me wish my house had a tin roof. Since it doesn’t, I do like the ticking of a clock or the lapping of waves.

E.E.: Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?

Jennifer: Oh, yeah. And in the hero’s. That’s why I’m such a tough critique partner. :)

E.E.: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

Jennifer: Historical Romance all the way. Preferably, Western Historical. I want action and danger, and I like the grittiness of the Old West.

E.E.: What do you do to unwind and relax?

Jennifer: I’m not familiar with these 2 words. What are they? LOL  Honestly, I am a workaholic. Wish I wasn’t but it’s my nature.

E.E.: What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

Jennifer: I have a very odd sense of humor. ;) Odd and ornery and a little dirty.

E.E.: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

Jennifer: Iced Tea/ “Girly” (as my dh calls it) Coffee. A little coffee with my cup of cream and sugar.

E.E.’S GOTTA ASK – JENNIFER’S GOTTA ANSWER  J

E.E.: Who's your celebrity crush and why?

Jennifer: Ohhh, Alex O’Loughlin, 100 %.  He is gorgeous and has an Australian accent (tho’ we don’t get to hear it on Hawaii 5-0). What more can you ask for in a hero? He’s fodder for many a daydream, er, I mean plot. Plot, yes, that’s what I meant.

 

CURRENT RELEASES: Eden’s Sin, an individual novella and featured as one of three interlinked stories in the anthology Passion’s Prize. This book, written with Golden Heart sisters E.E. Burke and Jacqui Nelson, is the first in a new series, Steam! Romance and Rails.

UP NEXT: Ah, decisions, decisions. I have so many plot ideas right now, I’m having a hard time deciding on which one. I have part of ALASKAN HEAT written but a group of sexy Civil War heroes are bugging me to write their series….so we’ll see.

PREVIOUS RELEASES: Well, my Debut Book and Golden Heart novel recently made Kindle #1 Best Seller. Check out RAFE’S REDEMPTION if you have time.  http://tinyurl.com/btv45l2

Here’s where you can find Jennifer:

Website: www.jenniferjakes.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennifer.jakes.33

Twitter: @jenniferjakes

Pinterest: Jennifer Jakes

Blog: Wild and Wicked Cowboys

Will you be giving away a book today?

Actually, two ebooks. Eden's Sin and Rafe's Redemption. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Jennifer: If you’re a fan of the Western genre, have you been watching the new(ish) T.V. series on AMC-TV, Hell on Wheels? If so, who is your favorite character on the show?

Jennifer Jakes

Let's Get Lost in

RAFE’S REDEMPTIONThe Wild Rose Press

ISBN: 1-60154-936-9
He rode into town to buy supplies, not a woman.

For hunted recluse Rafe McBride, the raven-haired beauty on the auction block is exactly what he doesn't need. A dependent woman will be another clue his vengeful stepbrother can use to find and kill him. But Rafe's conscience won't let him leave another innocent's virginity to the riff-raff bidding. He buys her, promising to return her to St. Louis untouched. He only prays the impending blizzard holds off before her sultry beauty breaks his willpower.

She wanted freedom, not a lover.

Whisked to the auction block by her devious, gambling cousin, and then sold into the arms of a gorgeous stranger, outspoken artist Maggie Monroe isn't about to go meekly. Especially when the rugged mountain man looks like sin and danger rolled into one. But a blizzard and temptation thrust them together, and Maggie yearns to explore her smoldering passion for Rafe.

But when the snow clears, will the danger and secrets that surround Rafe and Maggie tear them apart?


About the Author, JENNIFER JAKESAfter trying several careers—everything from a beautician to a dump truck driver—Jennifer finally returned to her first love, writing. Maybe it was all those Clint Eastwood movies she watched growing up, but in her opinion there is no better read than a steamy western historical.

Married to her very own hero, she lives on fifteen acres along with two beautiful daughters, two elderly horses, two spoiled cats and two hyper dogs.

During the summer she does Civil War re-enacting and has found it a great research tool, not to mention she has continued appreciation for her microwave and hot water heater.

I know Jennifer as a fellow Unsinkable. Unsinkable 2010 Golden Heart finalist, friend, pal, encourager, and someone I want to know better. Let’s get to know this great gal a bit better...
QUICK ON THE DRAW Q & AANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
JENNIFER: When a story is well written - every time!

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
JENNIFER: Little Bear: Father Bear Comes Home

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
JENNIFER: Oh, hands down, Beauty and the Beast. In my opinion it comes closest to mirroring a romance plot. I guess it’s the whole ‘wounded hero’ as portrayed by Beast. I’m a sucker for a wounded hero ;)

ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

JENNIFER: Hmmm. My brothers and I used to watch Bugs Bunny and Scooby Doo. So it would be a toss up between those two.

ANGI: What turns you off like nothing else?
JENNIFER: Arrogance

ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
JENNIFER: I tend to pick one song and put it on repeat while I’m writing. So I may listen to the same song for hours. Somehow I get lost in the drone and I’m able to write. While writing RAFE’S REDEMPTION I mostly listened to George Strait’s Cowboys Like Us.

ANGI: Where do you read and how often?
JENNIFER: Usually in bed before I go to sleep.

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
JENNIFER: I love water – a gurgling stream or rain on a tin roof

ANGI: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
JENNIFER: Action Adventure

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
JENNIFER: Dances With Wolves

ANGI: Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?
JENNIFER: No. Does that make me weird?

ANGI: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?
JENNIFER: Definitely the story telling.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: So, Jennifer, I admit that I hit your blog every Monday morning. It has definitely become a ritual. WHERE do you get all those hunky hunks and what do you do with the pictures? (Some of them go right into my screen saver.)

JENNIFER’S GOTTA ANSWER: Yay! I’m so glad you like Man Candy Monday. I know I do. The hunks….gosh, I spend grueling hours searching the web for pictures. It’s a really tough job *grin*. There are several photo sites you can join and then just type in what you’re searching for. My search usually starts with the word sexy… and ends with the word men. Like you, I have some of them on my desktop for inspiration. A writer’s gotta do what a writer’s gotta do;)

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?Yes. For everyone who loves to read historical romance, what is your favorite era to read? Regency? Victorian? Western? Or do you like Steampunk, historical with a twist?

JENNIFER would love for a commentator to have either a print or e-book--winner’s choice.

Don’t forget to check out Jennifer’s website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Email.

Til next week when I host debut author Lisa Spindler. ~~Angi

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. If an electronic Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.
Don't forget to LIKE us on Facebook or FOLLOW us on Twitter to keep track of who's next to "Get Lost". Come back Friday when Donnell host Lorraine Barrett & tomorrow when Heather hosts Jade Lee.