Tag: The Zion Trail

2016 Publishing Plans Update

October 18, 2016 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Back in January, I outlined on another blog my 2016 plans for publication. Things didn’t go quite as I had thought they would, though. As always, life happened, and shiny things came along and . . .

I stayed on track for the first planned effort. I released a novel, 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 a story featuring “gloves” 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 mentioned in a review 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, as 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.

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Happy Holidays!

December 31, 2015 / Marsha Ward / 1 Comment

No matter which Holidays you observe at this time of the year, or even none at all, I extend my most Joyous Greetings to you

From all the Characters in the Head of author Marsha Ward, and Me

It’s been a fascinating year for The Characters in My Head and Me, but we couldn’t have made it through the distressing, painful times without loyal readers. Although we didn’t plan for, nor publish, a novel in 2015, it has still been a busy writing year.

The Characters and I plan an ambitious publishing program for the year 2016, beginning in February, with the release of the newest novel, The Zion Trail, in ebook format.

Producing a Print Edition of a book eats up a significant amount of my time, effort, and resources, but I like to please my Fans. If I hear from YOU and 49 other Fans that you will purchase a print copy, The Zion Trail will be available in print form later in the year.

Send me an email at marshaw@marshaward.com with the Subject Line
“Please do a Print Edition of THE ZION TRAIL”
to press your case for a Print Edition of The Zion Trail.

Spread the word, and encourage your friends who also love my books to drop me an email.

The Characters and I look forward to bringing you other exciting projects in the New Year. Follow the word counts at my Writer in the Pines blog. And if you haven’t signed up on my Mailing List yet, there’s a form up there at the right where you can do that so you won’t miss out on a bit of news in the New Year. Yes, it’s the one that talks about getting a free novel! Or click here to subscribe.

As you and I leave 2015 behind and enter the uncharted waters of 2016, I send my thanks and many warm wishes to you and yours. Please make the most of every day, read lots of books, and give the gift of reviews to your favorite authors. May you have bounteous peace and prosperity in the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

Marsha Ward, and the Characters in My Head

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Sample Saturday The Zion Trail #5

December 5, 2015 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Welcome to Sample Saturday. This scene is an excerpt from my forthcoming novel, The Zion Trail, which will be available in ebook format early next year. Lije expresses his concerns to his father following John’s altercation with neighbor boys. Caution: Mormon beliefs are briefly discussed in this excerpt.
~~~
By suppertime, John looked like a new man—well, boy at least—with his damp hair combed into submission and the egg residue absent from his person.
Ma said she would sit with us at the table that night. She told John he was to take the tray into Pa’s room to explain his altercation and help Pa eat, if he needed any assistance.

Before we sat down to supper, I looked in on Pa. He looked better with the color fading from the bruise on his face. He was able to open his eye now. I could tell he chafed at Ma’s insistence that he stay in bed, as he wasn’t a man to be idle.

“Elijah,” he greeted me.

I sat beside his bed and gave him a report on the farm work. When I had finished, he stared into my eyes for a long moment, then nodded.

“You are doing well, son, but what is troubling you?”

I don’t know why I was surprised that he had read me so easily. I took a moment to formulate an answer.

“Reverend Silcoe has added to our woes,” I said. “He preached against us on Sunday, according to John.” I paused. “I should let him tell the tale. He’ll be here shortly with your supper.”

“All right. I’ll hear him out. You are fretting, Lije.”

“I didn’t expect folks to beat you and pick on John merely because we chose to join a different church. Ma said the same.” I looked down. My fists were clenched so tightly that my knuckles appeared as snow-capped mountains. I eased my hands open and gripped my knees instead.

Pa reached out his hand, and I took it gingerly. “That book the elders left. The Book of Mormon. At the beginning, the prophet Lehi was laughed to scorn because of his belief in God’s word. His sons were in danger of their lives when they returned to gather records. Can we expect better treatment?”

I shifted in the chair, remembering my promise to President Peters to read that book. “I guess not.”

Pa nodded. “So it was anciently. So it is today. People sometimes fear truth, especially when it calls for change.” He squeezed my hand. “Go to supper, Lije, and give no more worry to the matter.”

I left him then and went to eat, trying to let his counsel sooth my own fears.
~~~

Thank you for visiting this Sample Saturday post. The Zion Trail will be published in 2016 as an ebook, and if there is sufficient demand, in print. To keep up-to-date on when The Zion Trail will be published, along with other new releases, and to learn of special offers and sales, click here to join my Readers email list. In your inbox, you will also receive instructions on how to download a free ebook of my last novel, Gone for a Soldier.

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