Interview with Susan Page Davis with giveaway

Please welcome Susan Page Davis back to my blog today to talk about Cowgirl Trail book 5 in the Morgan Family Series. 

Firstly thanks for being back on my blog Susan,

1.    How did the concept of the Texas Trails, A Morgan Family Series come about?

We three authors of the series share an agent, Chip MacGregor. He asked if we would like to do a series together, and set in Texas. We all liked the idea, and by rotating authors we would be able to put out books in the series faster than we could on our own. Our first thoughts on theme were to focus on town names, but we decided instead to do a family saga, set each book in a different decade of Texas history, and highlight a real historical event. The first book, Darlene Franklin’s Lone Star Trail, takes place in the 1840s, when a large number of Germans immigrated to Texas. The last is Vickie McDonough’s End of the Trail, in the 1890s, featuring “the crash at Crush,” a tragic publicity stunt in which two locomotives were deliberately crashed. My two books deal with the Comanche captives (Captive Trail is set in the 1850s) and the cowboy strike of the 1880s in Cowgirl Trail.

2.    How did you go about this series with the other two authors?

We each wrote one book for release in fall 2011 and another for spring 2012. The books can be read in order, but that is not necessary. Each of us dealt with different branches of the family. While our characters are occasionally mentioned in the other authors’ books, they make only minor appearances there.

3.    Cowgirl Trail is book 4 in the series. Can you tell us a little about this story?

In 1884, Maggie Porter returns to the Rocking P Ranch. The sanatorium was not able to save her mother and now her father’s health is failing. When the cowboys walk off the job leaving no one to drive the cattle to market, ranch foreman Alex Bright cannot convince the men to stay. Maggie is desperate to save the ranch, and she turns to the town’s women for help. The new cowgirls must herd, rope, and drive the cattle to market. Unfortunately, some of the strikers resent their actions and want to liven up things on the cattle drive. Maggie can’t believe Alex, whom she always admired, would cause trouble for her family. Can she forgive him and accept his offer of help when trouble comes?

4.    Do we see characters from the previous books in this story?

Only briefly at the end. Alex Bright is the son of Ned Bright and Billie Morgan, who starred in Captive Trail.

5.    How did you go about researching this book?

I did a lot of online research and reading. Some of the books that I found helpful while writing Cowgirl Trail were: Texas Women on the Cattle Trails, edited by Sara R. Massey; The Cowboy: His Characteristics, His Equipment, and His Part in the Development of the West, by Philip Ashton Rollins; and The Look of the Old West, by William Foster-Harris.

6.    Did you learn anything about the era that surprised you?

Many things. The tenacity and stamina of the women in frontier Texas impressed me greatly.

7. Can you tell us what you are working on now?

Yes, I’m finishing up a contemporary book in the Miracles of Marble Cove series. It looks like a couple of mysteries and more Texas historicals will be next. I was thrilled to hear that readers want more of these books.

Readers can learn more about Texas Trails at www.texastrailsfiction.com and on my website: www.susanpagedavis.com. 

Cowgirl Trail is part of a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896.  Although a series, each book book can be read on its own.

In 1884 Maggie Porter returns to the Rocking P Ranch. The sanatorium was not able to save her mother and now her father's health is failing. When the cowboys walk off the job leaving no one to drive the cattle to market, head ranch hand, Alex Bright, cannot convince the men to stay. How could Alex let this happen?

Maggie is desperate to save the ranch and she turns to the town's women for help. The new cowgirls must herd, rope, and drive the cattle to market. With only two days left, outlaws charge the small band of cowgirls in an effort to start a stampede. The cattle begin to scatter. Will they lose everything? Where will their help come from?

Giveaway

For a chance to win either a hard copy or ecopy of Cowgirl Trail please leave a comment or question referring to the interview with Susan by Friday 20 April 6pm Australian time. This is an open giveaway. Please also leave a way to contact you if you win. Please note comments saying enter me without a comment about the interview or a question will be discarded.