Wild Rose Press author Kathy Otten joins us today with her book, Lost Hearts. Find out what type of hero she likes and why Deputy U.S. Marshals make great characters. Welcome Kathy!
Did you plan to be
a writer or did it just happen?
I can’t remember a
time in my life when I wasn’t hearing voices in my head or writing down
stories. Once my kids were in high school I started studying craft and had the
time I needed to join a critique group.
Is writing a
full-time career for you? If not, how else do you spend your work day?
As much as I would
love to write full-time, at this point in my life a 40hr job is necessary.
Fortunately I work my 40 hrs. in three days at a group home. This leaves me
Mon.-Thurs. to write, market, research and promo.
If you had to sum it up LOST HEARTS in 30 or less words, what would you
say?
Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Bennick is sworn to bring the outlaw Johnny
Bodine to justice, but she is the only one who can heal his wounded heart.
What has been your
greatest challenge in writing LOST HEARTS?
Getting to know Rab
was difficult. He is very closed off emotionally, and it was odd that he
remained like that with me. Usually my
characters talk to me. Johnny was one who told me everything about her life.
Rab would have been happier if I’d stayed out of his head.
What three words would best describe Johnny.
Pragmatic, feisty and loyal
Is anything in your book based on real life
experiences or purely all imagination?
Much of the story involved real places and
people. Judge Parker and many of the
places in Fort Smith were real. Bass Reeves, one of Rab’s fellow deputies was a
real person, and the owners of the Elk House in McAlester had actually lived
there at the time of my story.
What kind of
research was involved for LOST HEARTS?
I read lots and
lots of books on Fort Smith, Judge Parker and the Deputy Marshals who roamed
Indian Territory. I also wrote to the Pittsburg County Genealogical and
Historical Society in McAlester, OK. They sent me maps and newspaper articles.
Other things I got on line, but when I originally started this book I didn’t
have internet so that’s why I did it all the old-fashioned way.
Do you have to be
alone or have quiet to write?
Alone and quiet
with no interruptions.
What do you have in
store next for your readers?
I have a short
Victorian Christmas novella coming out for the holidays called ANOTHER
WALTZ. I’m also working on the last
chapter of another full-length historical western romance novel.
What has been your
greatest pleasure or personal success as an author?
Although I own a
Nook, and love reading ebooks, I still love to hold my POD paperback books in my
hands. Seeing them in my hands and flipping through the pages, validates to me
that I am actually an author. When I feel like that, I like who I am and that
affirmation makes me want to keep writing more.
What type of hero
do you like best?
I like strong,
silent, beta heroes. I also like writing wounded heroes.
What type of
heroine do you like best?
I like my heroines
strong, feisty and loyal.
If you had a chance
to rewrite, is there anything about your book you would change?
I always find
things I want to fix. It’s one of my problem areas, always trying to make it
better, so much so that it keeps me from submitting. I’m getting better at it
though and learning to let things go, giving myself permission to always make
the next book better instead of trying to make that current project perfect.
What is the best
piece of writing advice you’ve received?
I was at a workshop
a year ago with Chuck Samuchino, editor for Writer’s Digest and author of
Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript, 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, and
How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack. At the end of his presentation he
answered the question, What’s the secret to becoming a successful author. He
answered simply, “Put down the remote.”
And that’s it. It really doesn’t get any simpler than taking what bits
of time we have and making a decision to use that time to write. Don’t wait for
the muse to strike, don’t wait for those rare days when you have the house to
yourself and six hours to sit and write. Just put down the remote and instead
of watching TV, use that hour to write.
Is there a book you’ve ever read more than five times? Which
book and what drew you back to it?
I have many books which I’ve read more than five times, but
the two that I’ve read the most are Once in Every Life Time, by Kristin Hannah
and Once and Always, by Judith McNaught. They are both older romances, but
there is something about the characters and the emotions that draw me back to
them like comfort food.
You’re spending one year living on a desert island – which
three authors do you want with you?
Off the top of my head, right now I’d pick, Kat Martin,
Celeste Bradley and Josh Lanyon.
Favorite place?
The overlook on
Mount Horrid on the Long Trail, between Brandon and Middlebury Gaps, in
Vermont.
Best Christmas
present?
The toboggan my
brothers and I received when we were kids.
Favorite smell?
Fresh cut hay.
Favorite quote?
“The way you see
people is the way you treat them and the way you treat them is what they
become.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Book
The Lawman—Haunted by flashbacks he can’t remember, from a war
he wants desperately to forget, U.S. Deputy Marshal, Richard Bennick arrives in
Indian Territory carrying warrants for the notorious outlaw Peirpont Bodine and
his feisty, irreverent son, Johnny.
The Outlaw—Trapped in a life of violence and abuse, Johnny
Bodine lives in fear of men. Disguising her femininity, she retreats into her
imagination and dreams of a family who loves her.
Together—Forced to trust each other as they journey through the
dangerous Choctaw Nation, a unique bond of love forms between outlaw and lawman
that can only be broken by Richard’s oath to uphold the law and the justice of
the hangman’s noose.
Content Note to Readers: Wild Rose Press rates this book as "spicy"!
The Giveaway
Comment for a chance to win a Kindle copy of Lost Hearts. Winner will be drawn on August 17th.
My blog: I blog on the 6th
of every month at http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com
and on the 17th at http://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kathyotten
Facebook: http://facebook.com/kathyottenauthor
Buy the Book: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/lost-hearts-p-4307.html
An Excerpt
When Richard shifted his attention
back to the prisoners, he saw Bodine grab Willis from behind and shove the
man’s head under the water. Frantic, Willis latched onto Johnny, pulling the
boy down with him. Johnny popped back up, but the drowning outlaw’s fingers
clawed desperately at the boy’s arm and the front of his poncho.
For a stunned
moment Richard could only blink in disbelief. Then he kicked his horse forward,
but the river bottom was soft and the water not deep enough for Billy to swim.
Though Machler and
Warren stopped pushing to watch, neither man attempted to intervene.
“No one falls
asleep on guard duty,” Bodine declared, pushing Willis under once more. “Not
iffin ya ride with me.”
Coughing and
spitting, Johnny was sucked under again, just as Richard jumped from the saddle.
Reaching beneath the surface, he hauled Willis up by the back of his collar and
towed the limp outlaw to shore. Because Johnny was attached, the boy half swam,
half stumbled along beside them.
Richard dropped
Willis face down in the grass then started pushing on the man’s back. Though
his action forced water from the outlaw’s nose and mouth, he didn’t revive.
Furious, Richard whirled then charged back into the river. “You sonofabitch!”
“Whacha gonna do?”
Bodine sneered. “Hang me twice?”
Richard drew back
his fist and drove it square into Bodine’s jaw. The outlaw appeared to lift
from the water for an instant, then fell back with a splash. He surfaced,
cursing and sputtering. Richard grabbed the front of the outlaw’s slicker and
leaned close, and with his nose nearly touching Bodine’s, he bit out. “I ought
to kill you right now and save the court the trouble.”
Bodine smiled, a
slow, malicious, leering smile. The rage surging through Richard’s blood was suddenly
sucked from his chest as an evil grin curled up the corners of the outlaw’s
lips.
When Bodine spoke,
his voice was low, and he drew his syllables out in a seductive taunt that
conjured an image
of the serpent in the garden of Eden. “Go ahead, marshal. Kill me. Do it. Come
on. We both know ya want to.”
And the sickening
truth was that Richard did want to. He could almost imagine how it would feel to
wrap his hand tight around Bodine’s wet, stubble-coated neck, while he slowly
squeezed the outlaw’s throat. In his mind, he could hear the outlaw’s wheezing
little gasps for air as his eyes bulged from their sockets in his desperation
to breathe, but instead of letting go, Richard only imagined himself pushing
his thumb against the fragile cartilage until it collapsed inward with a soft
crack.
His blood turned
to ice as a deep chill, which had nothing to do with the rain or his wet
clothes, racked every bone in his body. Richard released the outlaw with a
shove, more repulsed by his own vile thoughts than by the evil which was
Bodine. He felt detached from his body as he slowly backed away, even as he
remained unable to tear his gaze from the outlaw, terrified that the next time
he looked in a mirror he would find Bodine’s face looking back.
A maniacal burst
of laughter erupted from Bodine’s throat. “Come on, marshal, yer no diff’rent than
me,” the outlaw jeered. “Ya know how it feels to kill. But go ahead. Hang on ta
yer rule book and yer code. See if that’ll save yer soul.”
The backs of
Richard’s thighs bumped against the bank. His knees buckled, and he dropped
heavily onto a submerged portion of the grassy slope. The muddy water swirled
around his waist. A cold shudder shook his body.
“Are ya aimin’ ta
set in the river all night?”
Richard blinked
and turned his head. Johnny sat huddled on the bank, in the oversized poncho, looking
very small and very wet. Rain poured off his matted hair and ran down either
side of his face.
“I’d sure be
obliged, iffen ya’d unlock me.”
Damn, the poor kid
was still shackled to the dead man’s ankle.
“An’ don’t go
a-tellin’ me that deputy over yonder got the keys.” With a nod, Johnny gestured
upstream, where Brady and the others had just pulled the cook’s wagon up the
bank.
Exhausted and
ashamed, Richard hauled himself from the water and stood dripping as his numb
fingers fumbled to remove the small brass key from the pocket of his vest.
As he stepped
forward, Johnny leaned back on his elbows and stuck his foot in the air, making
it easier for Richard to insert the key. As soon as Johnny was freed from
Willis, the kid rolled to his feet and started up the bank. He had just reached
out to grab onto a small bush, when he heaved a weighted sigh and turned
around. Tilting his head slightly, he fixed his gaze on Richard.
“Ya ain’t nothin’
like my paw, an’ yer a damn fool fer thinkin’ so.” Then with his chin high,
heswung around and climbed up the bank.
