Featured Author of the Day: Paty Jaeger

Please welcome Paty Jaeger author of Spirit of the Sky. I must say this is a gorgeous cover, Paty.

Interview

Christine, Thank you for having me here today.

1.What or who inspired you to start writing?

That’s a hard question to answer. I wrote plays that my younger brother and I acted out with stuffed animals as a child. In middle school my two friends and I wrote an ongoing story about three girls on a hiking trip. When my children were small I wrote picture book stories for them and slowly morphed into writing freelance human interest stories for the local newspapers and then mystery and romance novels. So I’m not sure any one thing or person inspired me, it’s just something I’ve always done.

2.How did you come up with ideas for your books?

 
Ideas for my books come from things I read, hear, or see. The idea for the Spirit trilogy set among the Nez Perce of NE Oregon came about when an editor at a writer’s conference said she was looking for historical paranormal. I’m not a fan of vampires, werewolves or demons. But I’ve always had an interest in the Nez Perce and Native American culture so I came up with Nez Perce spirits who watch over the Lake Nimmippu or Wallowa Valley Nez Perce. 

3.What components make up a historical paranormal romance?

The first and foremost element for me is the historical element in the story. I spent hours doing research on the Nez Perce. How they lived in the 1700 and 1800s and their interactions with the whiteman. I also studied their myths and legends and their flight from incarceration on a reservation. The paranormal aspect is actually a fantasy aspect as I have three sibling Nez Perce spirits who are the main protagonists in each book. The books chronicle how they strive to keep balance in the Nez Perce band and their fates as they fall in love with mortals. And that growing interest and love is what makes the book a romance.

4.What expertise did you bring to your writing?

That’s a loaded question! Expertise is an obnoxious word. I tried to bring my characters to life and reveal the life of the Nez Perce.

5.What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

Hmmm…I’ve donated ebooks, money for ereaders, and books to various groups and a tote bag, gift cards, using your pet’s name in my mystery series, and goodies on my own to the Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes.  You can find my personal donation here: http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2443887

6.As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I’m currently writing a four book action/adventure series with an anthropologist and a DEA agent. The first book Secrets of a Mayan Moon will be available in ebook in several months, and I’m formulating a mystery series with a Native American female protagonist. 

7.If you could be one of the characters from any of your books, who would it be and why?

Any of my heroines. They are all tough, intelligent, and know what they want from their men. But I think the one that would be the most fun would be Sa-qan the bald eagle spirit in Spirit of the Sky. She can soar up in the clouds and move about watching over everything. 

8.Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

I don’t belong to a critique group but I have four go to CP’s that help me perfect my books. I have two who read my chapters as I write them and two who do a final read through. And then before I self publish my stories, I send them to my oldest daughter who is my final critic and who catches any typos or weird sentences. 

11. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I do a little of both. I have to know my characters by writing a page or two on their backgrounds and up to where the story starts. I know the beginning of the story and the ending and couple of the turning points and then I start writing.

12. Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you've gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books?

I’m not sure you’d call it hobbies but we own 350 acres. We raise cattle and hay and I spend a good part of the summer in a rural setting that is much like I write about in my historical westerns.

14. Have you started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about your book? 

My next project is Secrets of a Mayan Moon. It’s an action/adventure romance set in Guatemala. A brilliant anthropologist is lured to a dig in Guatemala by her mentor only to find out it is the center of drug trafficking, artifact thieves, and the sacrificial ceremony she was called down to decipher is connected to her.

15. Your interview will be posted May 11th. Mother's Day is just around the corner. Is there a family tradition or recipe for this wonderful day you would like to share? 


We don’t have any tradition for Mother’s Day other than my husband and I were married on Mother’s Day weekend 33 years ago. We usually do something for his mom on the Friday before(mine passed away 21 years ago) and get-a-way for the weekend.

16. What is your favorite reality show?

The Voice- I love listening to the things Country Singer Blake Shelton says.

18.  Can you tell us a little about the black moment in your book?

The black moment in Spirit of the Sky is when the hero, Lieutenant Wade Watts, is court-martialed for leaving his post to be with Sa-qan, his wife, and the Nimiipuu, who she has vowed to continue to help even after they are captured and sent thousands of miles from their homeland, are to be moved yet again. He tells her to go with her people and forget about him and she is torn between the duty she has upheld for centuries and her love for the man who has helped her and her people.

Contest!  I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky commenter.

Blog Tour Contest! Each blog stop has a picture of an eagle in the post. Follow the tour and send me the number of different pictures you saw while following the tour. To learn where I”ll be go to my blog(http://www.patyjager.blogpsot.com) or website(http://www.patyjager.net) If there is more than one correct entry I’ll draw a winner on May 21st  to receive a $25 gift certificate to either Barnes and Nobles or Amazon, a handmade custom ereader cover, and chocolate. Send your entry number to: patyjag@gmail.com by May 21st.

Blurb for Spirit of the Sky

Blurb

To save her from oppression, he must save her whole tribe. To give her his heart, he must desert his career…

When the US Army forces the Nimiipuu from their land, Sa-qan, the eagle spirit entrusted with watching over her tribe, steps in to save her mortal niece. Challenging the restrictions of the spirit world, Sa-qan assumes human form and finds an unexpected ally in a handsome cavalry officer.

Certain she is a captive, Lt. Wade Watts, a Civil War veteran, tries to help the blonde woman he finds sheltering a Nez Perce child. While her intelligent eyes reveal she understands his language, she refuses his help. But when Wade is wounded, it is the beautiful Sa-qan who tends him. Wade wishes to stop the killing—Sa-qan will do anything to save her people. 

Can their differences save her tribe? Or will their love spell the end of the Nimiipuu?

Excerpt 

The plants parted, revealing the contorted face of a soldier squinting down the length of a rifle pointed at them. Girl of Many Hearts squeaked. Sa-qan drew the child behind her, using her body as a shield. As a spirit she could not be killed by a mortal’s bullet.

A man dressed in buckskin pants and a soldier’s shirt with leader markings appeared behind the soldier pointing the rifle at them.

“No, Private! Leave them be!” The command rang with authority. The man’s dark eyes, shaded by the brim of a hat, narrowed, staring at her. “We’re only after the warriors. Go.” He pushed the soldier from the water and stepped closer.

“Are you a captive?” He held out his hand not holding a weapon. “I can help you. Take you from this.” His voiced dropped to a deeper, calming tone.

Sa-qan met his gaze. Should she let him know she spoke his tongue? The compassion in his eyes was a harsh contradiction to the violence still raging through the village. She shook her head and pressed Girl of Many Hearts farther into the river.

He took another step forward. “I can help you. We’re going to keep after these people until they give in. I know the army. They don’t give up.” The sorrow and weariness in his tone puzzled her.

She thought all soldiers thrived on attacking and harassing the Nimiipuu.

“I can get you away from this now, before it gets worse.” He took another step.

His nostrils flared as the stinging scent of burning hide filled the air along with terrified high-pitched screams.

“Damn!” The soldier lunged out of the river and ran toward a group of teepees being lit on fire.

Buy Link:

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191&products_id=4850