Hi Everyone!

What a fast Spring and Summer! It sure went by fast! Phew! What did I do this Summer? I wrote the rough draft for The Last Cowboy, HQN, 2011 during that time frame. I’m thrilled to tell you that HQN and my editors are wanting me to write TWO HQN’s a year. And that starts in 2011. I’m jazzed, because I love the longer format. It gives me the room to develop not only the main characters, but bring the secondary characters to more intense life, too.

I’m sure by now you know I’m embarking on another Saga-Series like Morgan’s Mercenaries. Both will go forward, so no one is going to see on saga leave and the other survive . I will continue to write Morgan’s Mercenaries where and when I can. I love exploring the families of these three children: Noah, Aly and Morgan.

My second saga-series is entitled: Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I don’t know about you, but I love the West! I was born in San Diego, California,so I’m a true westerner! And I don’t know about you, but I love cowboys! They are iconic and talk about men being men and the women who love them. Besides, I grew up in rural areas and I’m very familiar with agriculture, horses and raising animals. It’s a win-win for me and I hope you will enjoy the stories of people who live in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

I’ve had a number of you asked me when the series started, so here are the books, thus far, so you can catch up if you missed one of them:

Shadow from the Past, HQN, December 2009, Kamaria Trayhern’s book. Morgan’s Mercenaries Saga. Book 42. Beginning of the new saga-series, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Book #1.

Deadly Identity, HQN, December 2010, Lindsay McKenna. Beginning of Jackson Hole, Wyoming ongoing series in HQN. Book #2. Deputy Sheriff Cade Garner and Rachel Carson’s story.

Deadly Silence, HQN, Jackson Hole, Wyoming saga-series in HQN. Book #3. July, 2011. Casey Cantrell’s story. Morgan’s Mercenary saga. (Casey is a twin, youngest of the Alyssa and Clay Cantrell family)

The Last Cowboy, HQN, Jackson Hole, Wyoming saga-series in HQN. Jackson Hole, Wyoming saga-series, Book #4. December, 2011.

And, don’t forget, they will be coming out twice a year now! Yippee.

Starting December 1st, I’m back in the writing harness, as I refer to it. I’ll be writing the rough draft of my third Black Jaguar Squadron novel! This one is going to be about Rachel Trayhern, the oldest daughter of Noah and Kit Trayhern. Many of you learned about Melody Sue Rachel Trayhern in much earlier books. Well, here she is all grown up! Now, she goes by Rachel and not Melody Sue. As she grew up, she wanted to be known by her grandmother’s name, Rachel! And so she is now known throughout the Trayhern family as Rachel Trayhern. It’s working title is Fire and Ice. And as you know, working titles are frequently changed for a final title… so stay tuned for that too. This book is due in July, 2011 and will be out in 2012 as I understand it. But, if I get it written sooner and in before the contract date, that could change and it might come out in 2011, which I’d love!

I’m jazzed to be able to start writing about Aly’s family and Noah’s as well. You’ll see stories about the other Trayhern children not only in my series books, but in HQN, as well. I finished Morgan and Laura’s children with Kamaria as the anchor book for the Jackson Hole, Wyoming series. There will be ongoing ‘crossovers’ so be looking for them in the future.

I love Fall! It’s my favorite season. I love the multi colored leaves, the smell of Autumn in the air, the last flowers blooming, and my squash coming into ripeness. I always make a Jack-o-Lantern for Halloween and this time was no acceptation. Only this year, when I placed it out in its spot on our sun deck, it had a number of visitors! If you want to see what happened next, go to my blog at http://blog.medicinegarden.com and go to archive and look for the date of October 24, 2010. It was an amazing and surprising event .

I do the bulk of my writing in the Fall/Winter. It’s a great time to stay inside out of the cold, snuggle up to my computer and let the stories unwind like threads on a weaver’s loom. When I get finished with Black Jaguar Squadron #3, I’ll turn right around and start my next HQN. Right now, I’m working on a proposal for this next book in line. Sometimes I’ll wait weeks until an idea forms. And sometimes, they come like lightning bolts. Every book has its own birthing journey, that’s for sure!

We’re looking forward to Thanksgiving. The country has been in the worst recession since the Great Depression. Maybe one of the good things to come out of it is gratefulness for our family and friends. That’s something money can’t buy. And we’ll be having family and friends over to celebrate this time of giving. And speaking of giving….

I have a favorite charity, Central Asia Institute which was created by Greg Mortenson. Have you read his incredible book, Three Cups of Tea? If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. And his latest, Stones into Schools. Since I have friends who have lived near Afghanistan, and I have Muslim friends as well, I have a special interest in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a result of this. Greg goes around in these countries working with local elders to build schools for $12,000 a piece! More importantly, the elders of the village must agree to teach the girls as well as the boys. As you know, the Taliban forbade girls to be educated in Afghanistan. That is a tragedy. If we don’t educate the little girls of the world, a country cannot possibly move upward and lift itself out of abject poverty. Please think of a donation, large or small to Greg’s efforts. One girl at a time. Go to  www.ikat.org to find out more. Let’s help girls get educated!

I’ll be back in touch come January, a new year! I wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Holiday season. And thank you for reading my books. I’m always grateful. And I love to hear from you, so don’t be shy about contacting me. As a matter of fact, here are the ways we can stay in touch with one another!

WEBSITES:
www.medicinegarden.com
www.lindsaymckenna.com

BLOGS:
http://blog.medicinegarden.com
http://medicalastrology.medicinegarden.com

FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/eileen.nauman

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/eileennauman
http://twitter.com/lindsaymckenna