Cowboys, Horses and the Wild West with Vickie McDonough

Happy Saturday, Friends! Today I am pleased to introduce a blogging buddy of mine. Please help me welcome Bestselling author Vickie McDonough!

Vickie grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead, she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie is a best-selling author of more than 40 published books and novellas, with over 1.5 million copies sold. Her books have won numerous awards and Vickie has recently stepped into independent publishing.

Vickie has been married for forty-one years to Robert. They have four grown sons, one daughter-in-law, and a precocious granddaughter. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, antiquing, doing stained glass, watching movies, and traveling. To learn more about Vickie’s books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com


Welcome Vickie! We're so glad you could visit us today. Please tell us about your book.

End of the Trail is the final book in the six-book Texas Trails series, which I created with authors Susan Page Davis and Darlene Franklin. The series covers six decades of a family and Texas history. Each book is a complete story, so you don’t have to read all of them—unless, of course, you want to. I wrote two of the six books: Long Trail Home and End of the Trail, but today we’re featuring End of the Trail.

Here’s what End of the Trail is about:

Brooks Morgan is quick on the draw, but his weapon of choice is his smile. He’s smart and witty and has charmed his way through much of life, but now he’s growing older—and a bit wiser. He wants to stop drifting and settle down. He sees his chance when he wins Raven Creek Ranch in a poker game, but when he goes to claim his prize, a pretty woman with a shotgun says the ranch belongs to her. Brooks isn’t leaving his one and only chance to make something of his life—but neither is she. Can they reach an agreement? Or will a greedy neighbor force a showdown, causing them both to lose what they want most in life?

Wow, that sounds intense. Where did the inspiration for your story come from?

I had an idea: “what if two people believed they owned the same ranch?” and out of that idea, End of the Trail was birthed. There’s a scene in End of the Trail that was originally a short story I wrote years ago. When I was thinking of ideas for Brooks’ story, I remembered that scene and decided to include it. It’s a scene where the heroine saves the hero’s life.


Sounds interesting. A bit of a flip from the traditional damsel in distress. How does your faith and spirituality work in with your writing?

 I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember. All of my books have a faith element, although it’s stronger in some stories than others. It really depends on my character and his/her level of faith. Some of my characters aren’t a Christian but become one by the end of the book. Others are believers from the start, but struggle in some aspect of their faith.


What is your favorite thing about writing historical romance? 
I don’t know if I have just one favorite thing. I love the slower pace of life in historicals and admire how hard people had to work to survive. As a kid, I watched many cowboy shows on TV with my dad, and I fell in love with horses, cowboys, and western life. Western historical romances set in the late 1800’s are my favorite to read and write, although I do have a series set in the Charleston area and a novella set in Ireland.


Horses, sunsets, guns, what's not to love, right? What are you working on next? 
I’m finishing up something different—a USA Word Find Puzzle Book. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. Last summer, I took a series of webinars and learned how to create one. I’m glad it’s finally coming to fruition. I have ideas for some other puzzle books that I hope to create down the road.


Puzzle books! Not what I would have guessed, but that is exciting. Looks like you have some great stuff going on. Thank you so much for being with us!

Here's where you can check out Vickie's books & connect with her.

            

End of the Trail on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y55LYPM
Long Trail Home on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XXG4SFT

 Connect with Vickie:

Website: www.vickiemcdonough.com 

Newsletter sign-up: http://www.vickiemcdonough.com/www.vickiemcdonough.com/Newsletter_Sign-up.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VickieMcDonough

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vickiemcdonough

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/VickieMcDonough 

Heroes, Heroines, and History blog: http://HHHistory.com

Follow me on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vickie-McDonough/e/B001JP4JE8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1464450059&sr=8-2-ent

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/101317.Vickie_McDonough

List.ly: https://list.ly/list/1aRD-books-by-vickie-mcdonough

Don't forget to leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for the STT Independence Day giveaway of Dawn of Liberty!