Dark Trails, our imprint for certain books, stories, poems, and art.

Years ago, before Raven Publishing began publishing novels, we published a monthly newsletter for adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse. It was called, "Alone Together." We finally had to quit publishing it for financial reasons, but we still get submissions once in a while. The latest offering is a sweet and poignant story that we thought should be heard.  It is about child abuse, but it is more about the healing power of love and kindness. With the authors permission, and since we can no longer offer the print magazine, we are publishing it in our Dark Trails Press blog.

We invite and welcome submissions of poetry, art, stories, and even books with a theme related to abuse and healing to be published on the Dark Trails Blog. Please send them to Janet@ravenpublishing.net, or mail to:
Dark Trails Press
c/o Raven Publishing
PO Box 2866
Norris, MT. 59745

Introducing and explaining our imprint: Dark Trails Press

Raven Publishing created Dark Trails Press to publish a book that didn't fit the genre already published by Raven.  Raven Publishing originally specialized in "True Fiction" for the middle-grade reader, and gradually expanded to include young adult and adult "true fiction,"  memoir, and historical fiction including some legal murder mysteries set in Montana. The question asked in deciding whether to publish a book, story, or poem under Raven or Dark Trails comes down to this: Is there a reason we would not want a young Miranda and Starlight fan, someone in the under-12 age bracket to read it? If the answer is yes, it goes under Dark Trails, an imprint for adults and older teens. At Dark Trails, some stories, because they are true to life, may contain a some language, sex and/or violence when deemed necessary to the story or characters. Please don’t get us wrong. Dark Trails, or any imprint of Raven Publishing, past, present or future will not publish anything pornographic, racist, sexist, or demeaning and hurtful.

The first book published at Dark Trails was an e-book, Caught at the Edge, by Raymond Storm. It is a book with an important message; it is a Christian book; and it is also terribly violent. It is the story of a young man who grows up in abusive homes, is rescued by an uncle with ties to a drug cartel, and is trained to do the dirty, dangerous work for the mob. He also becomes a recruiter for other young boys, L. A. street gang members, to risk their lives for the cartel in exchange for guns, drugs, and women. This book alternates chapters between flashbacks to the young man I just described, and the grownup he becomes after an intervention converts him to Christianity. The author’s hope and intention in writing this book is to show the dark side—the true side—of the life of organized crime and street gang violence, and to lead young people to a better way.
More about Dark Trails next time.

Page-turning novel confronts controversial issues

As promised in yesterday's post, here is information about the novel we published electronically, but not as a print book yet. Because it is more controversial and for an older audience than children's books by the same author, we published it under our imprint, Dark Trails Press, which to date, has only published e-books. As I am the author, let me explain.

I write to explore important contemporary issues that come to my attention. I develop characters based on real people who confront said issues in their daily lives. Then I give the characters the conflict or dilemma inherent in the issue. I let the characters teach me how it feels, the problems it creates for them, and their natural reaction to it. They show me how they cope and eventually, hopefully, triumph. As the issue is thus clarified for me, I hope it will do the same for the reader as well as offer them support, comfort, hope, and courage.

I could list the various issues I've written about in each of my books, but I'm here to talk about this one: Danni's Choice, or maybe a better name would be Danni's Secret, since in some regards, Danni was given no choice at all. Perhaps, if you read it, you can help me decide. This issue, which has been in the news a lot, is surrounded by controversy and imbedded in politics. Danni's Choice confronts the issues of rape and abortion.

Like the teen protagonist, Danni Beaumont, (she was the supporting character in my book, The Body in the Freezer) I thought I knew my position on the issue. By the end of the book, both Danni and I learned that we were wrong. We hadn't known, and our minds were changed—even though we started out on opposite sides of the issue.

And I think—hope—that if everyone examined both sides closely, they'd change their ideas on the issue, too, regardless of the position they started with. For as Danni said in a heated speech to her college class, it's not a black and white issue.

Those who have read Danni's Choice and commented on it found it to be a compelling read as well as an important one—a book they couldn't put down until finished. I'd like to hear more feedback, for I cannot expect everyone to agree. If you are interested, you can find the book here and here. And, if you don't mind, let me know your thoughts.

Catching up on Old News.

I was shocked to see that it's been over a year and a half since I posted any news from Raven Publishing. Do I have an excuse? No, but I'll just say, it's been quite a busy nineteen months since the last post. With my mind on the books being published, it seems I forgot all about this blog. I plan to do better, but I'm not making promises.

We published six books in 2014 and two—well, three, counting one that is only available as an ebook—in 2015. Here are the books and a bit about each.

The Whole Nine Yarns, by Jim Moore, is an attractive little book that will fit nicely in your hand, purse, or pocket—or someone's Christmas stocking.  Mind you, that's YARNS, not yards—and delightful yarns they are, some humorous, The Proposal, for one; some poignant and sad, Jerry Brayed and Swamp, just to name a couple; some with lessons learned the hard way, like Cut Fence, but all tales about life in the west.

Starting the Colt, by Jan Young is a sequel to her first book, The Orange Slipknot. Ben, the twelve-year-old son of a cowboy on a large cattle ranch in the Great Basin region of Nevada is being taught two conflicting methods of starting a colt. It is up to him to decide what he believes is best (not just in horse training, but in life) and to decide whether to follow his convictions.

Starting the Colt Curriculum Unit, by Jan Young give teachers and home-school parents a comprehensive lesson plan that covers several disciplines and is based on her novel. It includes an answer key.

Joe Henry's Journey, by Marcia Melton is a well-researched, historically accurate, exciting novel about the adventures of a young boy and his Pa as they escape war-torn Kentucky and travel up the Missouri River to Fort Benton, Montana, and then on to the gold fields on Grasshopper Creek, near Bannack, Montana, in 1862.

The Body in the Freezer, by Janet Muirhead Hill, explores homelessness through the eyes of a smart and arrogant rich kid who meets a homeless girl while he’s doing community service. She has a secret that he give anything to find out. It’s a story of life, hard times, and transforming circumstances.

The Dishwater Tree, a novel by Angela Janacaro, in which the old willow tree on a lonely, windswept hill outside of Miles City, Montana, saw three generations of women—and kept their secrets. But when 80-year-old Worthy learned that she hadn't long to live, she was ready to unlock the secret of her heritage if she could. Why was she left upon the doorstep of an orphanage in Williston, ND as a newborn? Who was her mother? What was her story? Worthy's daughter comes home from San Fransisco to help her find out, and finds herself as well.

That covers it for 2014. Here are our 2015 titles:

The Jenny, by Jim Moore, is a legal murder mystery set in central Montana in 1920. Young, attractive, independent, and adventuresome Merci Bruce brings a WW II biplane to her parents' ranch near Two Dot. Merci is of the next generation of the Bruce family  that was introduced in Ride the Jawbone. When the mechanic who came with Merci from California to assemble the plane is found dead on the Two Dot sidewalk, there is a note pinned to his chest with a German bayonet. The question, of course, is, "Who committed the murder?"

The Horse and the Crow, by Janet Muirhead Hill, is a Miranda and Starlight story. The six-book series about the young girl, Miranda, and Starlight, the horse she loved, was completed in 2005. Miranda was ten years old in the first two books and fourteen at the end of book six. Young readers have been asking for more ever since. Finally, in 2015, Ms. Hill answered with The Horse and the Crow, in which Miranda loses a horse and almost loses her life. Teddy Hungry Horse, a young Crow Indian boy, saves her—three times. Fans of Miranda will be interested to know that Laurie Langley, and especially, Christopher Bergman continue to play a big part in Miranda's life.

More about the e-book, Danny's Choice, by Janet Muirhead Hill, in the next post. 

Confessions of a Frustrated Editor

Sometimes after editing and proofreading manuscript after manuscript, time after time, it all runs together and the pesky punctuation rules get jumbled in my mind. I recently ran across a poem I penned a long time ago, apparently in a moment of frustration.

Commas
by Janet Muirhead Hill

Commas are such pesky things,
They sometimes get me down.
When editing I must scrutinize
Every adverb, verb, and noun.

Commas pop up everywhere
In places they shouldn't be,
And in places where they're needed,
The line is comma-free.

The manuals piled on my desk
With pages of comma rules
Sometimes seem inadequate,
So I look for online tools.

And when I'm sure I have them down,
Each rule I apply,
Until a sentence doesn't seem to fit
Any rule. Then I cry.

The rules are there, however opaque,
And we must have commas for clarity's sake
But to avoid insanity, I find I must take
This rule to avoid a worse mistake:

When you can't find a sample,
This rule is ample:
"When in doubt, leave it out!"

The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda, latest review

 

Following is a review that was published in the "About Books" section of the November/December 2013 Montana Art's Council's "State of the Arts" newspaper: 

The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda 

by Jim Moore 

Published 2013 by Raven Publishing, Inc., Norris, MT 

$26.00 Hardcover 

(Also available in softcover) 

Jim Moore

In his latest novel, Jim Moore immediately grabs the readers' attention with the description of a body falling from the fourth floor balcony in the Montana State Capitol, ergo, the title. 

Readers are introduced in short order to Senator Lynn Bruce, an attorney from Roundup, who becomes central to the story when he is enlisted to defend the prime suspect in what eventually is determined to be a case of murder. 

The author's background as a former state senator and lawyer give him the credentials to pen an intriguing murder mystery, set in the midst  of a busy legislative session, where both the accused, Senator Audrey Welter, and her defender, Senator Bruce, are trying to fulfill their elective duties while grappling with the elements of an impending with the elements of an impending trial. 

The murder victim was a trusted aide to the governor with a checkered past, working her way up the social and political ladder. More than one person would have appreciated her demise.

Untangling the details and solving the crime brings the accused and her attorney in close contact, which spices the story with romance. 

One of Moore's strong points in his work is his familiarity with courtroom scenes and dialogue. It lends his tales the authentic feel that you get from someone who has "been there, done that." Cindy Younkin, attorney and former Majority Whip for the Montana House of Representatives, agrees: "The intertwining of the legislative process, cross party politics, unscupulous politicians, murder and a senator/attorney/rancher who helps the damsel in distress makes for a great story," she writes. 

Moore is a retired lawyer, cattle rancher and former Montana Senate Minority Leader, who lives near Bozeman. His previous books include Ride the Jawbone and Election Day. 

—Judy Shafter

Book Covers

People judge a book by the cover, at least at first glance, so covers are very important to us. Our cover for Election Day was created by the very talented author, book designer, and editor, Craig Lancaster, who worked closely with me to give me just what I asked for. We wanted something to go along with both the title and the theme of the story, but more than that, something that would catch the eye of potential readers and hold their attention, and I believe this cover with the White House in stormy weather does just that. The book is about a fictional presidential election and a VERY stormy race for the White House—so it fits. As someone commented, on seeing the cover, "It's dark, foreboding, intriguing in the mist of storm. You can expect just about anything to happen as the story unfolds. Awesome!" And you'll be amazed and thrilled at all that does happen. 

Craig Lancaster also designed the cover for another of Jim Moore's amazing thrillers. A cover that invites you in to read more. 

I recommend Craig Lancaster's work, talent, and professionalism in creating a cover and/or designing a layout for anyone wanting an attractive book. He is also great to work with. 

 Janet Hill, president, Raven Publishing, Inc.

Our Forefathers' Foresight Put to the Test

Now, is a good time to sit back and enjoy the thrill ride found in Jim Moore's novel, Election Day—a better time, perhaps, than July of last year when the book was released. 2012 was an election year in which the campaign seemed to go on forever, millions were spent on ads trashing opponents reputations, and just about everyone, regardless of left or right leanings, was sick and tired of it all. At that time, potential readers may have associated Election Day, with what was currently filling radio, television, the Internet, and newspapers—and wanted no more of it. But this book is far different from any other book, heralding political events unlike any in the history of our country. Yet the happenings that will astound you in this story are entirely possible, due to contingencies our forefathers put into our nations laws.

Little-known laws in the  US Constitution and its amendments are put to a test in this story. The result of this thoughtful, thought-provoking, well-researched novel is a civics lesson wrapped in an exciting thriller with astounding revelations. It is a book that will leave the reader asking, "Are there laws here that ought to be changed in order to keep this unlikely but fully possible scenario from happening?" "What about the electoral college? Is it fair in every situation and contingency?"

The plot, the characters, the premise, the outcome of Election Day, by Jim Moore will stick in your mind long after the book has been put down or passed on. This is not your usual Election Day.

The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda

Off to a good start, our launching campaign for a great thriller by Bozeman author, Jim Moore, lost momentum when the call for help of one of Raven Publishing's authors took our immediate attention.

We are still mourning the passing of Joan Bochmann, author of Absaroka, who left her cancer-ravaged body on September 26, 2013. Yet, as Joan would want us to, we want to continue to share the news of the latest release by our best-selling author, Jim Moore. It is too good to be ignored, and there is still plenty of time to put this book, in hard or soft cover, on your holiday shopping list.

About The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda:

Murder in the Capitol becomes the top news story when the body of Gloria Angel, the popular and lovely assistant to the governor of Montana is found on the floor of the rotunda of Montana s capitol. When an autopsy indicates foul play, Missoula Senator Audrey Welter finds herself accused of murder. She turns to a Senate colleague, attorney Stretch Bruce from Roundup, to represent her. They struggle to fulfill their legislative obligations while preparing a defense to the charge and trying to figure out who is the real killer. Was it the Governor? The Attorney General? The vagrant found lurking in the basement of Capitol? Was it Audrey s former husband, who was enamored with the dead woman and had been stalking her? The twists and turns come one after another right up to the end of the trial, as Audrey’s life hangs in the balance. 

Reviews: 

“don’t pick up this book expecting to go to bed early”
Judge William Russell McElyea

“There is a ‘Montana Way’ in everything Jim Moore does. This novel deserves to be read by everyone who loves our great state.”

Neil J. Lynch, Former Majority Leader, Montana State Senate 

“The intertwining of the legislative process, cross-party politics, unscru- pulous politicians, a murder and a sneator/attorey/rancher who helps the damsel in distress makes for a great story.”

Cindy Younkin, Attorney and former Majority Whip, Montana House of Representatives. 

“Love and Lust drive the action that ends with a dramatic courtroom scene. This novel captivates right to the end.”

Kathleen Mohn, founder of Speak and Write, a corporate training firm

Available in hard or soft cover at many fine stores including Montana's largest independent books store, Country Book Shelf, as well as many online sites including http://www.ravenpublishing.net,  Amazon or as an ebook at Smashwords or Amazon's Kindle.

Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Miranda and Starlight Audio

Miranda and Starlight, by Janet Muirhead Hill, is available on CD, read by the late Joan Bochmann, author of Absaroka.

First published in 2002, Miranda and Starlight gained immediate popularity with girls who love horses as well as other readers. One young fan wrote, "My brother loves your book and he hates horses." Readers as young as five, many adults, and senior citizens have expressed their enjoyment of this story and have asked for more. Now, with the choice of being able to listen to the book on CD in addition to the paperback and ebook editions, it is available to a wider audience than ever.

This audio edition has been a long time coming, and many fans of both the book and of Joan Bochmann are thrilled to have it available now.

Joan Bochmann, author, rest in peace

Author Joan Bochmann left her pain wracked body and our sight on September 26, 2013. She will be sorely missed, but she has left a legacy of talent, love, and an example of strength and faith to her family, fans, and a host of dear friends.

Born on November 21, 1934, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Joan was the oldest of six children. Allen and Dorothy Muirhead, her hard-working, loving parents provided the rich culture of ranch life in the beautiful Yampa Valley, high in the Rocky Mountains. She learned love and respect for horses and ranching from her father and the love of books and reading from her mother. 

Joan cherished those gifts throughout her life and shared them with others. She often read volumes of great fiction to her younger siblings and involved them in storytelling games where she created gripping stories on the spot and encouraged sisters and brothers to do the same.

Joan graduated high school at the head of her class. She worked at various jobs since she was just fourteen years of age. She spent more than thirty years working as a paralegal. She married young, raised two children, and always kept the love of books, reading, and writing alive. She took night classes at the University of Colorado, Boulder, studying psychology and English Writing. Over her lifetime, she produced a large collection of short stories, essays, articles, and a novel, Absaroka, Where the Anguish of a Soldier Meets the Land of the Crow, which won a prestigious IPPY award honorable mention in Best Regional Fiction for the Mountain West from the Independent Publishers Group. This book has been published in trade paperback and as an ebook (called The Wild Horses of Absaroka) and an audio book, (Absaroka, From War to Wyoming). She narrated Miranda and Starlight, a book her sister wrote, which was recently released on CDs.

Joan took lessons and got her pilots license in 1967. She loved to fly and never missed a chance to climb into a private airplane, take to the air, and soar among the clouds. Besides flying, riding horses, reading, and writing, Joan enjoyed skiing, playing golf, hiking, and camping. She loved spending time with her children, Debbie Tanner and Gary Zimmerman, and her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She especially liked holidays and events that brought her large extended family together. Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday.

She was a member of the Grace Place Church, in Berthoud, Colorado, where her faith and her family of friends and loyal supporters grew and flourished. 

Joan left several unpublished stories and the beginnings of three or four novels that she didn't get time to finish.  Her death is a loss to not only her friends, family, and fans, but to the world of great literature. 

Joan was my sister, my idol, my mentor, role model, and best friend. Even as I miss her, I am also grateful that she has finally escaped the ravages of cancer that kept her in pain for so long. Rest in peace, dear Joan. 

Janet Muirhead HIll

Raven's New Imprint

Raven introduces Dark Trails Press

Darker content, but still True Fiction

True Fiction—fiction because the stories and characters are made up—is true in the sense that it mirrors real life and explores important real-life problems and solutions.  As we go deeper into the world of true fiction with books that confront serious, contemporary, but difficult and often unpleasant issues, we see the need for a new publishing arm—one for stories that are not suited for the children who read our Miranda and Starlight series and other novels written for elementary and middle-grade kids. 

Oh, yes, we have published some very good, very poignant, and very grown-up stories for adults. They do not, however, contain any but the mildest curse words, let alone any vulgar language, nor any overly violent or explicit sexual content. However, our new imprint may publish books that include any or all of the above—even as it follows our definition for true fiction—or moral non-fiction. 

By moral, we use John Gardner’s definition as supplied in his book, On Moral Fiction. “True art seeks to improve life, not debase it. It ought to be a force bringing people together, breaking down barriers of prejudice and ignorance, and holding up ideals worth pursuing.” Our new imprint will publish books or short pieces that confront dark, but true-to-life issues—using these principles.

Dark Trails Press, will soon publish its first book, Caught at the Edge by Raymond Storm, as an ebook. It portrays the life of the kids in the warring street gangs of East L. A. and shows how men in the big drug cartels entice them with drugs, guns, and sexy women, only to exploit—and then dispose of them when they are no longer useful.

The book also introduces the type of organizations laboring to rescue these children and turn their lives around. It shows how a young life is redeemed by a program established to offer troubled boys a better—and far less dangerous—way of life.

A Book's Journey: from writer to reader

The time between the spark of an idea in an author's brain to the published book in the hand of the reader is often years.

The writer may let the idea simmer, formulate, and develop in his mind for many hours, days, weeks, and sometimes years before beginning to write.  Then it can take more days, weeks, months, and/or years of writing and researching, as that idea spark creates new characters, worlds, and events. The next step, rewriting, editing, and proofreading before the author is satisfied that it is ready to be read, may take even longer. When that is done, it is time find a publisher who agrees.

Few writers land a publisher or even an agent with the first query or proposal, but may accumulate many rejections, and, if they're lucky, suggestions for improvement. When finally accepted by a publisher, it is possible, even likely, that more rewrites and edits will be required. When the manuscript, the product of the author’s years of work, frustration, and love finally gets into the publisher's queue, he must wait—sometimes months, or even a year or two or three—before the publishing team has it in book form. To the author, this can seem interminably long, and he may fear that the book has been forgotten. What the author doesn't know, unless he asks, is that the wheels of the publishing machinery are grinding along,  moving the book through the many steps of the process to completion.
Getting the attention a commercial publisher seems to get harder as the years go by, but perseverance sometimes pays off. And even though it may seem to take forever to see the book finally in print, it won’t happen if the author gives up. 

We asked author Jim Moore about the journey of his novels, from the conception of the idea to the day he was able to hold the actual book in his hand. He got the idea for his first book, Ride the Jawbone, from years of driving by the old Montana railroad bed near his ranch near Two Dot, Montana. "Someone ought to write a story about the old Jawbone," he thought. Since no one else had, when he finally retired, he wrote the historical legal mystery. After submitting the manuscript for Ride the Jawbone, to a large number of agents and editors without success, he wrote Election Day, and began the submission process again with that political thriller. When that didn't succeed, he decided to try a contemporary legal murder mystery of the kind he often read. The result was The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda, which he began in 2006 or 2007. "This manuscript," Jim says, "… was offered to many agents and editors with no more success than with the other manuscripts."

In 2010, Jim took a publishing workshop offered by Raven Publishing and presented by Janet Hill. At the end of the class, he left his manuscript for Ride the Jawbone for her to read, "In case you get time to look it over. I know you're busy." He baited her with a delightful short story which he left on top of the manuscript, "Because it has my contact information on it," he said. Janet first read the short story, finding it compelling, funny, and with a great twist of an ending. She enjoyed the flavor of Jim's writing enough to begin the novel—and was soon hooked. Raven Publishing contracted the rights and published it the next year. It sold well and is still in demand after 5 printings. So it was only natural that Raven would want more of Jim's work. Election Day followed in 2012 and The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook as of July, 2013. 

Raven Publishing looks forward to more from Jim in the future.

MORE FROM MOORE!

Jim Moore, former rancher, lawyer, Montana State Senator, Minority Leader, and now prolific author, has yet another book coming out next month. "The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda" may be the best yet. Many of his previewers think so.

Who killed the beautiful Chief Aide to Montana's Governor and tossed her over the balcony to land on the floor of the rotunda in the state capitol? Senator Stretch Bruce, attorney at law, doesn't know, except to feel certain that it wasn't the accused, Senator Audrey Welter, his lovely client. By the time of the trial, he still doesn't know and is left with no defense but to cast doubt on the prosecution's evidence. Readers will keep turning pages until the surprise breakthrough that turns the tide of the trial.

Intrigue, political corruption, mystery, and romance make for a gripping read from start to finish.

Jim's previous books, "Ride the Jawbone" (2011—and now in it's fifth printing) and "Election Day" (2012—now on sale at a reduced price on Amazon) have delighted thousands of readers. Moore has many more books waiting in the wings. Stay tuned.

Extraordinary "Election Day" Novel

After the many long months of the ruthless campaigning that led up to the 2012 presidential election, most of us were fed up with elections. However, anyone who has read Jim Moore's Election Day will tell you that the fictional election day in his novel is like no other. In a complex and page-turning scenario, Jim reveals facts about the US Constitution that most of us never even considered. His characters become real and important to the reader, but the most important "character" may be the Constitution and the Laws of the United States.

What if, just days before the election, the vice-presidential candidate is killed in an auto accident. His running mate is elected, but dies before taking office. Who, then will be president and how will that person be chosen?

The amazing thing about this scenario is that the framers of the constitution foresaw even this eventuality and made rules for how to proceed. As you read the complications that follow, you will be amazed at the thoroughness with which the founding fathers' considered every possible detail, but you just might question their wisdom. Should some of these laws be changed? The plot's twists and turns will surely keep the reader turning the pages until the last question. "When was election day?" Not exactly an easy question to answer

Election Day by Jim Moore was published in 2012 by Raven Publishing, Inc.

Moore's best-selling novel Ride the Jawbone came out in 2011.

A Bold "What if" is answered? (Teaser for forthcoming book)

What if:
two days before the general election, the candidate for Vice President of the United States is killed in an accident?

What if:
three day after the election the candidate for president—having received the most votes—dies.

Who gets to be president and how is that person chosen?

Jim Moore’s intriguing novel not only answers the questions—but also brings to light some provisions placed in our Constitution by the Founding Fathers to deal with just such contingencies. Throw in four would-be “Kingmakers,” an unscrupulous, power-driven egomaniac who is determined to be president at any cost, a rancher/lawyer from Montana who becomes a pawn in an election scheme, and you have an unforgettable story.

Jim Moore, best-selling regional author of Ride the Jawbone, (2011) began writing when he retired from his law practice about ten years ago. Before that, Jim was a cattle rancher, lawyer, and politician, including a term as Montana Senate Majority Leader. He lives near Bozeman, Montana with his wife, Kay, and continues to write both novels and short stories.

Election Day, by Jim Moore will be released this summer.

A planned schedule is important, a daily writing habit, essential.

The more I have to do and the more varied the projects demanding my attention become, the more I realize the importance of a plan of action. Being a morning person, I reserve the earliest morning hours of each day for creative writing time. Or, at least that is the plan. However when other duties are on my mind, it's easy to skip the writing, "just for today," and jump right into the marketing or design or editing or whatever it is on my mind that "must" be done right now.

I have learned, though, that skipping my morning writing wastes time, because the longer I am away from my book, the longer it takes me to get back into it. I have to go back and reread what I've already written. If I've missed a day, it may not take a few pages of rereading to get my mind—and muse—back into it. If I've missed two or three days, it will take longer. If I've missed weeks or months, I will have to reread from the beginning, or keep going back as I write to check on what I've already said or haven't said.

So, my renewed resolution is to write EVERY DAY. Even if it's only a few minutes to a half-hour, it will keep me in touch with my characters and their place in the plot. I find it's best if it's two or three hours, but that isn't always possible. Not having a big block of time, does not mean that I cannot write at all. Making writing my first activity of the day is very important to me. If I don't write then, the chances are slim that I will get to it at all.

Only after I've finished writing, should I move on to other activities. Then I must, to the best of my ability, keep to a schedule that will get it all in. (More on a daily schedule tomorrow)

About Our Authors. First: Janet Muirhead Hill

Here is the first in a series of posts introducing the authors of Raven Publishing, Inc. of Montana. Janet Muirhead Hill, founder of Raven was also its first author. After publishing her Miranda and Starlight series of six books, she expanded her company to publish other authors of important novels and memoir.

We'll start with her.

Janet Muirhead Hill’s three favorite things in life were nurtured on the cattle ranches where she grew up in the Yampa River Valley in the Colorado Rockies. She incorporates them in the books she writes. 1) Kids. More than anything else, Janet, the middle child in a family of six kids, loves children and cares about their welfare. 2) Writing. Her older sister who read to her and taught her to make up stories on the long winter evenings they shared fostered her love for books and writing. 3) Horses. Her father, a horse lover and cowboy, taught his children to ride and to care horses. At a very young age, Janet developed great admiration and a connection with these noble animals.

In 2002, Hill published Miranda and Starlight, the first of a six-book series of horse stories that involve a young girl, Miranda, with problems involving Starlight, the horse of her dreams. Miranda is a lonely girl, sent to her grandparents’ dairy farm in Montana while her mother stays in Los Angeles, seeking stardom. Miranda doesn’t fit in with the kids in the small country school, and she believes that if she only had a horse, nothing else would matter. When she meets Starlight, a black two-year-old colt on a neighboring thoroughbred horse ranch, and the adventures begin.

Hill has published three other novels, one stand-alone about a Montana ranch boy whose father is killed in the war. Danny goes through the stages of grief with the help of his horse, Dragon, until his mother takes them to Denver to live with grandparents he hardly knows. Like all of Hill’s books, Danny’s Dragon was created to help kids through difficult times, showing them that they are not alone and offering support and help wrapped in a gripping adventure story.

Her latest books, the first two novels of a trilogy, gives the reader an intimate look at the devastation that parents can cause when they divorce without understanding the effect it can have on the children. Kendall (Kendall’s Storm) and Kyleah (Kyleah’s Tree) are twins who have not been allowed contact since their parents divorced when they were four. Hill has written Kendall and Kyleah, the third book of this trilogy, which will be released in 2012.

Hill continues to write from her rural Montana home where she keeps three horses and remains very connected to her grandchildren.

The next post will tell the story of another Raven author.

The Road Between: Book Review by Marcia Melton

A reader sent us this review of The Road Between. It captures it well.

Review of The Road Between by Florence Bell Ore (Raven, 2011)

Ruts in a country road, stretching out through yellow prairie grass to distant blue mountains beckon the reader from the cover illustration of Florence Bell Ore’s brave and affecting memoir, The Road Between. A sturdy gate punctuates the path which takes the reader into the 1930s and 1940s in Alberta, Canada and into the life of a young girl whose world is woven of three cultures: her English family working as missionaries on the Blackfoot Reserve; her Blackfoot neighbors and fellow children of the prairie; and the Canadian citizens in the nearby town of Gleichen and the city of the region, Calgary.

This childhood and young adulthood is not typical in any way because of the juxtaposition of cultures and Florence Ore’s “between-ness” among them. With her family, Florence is given the expectations of proper behavior for a young lady and schooling designed to lead her to a life patterned in English manners and morals. With respect and love, she honestly presents the human sides of her relatives. They also feel the conundrum of adapting old patterns to new expectations.

In the native culture, she sees another form of community. Blackfoot children living in Old Sun School were taken from their homes to be educated in Canadian culture and the Christian religion, leaving them bereft of their family traditions and stories. The girls continued a tenuous hold on their own ways as they crafted beaded belts and headbands, weaving the old and the new together to form their own society. As Florence vacillates between braiding her hair the way the Blackfoot girls do and wearing English ringlets, the dichotomy is clear. Florence’s Uncle Jack, the serious and sympathetic principal and minister, confided in her, “I sometimes think they have the right idea after all.” These words resonated with Florence’s feelings while watching the clash of two cultures.

The Canadian landscape underlies all of the lives described in this book. The wide, wild reaches of Alberta affect the discoveries and connections of the various peoples dwelling there. An evocative description, characteristic of Florence Ore’s beautiful writing, captures its sense. “My new world stretched from the Rocky Mountains, a pale blue ragged edge on the western horizon, east to where the land sloped endlessly down to the Atlantic. Above me spread the vast dome of sky. Lying on my back, watching an armada of cumulous clouds sail in the expanse of blue, the song of the meadowlark connected me to the earth and an awareness of the land and the world I lived in. Wherever I went this would be home.”

This book is a timepiece of the author’s unique life in the 1930s and 1940s. Her reflections and gem-like observations create the prism through which so many insights come. Her descriptions are so clear and personal that the reader is there. It is an unvarnished look at this time, with all its contradictions, and a respectful insight into the family and people of her life. Her young adulthood is not without challenge when her mother becomes single. Like her Indian neighbors, Florence is sent to a private girl’s school where she must integrate one more time into a new culture while holding on to an old one. Through the events and observations, the story speaks to the reader of the value and meaning of understanding and courage.

A closer look at the bright Van Gogh-like cover painting shows that this painting is also by the author, Florence Bell Ore, who paints in both words and picture. For me, her courageous remembering of the past gave a gift which clearly illustrated the power of memoir to bring understanding and meaning to the present.

The Road Between: a memoir

The writing is beautiful, the memories of a young girl growing up on the windswept prairies of Alberta on an Indian reserve during the Great Depression, the dust-bowl, and WWII are poignant.

Florence Bell Ore, who now lives and writes from Pony, Montana, shares her memories, revealing many details of places and times in Canadian history. Florence had to sort out her own ideals and beliefs from the three very different cultures that formed her life—from the very proper English morals and customs of her maternal grandmother, to those of the Siksika tribe of the Blackfoot Indians who came to the residential school where her uncle was principal and her father the farm manager, to the elementary school in the town of Gleichen where she walked snowy roads to learn Canadian customs and accents. As she says, "A landscape of grass blowing under a dome of sky became the constant reality used by this Canadian child to forger her own identity."

To order the print book, contact janet@ravenpublishing.net. For the e-book see Amazon's Kindle Store or Smashwords.com.