Shandra Higheagle Beginnings by Paty Jager
While the first two
novels I wrote decades ago were mysteries, I had so much trouble finding
writers in the mystery genre willing to help me hone my craft that I jumped
ship when the Romance Writers of America embraced me. Their meetings, workshops
and conferences were filled with helpful people who taught classes on point of
view, character arcs, plotting, and all the skills I needed to make a
publishable book. They also taught me the business side of writing.
And that’s how my career as a western romance author began.
My tag line is: “Tales of intrigue and romance starring cowboys
and Indians” Not only do I write
historical and contemporary western romance, I also have a historical romance
trilogy set among the Nez Perce Indians that deals with Native American spirits.
A few years back I started an Action Adventure series with a female Indiana
Jones/MacGyver character who is an anthropologist who specializes in Native
American cultures.
This fun jaunt into something other than westerns made me
long to write a mystery again.
The
yearning wouldn’t die and even though I’d already written in more genres than
one author should, I couldn’t let the idea of writing mystery go. Many writing
friends said it wasn’t a good idea to add one more genre, I’d lose readers. But
my heart, from the first novel I wrote all those years ago, was in mystery.
I’ve
had a wonderful time bringing my fictional ski resort town of Huckleberry,
Idaho to life. Adding three-dimensional secondary characters with a few quirks
to keep this an entertaining cozy read has been the most fun. In each book I’ve
add a new full-timer and enjoy the way they interact with the rest of the
populace. My two favorite secondary characters are Sheba, a dog as big as a
bear but a bit like the Cowardly Lion, who is Shandra’s companion, and Lewis,
the orange cat that is usually draped around Crazy Lil’s shoulders. Lil is
Shandra’s Jill-of-all-trades who, like the stray cat, came with the property
Shandra purchased on Huckleberry Mountain. She bought the land because of its
good clay pockets. Shandra is a potter who sells her vases as art.
On the eve of the biggest art event at Huckleberry
Mountain Resort, potter Shandra Higheagle finds herself in the middle of a
murder investigation. She’s ruled out as a suspect, but now it’s up to her to
prove the friend she’d witnessed fleeing the scene was just as innocent. With
help from her recently deceased Nez Perce grandmother, Shandra becomes more
confused than ever, but just as determined to discover the truth.
Links:
Bio-
Award-winning author Paty Jager and her husband
raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. On her road to publication she wrote
freelance articles for two local newspapers and enjoyed her job with the County
Extension service as a 4-H Program Assistant. Raising hay and cattle, riding horses,
and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives
it.
All her work has
Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and
engaging characters. Her penchant for research takes her on side trips that
eventually turn into yet another story. She recently returned to the genre of
her heart- Mystery.
You can learn more
about Paty at
(And I loved her book, you can read my review on Amazon.com After all, she has a Native American heroine and the book is set in a wonderful location. Don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.)
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