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Friday, February 26, 2010

GetToKnowTheBook: 'Texas Blue' by Celia Yeary


The Story behind Texas Blue

Celia Yeary


Texas Blue is the first novel I wrote. In fact, I'd never written fiction of any kind before this novel. All my experiences came from writing dry, boring science research papers in college on a manual typewriter.

Most writers say they began to write at an early age. I did not. Like all children, though, I had a vivid imagination, and that entire creativeness went into playing dolls, both paper and real, cowboys and Indians, and cars.

In essence, I became The Accidental Author. In 2004, I sat down with a Toshiba laptop my husband bought for one dollar at a garage sale. At that time, I could not even write and send an e-mail. If one of my friends or sisters sent a message, they sent it to my husband's mailbox and he called me into his office to read it. He always encouraged me to learn the computer, but I feared it so much. Finally, one day he brought it out and pushed me to "play" with it. Since it only cost one dollar, my fear went away—even if I broke it by hitting a wrong key, well, it was only a dollar.

I turned to Word 2002 on the computer—about the only thing that worked—and began to create a document. To learn all the facets of the program by trial and error, I began to write. A couple of months later after constant writing, I titled the finished story Texas Blue. To this day, I don't know where the story came from nor why.

The first scene takes place in the Piney Woods of East Texas—a vast tall pine forest slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island. I placed a young woman there, barefoot, walking through the soft red soil with her little daughter. At that point, I stopped. Even though I'm a native Texan, East Texas is the least familiar part of the state to me. Thus, my innate urge to research kicked in, and I studied books in the library until I knew the kinds of trees and flowers, the birds, the animals, the location, the towns, and the history in 1880. Then, I began to write again.

Western historical romance is my first love. After Texas Blue, I wrote the little daughter's story when she was grown, titled Texas Promise. Next, I wrote Texas True, the younger daughter's story; then All My Hopes and Dreams, a spin-off story from Texas Blue. I'm so pleased that all four have been or will be published.

Texas Blue is a simple story with a complicated plot. Yes, I know it sounds incongruous, but at the heart of the story is a young woman who, by no fault of her own, is trapped deep in the forest with her four-year-old daughter. They live with very little, but Marilee dreams of walking out of the woods one day with little Josie, finding a town, and learning how to take care of herself and her child. She has a courageous spirit, the heart of a lion, but fear is also her constant companion.

Blurb:

She wasn’t a fit mother…So said the county judge who hired Buck Cameron to retrieve his little daughter. But when Buck finally locates the pretty mother and child, he finds the claim very hard to believe. Now, he faces a dilemma. Should he obey the order? Or should he defy the judge and rescue Marilee and her child from isolation?
She’d been banished…

Rejected and abandoned by her father, Marilee Weston used the pain of betrayal to survive. Now, she needs a way out of the forest, where she and her daughter had lived for five years. But the towering pines and fear of the unknown imprisoned her. How could she begin a new life for herself and five-year-old daughter? Will the alluring stranger free her, or prove to be even more dangerous?

http://www.celiayeary.com
http://celiayeary.blogspot.com

Texas Blue and All My Hopes and Dreams-Western Historical novels-available in both print and eBook.

Texas Blue-available on Kindle at Amazon.
Showdown in Southfork-short series Contemporary novel.
Find all novels at: http://www.thewildrosepress.com
(Find Celia Yeary under Authors)

Thank you,
Celia Yeary

11 comments:

  1. Celia

    I loved hearing about how you began writing, and the way you researched your book.

    Texas Blue has all the ingredients of a great read. It's definately on my TBR list.

    Best wishes

    Jan

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  2. Good morning, Celia. I have just read the story behind the story on Texas Blue. And I can relate so well! Ah, those old manual typewriters that you had to correct mistakes on your pages with whiteout. I used a lot of bottles of that stuff! And a computer for a $1.? Even at a garage sale, this is a fantastic buy. I envy you a shopping husband. I wonder if you still use a Toshiba? I have had three and love them. As for where your stories come from? Never question the Muse. Sometimes I go back and read something I've written and realize I was just the instrument that put it on paper, not the creator of it. I think we simply dip from the "stream of consciousness" that flows through the universe. And some of us are blessed with more dippers than others. Or maybe some just aren't willing to use their dippers. Am I making sense? This is Monday morning and I am not a morning person.

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  3. P.S. Oh, I forgot to mention that I love Texas Blue which I am stealing time to read right now. You describe the Texas setting beautifully and the H&H are very well done. You have dealt with a very sensitive subject in this book but have done it in a positive way that offers hope. I wish you the success with Texas Blue that it deserves.
    And doesn't Suzannah have a lovely blog site? It's reflective of the lovely person she is, I think.

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  4. Thanks, Linda! It takes a beautiful woman to see another.

    I have to say that I admire women who never give up on their dreams. And I wish you all including myself the best, we deserve it. You know how many women we made happy just reading our stories. We, Romance Authors write for love and creativity...we write for a beautiful better tomorrow.
    Cheers!

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  5. JAN--I may live and know Texas, but you wrote a great story with a Texas hero. What a guy. I haven't read it, but I've read every excerpt and blurb you've put out there. I have a list I need to order. Thanks--Celia

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  6. linda--thanks for reading Texas Blue. I understand--right now Ihave seven downloads in my files I must read. It sort of drives me crazy that I can't find time to just sit and read and read. Of course, I have a Toshiba! Aren't we twins? I played with that first one, then moved to my dh's big HP and began to monopoligize it. One day he said, let's go to Best Buy--we're getting you your own computer. I had that one three Years, then he decided to buy a newer bigger version "to back up everything and keep it in the closet."
    Wait, I said--why can't I have the newer one? Use my old one for a back-up. Duh. Thanks for stopping by. Celia

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  7. Hi Celia,

    I can empathize with your struggle to go from a typewriter to a computer. When the garment factory where I'd worked for 20 years closed, the employees were given the option to go for a 2-year college course.

    I wasn' big into business...even took the college test to determine where my abilities lay. Wouldn't you know it? Creative. Writing, etc. The instructor said, "We don't have any creative courses here."

    So I settled for "Legal Secretary." It was tough. A middle-aged woman thrown into classes with sharp-witted, computer-savvy, 19 and 20 year old girls.

    The first six weeks I cried more than I had in my entire life. If anyone could take a computer down, I could. Every other key I hit was the wrong one. LOL

    Accounting was a required class. I hated it. Never really got it, though I managed an 85. English I loved. Had a 99 in that one.

    I managed to graduate on the honor roll, not because I was smart, but because I pushed myself three times as hard as the others. I was a perfectionist.

    After graduation I worked for an attorney, was laid off, worked for another who downsized. This occcurred 4 times in the first two years. After the last lay-off, I started working on "Journey To Forgiveness."

    The point of this post is: I believe God led me to go to go to school to learn to type on a computer, because He wants me to write. I would not have learned to use a computer otherwise. (Can't say I'm completely comfortable with technology, but much better.)

    That was 10 years ago. At first I moaned about not being able to keep a secretarial job. But my heart was never there. I loved meeting clients, but was probably too friendly and sporadic to be a good legal secretary.

    At least my education wasn't completely wasted. I am a published author now. Woo-hoo!

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  8. I really enjoyed learning the back-story of Texas Blue. I can't wait to read this one.
    Best wishes and keep writing.

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  9. REBECCA--thanks for stopping by--I appreciate it so much. Celia

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  10. LAUREAN--I love that you believe god sent you to school to learn the computer so you would write. Well, if that's true, He stopped my running around and plopped me in a chair so I'd learn. Wow, I cannot even imagine my life now without my computer! Celia

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  11. Texas Blue sounds like a lovely story, Celia.

    I wrote one thing when I was a child, a play. lol Then I wrote letters, and in the 90's I tried writing a book. It took years to get published, and then it was in e-book, which is still the step-child of print. Smile.

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