Karen: Calisa Rhose pens memorable romances about acceptance and finding that special person who makes them complete. Sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while Calisa shares her journey into publishing Home with The Wild Rose Press.
Calisa: Thanks
to Karen for inviting me here today to share more of how my novella, Home, came
about. It’s not a single story, but part of a unique series of stand-alone
stories being published by The Wild Rose Press. Read on to find out how HOME
and other books in the Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll series came about and what’s
going on with the series.
Spring
2010, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. One of our talented authors, an editor for an
epublisher, asked the Oklahoma RWA group (OKRWA) if anyone would be willing to
write in a series to submit to her publisher. Several jumped right in. Over the
next weeks others joined in and a theme and guidelines were tossed around.
That
was the birth of the Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll series to be marketed through
The Wild Rose Press.
Unpublished
at the time, I was hopeful that “someday I would get noticed and sell a book,”
I joined this fun project with many other Oklahoma authors.
This
would be a project to showcase our state’s writing talents to the world in a
single combined effort. Each book written would include the doll with carvings
on its whale bone body. Each would be between 10,000 and 60,000 words and each
would (hopefully) fit in a different subgenre The Wild Rose Press has to offer
its readers.
I
have to say our RWA chapter is chock full of talent! From historical to
contemporary to paranormal, WE ROCK! Keep a close watch The Wild Rose Press as
more of these stories are brought to you one by one.
My
followers and friends know I write contemporary. It’s my comfort zone. My passion
for cowboys is widely-known. :D But for this event, and I don’t know why it
did, the Vietnam era called to me. I have a respect for that time and the
trials the world suffered, the losses the United States withstood, and still
endure through the final ramifications from the war referred to as “a police
movement.” I was a little tyke in those days so I don’t remember the impact of
the moment it happened. But born in the middle of it may be why I have a
heartfelt need to learn, and subsequently, to write about love during that
period when romance seemed forgotten. Hope took the back burner and so much was
left behind. I was very happy to see on the news one night only recently that
one New England state finally and properly welcomed their Vietnam vets home in
a matter befitting those wonderful heroes. Most of whom probably suffered more
trials than many of us can or will ever comprehend!
But
there were great victories at that same time; Elvis Presley, the Beatles and,
my heroine’s favorite, The Chiffons, and let’s not forget the era of hot cars-
all persevered, rose out of the smoke and strived for decades to follow.
That hope is what brings my hero Sam Callahan and my
heroine, Poppy Tippen together. Why I knew I had to write their story.
BLURB:
What could a gypsy and a Vietnam
veteran have in common?
Silvertown’s outcast, Poppy Tippen,
has loved football hero Sam “The Force” Callahan forever. But he never seemed
to know she was alive. Now he’s home from the war and she suddenly finds
herself comforting him from the demons of “that damn war.” Is his attention
merely an escape from the haunting nightmares? Or does she hold the interest of
the only man she’s ever truly loved?
Sam Callahan’s only solace from the
war nightmares wrecking his life comes in the unlikely form of a gypsy girl
with stigmas of her own. He’s known Poppy his entire life, but there’s
something different about her now. Something special he desperately wants to
hold on to. Can he convince her she’s the only thing he needs to put the past behind
him?
Excerpt:
Over
the next week he actively avoided his mother as he raked and watered the lawn.
He’d found out the gardener had left when his mother stopped paying him, not
that Sam blamed the guy. So, he would try to do what he could to fix the old
place up again. Somehow, like himself, he doubted the place he’d called home
would ever fully recover the ravages of wartime. It gave him something useful
to get through the days before he creeped out at night.
“Sammie,
we need to talk.”
He
dropped his head and counted briefly before facing his mother. “Good morning,
Ma.”
“Have
you talked to that woman?”
No
nonsense, that was Ma. He dragged in a heavy breath to stifle a groan. “What
woman would that be?”
“Don’t
play games with me, Sam. You know full well I’m talking about that gypsy woman
who owns the doll store. Did you tell her you want the doll back?” His mother
threw hands to hips. He waited five ticks. Yep, there it was. Her left foot
began flapping like a fish out of water to make known her full ire at him. He
almost grinned.
As
he stared at her tapping foot, Sam realized he’d actually missed that trait in
his mother while he’d been gone. But she wasn’t interested in reflections of
days past. “No. I’m not going to get the doll. It’s better off gone if it
causes you so much distress. Just forget it and let it be, Ma.”
“Forget
it? Haven’t you heard what I’ve been telling you? It will only cause more
problems the longer that woman has it!” She was almost yelling and Sam cringed
inwardly with a glance around. She ought to keep her voice down or—
Or,
what? Did he expect the VC to pop out of the surrounding sticks that had once
been shrubbery admired by the whole town? Yes. He did. Damn it all. Why was it
so hard for him to let go of the war he was no longer a part of? He shuffled
his loafer-clad feet and sighed heavily.
“What’s so special about that doll
that you won’t let it go?”
His
mother looked away from him as though she had a secret and twisted her hands
around her ever-present hankie. “It’s bad, evil.”
“Then,
why on earth would you want it
back? Good riddance, I’d say.”
“No!”
She backed up a step and looked up at him, lips painted the same bright red,
and he vaguely wondered if she’d worn it so long it had become permanent, a
tattoo. A bright red tattoo. Blood red… “It was a gift from my cousin, Helen,
when I visited her in California, before she died. I already told you that.
But, it’s cursed! I can’t risk anyone else suffering because of that—that
thing!”
Blood
red… Sam shook the image off and looked over his mother’s head toward the
street.
Of
all the times to wander in, he didn’t need Poppy showing up right then, while
his mother was on her insane rampage about a doll.
A
doll that Poppy’s mother had bought fair and square, according to Ma. Now it
was a cursed doll? She’d said something about that last time she mentioned the
damn thing. He was suddenly afraid his mother was losing her mind. “Son of a
bitch.”
“Watch
your mouth, young man. I won’t have that kind of language used in this house.
Your father—God rest his soul—didn’t use that filth, and I won’t have my only
son speak it.” She sounded so normal, suddenly.
“Sorry,
Ma. I need to go…somewhere, for a while.”
“Get
the doll.” Her voice poured from that red mouth like a warning.
He
leaned the rake he’d been using before the interruption against the wood shed
and tossed a wave over his head to his mother as he strode for the driveway,
and Poppy. Suddenly, it took all his will not to break out in a run and just
keep going. Never to stop until he was far, far away from this new nightmare
his mother had introduced to him. Blood red, blood. Red, blood, red, blood, red
blood.
Sam
didn’t stop when he reached Poppy, but grabbed her hand and swung her around
with him—took her away before his mother realized who she was. He especially
didn’t need her to see the doll shop owner’s daughter.
He picked up his already fast pace until he felt a jerk against his
hand and slowed down. He didn’t
want to talk. Not yet. Walk. Keep walking…fast.
“Whoa,
soldier boy!” She yanked him to a stop. For a little thing, she was stronger
than he’d have thought. “What’s with you? If I wanted to race I’d be a horse.”
Blood
red. No talking. Walk. Her hand still in his, he gave a rough tug.
********************************
And
something exciting- The
Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll now has a place where you can check in for
updates, new books and awesome covers created by the fabulous artists of TWRP!
Just go see what you think and feel free to CONTACT any of the authors through
the contact button (top left corner) and read ABOUT the series in the about
page (also top left corner). Currently there are five others under contract in
various stages of production, three of those are scheduled for release in 2012
so far, and several more in the writing, pre-submission stages, and another
one, besides Home, available now!
Small-town country girl Calisa Rhose lives in a
semi-remote area of Oklahoma with her husband, five dogs, one cat and one
horse. All of her three daughters and their families live within throwing
distance. She’s a member of RWA and the local chapter OKRWA. She intends to
nurture and continue to grow as an author with the help of her family and
supporters.
Find Calisa at her website/blog http://calisarhose.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @Calisa_Rhose and Like me on Facebook
@Calisa Rhose
She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at calisa.rhose@gmail.com She even writes
back!
Thanks again for this opportunity to share such a wonderful
experience with your readers, Karen!
27 comments:
I recently finished HOME and loved the story. Enjoyed your characters, Calisa, and loved the era you set the story in.
Congrats on your awesome read :)
Calisa,
Thanks so much for coming by and sharing your story.
Christine,
I'm so glad you let us know how much you enjoyed HOME. I haven't read many books with the setting Calisa has chosen. It's nice to see a change.
Great post, Calisa. I'm SO proud of the Scrimshaw series and how many of our talented Outlaws have gotten their opportunity to shine.
HOME was a wonderful, hear-warming story. I'm thrilled your 'first' was with the wonderful Wild Rose Press.
"Thanks again for sharing your cyber space with me, Karen! My internet issues continue to plague me, but I will check in throughout the day, when it allows me to get a signal or comment. :)"
Finally! My internet is cooperating so I can jump in here for a bit.
Thanks for hosting me Karen!
I'm really happy you liked Home, Christine. Thanks for the lovely review on Amazon!
Calisa, such an exciting and inspirational post. The way the series evolved is interesting. Enjoyed reading the blurb and the excerpt.
Me too, Alicia. I think we have some extra talented authors in our local RWA group for sure. I can hardly wait until yours come out later in the year. And of course, Callie's next month! So exciting! And while I'm at it, the Pirate's Proposal by Diane Layne came out in January. That's the one that tells where the doll came from so if you're interested in the series- get that one if it's the only one you get...which it won't be, just sayin'! ;)
Thank you for coming by, Loretta. I'm glad you enjoyed the taste of Home. I really do love these characters. Their strength and courage blows me away. :)
Great story about how the Scrimshaw Doll series came to be. Looking forward to reading Home!
Hi Calisa,
I know that other authors are writing stories for the series, but is HOME a series for you or a stand alone story?
Sounds interesting. :)
Great story! And Calisa is right, for some cosmic reason there is a lot of talent in Oklahoma--from singers like Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and Reba McIntyre on the country line to the All-American Rejects and even more on the contemporary stations. We also have many, many actors and actresses including Alice Ghostly and Chuck Norris. And don't forget my favorite--Roy Clark. Tulsa is home to many published writers--including moi--and Calisa shares her side of the state with many many more! Okies ROCK!
It was interesting to learn the background of the Scrimshaw series. I already have HOME loaded on my kindle and I'll be sure to look for the other novellas in the series.
What a fun story and fabulous opportunity to get published. I've read Home and it's lovely.
I finished Home this morning. I pictured my Uncle as Sam, for the obvious reasons. He was in country three times.
BTW, If anyone hasn't read Pirate's Proposal, it's great too.
Thanks Melissa! I hope you like them all. :)
Hi Cathy! There are several Oklahoma authors writing the Scrimshaw Doll series. I am one of those, and yes, Home is part of that series. But- each book in the series is also a stand alone book, also. No, Home isn't a series for me, though I have considered writing another story set in Vietnam separate from Home and the series.
I hope that is what you are wanting to know. Thanks for coming by. :)
Yep- You're so right, Amie. The list of Oklahoma talent could go on for miles! Sharon Sala, Merline Lovelace (one of the nicest women you could EVER meet!), Linda Goodnight (Rita winner multiple times over), Maggie Price, Margaret Dailey are a few of the Best selling/NYT/Rita winning authors we have here.
But then there's Carrie Underwood, my absolute favorite Blake Shelton, and one of my Daddy's favorites, Mr. Hoyt Axton... Hank Thompson (who is also a distant relative)
Our own channel 9 weatherman, Gary England is even famous. He was on a movie called Night of the Twisters several years ago (as, of course, a tv weatherman! lol) but he is also the driving force (creator) behind the Dopplar Weather System that saves so many lives all over the US (the world?)today from tornadoes and hurricanes!
Talent abounds in our little state.
Thanks for stopping by, Amie!
Thanks for coming by Katherine. I'm glad you enjoyed learning more about the series. You can check in on the Scrimshaw Doll site and keep updated on new books in the future. I hope you get a chance to read, and like, Home!
Thanks Ally!
I hope whoever reads will leave me a review! :)
I hope you liked Home Sandra! And thanks for the added note for Pirate's Proposal! You're awesome! The next one is Annie's Attic, due out in May. I can tell you now that Callie Hutton does a fabulous job on her first contemporary venture!
Hi Calisa,
I just love the story of how "Home" and the entire Scrimshaw series came to be. What a fabulous way to highlight the great writers from your state!
.DebraStJohn
Thanks Debra!
Very compelling excerpt, Calisa. I'm sure the series will be a great success if all are like this one. I wish you luck. Linda
What a kind thing to say, Linda. Thank you. Personally I think they are all as good as the other. I appreciate you stopping by and commenting. :)
Great tale of our series, and Home is such a good book!
Thanks for coming by Diana! I loved your Pirate's Proposal too. :)
Calisa,
I came of age in the sixties and married a Vietnam vet, so I can relate to the story very well. I even dabbled in the occult during that time.
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