Holbrook, Arizona

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

Holbrook is the perfect place to launch a visit to the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park, the Grand Canyon, and the Navajo Nation in general.

Holbrook, Arizona

Located on the banks of the Little Colorado River, Holbrook was founded in 1881 when the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was built. The town was named after chief engineer Henry Randolph Holbrook and the railroad sold a million acres to a Boston investment group which established the Aztec Land and Cattle Company—known as the Hashknife Outfit—making Holbrook its headquarters.

Historic Holbrook, Arizona Territory

The constant presence of outlaws along with endless cattle and horse rustling made the area quite lawless. Holbrook was known as “the town too tough for women and churches.” The Pleasant Valley War was a long, bloody skirmish that took place in the 1880’s, with many of the confrontations in and around Holbrook. However, in 1895 the town became the county seat of Navajo County. By 1902 the Hashknife was bankrupt, and the land was sold to the Babbitt brothers.

Petrified Forest

President Theodore Roosevelt named the Petrified Forest a National Monument in 1906. In 1926, the Beale Wagon Road became Route 66, passing through both the Petrified Forest and Holbrook, and tourism began taking over the economy.

In my upcoming book, THE CANARY, Sarah Ryan arrives in Holbrook in 1899 to meet with esteemed paleontologist Dr. Allan Brenner. But instead, she finds herself in the company of his son, Jack.

Excerpt

(Sarah initially confuses Jack with his father, Allan, whom she's never met.)

Sarah hadn’t expected Dr. Brenner to be so young. Or tall, his stance beneath his hat and duster exuding self-assurance. She had never met the esteemed paleontologist in person, but he was … different than she had imagined. Her smile slipped a bit. Could he have possibly written all those papers in the last four or five years he was credited with? He appeared to be around thirty years old, and that would mean he’d been doing extensive field work while earning his doctorate. It stretched credibility.

Dr. Brenner was looking at her as if he didn’t know who she was. Well, obviously he didn’t, since they had never met, but it appeared he hadn’t been expecting her.

“Did you get the letter from Mrs. Parks?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh, good. Then you knew I was coming.” He was here, so he was awaiting someone. She relaxed a little. Traveling alone from Boston had a been a bit nerve-wracking, but she had kept reminding herself that she was made of sterner stock than most. She was a Ryan after all. A daughter and niece of the well-known Texas Ryans, Blackmores, and Walkers.

“You’re a woman,” Dr. Brenner stated, his brows furrowed in a way that reminded her of her favorite horse, Chip, when he wanted another carrot, but she wouldn’t give him one.

“Last time I looked,” she replied cheerfully. She’d been given the break of a lifetime when Mrs. Parks had hired her for this dig. She wasn’t going to let anything get her down.

When consternation remained on his quite-handsome face, she added, “Is that a problem?”

“I was told to meet an S. Ryan. I’d assumed you were ….”

When he paused, she waited, but when he didn’t finish the sentence, it became clear what he was going to say. “A man,” she said.

He sighed and looked away. “Yes.”

 

The Canary release July 25, 2023! Pre-order the eBook here.

 

National Novel Writing Month and The Canary

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

Last month was National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. During November, writers from around the world try to write a 50,000-word novel. I signed up to punch out a first draft of my next Wings of the West book, The Canary, and I’m happy to report that I made it to 50k. Is the manuscript readable? Well, kinda ….

This is the fourth time I’ve participated in NaNo, and after much revising I’m happy to say the previous three projects all went to publication (The Blackbird, Deep Blue, and The Starling). The Canary will also need some work, but I’m pleased with what I have.

For previous NaNo’s, my goal was to get to some version of the end of the story, because it often helps to know the ending in order to fine-tune the beginning. This means skipping interior scenes, since my books usually fall between 75-85k.

For this NaNo, however, I changed my method. When I hit 40k, I realized I didn’t like my first chapter. I was working with a fake marriage trope between the main characters, Sarah Ryan and paleontologist Dr. Jack Brenner, but the initial setup left me feeling lackluster. In the first one, Sarah pretends to be married to Jack because she’s run into one of her professors who’s been harassing her, and she’s frightened to be in the Arizona desert with this man. But as I kept writing this premise, I felt it weakened Sarah’s character.

So, for the last 10k of NaNo, I rewrote the first five chapters from scratch, using a different approach to get Sarah and Jack “hitched,” and I like this one much better. I’ll have to tear apart the rest of what I have and repurpose it, but this is how I generally work anyway.

I have a few other projects I must return to, so I’ll start revising The Canary in February. This will allow me time to do more research, which is challenging when trying to write 2,000 words every day. (If you write each day of November during NaNo, you only need 1667 words, but I overwrote so that I could take time off around Thanksgiving).

I will say, though, that the more I read about the dinosaur fossils in the Painted Desert in the late 1800’s, the more intrigued I become.

I’m very excited for this book, and I hope the readers will love it too.

You can pre-order The Canary now at Amazon, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble. (It will also be available at Google Play Books and Kobo but closer to the release date of July 25, 2023.)

Would you like a Christmas card from me for 2022? Fill out this Google doc and I’ll add you to the list.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

 

Wings of the West Epic Sale

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

It's an epic sale for digital copies of Kristy's Wings of the West series. From March 1 – 15, 2022, grab one or all of them. While the characters overlap, each book can be read as a standalone.

 

Experience the grit, the hope, and the romance of the Old West with honorable men and courageous women.

The Wren – When Molly Hart returns from the dead, no one is more shocked than Texas Ranger Matt Ryan.

The Dove – Reunited with Logan Ryan on the steps of the White Dove Saloon, Claire Waters hides under the guise of a fancy girl … and lets the ex-deputy believe the worst.

The Sparrow – Within Grand Canyon, raging rapids and ancient spirits sweep Texas Ranger Nathan Blackmore and Emma Hart into a wild adventure.

The Blackbird – Haunted by a deadly attack, Tess Carlisle turns to bounty hunter Cale Walker to find her missing padre. But in the land of the Apache, can he free her heart?

The Bluebird – Molly Rose Simms arrives in Colorado to meet her brother, but instead finds herself searching for the mythical Bluebird mining claim with a man known as The Jackal.

Available on Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Google Play, and Kobo.

Find all the details here