Cheryl Pierson is here!

One word comes to mind when I’m searching for a way to describe Cheryl Pierson—Exciting! Months ago, I began to see her name on the Cactus Rose blog for The Wild Rose Press when her book appeared as a Coming Soon novel. Every time I read the blog or posted, I’d see the startlingly beautiful cover for Fire Eyes, and wonder—who is Cheryl Pierson?

Now that I know her, I believe we are kindred spirits in many ways. She’s a native Oklahoman and I’m a native Texan, and while our favorite football teams meet at the Red River for an annual showdown, we pretend the border isn’t there. After all, how different can we be?

But she is different. She has a full portfolio that showcases her talent and life as a writer and teacher. In addition to a full-length novel, Cheryl is the author of several short stories published by Adams Media for their Rocking Chair Reader Series; many articles for the premiere newspaper of the state, The Oklahoman; and numerous short stories for the Chicken Soup anthologies. She is also co-owner of her own editing/research company, West Wind Media.

As you can see, she is a woman with many talents. Her novel, Fire Eyes, is a western historical romance filled with heinous outlaws, innocent young hostages, a courageous U.S. Marshal, and a beautiful, brave young woman with unique skills as a healer. What more could you want? I read this book, not only to follow the plot, but also to learn “what makes Cheryl tick.” Cheryl does everything whole-heartedly, all-out, to the max, and full-tilt. Fire Eyes gives the reader the full effect of her writing efforts.

I love this story! The main thing I appreciate is the intense emotion the author pulls from the reader. Jessica has the heart of a warrior every bit as much as Kaed does. Neither character gives up. As a fan and author of Western Historical Romance, I highly recommend Fire Eyes. Try it—you will be happy you did!

Now, let’s meet our guest.

Cheryl, what was the name of your first novel—whether published or not—and what happened to it?

“Oh, that one was the love of my heart, and the one that got it all started for me! I called it “Brandon’s Gold” but my husband said I should have named it “Matamoros” since that was the location of the “showdown.” I’m still kicking it around, wanting to re-edit it, and shorten it some. It was my first one and quite an undertaking—and it ended up being around 1000 pages long! A western historical takes place over roughly a one-year time span. Here’s the blurb for it:
Gunslinger Johnny Brandon is tall, dark, and lethal. Now, a dangerous secret has caught up with him, and it’s up to Johnny and his tenderfoot brother, Nick, to settle old scores, save the fiery Katie McLain, and learn to forgive in the unforgiving badlands.
It’s going to be a rough sell because of the length, unless I do it strictly e-pub first. I’m still looking at all the options. I’m working through revisions on some of my later stuff and getting it ready to submit. “Brandon’s Gold” is still the one that’s nearest and dearest to my heart. My baby!”

Good luck with Brandon’s Gold, and I prefer that title, if my opinion is worth anything.
I know you co-own a media/research/teaching company. When faced with a class of new students, what is the first thing you tell them?

“Usually, we try to let them know that writing a book is not for the faint of heart. Most people who have never tried it believe that they will “knock it out in six months” and be on the NYT bestseller list shortly after that, with Hollywood producers knocking on their door to option the movie rights. That scenario is very, very rare—but you can’t believe the people who come into class with those kinds of ideas about writing. We let them know that it is going to be lots and lots of hard work, very time-consuming, and that out of every 100 people who start writing a novel, only 3 will ever finish writing one. So even if your novel isn’t published, to FINISH one at all is beating some astronomical odds, and should be considered a success story. We want to be encouraging, but we also want our students to realize that they are going to really have to want it to make it happen.”

I knew you would have an interesting answer—especially the statistics. Back to Fire Eyes. Marshal Kaed Turner could be the prototype for a hero in a romance novel. Of all his sterling characteristics, which might set him apart from other mythical heroes?

“I think what sets Kaed apart in some respects is his ability to deal with what life has dealt him and yet keep the ‘human’ side of him. When he first meets Jessica, he is not looking for love at all; in fact, he’s pretty well written off that part of his life after the tragedy that befell him years before. But Jessica brings out the teasing side of him, the love, and the need that he thought was long gone. As tough and strong as he is, he is still human, with wants and desires, and to discover that side of himself again comes as a surprise, and leads him to a lot of introspection considering what he wants out of life from that point on.”

Jessica Monroe is a natural healer of the body as well as the heart. Did you have a model for her character—a woman in history or one of your ancestors? Or did you just create her in your mind?

“I’m smiling at this one, because I always say that in a Cheryl Pierson story, you know one thing is going to happen: the hero is going to be wounded somehow! It’s like on Star Trek when the landing party went to the planet’s surface—you just knew the guys with the red shirts wouldn’t be beaming back up to the Enterprise. All joking aside, I think a lot of Jessica’s character is just created from my mind. I always wanted to be a nurse when I was younger, but my parents discouraged that, so I didn’t go through with it. But I’ve always been fascinated with medicine and the healing arts. I think, in my family, through the generations all the women have had to be healers. My grandmother had eleven children, and raised them all to adulthood. My great-grandmother had a large family as well. Many of the skills they used were passed down through the generations.”

We know your h/h have the requisite characteristics for a romance novel. Does either or both have a flaw? A weakness?

“Yes, I think that the hero and heroine must always have some kind of flaw or weakness, or they don’t seem human. Kaed’s flaw was his putting the job before everything—he was a “workaholic.” He buried himself in work and the law to try to forget what happened with his wife and kids. I think, also, after he gained his vengeance, he felt that he would carry a badge and do the right thing for others, too. This was never stated in the book, but in one of the conversations between Jessica and Kaed, she lets him know that she doesn’t fault him for what he did—she understands. If he had continued on in that vein, though, it would have been seen as lawless—the reader understands that, and so, too, do the characters.
Jessica’s flaw is a little tougher. In a way, she has shoved her head in the sand by staying there on the homestead that she and Billy had started together. I would say stubbornness was her flaw. It’s obvious that what she’s doing is dangerous, because Fallon is still out there, and she is a single woman with a baby trying to survive alone there. Even the Indian chief, Standing Bear, is worried about her! LOL”

Cheryl, I thank you for agreeing to being my first “live” guest author on my somewhat new blog. Please hang around in case a reader leaves a comment. Celia
(See the Blurb for Fire Eyes below.)
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Beaten and wounded by a band of sadistic renegades that rules the borderlands of Indian Territory, U.S. Marshal Kaed Turner understands what the inevitable outcome will be for him: death. But Fate and a war party of Choctaw Indians intervene, delivering him instead to a beautiful angel with the skill to heal him. Jessica Monroe has already lost a husband and a brother to the outlaws who tortured Marshal Turner. As the rugged lawman lies bleeding on her bed, she faces a difficult decision. Can she afford to gamble with her heart one last time? For when Kaed recovers, he is sworn to join the other Territorial Peace Officers in their battle to wipe out the renegade gang once and for all. When vengeance is done, will Kaed keep riding? Or will he return to claim his future with the beautiful woman the Choctaw call "Fire Eyes?"
BUY LINK FOR Fire Eyes:
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/fire-eyes-p-1259.html
READ CHERYL’S BIO and SEE HER PHOTO HERE:
http://www.cherylpierson.com/Cheryl_Pierson/Biography.html
CONTACT Cheryl Pierson here:
WEBSITE: http://www.cherylpierson.com/
BLOG (WESTERN HISTORICAL): http://www.westwindsromance.blogspot.com/
BLOG: (WRITING TIPS): http://www.cherylpiersonbooks.blogspot.com/