C is for (The) Corral

Debra tells the backstory of the bar for her series.

I met my hubby at a country bar. A mutual friend introduced us and eventually we started to hang out in the same 'circle' there. We learned to two step together and eventually that grew into something more. The bar has been renamed now (several times in fact) and the dance hall is used as a banquet facility and for large parties. We rarely go there. But for me, the spot will always hold special memories. Not only is it the place where I found true love, but it's the place where many of my heroes and heroines have found love as well.

The real-life bar was the inspiration for The Corral, where I've set my series.

Let me take you on a tour:

As soon as you walk in, the entry hall will take you to do the restaurant/steak house. As you make your way to the hostess stand, you'll pass several doors off of the hall. One leads to Logan's office. You might find him in there going over schedules or looking at the books. Another leads to Sharlie's office. Or what used to be Sharlie's office when she was the manager of The Corral. Now she spends most of her time at home with the kids. Jessica often uses this office to work on updating The Corral's website.

Once you get to the hostess stand, she'll be glad to seat your party. Since Zach took over as head chef, customers flock to the steak house for a taste of his fabulous cuisine, so during peak dining hours, it's best to make a reservation. A long bar stretches across the back wall. Leather booths line the remaining walls in the room, and tables and chairs are scattered throughout the center. Waitresses (Amber might even be working a shift) scurry around taking orders and delivering food.

Upon exiting the steakhouse portion of The Corral, if you take an immediate right, you'll be in a small hallway leading to the bathrooms, locker area for employees, and the kitchen. Off of this hallway you'll also find the double doors leading downstairs into the bar proper. At the bottom of the steps you might run into Jake checking IDs. The large space boasts three bars: two side bars and the main island bar. A dance floor dominates one side of the room. High tables and chairs - usually filled to capacity - surround the parquet, where couples two step or line dancers whirl, stomp, spin, and turn in intricate patterns. A stage sits in the corner of the dance floor. For those not in the mood for dancing, pool tables can be found in the back. Cowboy paraphernalia (boots, hats, chaps, spurs, rope) hang from the raftered ceiling, and one wall even sports a moose head.

For Sharlie, Logan, Zach, Jessica, Jake, and Amber, The Corral is a home-away-from-home. It's a warm, welcoming, friendly type of place, and I hope my readers grow to love it as much as they do.

When I finished my three-book series, I found I wasn't ready to leave The Corral behind, so I've started a spin-off series (Holidays at The Corral) so I can go back and visit. The first story, Christmas at The Corral, will be released November 4.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

The Corral Series: A small town where good friends gather and rugged cowboys fall in love.

I'm a Boxed Set!

Debra's Corral Series has just been released as a boxed set.

When I set out to write my first book, I always knew I wanted it to be the first of a trilogy. Earlier this year, the trilogy was completed. The Corral series, as I call it based on the bar where many of the scenes in all three books take place, includes: This Time for Always, This Can't Be Love, and This Feels Like Home. At that point, I figured my dream had pretty much come true. I'd written my series, and it was probably time to move on to something new. (Or continue with some spin off stories, but that's another story in itself!)

Then I remembered that earlier in the year the marketing rep at TWRP sent an e-mail asking about authors with books in a series in order to put together boxed sets on the site. I told her about mine. At the time, Home was still very new, and she said she wanted to give it some time to be a stand-alone before boxing it up with the others. I let that sit on the back burner for most of the year. A couple of months ago I looked back in my archived e-mails and found the original one. I e-mailed the rep and asked if enough time had passed so that we could get the set going.

From there things went quickly. We sent a few ideas back and forth and came up with a blurb:

A small town where good friends gather and rugged cowboys fall in love.

She sent me a couple ideas for cover art, and I chose the one I liked best.

Finally she asked when I wanted the set to be released. I could pick a Thursday. Any Thursday. So I chose last week.

And wa la...I now have a boxed set of my series available in e-book format at TWRP, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobel.

To say I'm tickled pink and thrilled is an understatement. It's like that Brad Paisley song about him thinking life can't get any better...and then it does.

I'm a boxed set!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Books of Their Own - The Name Game

Debra is attempting to use minor characters from her series in books of their own.

When I set out to write my first book, I purposely included a cast of secondary characters who would, one day, get their own stories. And while these characters naturally weren't as up front in the spotlight as the hero and heroine, they did play an integral role in the story. I gave them unique traits and voices in order to set up their future stories. I even gave them names that would one day be fitting for the heroes in other books.

Now that the series is done, I've found I'm not quite ready to leave the world I created. So, I got it into my head to do a few 'spin off' stories. The Corral would be featured, but we really wouldn't hear too much about the main couples from the three books in the series except in passing. They won't have dialogue or any major interaction with the new characters. My plan was to take minor characters I'd mentioned in the main books and use them as my heros and/or heroines.

Which is all fine and good, but at the time I never thought about using them as a main characters, so I didn't put a lot of thought into their names. Now this is turning into a bit of a problem as I try to go forward with my plan. It's not that I've given them bad names. Just...ordinary names. Ones that purposely faded into the background as to not take away from the main hero and heroine.

For me, naming my characters is a huge deal. Usually I have one pretty much set from the start, and then I try to 'match up' a name for the love interest. Usually I have a character in mind, and I choose a name to go with that type of character. Now I'm trying to do the opposite. I have a list of names and need to create characters around them. It's proving to be quite tricky.

Right now I have a story I started where I'm using one of the waitresses from The Corral as the heroine. Waitresses I've named in previous books are: Pam, Tina, Darla. The hero's name is Tyler (And I've already grown familiar with him, so I'm not changing it.) so Tina is out. Tina and Tyler? Nope. Not gonna fly. Pam is a lovely name, it just doesn't seem to work for a heroine. For me. Do I extend it? Go with Pamela? Darla could work, but in the third book in the series I referred to her as the 'new' waitress...do I then need to worry about an exact time line and how these stories fit chronologically into the main series? Is anyone but me going to really care or notice if the timing is a bit off? Especially since the stories aren't related at all?

Maybe I need to dig back into the books and see if I listed anymore waitress names.

I guess in the future I need to be more careful about choosing minor character names in my stories...just in case, right?

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Family Secrets - Now Available for Kindle and in paperback