SETTING PLAYS A HUGE ROLE IN AUTHOR PATY JAGER'S LATEST SUSPENSEFUL MYSTERY

The Wallowa Mountains

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of fifty-three novels, eight novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work have Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. Learn more about Paty and her books at her Blog and Website where you’ll also find links to her other social media accounts.

When readers asked for more outdoor adventures in my Gabriel Hawke novels, I let my mind wander with how I could have my character out in the wilderness more and still be working on a murder mystery. 

 

Since Gabriel Hawke is an Oregon State Trooper with the Fish and Wildlife Division, basically what used to be called a game warden, he does spend a lot of time outdoors. But when he is following leads on a homicide, he needs to be closer to communications and labs to gather the information he needs to find the killer. 

 

In the latest book, Owl’s Silent Strike, I start off with Hawke on a week’s vacation, helping his friend Dani Singer travel into the mountains by horseback in early December to fly out her helicopter. Dani owns Charlie’s Lodge a minimalist resort in the Wallowa Mountains that can only be accessed by foot, horseback, or air. She had already flown her small airplane out and wanted her helicopter in the “valley” over the winter to work on it.

 

When a snowstorm hits the mountain before they arrive at the lodge, Hawke has to use all of his winter skills to not only keep them alive but to discover the identity of a body he finds in the barn. While reading books about avalanches and winter tracking and conducting my own study of blood droplets in snow, I tried putting myself in Hawke’s snowshoes as he searched for a missing person and ventured up into the mountains more than once to find the evidence needed to bring justice to the body in the barn.

 

Yes, I said my own study of blood droplets. Using blood saved from homegrown beef I had thawed to cook, I made droplets in the snow and watched them for several days to see how they reacted to the snow and cold. It was a fun experiment, and it gave me insight into what my character would see while tracking a person with a gunshot wound. 

 

Growing up at the base of the Wallowa Mountains, I have experienced deep snow, riding horses, and snowshoeing. Luckily, I haven’t had frostbite, but I’ve had some extremities that have felt like ice. Warming them up isn’t fun. Using some of my experiences, I hope I was able to make the trials that Hawke and Dani go through feel real. 

 

What I didn’t know from experience, I read up on, Googled, and asked people for help. I have a pretty long line of thank-yous for this book. From beta readers who picked up on law enforcement and medical actions that weren’t correct to a critique partner who highlighted multiple uses of some of my favorite words. And a wonderful pilot reader/fan who answers all my aircraft questions.

 

It’s this community of readers/fans and specialists who help me do the best I can to be accurate while writing fiction stories. 

 

The next book in this series will begin in Montana. I spent a week there recently driving dirt roads and taking photos to help me better see the story that will take Hawke to Salmon Lake and the surrounding area. In this book, he will again be outside a lot as he tries to find his sister who is running from a murderer. 

 

Owl’s Silent Strike

A Gabriel Hawke Novel, Book 9

 

Unexpected snowstorm…

Unfortunate accident… 

And a body…

 

What started out as a favor and a leisurely trip into the mountains, soon turns State Trooper Gabriel Hawke’s life upside down. The snowstorm they were trying to beat comes early, a horse accident breaks Dani Singer’s leg, and Hawke finds a body in the barn at Charlie’s Lodge. 

 

Hawke sets Dani’s leg, then follows the bloody trail of a suspect trying to flee the snow-drifted mountains. Hawke is torn between getting the woman he loves medical care and knowing he can’t leave a possible killer on the mountain.

 

Before the killer is brought to justice, Dani and Hawke will put their relationship to the test and his job on the line. 

 

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#CRAFTING WITH ANASTASIA--MYSTERY AUTHOR PATY JAGER AND HER NEW SLEUTH'S UNIQUE HOBBY

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of fifty-one novels, eight novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. Learn more about Paty and her books at her website and blog. 

Everyone Needs a Hobby

I have admiration and empathy for Indigenous people. I am inspired by their beliefs and culture, I have empathy for the way they have been treated, and I admire their facing all adversities. That is why I do my research, talk to people in the tribes I write about, and try my best to show the good and the bad of their lives. 

 

The main character of my new Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries is a female disabled veteran who grew up on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation. This is a reservation in NE Oregon where the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla tribes were banished to during the treaties. There are also some Nez Perce from marriages and very few true Cayuse tribal members. They are a strong group of tribes who are resilient and have learned to use technology and embrace moving into the future all while also managing to hang onto their roots and culture.

 

 Dela Alvaro isn’t Indigenous. Her mother is Swedish and her father was Hispanic. She grew up on the reservation where her mother taught school. After school she joined the army and planned to make a career in the Military Police. However, while out on a mission, their jeep was hit by an IED. 

 

As a lower leg amputee, Dela has had to change her expectations for a job. She also has to learn how to deal with life as an amputee. I, nor anyone in my family, is an amputee. So I have been watching Youtube videos and have joined a Facebook group for lower limb amputees to read how they cope and the obstacles they come across. Reading some of their vents has helped me to better see how they feel and react to situations. 

 

I do this with any culture, occupation, or as in this case, disability I come across to help me portray the character as best I can. I take being as factual as possible in my fiction seriously. 

 

Knowing I had this post to write for Anatasia Pollack’s Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers blog, I decided Dela needs a hobby. Even as an amputee, she runs. She knows her body has to be in good condition to be able to do her job or any job with her disability. But I thought, she needs something she can do for herself. To ease the tension of her job and maybe take her out of herself, if that makes sense.

 

When you get to know her, you will understand why I didn’t pick hobbies like beading or weaving. Not something she would do. But music…They say music soothes. That is what Dela needs on her down time, something that soothes and lets her forget. I decided to have her play the Native American flute. Not only will she play them, but she is also learning how to make them. Of course, Dela won’t let anyone know she is making them until she feels she has made the best one she can make.

 

Having been in the Army for nearly two decades, she has to rejoin the civilians, which requires her friends and co-workers to draw her into their lives and make her feel comfortable. I am having a blast writing this character. I hope if you choose to read the book, you’ll enjoy getting to know Dela and her friends.  

 

Poker Face

Spotted Pony Casino Mystery, Book 1

 

Dela Alvaro is a disabled veteran who grew up on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation. When an IED in Iraq ended her military career, she came home to reassess her life and landed a job in security at the Indian run casino on the reservation. 

 

Not even a year into being the assistant to the head of security, Dela is promoted on a trial basis. When one of the casino employees is found stabbed and stuffed in a laundry chute, she knows she can kiss head of security good-bye if she doesn’t find the killer before the media gets hold of the story. 

 

While she is in over her head, she can’t decide if the FBI Special Agent called in to help is a blessing or a curse. It’s a man she ran across in Iraq who overrode her authority. When a second casino employee is killed, Dela has to decide if she can trust the special agent with not only keeping her job but keeping the rest of the casino employees safe. 

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--AUTHOR PATY JAGER'S NEWEST NATIVE AMERICAN MYSTERY FEATURES BEADWORK, FLUTES & A POWWOW

Paty Jager is the award-winning author of the Shandra Higheagle and Gabriel Hawke Mystery series. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters.Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. Learn more about Paty and her books at her website. 

Beads and Flutes

My favorite part of writing a book is getting to research topics that I’m interested in, and sometimes I learn new things that I find interesting.  The newest release in my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series is set at a powwow. 

 

I attended a powwow about six years ago. It was a kaleidoscope of color, interesting music, and unique vendors. The atmosphere is one of rejoicing and roots. While this book is set at a different powwow. and I had help from my friend Carmen Peone, who lives on the reservation where I set my story. I hope the reader gets a good sense of what the event is all about. 

 

While doing my research, from both my attending a powwow and gathering information about the one where my story is set, I was intrigued by the various vendors who set up booths and sell either products they themselves make or products to help make regalia (the clothing worn during the powwow dancing), jewelry, leather, feathers, sage, beads, and other items. There are also t-shirt booths and kitsch items. 

 

From the moment this story came to me, I wanted the victim to be a woman who did beadwork. I wanted her strangled with one of her own necklaces. Not because the woman deserved it, but because it was a symbol for the person who did the killing.  

 

I’ve done very little crafting with beads and found it interesting to watch beading videos, look up beading terms, and even the types of beads used by Native Americans. 

 

Before glass and metal beads were introduced from Europe, beads were hand carved from bone, shell, copper, and stone. These days the tiny glass seed beads are what are used in the beadwork that can at times tell a story.

 

This beadwork shown above is by my friend Carmen Peone to depict a horse in her True to Heart Trilogy.

 

Jingle cones are metal cones that are sewn on dresses in a pattern so they will knock together as the Jingle Dancer moves. This is a distinctive noise made by the Jingle Dancer. The sound is like sleigh bells.

 

When I started writing books with Native American characters ten years ago, I began listening to Native American flute and drum music. I love the flutes. Their ethereal tone and the journey they take me on while listening to the music made that another booth I put in my story. The character makes authentic flutes from elderberry wood. There is nothing more relaxing to me than listening to Native American flute music. 

The first legend of the flute as told by deceased Lakota Elder, Phillip Brown Bear (Phil Lane) can be found on the Wind Dancer Flutes website. This is a website where you can purchase handmade flutes or CDs by Roger McGee. Roger’s CDs are part of the music I listen to when I write. The photo is of one of his flutes.

 

Vanishing Dream

A Shandra Higheagle Mystery, Book 16

 

Deceit, Gluttony, Murder

 

Shandra Higheagle Greer’s deceased Nez Perce grandmother appears in her dream, dancing at a powwow. Since Grandmother only appears when there is trouble, Shandra believes, she, Ryan, and the twins should attend the yearly Powwow at the Colville Reservation. 

 

While out for a walk the first night, Shandra sees someone lurking in the dark between the vendor tents. The following morning a vendor is discovered strangled with her own beads. 

 

When members of Shandra’s family are attacked, she finds it hard to stay out of the investigation. Following a suspect, she’s captured. No one knows her whereabouts. Trying to call upon her grandmother to come to her aid, Shandra realizes the dreams are vanishing and fears so could her life. 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MYSTERY AUTHOR PATY JAGER ON A HAWAIIAN VACATION, CRAFTS, AND MURDER

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of forty-three novels, eight novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. Learn more about Paty and her books at her website. 

Sunscreen, Bug Spray, and Camera

When my hubby of forty years finally caved and agreed to a trip to Hawaii, I couldn’t start packing fast enough! We discussed which island to visit with our daughters, who had been to several between them and their husbands. We settled on Kaua‘i. 

After I made the plane reservations and reserved a place to stay, it started to hit me that we were really going! In October. We were told the weather stayed a nice even mid to high 70s with some rain. That was fine. We’d just had a mild summer and would be accustom to the temperatures. 

We arrived late at night, drove to the place we were staying, and collapsed. The next day we surveyed the area, bought some groceries, and figured out what we wanted to do. My goal was to discover all I could about the art community on the island. After all, I needed a logical reason for my character, potter Shandra Higheagle, to travel to the island.

The “condo village” where we were staying had a farmer’s market day, where locals brought in produce they grew. I tried the interesting looking lychee fruit. It was like eating a peeled grape with a large seed in the middle. Very sweet, and a wonderful addition to my breakfast. There was also a day when local artisans brought their wares. Here I visited with a photographer and a woman who sold painted sarongs.

In the town of Kōalo, I wandered into an art gallery and asked the woman questions about the local artists. She didn’t seem to know very much other than she had a brochure about a juried art exhibition at a mall in Līhu‘e.

The next day I asked my hubby if we could go to the mall. After eating lunch in the mall plaza, I went to the area where the exhibition was set up and had a wonderful visit with an artist who was keeping an eye on things. She told me about the show, and how they get a judge from the islands or the mainland. Right then lights went off in my head. I could have Shandra come to Kaua‘i to be the juror for their show. The time of the year was good, she would have to be on the island at least a week and a half, and she could bring her husband Ryan. 

Once I’d learned all the ins and outs of how to get Shandra to the island, I could just take in the island, learn bits and pieces of the culture, and relax. Well, hike and sweat! This was where the sunscreen, bug spray, and camera came in. Hubby isn’t a sit at the beach kind of guy. We hiked trails to get higher to see better. We hiked rocky, up and down, trails to get to pretty beaches and see wet caves and enjoy the tropical ambiance. 

And that 70 degree weather…Nope! It was in the 90s all week. Talk about two melting bodies! The place we stayed didn’t have air conditioning because it is rarely needed. The small studio we were in didn’t have a way to get any kind of cross breeze. We spent the nights, taking cold showers and trying to sleep. Needless to say, I won’t get my hubby back there again. 

I mixed photos of the art I perused while at the exhibition into this post. They had everything from painting, mixed media, and ceramics. There were some beautiful pieces. Some depicted the island and some were just interesting. 

Abstract Casualty

A Shandra Higheagle Mystery, Book 14 

Hawaiian adventure, Deceit, Murder

Shandra Higheagle is asked to juror an art exhibition on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. 

After an altercation at the exhibition, the chairwoman of the event, Shandra’s friend, arrives home with torn clothes, scratches, and stating she tried to save an angry artist who fell over a cliff. Shandra and Ryan begin piecing together information to figure out if the friend did try to save the artist or helped him over the edge. 

During the investigation, Shandra comes across a person who reminds her of an unhealthy time in her past. Knowing this man and the one from her past, she is determined to find his connection to the dead artist. When her grandmother doesn’t come to her in dreams, Shandra wonders if her past is blinding her from the truth.

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CHARACTER INTERVIEW--AUTHOR PATY JAGER'S AMATEUR SLEUTH SHANDRA HIGHTOWER

Today we sit down for a chat with Shandra Higheagle from author Paty Jager’s Shandra Higheagle Mysteries.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

I had pulled myself out of a bad relationship, purchased a ranch on Huckleberry Mountain in Idaho, and was successfully making a living throwing vases from the clay I found on my mountain. While living estranged from my mother and stepfather, I was content with only myself, my dog Sheba, my horses, and my new employee, Crazy Lil. 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I’m loyal to my friends. I grew up in a world that was short of loyalty. I believe it is something that should be given to those you call a friend and family that returns the loyalty. 

What do you like least about yourself?

That I allowed my mother’s slanted vision of my Nez Perce family to keep me away from them far too long. That I missed getting to know my paternal grandmother before she died. 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

Soon after attending my Nez Perce grandmother’s funeral, my grandmother started coming to me in dreams. Giving me clues that I didn’t understand and wasn’t sure I wanted to know. 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

I wanted to take my relationship with Ryan slow and she wanted to push things because readers wanted more. Now I’m fighting her on having children. They would get in the way of my sleuthing and helping Ryan catch murderers. But at the same time, Ryan comes from a large family, and even though he says he’s fine with just the two of us, I wonder if he really would like to start a family. My upbringing with a stepfather who despised me has me thinking children aren’t a good thing. The chance Ryan could die like my father did leaving behind small children makes me hesitant.

What is your greatest fear?

That I might do something that would anger or upset my paternal family. I am trying to learn more about my Nez Perce roots, but I fear that one day I will do or say something that will make my family pull back. 

What makes you happy?

Riding my horse on the mountain with Sheba running ahead and Ryan riding beside me. 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

It would be my father dying when I was four. My mother taking me away from my father’s family. The one summer I spent with my Nez Perce grandmother I discovered more about myself than any other time until her death and my getting reacquainted with my family. 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

It would have to be Sidney Doring, the owner of the Huckleberry Ski Lodge. He believes he is God’s gift to women and treats everyone like they are his own personal attendants.  He and I have never been on good terms and even more so since Ryan and I became a couple. 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

Honestly? No one. I love who I am, what I do, and how my dreams enable me to help Ryan put killers in jail. My life couldn’t get any better. 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Paty is a rural girl who loves riding horses, hiking, and even helping her husband harvest hay. She has always been fascinated with story and has loved mysteries ever since she read Nancy Drew books. You can learn more about her at her website and her blog.

What's next for you?

Paty took a 40^th anniversary trip to Hawaii with her hubby and while she was there, she discovered a plausible reason for me to visit and is working on an unusual murder for me to solve when Ryan and I attend an art show on Kauai. 

Toxic Trigger-point

A Shandra Higheagle Mystery

Adultery… Jealousy… Murder

Shandra Higheagle Greer is minding her own business when she walks into a room for a massage and it is already occupied—by a dead body. 

Always the champion for someone she knows, when her favorite masseuse looks like the murderer, Shandra listens to her gut and dreams choreographed by her deceased grandmother.

Detective Ryan Greer can’t believe his wife has walked into another homicide. He’s learned no matter how he tries to keep her out of the investigation he can’t. But this time the consequences could be deadly for Shandra—she heard the murder happen. 

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THERE'S A NEW COWGIRL IN TOWN! MEET AUTHOR PATY JAGER'S NEWEST HEROINE

Today we sit down for a chat with Lacey Wallis, heroine of author Paty Jager’s new Tumbling Creek Ranch series.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

I was climbing the rankings in the PBR. That’s Professional Bull Riders and she had to go and make me get run over by a bull.

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

Determination. I’m determined to be the first woman to ride in the National Finals.

What do you like least about yourself?

I tend to react before my brain engages. Which gets me on the wrong side of people because I don’t always listen to what they have to say before I react.

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

I don’t know if it’s strange, but I have to sneak in from spending the night in the cabin with Jared and I get caught by my cousin Brett.

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

I don’t think we’ve had an all out argument, but I’ve balked at some of the more sissy things she thinks I need to learn or do.

What is your greatest fear?

My greatest fear is to have spent the years, hours, and pain I have to be the best female bull rider and have my chance to show the world women can participate in the bull riding, taken away from me. It’s a dream, a goal, that I have to attain.

What makes you happy?

Sitting atop a bull for 8 seconds, riding a horse over the Tumbling Creek Ranch, seeing desire in Jared’s eyes.

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

That’s hard. I didn’t want to get hurt in the beginning of the book, but it brought Jared and me together. And I didn’t want him to get shot, but it helped me put my life into perspective.

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

It would have to be my cousin Brett. He’s in love with his housekeeper and won’t admit it. But he keeps harping to me how Jared cares for me and he can see we belong together. He really needs to take a good look at himself in a mirror. 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

None. I love what I do and how I find love with the guy I’ve had the hots for since I was 13.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Paty lives in SE Oregon. She hasn’t participated in a rodeo but enjoys watching them and living a western rural lifestyle. You can learn more about her at her website.

What's next for you?

At my wedding to Jared, Brett and Melanie finally move on their feelings, but she has a secret that could tear them apart. That’s book 2, Love Me Anyway, in the Tumbling Creek Ranch Series.

8 Seconds to Love

Book 1 of the Tumbling Creek Ranch series (now on sale for only .99 cents)

Lacey Wallis has put blood, sweat, and tears into her dream of making it to the National Finals Rodeo and isn’t about to let an injury stop her. However, she didn’t expect the ER nurse to be the man she had a crush on years ago, or to discover that crush hadn’t been one-sided.

Jared McIntyre lived through loving and the death of one thrill-seeking woman and wasn’t about to let that happen again. Especially not to Lacey. But that would mean he’d have to allow himself to love again.

  

Which will it be, a life-long dream, or the love of a lifetime?

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR PATY JAGER'S BEST BLONDIES

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of thirty-two novels, six novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them. Learn more about Paty and her books at her website.

Boo!

Did I scare you?

Probably not, but you would have scared me. Yes, I jump at loud noises and someone touching me when I don’t know they are there. My sons loved to wait in a recess in our hallway and jump out and scare me when I’d have an armload of laundry or anything that might fly in the air as I screamed.

Which would make you think, given I am such a scaredy-cat, that I would hate Halloween. I actually loved the holiday as a child. I’d think about my costume for weeks because it was the only time my mother let me play with makeup, wear earrings, and dress in clothing that I wouldn’t normally get to wear. And I loved the candy. I was a chubby child. I adored my sweets, and Halloween was a night where we were given candy, popcorn balls, candied apples…yes, that dates me. I went trick or treating before you couldn’t hand out handmade goodies. It was before there were worries of razor blades in popcorn balls and drugs in cookies.

When my kids were in grade school, the PTA put on a Halloween or Harvest festival with games and treats. At the time my husband had a walking floor semi-trailer. Which meant the floor of the trailer would move. We would set up a haunted house in the trailer and send the kids through. It was tricky standing up and being scared at the same time. I was the witch at the door. I didn’t need to be surprised by the people I knew were in there.

As the kids grew older, we had parties at our house. We’d have spiced cider, caramel corn, and cookies. Here is a recipe that is a hit with my family. I make it all year long because we have one granddaughter with dietary restrictions. She can have these if made with real vanilla.

Best Blondies

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups light-brown sugar

1-1/2 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 325°. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir in the sugar until smooth. Removed from heat and let cool. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat in the eggs one at a time into the sugar mixture. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture gradually. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until blondies come away from the sides of the pan. 50- 60 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. Makes 16 squares.

Haunting Corpse

Desertion…Wrath…Murder

A runaway bride, murder, and arson has Shandra Higheagle sleuthing again. Sorting through the debris of her best friend’s childhood, Shandra believes she must solve the murder before her friend becomes the next victim.

Stumbling upon a dead body, Detective Ryan Greer is determined to bring the killer to justice before Shandra becomes too entangled in her friend’s dysfunctional past. He hopes he’s not too late. Her deceased grandmother has already visited her dreams, putting Shandra in the middle of his investigation and danger.

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COWBOY BOOT #FASHION WITH GUEST AUTHOR PATY JAGER

Corral West Flat Heel Cut-Out Boots

Award-winning author Paty Jager has been a frequent guest here at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers over the years, but we had no idea one of her characters had such impeccable fashion sense—at least when it comes to cowboy boots. Leave a comment (along with a way to contact you) about your own fashion footwear preferences for a chance to win a copy of Paty’s latest book.

Paty writes murder mysteries, western romance, and action adventure and has authored 30+ novels, a dozen novellas, and a passel of short stories. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor. Learn more about Paty and her books at her website and blog. 

Shandra Higheagle talks Cowboy Boots

Hello, I’m Shandra Higheagle, potter by trade and amateur sleuth hobbyist. My heritage and passion for the earth comes out in the vases I throw from clay I gather on Huckleberry Mountain. The purification process for the clay heals my soul and gives my art more depth.

Broad Toe Flat Heel Boot

I didn’t pick my hobby, it picked me. My deceased grandmother began coming to me in dreams when first myself, and then my friend, were accused of murder. My dreams helped Detective Ryan Greer piece together the clues that pointed to the real killer.

But the reason Anastasia has me on her blog today is to talk about my fashion passion.

Cowboy boots. I have twenty pairs of fancy boots in my closet. And I have four pair of everyday riding boots. When I sold my first vase at a gallery, I bought my first pair of embellished fancy boots. When Ryan moved in with me, he was delegated to a small space in my closet. I wasn’t going to get rid of my boots or take them out of the closet. He has to make do with what space there is left. A woman has priorities when it comes to her boots.

As I said, I have every day boots. These have a less dramatic heel, it makes walking on uneven ground easier, and no embellishment on the boot itself. These are plain cowhide leather. Everyday boots are for mud, rain, cleaning stalls, and riding horses. The bottom of the sole is slick to slide in and out of the stirrup easily and the heel just high enough to catch on the stirrup and keep your foot from sliding all the way through.

Dan Post Tall Shaft High Heel

My fancy boots, ones I wear to town, to art shows, and when I dress up can have embroidery, cut-outs, different leathers, colors, stains, and studs. I have two pair that have leather fringe. One is a boot and one is a bootie. A bootie is a short only 7or 8-inch shaft or the height of the boot. A boot can have an 11 to 12-inch shaft on some of the fancier boots. There is also a walking heel, which is shorter and flatter and a fashion heel, which is about 3 inches high and narrower at the bottom than at the top. These boots are stylish but can be as hard on the feet as a high heel sling if walked in for a long period of time. And you can purchase boots with different type of toes. There is rounded, snip, pointed, square, and broad square.

I wear my fancy walking heel boots to town and events where I’ll be on my feet a good part of the day. Nighttime events and times when I know I’ll be doing more sitting than walking, I wear my fashion heel boots.

Lucchese and Old Gringo are the Cadillac of boots. They usually run $300 to $2000 a pair. The other brands Laredo, Corral Boots, Justin, Ariat, Dan Post, Tony Lama, Ferrini, Durango, Boulet, Roper, and Nocona, to name the most common ones, have prices ranging from $100 to $400.

Lactose Cut-out Boot

I have the lower priced boots for every day and some of my fancy boots. I have one pair of Luchesse and one Old Gringo. I like having many different pairs of boots, but I can’t afford the high-end lines very often.

What about you? Do you like shoes or boots? Maybe handbags? What is the one item you tend to have more than any other in your closet?

Leave an answer in the comment section along with your email, and I’ll draw a name to win a copy of my latest Shandra Higheagle Mystery as either a print book or an ebook.  The drawing will be held on Monday, June 19^th.

Fatal Fall

Book eight of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series

Avarice…Family…Murder

When the doctor is a no-show for her appointment, Shandra Higheagle becomes wrapped up in another murder. The death of the doctor’s elderly aunt has everyone questioning what happened and who’s to blame. Shandra’s dreams soon tell her she’s on the right path, but also suggests her best friend could be in grave danger.

Detective Ryan Greer knows not even an illness will keep Shandra from sneaking around, and he appreciates that. Her insight is invaluable. When she becomes embroiled deeper in the investigation, he stakes out the crime scene and waits for the murder to make a tell-all mistake. 

But will he be able to act fast enough to keep Shandra or her friend from being the next victim?

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