Besides what I wrote before about this book, the basic plot, and the trailer, I wanted to add a bit about its history. Last year when I decided to do eBooks, I knew I'd be editing nine contemporary novels to eventually put onto Kindle. What I wasn't sure about was the tenth. It was still on paper and worse, the last few pages had been lost somewhere over the years. This was the only book I had never put onto a computer. I had to decide if it was worth doing.
Luck of the Draw began with a different title-- Eight Seconds to Ride. I actually began it way before Lane Frost was killed which led to a book and movie by that title and hence ended my opportunity to use it.
When I started writing it, I wasn't much older than the heroine, Sara. I got interested in the idea of a romance between a man coming through town with no intention of staying and a woman who was following a very traditional path for life, working in her father's store, oil painting but more dabbling than seriously, and probably drifting toward marrying someone and who would give her a life much as she had had. What would happen if these two met? And what if the story all took place in one week?
So to start, I had to do a lot of research on rodeo. I learned how the events worked. Although I had seen rodeos, I hadn't gotten behind the scenes to understand the rules and all. I read books, then began writing and had a pretty good story, I thought.
Back then, Parapluie remembered she had done some drawings for me as possible covers. Another friend of mine read the story and especially liked the secondary couple who are an important part of the story. I put it in a box and never got around to even submitting it to a publishing house.
When I looked at the text, I had to decide whether I should update the story to today. That was an issue with a lot of my books that weren't historical. Until I began this project, I hadn't thought how much we have changed as a people with things like cell phones and computers.
And in the case of rodeo, the death of Lane Frost led to more use of safety vests, even helmets. So I decided rather than re-research this book, I'd set it back close to when it had been written (give or take ten years) 1974 which meant I didn't have to make it fit today. It allowed me to insert the politically main issue of the time--Vietnam, and basically I felt that gave it a good feel being set back then-- plus it allowed for an epilogue that brought it up to today and how it all worked out.
When I began rewriting the story, it was a pleasure as I am a lot better writer today than I was in those days. Tip: it would not have been published even if I had sent it in back then. I have no idea how popular rodeo stories are today, but I like this one and feel these characters were worth bringing them onto my hard drive and into a full partnership with the other manuscripts.
It's available on Amazon for online or Kindle at $2.99-- Luck of the Draw
Trailer on Picasa at Luck of the Draw
