Introducing the first of the new Deadwood Shorts series–Seeing Trouble!
Hurray! The first short story from my new Deadwood Shorts collection called Seeing Trouble is now available. Following is the Dear Reader letter inside the ebook (currently available on Amazon only).
Dear Reader,
One of the things I’ve wanted to do since I wrote Nearly Departed in Deadwood, the first book in my Deadwood Mystery Series, was to write several short stories that give the backstory of the characters and/or the setting. I chose not to include these bits of backstory in the actual novels because I didn’t want to slow the pace. Also, due to the fact that we’re always in Violet’s head, some of the short stories I want to write and share would be difficult to play out on the pages of the novels.
This series of short ebooks will be released in between the regular length Deadwood novels and will offer what I hope to be fun insights to gobble up, kind of like those mini-sized candy bars and MoonPies. Rather than blather on about my random ideas, crazy antics, and diabolical plans, I present to you the first Deadwood Shorts ebook: Seeing Trouble.
Seeing Trouble offers answers to some of the questions I’ve received from fans about how Violet Parker ended up as a single mother of twins. It was originally titled Dear Diary in Deadwood and was part of a Valentine’s Day anthology with several other authors’ works. In addition to this short story, I’ve included the original character interview I did with Violet prior to writing the first book that introduced us to her wild world. I threw in some Deadwood illustrations by C.S. Kunkle that many of you have probably not seen before. Finally, I included a short story called Candy Lover that I pulled from my short story vault. It has nothing to do with Violet and Deadwood, but it’s a story that I felt might put a smile on your face.
I hope you enjoy this first ebook in the Deadwood Shorts series.
As Old Man Harvey would say, “Don’t squat with your spurs on.”
Ann Charles
21 Responses to “Introducing the first of the new Deadwood Shorts series–Seeing Trouble!”
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE VIOLET and the Deadwood Series!! I have a 2.5 hour return train trip to work and back each day and Violet has only made me wish the trip was longer so I can keep reading…. Thank you for bringing such a sassy female character who is hilariously funny!! And Doc (wish he existed in real life – wowee!), and Harvey and Aunt Zoe, and Natalie who I think should find love with…!! Have just finished the 4th book, please hurry with the 5th – my train journey is so dreary now!! Ps. Absolutely love the jackrabbit series!! How soon til some new Claire shenanigans!! THANK YOU!!!! Ps. Do come to Melbourne – maybe a handsome outback Aussie fella or sheila might make it into the Deadwood series??
Ps. Please excuse all words left out, grammar and spelling errors… I was a little bit too excited in my enthusiasm for Violet and Claire!
Hi Lauren,
I’m thrilled that you like Violet and the Deadwood series so much. I bet you and I would have lots of laughs together because we obviously have a similar sense of humor. You ride the train for 2.5 hours a day? You are a die-hard commuter. I guess that might be nice if you have books to read, but some days I imagine you’d just like to get home pronto. I’m glad you like Violet’s sassiness. She’s fun to write, especially in scenes with Doc and Harvey. Cooper is pretty fun, too, with all of their arguing.
Claire and book #3 in the Jackrabbit series are next up on my to-do list. I hope to have that book out later this summer. I have some fun plans for Claire and her sister Veronica and their mother (insert evil laughter here). Ha!
I will be down your way someday! I have a good friend who lives out in Ned Kelly country and I am going to fly there to visit her someday and join in a writers conference. I love the idea of adding an Aussie to the mix of my stories–my Aussie friend cracks me up with her sayings. I love listening to the sound of her accent. I’m going to have to do first-hand research, though, before I can write that new character. A trip to Australia is a must!
Thank you for writing to me. I really appreciate hearing from readers like you! You made my day.
If you haven’t already, you might want to sign up for my newsletter. I don’t bug my subscribers often, but I do let them know about new books coming out and more.
Take care,
Ann
Dear Ann,
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all of your “Deadwood” and “Jack Rabbit Junction” books. Love the characters and all the their crazy predicaments. Just finished “Jackrabbit Junction Jitters” so good, however, I had a problem with all the mouthing from Deborah (Claire’s mom). She would have been booted out soooo much sooner for her constant abuse of everyone. I can’t believe Claire, Harley or Ruby didn’t demand her leave almost immediately. She was so totally obnoxious. Can’t wait for more books in either series! Love you, Vicki
Fabulous books thanks Ann. I have devoured all 3 in as little days. My wonderful mother recently died so I was looking for something to completely distract me while I process the change in my life – and the Deadwood series have certainly done that! I am most grateful.
I have a question – did the Brittons buy the house or not? In the end of book 2 they are still interested, but no reference to this in book 3? Thanks for finally sorting out that Natalie now knows, the lack or inability to communicate is fundamental to so many relationship issues, which you nicely highlight. Love your characters, so rich and realistic. You have marvellous talent. I look forward with much impatience to book 4…. Bring it on!
Hi Fern,
I’m very glad you enjoy my Deadwood series! I’m so sorry to hear about your mom and I’m glad Violet and her friends could help to distract you for a bit. From the start, I wanted to write things that made readers smile, maybe chuckle, and have fun escaping for a bit.
Regarding your question, the Brittons did not buy the Carhart house in book #2. I don’t want to give away any of book #4, but I will say that the Carhart house returns in it, so stay tuned. I felt bad for Natalie, but I thought it’s a good way for Natalie to grow as a character. I don’t see her jumping into relationships in the same way she did before, but we’ll explore that more later, too.
(Such a tease, aren’t I? Ha! I don’t mean to be, I just can’t give away too much of anything.)
Thank you for the kind words about my characters and writing. I’ve spent well over a decade trying to get this writing ficiton business down, and I finally feel like I’m making headway. But I have much to learn yet and will keep studying and practicing.
I hope you enjoy the holidays!
Hugs,
Ann
I wanted to tell you how much I love these books! They are fabulous! I live in Gillette Wyoming and have been to Deadwood/Lead many times. It is fun to read the books and put a real picture of the place with it. Keep them coming!
Hi Cammie,
Thank you very much for writing to me. I really appreciate it. It’s cool of you to take the time to stop by and say hello. I’m happy that you enjoy my Deadwood series and I’m like you–I enjoy knowing the real pictures of the places. Plus, it makes it much easier to write the stories having spent so much time in Deadwood and Lead and all around the Black Hills. I hope you continue to have fun with me as I keep building the series. I hope you’re keeping warm in Gillette!
Take care,
Ann
LOVE…LOVE…LOVE these Deadwood books. Not only are they laugh-out-loud funny, but they have the sexy element between Doc and Violet. I’ve read the first 2 and am a quarter of the way through the 3rd book. I can’t wait until the 4th one come out (HURRY UP! LOL!) I know I will be a life-long reader of this series. Wonderful job Ann!
Hi Tammy,
Yay!!!! I’m glad you enjoy Violet and company. The books are fun and sexy to write, too. I have such a great time hanging out with all of the characters. Thank you for giving the series a try and I appreciate you stopping by to leave me such a nice a comment. Almost done with #4.
Hugs,
Ann
Just finished all the books in the Deadwood series. They all were so enjoyable it was hard to put my Kindle down. Can’t wait for the next book! This has to be one of my favorite series — and I have read many over the years!!!
Hi Candy!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoy Violet and the rest of the crazy crew in Deadwood. I have a lot of fun writing the scenes and I’m always excited to see what happens next. I’m hitting the keys hard this month, hoping to be almost finished with the first draft of Deadwood #4 by month end. Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate them right now when I need that big motivational push to keep my head down and focused.
Hugs,
Ann
Hi Ann,
I discovered your Deadwood series while browsing on my Kindle about a month ago. This is not my usual genre, but I adored this series. In fact, I could not put the books down and finished all three in just a few days. I was so happy to find the new short story last night and really enjoyed the peek into Violet’s back story. I can’t wait for the 4th book!
Your characters are so easy to relate to and I just love Violet and Harvey. Thank you for writing such a fun series of books and for introducing me to a new genre that I have continued to enjoy.
Hi Dixie,
Yay! I’m glad you enjoy Violet and Harvey and their adventures. I have fun hanging out in Violet’s head, and I never know what Harvey is going to say or do next. Add all of my other characters into the mix and it makes for some fun times when I’m typing away. Thank you for trying my new Deadwood Shorts series, too. I am looking forward to exploring the other characters more in that short story series in the future.
I appreciate you writing to me and giving a new genre a try.
Take care,
Ann
Hi Ann,
I Love the Deadwood series! One of the main reasons is that Violet is a ‘normal’ modern woman of 35. She swears, and I mean really swears, and stuffs up and ‘thinks’ like a normal modern woman. She could be one of my friends!
I live in Sydney, Australia so for some background I went to the Deadwood and Lead SD websites so I could see the towns and see what the characters see.
Thanks for writing the in-betweenies and I can’t wait for the next full novel to come out.
Cheers from Sydney.
Hi Stephanie,
I’ve been meaning to reply to you for days, but life keeps interrupting.
I’m glad you appreciate Violet’s “normalness” as a heroine. I wanted to create a heroine who wasn’t a perfect-looking runway model, someone you might see in the grocery store trying to corral her kids, someone who looks like she carried and delivered twins. I wanted a woman who I could hang out with a lot and have fun with while being in her head. I also wanted to write a heroine who knows how to swear, because as much as my parents wish otherwise, I swear. Out came Violet Parker, with her crazy hair, crazy thoughts, and crazy life.
One of these days, I’m going to come down your way to a writing conference and maybe I might run into you. I have a good friend who lives outside of Melbourne whose house and life I plan to monopolize for a couple of weeks with my family. I really want to see Australia–I’ve heard so many wonderful things about the people and land.
Google Maps have this little guy you can drop on the map and actually “walk” him around Deadwood and Lead. I periodically use him when I’m writing if I’m trying to remember a detail on a building. It’s cool that you checked out the two towns’ websites. They are both fun places to visit.
Okay, back to writing Deadwood #4. Thank you for writing. I really appreciate it!
Take care,
Ann
I just finished all of the deadwood series books. I could not put them down.I hope another comes out soon. I loved them all and will probably try your jack rabbit. Series now.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for reading my Deadwood series. I’m shooting for the 4th in that series to be out in early 2013, so stay tuned! I hope you get some chuckles from my Jackrabbit series. You’ll have to let me know if you figure out the tie in to the Deadwood series when you read those books.
I appreciate your kind post!
Take care!
Ann
Just about finished with the third “Dead Wood” book. Gotta say, I’m reading these right after the “Girl with the dragon tatoo” trilogy so, as just a storyteller alone you had a lot to live up to Violet….I mean Ann.
Love the stories. Well done, fellow Dakotan!
Well, then I go and spell tattoo wrong! Sheesh. What do you expect from a banjo player?
Lee,
Wow! That’s a lot of pressure reading my books right after “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” You remind me of a funny photographer from Deadwood who I met a few weeks ago at a conference (his photo is on the cover of my first Deadwood Shorts book). He came up to me and told me he was reading this amazing non-fiction book about the Comanche Native Americans and their history, describing it as having incredible details and beautiful writing. Then he said, “As soon as I finish this book, I’m going to read your Deadwood series.” I grinned and said, “Do me a favor, could you read some incredibly crappy book in between the Comanche book and mine and give me a fighting chance at least.” We both laughed, and then I sobered and said, “I’m serious about that.” Which made him laugh again.
Anyway, thank you for reading the Deadwood series. I’m so glad you enjoyed the stories!
Banjo player, huh? I love listening to banjo playing. My husband has one and periodically picks it up.
Take care and thanks for writing to me!
Ann