Jan Scarbrough's Ghost Mountain Ranch May Be a Bootiful Place to Stay!

Joining us today is Romance Gem author Jan Scarbrough to tell us a little bit about herself and her new Ghost Mountain Ranch box set. Let's start with Jan...


So, Jan, when did your love for writing start?

I had a motivating ninth-grade English teacher who encouraged me. For one assignment, we researched a career that interested us. I picked freelance writer. At that time, I doubted that I could even write a novel, let alone make any money doing it.

What is something you struggle with when you write?

Good books need conflict almost on every page. I’m not someone who likes conflict, so coming up with bad things to happen to my characters is hard.


Give us a brief glimpse at your road to publication.

I was an RWA Golden Heart finalist, but it didn’t lead to the publication of that book. After the prerequisite rejection letters, I finally sold a 50,000-word novel to Kensington for the Precious Gems series. This was before eBooks, of course. However, I “sold” my Golden Heart book to an eBook company. DUH. This was BEFORE eBook readers. I pulled the book (Tangled Memories) and it was published in paperback. Around 2006, I published eBooks with a small press. That’s where I learned to meet deadlines, work with an editor, and improve my writing. Finally, in 2013 after several small presses went out of business, I began to self-publish my books with the help of my techy husband. My first two published books are available today. They are KENTUCKY FLAME and TANGLED MEMORIES.

Do you have hobbies that you’d like to share?

My nine-year-old daughter begged for horseback riding lessons, and six months later I started taking lessons. That was a long time ago because she now has children of her own! I ride American Saddlebred horses. They are people horses. I love the history of the breed because they were “American Made.” Usually, I take a weekly riding lesson because I don’t own a horse. One of my all-time dreams was to own a horse. Over my lifetime, I’ve owned three! I’ve been treated for cancer in 2022, and my goal is to return to riding lessons.

Info about American Saddlebreds: https://www.asha.net/aboutus/theamericansaddlebred/


Share with us a little about your family. Married? Kids? Pets?


I am married with two children and two stepchildren. Together, my husband and I have ten grandchildren—only one is a girl! Currently, I have a pesky cat named Folly. This summer we lost our beloved Pembroke Welsh Corgis. So, I went to the humane society just to look around. Of course, I spotted amber eyes who begged for a home. My husband agreed, so we brought home a red tick coonhound!! We knew nothing about coonhounds. Her first week she killed a backyard raccoon. She was a coonhound after all! Bella has turned out to be a super sweet dog and a welcome addition to our family.

Jan and Bella

Thanks for sharing yourself with us, Jan!

YOU CAN FIND JAN HERE:

https://janscarbrough.com/

https://twitter.com/romancerider

https://allauthor.com/author/JanScarbrough/

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jan-Scarbrough/author/B001K8768A

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jan-scarbrough

https://www.facebook.com/Romancerider

Newsletter signup (free ebook) https://dl.bookfunnel.com/egu96mi9qf


Now let's find out about the Ghost Mountain Ranch box set...

Will the revelation of more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future? The Ghost Mountain Ranch series is a good blend of mystery and romance.

DARBY: What is the truth behind the death of Darby’s mother? When the past once again intrudes on the present, will Darby do what she’s always done—what her mother did—and run away? Grief and secrets had torn Darby and Hank apart once. Given a second chance at love, will the revelation of more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future?

SLADE: Someone knows the truth about the part Ghost Mountain Ranch played in Laurie’s life, and the terrible consequences of that past. But when the ghosts of the past threaten the lives of the living, will their growing attraction be enough to protect Slade and Laurie?

KELSEY: But something dark is happening at Ghost Mountain Ranch, where the past is reaching out in dangerous ways to haunt the living. Max is not only stirring up old feelings in Kelsey, but old secrets of the ranch’s inhabitants. Secrets someone might be willing to kill to keep. Can they finally lay the old ghosts to rest, or will the echoes of a decades-old murder destroy their second chance at love?



"Kudos to Jan Scarbrough for keeping the characters interesting and the plot twists intriguing from the first book to the last."

YOU CAN PURCHASE THE GHOST MOUNTAIN RANCH BOX SET HERE:

https://books2read.com/GhostMountainRanch

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3vHieeS

It's been great having you as our guest today, Jan! Please come back whenever you want! Have a wonderful day, all! :)

When It Comes To Writing, Romance Gems Author Jan Scarbrough Ain't Horsin' Around, Or Is She?

Hey, all! Won't you please help me welcome Romance Gem Jan Scarbrough. Let's get to know her a little better...

Jan, when did your love for writing start?

I had an inspirational ninth-grade English teacher who encouraged me. For one assignment, we researched a career that interested us. I picked freelance writer. At that time, I doubted that I could even write a novel, let alone make any money doing it.

What is something you struggle with when you write?

Good books need conflict almost on every page. I’m not someone who likes conflict, so coming up with bad things to happen to my characters is hard.

Give us a brief glimpse at your road to publication.

I was an RWA Golden Heart finalist, but it didn’t lead to the publication of that book. After the prerequisite rejection letters, I finally sold a 50,000-word novel to Kensington for the Precious Gems series. This was before ebooks, of course. However, I “sold” my Golden Heart book to an ebook company. DUH. No readers at that time. I pulled it and the book was published in paperback. Around 2006, I published ebooks with a small press. That’s where I learned to make deadlines, work with an editor, and improved my writing. Finally, in 2013 after several small presses went out of business, I began to self-publish my books with the techy help of my husband. These two first books are available today. They are KENTUCKY FLAME and TANGLED MEMORIES.

 

Do you have hobbies that you’d like to share?

Since my nine-year-old daughter begged for horseback riding lessons, I’ve also taken riding lessons. It’s been a long time ago because she now has children of her own! I ride American Saddlebred horses. They are people horses who are fun to ride. I love the history of the breed because they were “American Made.” Usually, I take a weekly riding lesson because I don’t own a horse right now. One of my all-time dreams was to own a horse. Over my lifetime, I’ve owned three!

Info about American Saddlebreds: https://www.asha.net/aboutus/theamericansaddlebred/

Share with us a little about your family. Married? Kids? Pets?

I am married with two children and two stepchildren. Together, my husband and I have ten grandchildren—only one is a girl! Currently, I have a pesky cat named Folly. This summer we lost our beloved Pembroke Welsh Corgis. So, I went to the humane society just to look around. Of course, I spotted amber eyes who begged for a home. My husband agreed, so we brought home a red tick coonhound!! We knew nothing about coonhounds. Her first week she killed a backyard raccoon. She was a coonhound after all! Bella has turned out to be a super sweet dog and a welcome addition to our family.

YOU CAN FIND JAN HERE: 

Website http://janscarbrough.com/

BookBub Author URL https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jan-scarbrough

Newsletter (download free book and sign up for my newsletter) https://www.booksweeps.com/free/kentucky-woman-bluegrass-reunion-series/

Amazon Author URL https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Scarbrough/e/B001K8768A

AllAuthor https://allauthor.com/profile/romancerider/

 

YOU CAN PURCHASE JAN'S BOOKS HERE:

Check out my two Contemporary Western Series, both on Kindle Unlimited.

The Dawsons of Montana tells the stories of rancher Jim Dawson’s widow Liz, and his children Brody, Mercer, and Ben. Can they find happiness and love in the aftermath of the heartache of the patriarch’s untimely death?

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZM6V8H8)

Hank brings two series together: the romantic The Dawsons of Montana and the romantic mystery Ghost Mountain Ranch!

~ BEN IS ON SALE UNTIL MONDAY! ~

Ghost Mountain Ranch, where old secrets are stirring, secrets someone might be willing to kill to keep. Can they finally lay the old ghosts to rest, or will the echoes of a decades-old murder destroy their second chance at love?

(Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BL85Q8W)

DARBY: Thirty years ago, Darby Heston fled her family’s Montana dude ranch. Now she must return to help her father. Would the boyfriend she’d abandoned still be there? Hank Slade has never stopped loving Darby, but is he willing to risk his heart again? Secrets tore them apart once. Given a second chance at love, will more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future?

Thank you so much, Jan, for being here today, and for sharing your talent with us!

Let's Get To Know GHOST MOUNTAIN RANCH: DARBY ~ by #RomanceGems Author Jan Scarbrough

Welcome to Feature Friday where we have Jan Scarbrough in the spotlight with her book GHOST MOUNTAIN RANCH: DARBY. Let's talk to Jan about it...

DARBY is the second book in The Ghost Mountain Ranch series. Tell us about this series. What ties the books together?

Several years ago, I decided to give a story to Hank, the head wranglers at the Six Buckles Ranch in Montana. The story didn’t have such a happy ending, but it was a way for me to have Hank leave the Dawson family and go to Ghost Mountain Ranch where I knew he would meet his high school sweetheart Darby York.

The three books that I wrote after HANK tell the story of Darby and her two children Slade (named after her first love) and Kelsey. Darby is estranged from her father but comes home to the ranch at the urging of Hank and Kelsey. There she uncovers clues about her mother’s past. The next two stories in the series are complete romance, but they also reveal the mystery about what happened to Darby’s mother.


What's your inspiration for this series?

My husband and I visited a Montana dude ranch in 2016, so the Ghost Mountain Ranch is sort of a combination among several ranches. When I wanted to add a mystery to my new western series, my editor suggested doing something about the anti-war movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I read a few history books on the subject and came up with a complicated back story for Darby, her mother, and Darby’s family.


Tell us more about your heroine, Darby York. What in her past influenced her to be the woman we meet in the story?

Darby was very close to her mother. When her mother commits suicide, Darby feels guilty and thinks she’s somehow responsible. She flees the Montana dude ranch where she grew up and ends up working at a Kentucky horse farm where she meets and marries the wealthy owner. I wanted her life in Kentucky to be happy. She has children and a doting husband who indulges her passion for art. When the story starts, I wanted Darby to resist returning to Montana because of the guilt she’s never resolved.

What about Hank Slade, wrangler at Ghost Mountain Ranch? What's a wrangler? What kind of man is he?

A wrangler is someone who looks after horses or other animals on a ranch. On a dude ranch, a wrangler will get the horses ready and lead trail rides for the guests. Hank Slade is a loner. He’s been a wrangler at the Dawson’s ranch for years. Hank is unlucky in love. He had two loves—Darby and Liz Dawson, the wife of the ranch owner who has recently remarried. Taking the head job at Ghost Mountain Ranch gives Hank a new purpose in life. He doesn’t count on Darby coming back into it.


What inspired you to write about older protagonists?

I understand older protagonists better because I am older myself. I also like to give characters a second or third chance in life. We don’t get our lives right from the beginning. As Hank says, we learn from our mistakes.


Which character in the series is your favorite to write? Why?

I enjoyed writing about Darby and having her come to terms with her past. She runs away from her fears until she must confront the truth and her feelings.


Which character in the series is the hardest to write? Why?

I think Slade was the hardest to write. He’s unsure of himself but becomes a man working at the ranch. I hope I made his growth in self-confidence realistic.

Blurbs ~

HANK:

On Christmas Eve, Hank accepts the job of ranch foreman over the mountains in the Gallatin Canyon, Montana. But something dark is happening at the Ghost Mountain Ranch, where the past is reaching out in dangerous ways to haunt the living.


DARBY:

Thirty years ago, Darby Heston fled her family’s Montana dude ranch. Now she must return to help her father. Would the boyfriend she’d abandoned still be there? Hank Slade has never stopped loving Darby, but is he willing to risk his heart again? Secrets tore them apart once. Given a second chance at love, will more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future?


SLADE:

Slade Heston is spending the summer as a hired hand at his grandfather’s dude ranch, trying to figure out life, not fall in love. Laurie Chastain is supposed to write promotions for the ranch, but she has a secret goal. What did a 1970s radical resistance group have to do with her grandfather? Laurie’s only clue leads her to Ghost Mountain Ranch. Will their growing attraction be enough to protect Slade and Laurie from the ghosts of the past?


KELSEY:

Kelsey Heston’s using the skills learned at her family’s Kentucky horse farm to improve tourism at her grandfather’s dude ranch. But what is her old college sweetheart doing here? Max Lee has come to Ghost Mountain Ranch searching for a missing woman. Instead, he finds Kelsey. But old secrets are stirring, secrets someone might be willing to kill to keep. Can they finally lay the old ghosts to rest, or will the echoes of a decades-old murder destroy their second chance at love?

Bio ~

Whether it is the Bluegrass of Kentucky, the mountains of Montana, or Medieval England, Jan Scarbrough brings you home with romances from the heart.

The author of two popular Bluegrass series, Jan writes heartwarming contemporary romances about home and family, single moms, and children, and if the plot allows, about another passion—horses. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books and the excitement of a Bluegrass horse race or a competitive horse show.

Jan leaves her contemporary voice behind with two paranormal gothic romances, Timeless and Tangled Memories, a Romance Writers of America (RWA) Golden Heart finalist. Her historical romance, My Lord Raven, is a medieval story of honor and betrayal.

A member of Novelist, Inc., Jan self-publishes her books with her husband’s help.

YOU CAN BUY THE GHOST MOUNTAIN STORIES HERE:

https://books2read.com/HankGhostMountain

https://books2read.com/Darby

https://books2read.com/SladeGhostMountain

https://books2read.com/Kelsey


YOU CAN FIND JAN HERE:

Website http://janscarbrough.com/

Blog http://janscarbrough.com/blog/

Newsletter http://janscarbrough.com/contact/

Amazon Author URL https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Scarbrough/e/B001K8768A

Bookbub Author URL https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jan-scarbrough

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Romancerider/

Twitter https://twitter.com/romancerider

AllAuthor https://allauthor.com/profile/romancerider/

Thank you, Jan, for joining us today and for sharing your Ghost Mountain Ranch series with us!