Friday Round Up with Nicole McCaffrey


Before we let you head off, just a couple more questions...

Do you have any hobbies that you’d care to chat about? Skydiving? Baking? Traveling? Whatever interests you—we’d love to hear about it!

I am pretty boring. I bake, I read, I garden, though that really amounts to little more than just putting out a snack bar for the local deer-- the more I plant, the more they munch.  And I like to clean and restore old dolls in my spare time. 

What drew you to write for Wylder?

1.   They had me at small old western town!

I was asked to write it the story to launch the Wylder series.  At the time they were thinking of something along the lines of the movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.  I wasn’t sure I could write a story set in a brothel, but the wheels started turning and I turned to favorite old movie, The Cheyenne Social Club—and that’s when the “fish out of water” ideas began to form.  The title of the story is a nod to the movie.  

That story then gave birth to Christmas inthe Wylder County Jail, which I wrote with Kim Turner.  Our two “mature” characters having a later in life romance –the madam Miss Adelaide and rancher Russ Holt—really connected with audiences.  So much so that we put our heads together to give them a story and that will come out December 13.  

I also have a contract for Wylder County Outlaw, which will have mercantile owner Finn Wylder meeting up with Doc Sullivan’s bad girl sister—who just happens to be an outlaw.  Poor boring Finn has been craving a little adventure, and this is definitely the kind of girl his mama warned him about. '

I think everyone loves Finn Wylder, Nicole, so I know readers will be lining up to read this one! 

Writing historical romance involves a lot of research, doesn't it? 

Research for me usually involves a lot of reading.  I do look things up online, but I am old school and still prefer to read research books when I can.  For example, for Northern Temptress, there was nothing quite like reading the real-life accounts of the civilians who had lived in the town of Gettysburg before, during and after the battle.  They went through unimaginable fear and stress and when the army pulled out just after the battle, the townsfolk were left with thousands of dead soldiers and animals to take care of, as well as wounded soldiers in need of care.  And this was at a time when there was no Federal Emergency Management Agency, no state of emergencies to declare no Red Cross or Salvation Army to come help.  It was just dumped on their doorsteps.  A history book or internet article cannot give you the raw emotions and anguish those people experienced. 

Are you working on anything new? Do you have plans for a next story that you’d care to share?

Once I am done playing in Wylder I plan to finish my Wild Texas series. Both Wild Texas Bride and Wild Texas Outlaw have been waiting in the wings for quite some time.

It's been great having you here on The Wylder West blog this week! Thank you for joining us!   

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