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Ruby
Storm
loves to write. Better known for her spicier romances, the Keeper Series
is Ruby’s journey into mainstream historical romance. Keeper of the
Spirit, Keeper of the Dream, and Keeper of the
Heart, have all received rave reviews (including 5-spur
reviews from us)!
Keeper of the Spirit, won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for
Best Small Press Romance, and Keeper of the Heart
is a nominee for the 2007 Romantic Times
Best Small Press Romance! |
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***See the Keeper Series Book Trailer here.***
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What was the first Western historical
novel you remember reading?
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Kathleen Woodiwiss’ THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER.
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When
did you know you were hooked on Western historical novels?
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I was eighteen years old and up to that point, I’d immersed myself in gothic romances, Victoria Holt specifically. I so loved her stories. But Kathleen changed my tune! I’ve read every book she’s ever written. From there I went to Rosemary Rogers and Celeste De Blasis and a host of other wonderful authors. Just couldn’t get enough of western romance and still can’t! What a wonderful fantasy to have a rugged, handsome man wearing a Stetson low over his brow, stare at me, his eyes dark with passion…ahhhh, be still my heart!
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| What part of the writing process do you
enjoy most-the research? creating the characters? developing the
plot? providing the historical context?
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Most definitely the research. I’m so fortunate to have two great libraries within 60 miles (I live in the wilderness, don’t you know?) All the rest falls into place. I literally haunted those libraries simply because all the Keeper stories originate from the area I live in. The Internet helped, but through reading local materials, I found a wealth of information. I could be found with a host of books spread out across a library table as I furiously took notes. I often found myself changing the plot in my head to fit into a certain historical scenario, excited as all get out because I’d just hit on a great subplot. I wrote a lot of chapters surrounded by those research materials, smelling the books and enjoying the quiet steady shuffle between the library walls.
When writing Keeper of the Spirit, I needed an actual hotel that was situated in Duluth, MN—it had to be a gathering place of the rich and I wasn’t comfortable making up a name. So I called the library and the wonderful librarian invited me to drive down and go through their Minnesota room. It was filled
with old newspapers from 1880 through the present. Not microfiche but the real thing! I felt like I’d stepped back in time as I turned these old yellowed pages. The description of the hotel in my book was taken from actual pictures of the The Clark House.
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Tell us about your
Keeper Series.
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Whether it was a bit of the bulldog in me or the love of a good story, I penned a few scenes for
Keeper of the Spirit when I was twenty-one years old. Those handwritten, dog-eared pages lived beneath my underwear for the next twenty years. It wasn’t until those years passed and my dear friend’s son was killed in an accident that my outlook changed. He had only been 20 years old. He lived and experienced so much in his short life, but would miss out on so much more because of an untimely accident. Going through something like that is quite a character builder. It hit me that life is short. If I wasn’t doing something that made me happy, then I figured I needed to change that. And I did! I pulled out those wrinkled pages, headed for my computer and was lost to a new world.
Keeper of the Spirit was written without the intention to publish. It simply was just something I felt compelled to do. My family and friends read the book, insisted that I try to publish, so I hit the ‘trying to get published’ trenches and began researching what I needed to do.
Oh, the rejections, the rejections. I loved the Keeper of the Spirit story – so why didn’t anyone else? I began to watch the market a few years back and realized how erotica had jumped to the forefront. So on a whim, I wrote
Payton’s Passion, submitted to Ellora’s Cave and boom! Suddenly I had a contract! Then Ellora’s Cave opened their Cerridwen Press line. Here was my venue for my non-erotic historical romance that I had waited for. Plus I now had two sequels for the
Keeper Series because I couldn’t leave the Wilkins family alone. Cole and Trevor each received their own stories in
Keeper of the Dream and Keeper of the Heart.
Keeper of the Spirit is the story about how one rugged lonely man, Tyler Wilkins, was fortunate enough to discover love for a second and last time in his life. Tyler and Emma’s story is a portrayal of the strength of the human spirit. The story spans from the wilds of northern Minnesota in the 1800’s, to New York City and back again.
Not too long after Keeper of the Spirit was completed, I knew I wanted to give Cole Wilkins, Tyler’s youngest brother, his own story. But Cole was a complex man who needed to be tested to his limits. During this thought process I took a family trip to the Black Hills, never guessing that my journey would become Cole’s journey. As I sat looking out at the Crazy Horse Memorial, studied the teeming buffalo herds, and took in the spiritual beauty of the land, I realized how the Sioux’s story touched my heart deeply. Thus
Keeper of the Dream was born and is now Cole’s and August Moon’s story of love and passion across two diversified worlds.
Okay, so now there was no way I could leave Trevor Wilkins, the middle brother, without sending him off on an adventure of his own. So I dragged him from the pages of his brothers’ story, dusted him off and turned him loose. He’s a verified bachelor, you know, a man who was more than content to leave the ‘contracted’ loving to his two brothers. That was until he meets the widow Claire Holcomb and her five wonderfully impish children. Suddenly his life and every thing he thought he desired was turned upside down. And when Claire runs, Trevor follows because suddenly life without her and her precious urchins is meaningless. Trevor truly becomes the
Keeper of the Heart.
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If you could choose two actors to play the lead roles in the different Keeper books, who would they be and why?
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LOL! This is a subject that my daughter says she’s totally in charge of for casting. Although, that was a few years back and now those chosen characters have aged (along with the rest of us!)
My choices? Let’s think Keeper of the Spirit. Ah, I guess I’d love to see Gale Harold and Lindsay Lohan heat up the big screen. Why? Because the two of them can take any character and make it theirs.
In Keeper of the Dream, I think Johnny Depp and Tinsel Korey would be perfect together! Whoa – And
Keeper of the Heart? No other man than Brad Pitt because Trevor Wilkins’ character is in his late thirties and Brad looks fantastic in a Stetson and longer hair. I bet Gwenth Paltrow could get his blood flowing. She’s the perfect embodiment of Claire Holcomb. In fact, I pictured her when I wrote Claire. Good god I’m going to have some fantastic dreams tonight!
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Any more historical westerns
in the works for you?
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I’m coming off a bad year regarding health. Some major back problems have kept me from my computer but things are good now. I’m thinking it would really be fun to continue the Wilkins saga into the next generation – which would bring us into the First World War. This would be getting away from western historicals but it would keep that family close to me!
I’m also considering doing another family saga, quite possible situated in the Black Hills area.
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What are some of your favorite western romances by
other authors?
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| Have you ever read The Proud Breed by Celeste De
Blasis? It’s a wonderful, sweeping family saga set in California when the area first became a part of the United States. Absolutely spell binding! Also Rosemary Savage and Diana Palmer. Being a writer really cramps my reading style. I’ve got a TBR pile that goes to the ceiling! |
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And finally, we’ve heard some people say western historical romances aren’t popular anymore and, of course, we at LoveWesternRomances.com don’t agree. How would you characterize the readership for western historical romances?
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I’ve heard this statement a lot the past few years. I’ve also tried to follow the market and really think historical western romance may just surge forward. I find it hard to believe that this genre will not keep a steady pace simply because readers of western historical romances are ‘branded’ for life. I know I am!
Thanks so much to everyone at Loves Western Romances. I’m absolutely thrilled to see you out there on the net, promoting this genre and keeping western historicals a force to contend with!
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Thank you,
Ruby, for being in our spotlight!
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