A Day on the Oregon Trail with P. L. Parker

Hello and Welcome to a special Saturday Spotlight. My featured guest today is friend and fellow Wild Rose Press author P. L. Parker. Patsy is here to chat with us about her time travel book
AIMEE’S LOCKET
But before she arrives, here is a blurb and excerpt:

Blurb:

An antique ivory locket catapults Aimee Reynolds back to the year 1847. Alone in St. Louis, Missouri, she has to find a way to get home to present day Seattle. She needs a suitable male willing to marry her or be left behind when the emigrant train departs for the Oregon Territory.

Jake Marshall, scout for the Markham Party, is the perfect, if unwilling choice. Undaunted by his overt rudeness, Aimee entices Jake to the alter, promising her diamond earrings as payment for a marriage of convenience. Properly wed, she secures passage on the wagon train, and discovers her future may be in the past.


Excerpt:

“Sure you don’t want to take me up on my offer?” Jake’s teasing was old.

“You wish!” She huffed and stalked out, forgetting to check the hallway first and banged into a boarder walking by. A lascivious leer devoured her, replacing the boarder’s previously blank expression.

“Looking for customers?” He smacked his bulbous lips, reminiscent of an overeager suckerfish. “I just might be interested.”

Her shoulders drooped in disgust. “You are soooo sickening.” She glared at him. “How about you get out of my face before I ream you a new orifice?”

Startled, the man’s mouth flew open as he gaped in surprise.

Jake stepped into the hallway and lowered his voice to sound ominous in the ensuing silence.

“The lady was just returning to her room. I suggest you do the same.”

The hapless man barely glanced at his threatening stance before he scurried down the hall. Jake’s lips twitched. He couldn’t blame him. He’d made the same offer more than once today. But, damn, if she wasn’t a feisty piece of woman. At least she hadn’t threatened to ream him a new orifice— whatever that was.

“Thanks…again! Seems like all I do is thank you for one reason or another.” Aimee hesitated, appearing unsure. Her vulnerability stirred deeper feelings in him, making him uncomfortable.

“I’ve had more creepy offers from more creepy men in one day than I’ve had in my entire lifetime!”

“If you keep running around in your underclothes, it’s pretty much what you can expect.”
He followed her across the hall. “Stay in there and don’t answer the door, and if anyone bothers you—scream. I’ll hear it.”

She slipped into her room and pivoted, staring up at him. “Why are you helping me?”

And here comes Patsy, so sit back and enjoy the show!

As the emigrant train makes its way across the wide open prairie, a herd of wild buffalo and bison graze in the grass. The pioneer spirit of the Wild, Wild West is palpable as the covered wagons chug along the Snake River. Someone fires a rifle, sending the bullet ricocheting into the crystal blue horizon. With a screeching halt, the train comes to an abrupt halt and P. L. Parker steps off, donned in Aimee’s antique ivory locket.

Sharon: A warm welcome for P. L. Parker. Welcome, Patsy! Come sit around the campfire. Kick your cowhides off, sit a spell and let Oliver wait on you hand and foot. Oh, Oliver! We’re ready for refreshments.

Oliver struts out grinning, costumed as Buffalo Bill. He tips his hat at Patsy and hands her a beer and a bowl of caramel popcorn.

Patsy: Oh boy! The cowboys just get better looking all the time. Hope my husband is taking care of the mules – especially that big mean one, Jack.

Sharon: Ah…Oliver…ah…Buffalo Bill…I’m feeling a bit parched over here. Did you forget my brewskie? And where’s my chips? You do remember the auction, don’t you, the one I keep threatening to sell you to the highest bidder? One of these days, Oliver…one of these days!

Oliver, ignoring Sharon, his boss, leans down and plants one on Patsy’s lips. Might I be so bold as to have your autograph, Ms. Parker?

Patsy: Uh, sure. Give me a minute to find my brain, er, I mean my pen.

Sharon: Go away, Oliver. Go rustle up some grub or something so I can conduct my interview with Patsy. Now shoo! So Patsy, tell me about Aimee’s Locket. It’s another time travel, but this time, it transports you back to the Oregon Trail. Do dish about the premise of this book.

Patsy: Aimee is a modern girl, living in Seattle. She buys a locket from an antique store in Pike's Market. Shortly after, she faints (she thinks) and ends up landing on her face in a pile of horse dodo in 1847 St. Louis. Alone, penniless, all she wants is to go home. Enter Jake, wagon train scout, gorgeous, rude and very interested in the whore who lands at his feet. He offers to pay for her services for the evening, numerous times. When he finally realizes she isn't a bawd, he takes pity and helps her. Unfortunately, he is bound for the Oregon Territories. Aimee is terrified. What is she going to do? With no other possible alternative, she begs Jake to take her with him, offering him her diamond earrings in exchange for a wedding of convenience. After some soul searching, Jake agrees. They marry and the long journey begins. Jake and Aimee experience the first stirrings of passion, then love. But Aimee can't give up on her dream of returning to the present.

Sharon: And what about the research? Did you find it easy or difficult to find facts about something that took place well over a century ago.

Patsy: Actually, I've always had a real interest in the Oregon Trail. I grew up in Idaho, then moved to Huntington, Oregon. Parts of the trail wind all around that area. Right outside Huntington, there is a spot where a family bound for Oregon finally met their maker. They were set on by Indians outside of Massacre Rock (by American Falls) and made it that far on foot before the Indians killed the rest. The bones were so decalcified from starvation, it took a lot of time and digging to find them. Sad story, but there were a lot of sad stories along the trail. Some of the events in Aimee's Locket were taken from my family history. Charlie Tuttle's experiences with lye soap was one such utilization of family history.

Sharon: Interesting. So tell us a bit about your main characters, Aimee and Jake.

Patsy: Aimee is a young college-age woman of the present, studying to be a teacher. Her red hair accentuates her feisty and determined nature. Jake is a hard working guy, a gentleman when needed, and ultimately Aimee's savior. He is nothing like the men she usually dates. She liked men who bent over backwards to please. Jake is nothing like that. He is a man, not a kid.

Sharon: That’s a unique spelling of Aimee. Where did you come up with that?

Patsy: I tried different versions, but found that spelling most interesting. Aimee's Locket is dedicated to Ami Russell of TWRP, who was my editor when I first started there. Unfortunately, she left before we began the edits on Aimee's Locket, but Patricia did a wonderful job. I learned a lot from her.

Sharon: What a lovely way to show your appreciation. Now you write time travel books and you do them so well. Have you tried your hand at any other genre? And if so, what is your source of inspiration? A book, movie or favorite author?

Patsy: I finished a manuscript on a vampire story, Absolution, and my next idea is a science fiction story, which I already have working in my mind, just not on paper yet. I love Sherrilyn Kenyon and Christine Feehan. Never miss one of their books. I love the paranormal, so it’s a perfect genre for me. Heart of the Sorcerer was almost stepping out of my comfort zone as is the last manuscript, Absolution.

Sharon: What do you think about the Wild, Wild West and the open frontier? Would you, P. L. Parker like to be transported back in time to that era in history?

Patsy: Nupe – never in a million years. I like my TV, my hot bath at night, all the conveniences of modern life. I would make a terrible emigrant. They'd shoot me and leave me by the wayside to quell my whining and then they'd have to break my cold dead fingers to leave me behind.

Sharon: LOL Patsy! You and me both. Here comes Oliver with dessert. With a sweeping bow, he presents two caramel ice cream Sundays, brimming with whipped cream and nuts. Drooling, he dips the silver cattle spoon into the ice cream and feeds Patsy.

Patsy: Oh YUM! Ummmmmmmm, my taste buds are quivering with anticipatory delight. Another bite please, Oliver. I've died and gone to heaven.

Sharon: All right, Oliver. But Oliver snags a guitar from the ground and breaks into a chorus of Home, Home on the Range. The deer and antelope run for the hills, keening.

Sharon: All right, Buffalo Bill, go away! So, as we were saying….So what’s next for P. L. Parker?

Patsy: That wasn't so bad, Oliver. Trying humming. I am currently finishing a sequel to Riley's Journey, titled (maybe) Journey to the Dawn. I've had so many readers from all over the world sending e-mails, wanting to know what happens to the people in Riley's Journey, so I'm almost finished with that. Going very well and my dear husband, Jack (like the mule) says it's my best one yet. It was fun revisiting the Ice Age and continuing the journey. I never planned on that, but glad I decided to do it.

Sharon: You know what’s coming up next. I adore superstitions and consider each new one a cherished gift. Can you share one with me?

Patsy: I always "knock on wood." Even if I don't have wood to knock on, I say "knock on wood." Silly, but seems to work. Hee hee.

Sharon: And here comes your train to transport you back home. But before you leave, can you tell me if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? If you could star in any literary fiction, which would it be and why? And last but not least, who would you want playing your romantic hero?

Patsy: I love Idaho, I've been around the United States, but I always come home. I would love to live in Cascade, Idaho, near the lake and surrounded by trees. If I could star, it would be on a tropical island, with a summer cooler in my hand, watching the young studs walk by in their thong bikinis. Oliver, Oliver, are you there? My romantic hero would have to be played by Johnny Depp – who else?

Sharon: Thank you, Patsy. It’s been a pleasure. Where can readers buy your books and get in touch with you?

Patsy: My web page is www.plparker.com, my blog is www.plparker.blogspot.com. I also have a myspace page, www.myspace.com/mrsplparker. All my books are available from The Wild Rose Press, www.thewildrosepress.com, Fictionwise, www.fictionwise.com, and most on-line bookstores.

Just then, Unchained Melody plays on the radio by the Righteous Brothers. Buffalo Bill draws Patsy into his arms, gazing into her eyes as they dance the night away…

In my real life, I'm a legal assistant with a downtown law firm in Boise, Idaho.
I'm married. I have three sons, ages 35, 28 and 16 (a mine and ours situation). I'm married to my best friend, soul mate and best fan. Besides the houseful of men, I have a darling almost 3 year old granddaughter, Tannis, who lights up our lives, two huge male cats, Flip and Sam, and a toy poodle, Biddy, who rules the animal roost.

I currently have three novels in print and e-book, Fiona, Riley's Journey and Aimee's Locket. I also have a short story, Heart of the Sorcerer, and a Free Read, Prophecy's Bride. I will also have another Free Read coming out in the near future, Songbird.