Eve Gaddy: The Making of a Series

Katherine Garbera and I have been friends for a long time. We've critiqued together, brainstormed together, helped each other when we're stuck and read each other's books. But there was one thing we hadn't done.

Whiskey River, our romance series for Tule Publishing, came from our desire to write a series together. Since we both love Texas, we decided to set it on a ranch in the hill country. (The background is on a flat area of the ranch.:)

We started with a scandal. A womanizer named Boots Kelly who died and left his family's holdings equally divided among his four sons. There was one problem. Everyone thought he had two sons, including his sons, Trey and Wyatt Kelly. It was a big shock when everyone discovered Boots had two more sons, illegitimate twins who didn't know he was their father. 

Boots had promised Nick and Xander Blues' mother he would stay out of their lives. Which he did. But the will was Boots' plan to get all of his sons together. And so the series was born.

We also thought it would be fun to ask our friend Julia Justiss, who writes lovely Regency historical novels, to write about the history of Whiskey River and how it and the family came to be. Julia agreed it would be fun to write a western historical about Booze Kelly and his lady love, and how Whiskey River and Booze, for that matter, got their names. Julia filled in the background on Booze and Marguerite. She also wrote about Evangeline, whose one-time bordello later becomes a Bed and Breakfast and whose descendants own the Fallen Angels lingerie shop in town. (Chantel and Angel Chandler, whose stories we hope to tell in the future.:)

Since all four sons would be living on the sprawling estate, Kathy and I also discussed the Kelly family history. Each wing of the house was built by a different generation. These rooms reflected the wild spirit of the family and the sons who were just getting to know each other. The history of the Kellys was revealed through the suites that each of the sons claimed.  We learned more about the women who’d been married to the Kelly men and how they’d influenced the family through the generations.

The Whiskey River romance collection contains the first three stories in the series, Texas Heirs, Texas Cowboy and Texas Tycoon. It will be available May 26th at your favorite ebook retailer. Scandal with the Rancher is available now, also at your favorite ebook retailer.

And look for a new contemporary Whiskey River novel from RITA Award winning author, Justine Davis. Coming some time this fall.

Check out our website: www.whiskeyrivertexas.net and Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WhiskeyRiverTexas .