Rescuing Samantha

 Wild Women Authors features indie author Heidi Thomas as she celebrates her latest release: Rescuing Samantha. With Heidi is an independent woman and animal rescuer, Samantha Moser who will go first.

 Good morning, Sam. Tell us a bit about Rescuing Samantha. When I found out the ranch that once belonged to my trailblazing, rodeo cowgirl great-grandmother was for lease, I jumped at the chance to return to Montana and pursue my dream of raising Thoroughbreds. I had a rescued mare I wanted to breed and start a herd. After my fiancé and I spent most of a back-breaking year fixing up the abandoned, dilapidated ranch, winter descended with a vengeance. Experiencing white-out conditions feeding animals, getting stuck, and the fear of freezing to death, Kenny left me to return to Arizona.

My dreams were shattered, the weather and financial conditions too difficult to raise the delicate racing breed. Then an eastern U.S. development group tries to take over a large portion of Montana land, including my ranch, for an exotic animal refuge. I was forced to take a job on a dude ranch just to survive. In the midst of uncertainty, I rediscovered the healing power of horses for children. I was thrust forward with a possible new purpose in life. But is it enough to succeed?

Can I help a young teen overcome her insecurities, battle the investment group threatening the land, and trust the man who has a stake in the takeover while he professes his help?

What made you choose ranching and working with horses for a career? Riding and being around horses have been in my blood since I was a child. I was never happier than I was when working with them. I grew up on a ranch in eastern Montana, and that’s where I want to be.

Knowing what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you stick with rescuing horses or do something different? No, I think this may be my purpose, along with working with kids. I fell into this by accident, certainly a surprise twist in my life plans.

What is your biggest fear? Failure. I’ve failed at just about everything I’ve tried. I want to feel like my great-grandma Nettie would be proud of me. I don’t want to fail at this.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Follow your dream. My great-grandmother and my grandmother both were strong, independent women, and encouraged their descendants to persevere.

Thanks for spending time with us, Samantha. We wish you well in your rescuing efforts. Now, we’d like to chat with Heidi.

Which writer or character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? Author Jane Kirkpatrick tells stories based on real women characters who are strong, able to step up in the face of adversity, and to persevere to accomplish their dreams.

With regard to research, where did you start for this novel? This is the 6^th novel in the Moser family saga. The first five were based on family history. Three on my grandmother who rode bucking stock in 1920s rodeos, and two on my mother who emigrated from Germany after WWII. This one is totally fiction. I followed the “what if” questions in looking at the next, more contemporary generation. I researched horse rescue, horses and healing.

Did that lead you down different paths, thereby changing the original concept? No, I think I’ve stuck to the original idea pretty closely, although I am a “pantser” in my writing style, meaning no outline, write by “the seat of my pants”.

Tell us a bit about your publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them; how is the submission process; what is the turn-around time from date of query to date of release? My first four books are with a traditional publisher, Two-Dot, a division of Rowman-Littlefield. . . but with the last four I have branched out on my own. The turn-around time is shorter, my per-book costs are less, and I have more say in the design and direction of the books. And, I don’t believe any more books have been sold through the publisher than through my own efforts.

What advice do you have for authors who want to go the “indie” route? My advice to authors seeking to publish their own is to learn your craft very well, rewrite and polish to the best of your ability, and have your work professionally edited.

What are you reading right now? Wildwood Creek. I love all of Lisa Wingate’s novels and aspire to write as well as she does.

What's next for you? I’m almost finished writing the second in this new series about Samantha and I plan to begin a third soon.

To learn more about Heidi M. Thomas and the stories she creates, go to:

http://www.heidimthomas.com

Facebook: Heidi M. Thomas, Author

Twitter: heidiwriter

Instagram: Heidi.writer

To purchase Rescuing Samantha, go to:

http://www.heidimthomas.com

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3m5PwgV