The Taming, Book One in The Black Thunder Series is Available for download on Kindle!

The Taming is set in the foothills of Virginia City, Nevada. 

 

Virginia City holds a special place in my heart. 

  

I lived in Northern Nevada for almost fifteen years

and I frequented the old gold mining town regularly. 

I even did some theater there performing melodramas

 on an outdoor stage while the customers

sat on hay bales watching the show.

                                   

    The drive to Virginia City is breathtaking!

Whether taking the scenic road, Geiger Grade from Reno, or the winding gold laden road from Moundhouse. 

                                                  

But My Favorite Is

Six Mile Canyon Road from Dayton.

Anyone who has driven it 

can attest that it does look like

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid could emerge

from the hills at any moment.

Sure would hate to be stuck on the road at night with a flat. 

Just ask Kate!

I don't know what it is about Virginia City that captures my soul?

 Maybe it's the old western town feel as you walk along the two block row stopping at old saloons, like The Bucket of Blood (Owners are also McBride's but no relation to Jack!)

The Washoe Club (or hotel, as I called it in my novel), The Red Dog Saloon or seeing the old timey gaming tables on display at The Delta and having a sense that luck played a big part in the gold rush.


Virginia City was once one of the wealthiest communities during
the gold rush years but when the gold dried up so did the town but its history and legends still live on. 

Ghosts have been known to mingle with the tourists or at the very least in the cemetery and The Washoe Club.

 The attractions are endless!    

Train rides for the V&T fans or stagecoach rides,

Old West shops selling drovers, hats and boots

 (Remember a good boot is worth it's weight in gold)

to cotton candy, hot dogs and fudge (Kate's favorite).  There is always Piper's Opera House (which is haunted especially  when Mark Twain is performing), to gun slingers and show downs.

Then there are the events on the Comstock.  The Camel Races, the Masquerade Ball, the Outhouse Races, just to name a few.  But the biggest event I looked forward to was Street Vibrations, where thousands of motorcycles ascend upon the small town and make it

as grand as it had been a hundred years before.

Now ladies!

If you're looking to find a rugged Nevada man

like Jack,                                         

You've come to the right place. 

(FYI the ratio of men to women is higher so the picking is quite good)

   But...   
  
                                                                  

     If you can't make it to Virginia City, I've got the next best thing.

                                                                                 

I suggest you sit back with a glass of liquid Jack...
                                               ... and start reading...

 The Taming

  

You just might find yourself being swept away

into a territory that is still filled with wild men, 

brimming with muscle and oozing their ruggedness all over you!

Launching of New Book The Taming

Coming to Amazon June 12, 2014....

The Making of The Black Thunder Series, The Taming

Phase One

I wanted to be a writer!  

Aspiring to my dreams, tasting my penned words and 

salivating over them like a top grade menu;

 choosing each read syllable carefully till the texture was a smooth masterpiece of perfection.  

How could I know that the creation of my words

 was the easy part!

Phase Two

I am not an editor, by trade 

but through this journey, I have become one.

I have learned about adjectives, adverbs, metaphors, simile, when to use comas, capitalization, periods, writing first person, second person, quotations, italicizing, the use of ah, humph, shh, but never argh(personal choice)!

I have listened to audio book after audio book, memorizing the flow of words like a metronome, 

finding the rhythm of my own voice in words.  

I hired an editor and paid for its editing only to continue editing myself until I was satisfied. 

The book has been given to friends, family, co-workers as beta readers then after more editing.

Phase Three

Query, Query, Query.... Only to discover I am terrible at writing queries, synopsis!  Argh!  (Seemed appropriate)

Re-wrote synopsis, overview of my novel 

until I was blue in the face.

Phase Four

I am going to be an Indie Author!

And this is where my head explodes.....

I use to think I was computer savvy 

but all this unknown formatting to e-book, mobi, 

print on demand has gone beyond my expertise.  

I have read every how to from bloggers to e-books,

 and I realized just how behind the times, I am.

(Oh and in between all this formatting, guess what, I was still editing too...one more argh if you please.)

Phase Five

Social Media Explodes as does my head for a second time.

Marketing, marketing, marketing!

Request after request to please read my book and review it!

If feel like a beggar on a street panning my novel so somebody will drop me a kudos...oh please do!  oh please do!

Then there is good reads, book clubs, Facebook groups, twitter, Instagram, Pinterest...

So many to reach with only two hands or ten fingers (more precisely eight sloppy fingers and two clumsy Thumbs) 

tapping away at my keyboard.  

I am sleep deprived, living on fast food, and haven't seen the light of day in a while.  

My skin is so pale that I blend into the wall.

Phase Six

There is light at the end of the tunnel 

and 

my journey for The Taming is almost complete.

  

If I had common sense I would stop here 

but I can't.  

I am almost to the fruition of my dream!  

My heart is racing and I am on the verge of Utopia 

ready to spill over 

in the bliss of holding my first book in my hand 

and telling myself 

"Job Well Done."

To anyone who is thinking about independent publishing.

 I encourage you to move forward towards your dream.  The journey is what I call "growing pains" to a new author who has the courage to see their visions fulfilled.

I for one am ready to do it all again 

since this is a three book series.  (Oh yeah another argh!)  

Call me a glutton for punishment but I think I have enough tenacity in me (or is it stubbornness) to never give up!

So grab a cup of coffee, kick back (maybe read my book..hint...hint) and let's just blog!

Social Media or Bust?

Okay Folks here it is! 

 This is the first blog of my life!

This experience/experiment is kind of like a prayer because I am hoping my voice will be lifted into the internet aether's and delivered to someone to hear!

   Let me introduce myself.  I am a writer and my name is Cary West and this is who I've been for the last 30days!  Of course it's a pen name and it was to originally be Carey West.  However, the typing gods that were whispering in my daughter's ear when she created my first book cover misspelled my first name so therefore I am taking it as sign to drop the "e" and let the chips fall where they may.

Blogging and social media is as foreign to me as picking up the telephone and actually talking to a live person would be to some of you.  I'm not old but I'm not twenty-five either.

So I've started Tweeting, I'm on Facebook (which I will have a Cary West page on soon), joined internet writing groups, book review groups, Goodreads, Listeria, Smashwords, Word press, Wattpad to name a few.  I have researched every genre of books and have a five page list of media groups, agents names, independent publishing companies, beta reader, editors, cover designers all derived from successful authors be it traditional or indie.

I have read every success story and how to's.  I've researched web pages and read every single message that working authors can give
to help you in this journey and I'm going to tell you what I found. 

Authors who know the meaning of the word struggle and are now making a living at their craft are very willing to help, encourage, and to spark the light in a future writer's eye.  For that I am eternally grateful.

I have had the good fortune of meeting some wonderful people along the way and I've also had some stumbling blocks.  I've learned a good editor is worth their weight in gold and should be paid.  You don't need to hire a writing coach and pay them thousands of dollars for your book to be good.  If your Indie publishing use Amazon for your e-book and Create Space for print on demand.  (But that's just my opinion, take it or leave it)
 
I've had my work ripped to shreds and said it was terrible when it was good and I've had others tell me something was good when it was crap so my feelings wouldn't get hurt.  Over time I have learned who will be honest, will be fair, will challenge me to reach deeper, will pose questions and in the end say "Good job!"

My goal for this blog in the future will be to pass as much information as I can to help my fellow writer's in their journey.  To laugh together, maybe even cry and move toward our goals regardless of fear or that little voice that says you can't when you can!

So grab a cup of coffee, kick back, and let's just blog!