Another Story Behind the Book with Cheryl Pierson

Fire Eyes
Cheryl Pierson: http://www.cherylpierson.com/
Buy link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
cheryl-pierson-m-534.html
Genre:Historical Western Romance

Where did the idea for this story come from?

I had written a LONG story, the story of my heart, called Brandon's Gold. It was too long, really, to ever sell in today's market--1000 pages! But I had a lot of agent interest in it, and the ones that were interested wanted to know "do you have anything else?" I had finished another shorter western, but knew it needed polishing with the POVs, and I had started a paranormal western. But the idea for FIRE EYES hit me, and I put everything else aside and worked on it. It practically wrote itself. Since I was born and raised in Oklahoma, everything I write takes place either here or in Texas. The idea for the marshals in Indian Territory just seemed natural, and I had a wonderful editor at The Wild Rose Press, Helen Andrew, who helped it all come about.


How did your characters come to life?

As always in my weird thinking process, this book took shape from one scene--close to the very beginning, where the Choctaw chief, Standing Bear, delivers Marshal Kaed Turner to Jessica Monroe's doorstep. What would happen from there? Who would the villain be? I knew that Kaed had to have reinforcements of some kind, and the marshals, his buddies, just came to life. Each of them has a distinct personality and I may be using one of them in another book later on. As for Jessica, my daughter's name is Jessica and she asked me when she was younger why I didn't name one of my heroines "Jessica"? I told her the next book I wrote, I would. Also, we are part Indian, and when the kids were younger, I talked to them a lot about the ceremonies and so on that some of the Indian Nations observe. Jessica wanted to pick an Indian name. I asked her what she'd like for her name, and she said, FIRE EYES. (This is when she was about 9 or so.) So the title for the book was easy. It just had to be. Oddly enough, many people have thought that the picture on the cover was my daughter--even relatives who hadn't seen her in a while.

Blurb of your book

Beaten and wounded by a band of sadistic renegades that rules the borderlands of Indian Territory, U.S. Marshal Kaed Turner understands what the inevitable outcome will be for him: death. But Fate and a war party of Choctaw Indians intervene, delivering him instead to a beautiful angel with the skill to heal him. Jessica Monroe has already lost a husband and a brother to the outlaws who tortured Marshal Turner. As the rugged lawman lies bleeding on her bed, she faces a difficult decision. Can she afford to gamble with her heart one last time? For when Kaed recovers, he is sworn to join the other Territorial Peace Officers in their battle to wipe out the renegade gang once and for all. When vengeance is done, will Kaed keep riding? Or will he return to claim his future with the beautiful woman the Choctaw call "Fire Eyes?"