House Edge: A Spotted Pony Casino Mystery
by Paty Jager
I am pleased to welcome Paty Jager to Escape With Dollycas today!
Hi Paty,
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Howdy. I’m Paty Jager. I’ve lived my whole life in rural areas. My husband and I currently live on 280 acres in SE Oregon. Our closest neighbor is half a mile away and the closest town to purchase groceries is 40 miles away. I enjoy living rural, raising cattle and hay. Being rural gives me time to write in between all the other chores. Currently, I’ve published 53 novels, 8 novellas, and I’ve had stories in numerous anthologies. I started out writing historical western romance, added contemporary western romance, and now am writing the genre I have enjoyed reading the most, murder mystery.
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
The research all depends on how many things I plan to put in a book that I don’t know. Like an occupation, a unique murder method, or an area I’m unfamiliar with. The way I work, I’m writing one book, while mulling over a book or two that will be the next to be written. So, while I do look up things for coming books and as I write I add something and then think, “Do I know enough about this?” and take off to research it before I write any more, there is no set time limit for how much time I spend researching before beginning a book. I’m constantly reading and checking on things. Maybe for a book that won’t be written until next year. For this book, House Edge, I read the stories in the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla newspaper, articles online from power companies and other newspapers, and saw a documentary about breaching the dams. Yet all the information I gleaned is barely touched on in the book because it is about the murder. But I hope what I didn’t write will make people who haven’t heard about it, stop and do their own research to see how it impacts everyone.
Do you ever suffer from Writer’s Block?
Writer’s Block? No. I have a list of books to be written in the two mystery series I’m writing. I have never been unable to write due to a block. I might write myself into a corner and it takes some time away from the computer and doing something completely unrelated for my brain to figure out how to fix what I did, but I always have two or three ideas cavorting around in my head ready to be brought forth and written.
The first thing you need to do is sit down and write every day. Don’t expect to have the first thing you write be the first thing that gets published. I had written 7 books before #8 was picked up by a publisher. It took me that long to hone my writing skills and perfect my storytelling. You never write a perfect book. You write the best book you can and make sure it is edited to the best of your ability. If you are self-publishing, you get other people to read your work and pay for an editor.
When you are not writing what do you like to do?
When I’m not writing I like to ride my horse, go for walks, and sew quilt tops.
How has the COVID pandemic affected you and you’re writing.
Honestly, because we live so rural, we haven’t been affected as much as people who live in populated areas. Sure, we put on masks when we go to the stores in town or when we visit friends in Central Oregon. I do dislike having to wear a mask while visiting with my dad in a senior living facility because he can’t hear what I’m saying half the time. As for my writing, it’s still perking along. I won’t write the pandemic into my stories because readers read to get away from the real world and by putting the pandemic in my books might be the facts of what is happening now, I feel the readers would prefer a few hours each day to forget it.
I went to Iceland a few years ago and would love to go back and see more of it. I also would love to go to England, Scotland, and Ireland. I’ve read so many books and watched so many shows set in those countries that I would like to see things for myself.
What is next on the horizon for you?
I am currently writing book 9, Owl’s Silent Strike, in the Gabriel Hawke Novels 
Thank you for having me on your blog!
Thank you Paty for visiting today.
Keep reading to learn about Paty’s new book.
About House Edge
House Edge: A Spotted Pony Casino Mystery
Murder Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Oregon
Windtree Press (February 18, 2022)
Paperback : 294 pages
ISBN-10 : 195763801X
ISBN-13 : 978-1957638010
ASIN : B09QXZF12Z
Zealous Environmentalists
Greedy Power Companies
…and a body
A bitter dispute over the breaching of dams in Idaho sparks emotions at a summit held at the Spotted Pony Casino. When the keynote speaker is murdered, Dela Alvaro, head of security, teams up again with FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce.
The suspects are many since it appears the victim was playing both sides of the controversial environmental issue. Did someone take advantage of a marital dispute… witnessed by a crowd of casino spectators? Or did an angry wife murder her husband?
Book 2 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries has Dela Alvaro not only trying to keep her job by discovering the killer before word spreads about the murder, but she also has to deal with FBI Special Agent Quinn Peirce butting heads with her high school sweetheart who has returned to the reservation as a tribal policeman.
About Paty Jager
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 53 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
Author Links
Website Blog FB Page Amazon Pinterest Twitter Goodreads Newsletter- Mystery Newsletter- Western BookBub
Purchase Link – Amazon
Find more books by Paty Jager here.
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Love this author. I love the book cover, title excerpt review/interview.
Boy would I love to read & review book in print format.
Love how the author keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end. The plots of her books make me want to keep reading the current book of hers, the rest of the series and of course the author’s other books too.
Thanks for chance to win this great prize package.
Hi Crystal, Thank you for commenting. I’m happy you enjoy my books.
A murder mystery at a casino sounds like great fun to me! My 94 year old mother-in-law just lives to go to casinos, and guess who takes her? I would love to read this book!
Lisa, thank you for commenting! I thought the setting of a casino was a unique place for a mystery series.
What an intriguing book! A casino is a very interesting location for a murder. I have added this book to my tbr list. Thanks for sharing.