Women Writing the West Convention

So, Mary Trimble and I flew down to San Antonio, Texas in October for the yearly convention.
We had a wonderful time there, and enjoyed the hotel so much that the next time Paul and I are in that area, we'll make a point of staying there again.
My experience at the convention this year was much more positive than it was in 2018. My stories, being about two men rather than two women, were not accepted with open arms. I even had more than one suggestion that I should re-write the whole saga and change the protagonists to women. That wasn't going to happen. 
I also got hit with negativity concerning the layout of my saga. Several publishers and agents said that cliff-hanger endings are not done in Westerns. It's okay to do them in SyFy etc., but not Westerns. Again came the suggestion that I re-write my saga and make each book a stand alone. This, also, was not going to happen. Image taking a book, spiting it into three sections and making each section a stand alone. It can't be done. The story was already written. 
The experience was so negative that first year, that I considered the wisdom of attending again.
I'm glad I did though. This time around the response to my saga was far more promising. Though stories about women are always going to be the main focus, I didn't get quite the same snubbing as I had the first year. Also, the publishers I spoke with this time around didn't have any problems with cliff-hanger endings. The problem now is that I already have the first book "The Lost Shoe" published through Amazon. And of course, the only reason I did that was because last year, I was told that no one would take it, so I figured I'd just go ahead and self-publish! Oh dear.
Anyway, on-ward.  If the traditional publishers don't want my story for one reason or another, I will simply continue to self-publish. All is well.
Here is the current cover design for book two "Aftershock" 
I expect to have Aftershock available in May just in time for the Studio Art Tour here on Camano Island, WA!