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I’m very grateful for the
opportunity to talk about the western anthology Rain and I are participating
in, Rawhide n’ Roses. We have some
truly great authors joining in on this project, and making our anthology not
only one of a kind, but a super good read. I, for one, can’t wait to get the
book and read what all the others wrote.
Writing short stories is my forte,
but I have to admit I found writing this one a surprising amount of fun. Of
course it helped to take a book already written and simply create a short
sequel to it. I’m talking about my western romance, Taming Jenna. My short story is titled Marrying Jenna, which seems to pretty much say it all, except
Branch and Jenna’s wedding day doesn’t at all go the way they planned.
Branch is dressing for the ceremony
and looking forward to having Jenna as his wife when he looks out the window
and sees her galloping out of town in her wedding dress, with a gun belt around
her waist and a Stetson on her head. The church lies in the opposite direction
so Branch is pretty sure that’s not her destination. So, what is? And why on
earth is she riding off outfitted for a gun battle on this particular day?
You’ll have to buy the book to find
out. Here’s a brief excerpt:
People froze in place. Wagons
halted. Not even a dog barked. Everyone gaped after Jenna as she sped past.
Where in damnation was she going?
The church was in the opposite direction.
Chuckles and exclamations of
amazement drifted up to the window as people recovered from their shock. Dogs
came alive and raced, barking, after the galloping horse.
Cursing, Branch rushed out of his
room and down the outer stairs. He leaped into his saddle and tore after his
head-strong fiancé. Blasted woman! More obstinate than a mule mired in mud. But,
confound it, she was also giving and loving, with a mind as clever as a fox.
Whatever she was up to, he’d find out, and soon.
Then he’d bring her back, paddle her
behind—certainly not for the first time—and drag her to the church. Come hell
or high water, they would be man and wife by dark.
Once he spied her fleeing figure he let
up on the reins, preferring to keep her unaware of his presence until the right
time to reveal himself. She headed toward the town of Heber, then veered off into
hills dense with quaking aspen. Mumbling more imprecations, Branch followed.
Finally, she slowed. Through the
trees, he saw her dismount and edge through the brush. Branch halted his horse
beside hers, jumped down and followed. An old cabin soon became visible in the
distance.
Before he could catch up with her,
Jenna shouted at the shack, “I’m here, you low-down, stinking skunks. Send the
marshal out before I set fire to that hovel you’re hiding in.”
Marshal? Branch frowned. He was the marshal.
If you enjoyed my excerpt, be sure
to look for the book on March 15 at Amazon.com. Rawhide n’ Roses will fulfill all your western dreams, historical
and contemporary.
BIO:
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Charlene
Raddon’s first serious attempt at writing fiction came in 1980 when a vivid
dream drove her to drag out a typewriter and begin writing. Because of her love
of romance novels and the Wild West, her primary genre is historical romance.
Kensington Books originally published five of her novels which are now
available through Tirgearr Publishing.
Find her
at:
