Guest Author - L.B. Shire

First off, Iʹd like to thank Peggy for having me on her wonderful blog today to help promote my newest release, a western historical romance set in the old west titled: The Damned. My heroine for this book popped into my head one day while glancing through a book titled Wild Bunch Women by author Michael Rutter.

 Strong women from centuries past have always intrigued me. (And there are many mind you :)The women he mentioned in this book sparked all kinds of story ideas. Women like Annie Rogers, also known as Della Moore. She was considered a pretty prostitute who traveled with the outlaw, Kid Curry. Then there was Fanny Porter, who started her own brothel in Texas and was known to be ruthless and cutthroat in her management of the business. Last of all was Elizabeth Bassett. She started a horse and cattle ranch with her husband along the Green River. These women were entrepreneurs of their time. Blending these traits together, my heroine, Josie Talbert was born.

Josie is a horse rancher and a widow with a young daughter to care for. Her sister and an elderly friend also help on the ranch. But, times are tough, and Josie risks losing all she and her husband worked so hard for. Occupations are limited for a woman in the town of Hellʹs Hollow. Being a fighter and survivor that she is, Josie makes the decision to become a soiled dove to help make ends meet.

She soon finds her life is to change, when cowboy/drifter Shane Gregor walks into the Dead Horse Saloon where she works. Can a woman in her circumstances find love once again?

Hereʹs the Blurb:

Sometimes, what a man needs is a little hope...

     Travel worn, and weary, Shane Gregor rides into Hell's Hollow for a drink and answers. On the run for a crime he didn't commit his days are numbered unless he can find proof. What he discovers instead is a green eyed enchantress and a sheriff who's out for blood. When the law catches up to him, can he put his hopes in a woman he's only just met?

     A widow who has fallen on hard times, Josie Talbert became a soiled dove for the sake of survival. Her life changes in the course of a night, when a dark and dangerous cowboy steps through the doors of the Dead Horse Saloon, a death sentence looming over his head. Can his words of innocence be trusted? Can a lone woman change the course of fate?

And Excerpt:

Tension gnawed at Shane's soul. The door to the holding cell slammed shut behind him. This must be what a caged animal feels like. He glanced around the room. All ready the walls were moving in on him.

"I'll talk with you later, Gregor," the sheriff told him before leaving him alone with only his thoughts in the darkness. Shane didn't respond, but listened in silence while the sheriff's boots clicked across the wooden floor. With a heavy sigh he laid on the cot. He knew he was in a heap of trouble.

Shane needed to convince the sheriff of his innocence or he'd be a dead man by the end of the week, so they'd told him. He couldn't let Mort win so easily. The man had managed to ruin his life in one fail swoop and at present it didn't look like there was a damn thing he could do about it.

The night dragged on in insufferable silence. His thoughts flitted to earlier in the evening. When he had entered the saloon—when he'd first laid eyes on Josie... His mind wandered as he recalled how her curls bounced about her shoulders when she moved, and those eyes—she was a brazen one. Her hands on his skin when she washed him—stop, his mind screamed. The memories were pure torture.

Josie, he had to admit, intrigued him. He hadn't given any woman a second thought for some time. He shook his head to clear it off the woman. It would do him no good to dream of her, he was a dead man.

Shane wondered if morning would ever come. The cell had no windows to let him know the time of day. But when the sheriff came through the front door, a hot cup of coffee in his pudgy hand, he knew he'd survived.

"I've sent word to the judge up in the next county. Said he should be here by the end of the week. Then there'll be one less lousy gunfighter roaming the territory."

"Will I have a chance to plead my case?" Shane asked. He gripped the bars of the cell until his fingers turned white. He gathered his answer by the unsympathetic smile on the sheriff's lips.

"No trial is needed, son." The man snorted, his chubby chin wiggling. "They start construction on the gallows today." The sheriff took a sip of his coffee and stared at him with a look of contempt over the rim of his cup.

"The judge coming out here is to make it all official. He'll sign the documents and so forth," he said, matter of fact.

Shane stepped back from the bars. So it was over for him.

"So this is how it ends," he murmured under his breath. He would need to send word to his brother and let him know what had happened to his sorry ass. Without another word he returned to the cot placed in the corner of the cell and sat down.

He rubbed his temples, wariness of the situation made his head throb.

"I'll get you a bite to eat after a bit," the sheriff called over his shoulder. "I've got stacks of paperwork to sift through on my desk first." His voice echoed down the empty hall.

No longer hungry, Shane laid his head in his hands. A sense of despair that he couldn't shake off overwhelmed him. Giving into his fatigue, he lay back on the cot and closed his eyes. It would be a long week.

About the author:

         L.B. Shire has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. A  lover of most all genres, her favorites include: Western Romance, YA, Paranormal and Shifter stories, to name a few!

         When not writing or researching, L.B. enjoys spending time with family, riding one of her horses, and, of course, reading anything that is set before her! She currently resides on the West Coast in a sleepy little mountain town. There, in the midst of all that beauty, she plans her characters' next adventures.

        For more information on L.B. Shire, please visit her blog www.lbshire.com or visit her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/authorlbshire. 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Damned-ebook/dp/B00AZYTSIG/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1_4SK3

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