E.E. Burke's Best of the West: New from USA Today Bestselling Author Rosanne Bittner

Two worlds in conflict. Two hearts intertwined. One love worth fighting for.

Wealthy Englishwoman Lady Elizabeth Baylor longs for adventure. She leaves for America full of hope, only to lose everything to a villain hiding treachery behind his smile. Lost in this strange and lawless land, Elizabeth vows to track down the man who did her wrong, but she can’t do it alone. What she needs is someone hardened by the west and unflinching toward its dangers: notorious bounty hunter Logan Best.

Ill-mannered and seemingly ruthless, Logan exorcises his dark past by throwing himself into his vengeful profession – hunting wanted men. There is nothing about the pampered Englishwoman that should call to him, and yet as their adventure takes them across the wild and treacherous west, he realizes he’ll do anything to keep her safe … and defend his Lady to his final breath.

EXCERPT FROM LOGAN’S LADY:

“You’re late,” she told him.

Logan hardened a little at her snippy attitude. “What?”

“I asked you to come right away, Mister Best.”

Logan glanced at the sheriff, who shrugged. “I told you to hurry it up,” White said.

Logan looked back at Elizabeth. “Ma’am, I’m not a man who takes orders. And I was on the trail several days before I came here and—I might remind you—helped you. I was damn tired last night, so I slept in.”

“You probably drank too much and slept with one of those awful painted women. I know about men like you. I’ve read about them in penny dreadfuls.”

Logan could hardly keep from bursting out laughing. “In what?”

“Penny dreadfuls. I’ve learned here in America they are called dime novels.”

Logan couldn’t control a little gasp of laughter. “You believe those things?”

“Was I wrong about where you were last night?” she replied.

Never in his life had Logan struggled so hard to stifle a true guffaw. “No, ma’am, you were not wrong, but life out here isn’t always like what you read in those little books. I’ve heard about them and they’re food for a lot of jokes among men like us. Believe me, there aren’t many heroic cowboys or lawmen out here.”

“Have you ever read one of those little books?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Do you read, Mister Best?”

Logan still felt sorry for this poor young lady, but already he wasn’t fond of her as a person. The “princess” from London had an air about her he did not like at all.

BOOKLIST (Jenna Friebel)  – “This immersive romance set in the lawless Old West is packed with action and adventure, including murder. Bittner has created an unlikely couple worth cheering for, and she sure knows how to keep readers on the edge of their seats.”

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY – “Bittner makes an implausible premise feel absolutely real, showing how two very different characters can make compromises and find love. Fast-paced, touching, and sensual, this historical is not to be missed.”

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First published in 1983, Rosanne Bittner is a USA TODAY best-selling author of 68 novels involving American history, from the French & Indian wars through the settling of America’s Great West. Dubbed an “emotional powerhouse” for her memorable love stories, 95% of Rosanne’s realistic, gritty westerns have garnered 5-star reviews on Amazon. She lives in S.W. Michigan, but has traveled the West for 30 years and has visited most of the locations in her books.

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E.E.: Do you often "get lost" in a book?

Rosanne:  I don’t often get lost in a book I am reading, probably because the book I am writing myself at the time is always on my mind. However, I do get lost in every story I write because my characters mean so much to me. I fall in love with the hero and identify with the heroine, and as I write the story I learn more and more about both characters and flesh them out to the point of feeling as though they are real. Their spirits visit me from the past and ask me to write their story. It’s as though I am writing real history.

E.E.: What is the first book you remember reading?

Rosanne: The first book I remember reading is THE SECRET CLOCK, A Nancy Drew mystery. But the first book I read that really stuck with me and made me want to write about pioneer women is A LANTERN IN HER HAND, by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It is a wonderful story about the loneliness of living on the Nebraska prairie with no neighbors – and showing how the heroine’s dreams for herself were realized through her children. Great story. You need Kleenex beside you when you read it.

E.E.: Have you ever met a real life hero?
Rosanne: A real-life hero I’ve met is Dee Brown (a man, in case you aren’t sure), who authored BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE. After reading that book, I knew I had to write the truth about our Native American history.

E.E.: What sound do you love?

Rosanne: I absolutely love the sound of birds in the spring, and I love watching them. I have lots of bird feeders, and our back yard is full of big pine trees. Birds love to nest in them.

E.E.: What is your favorite movie?

Rosanne: My favorite movie of all time? That’s a hard one, but it would probably be LAST OF THE MOHICANS. But I also love PALE RIDER, HANG ‘EM HIGH and THE SHOOTIST. All were so realistic, and you can’t beat Clint Eastwood and John Wayne in westerns. THE SHOOTIST makes me cry every time because it’s about an ageing gunfighter dying of cancer, and at the time John Wayne had cancer. It was his last movie. What a perfect ending for him and for his movie career. I also love (for a contemporary) Clint Eastwood in GRAND TORINO. Fabulous movie – and such a good lesson in cultural differences in this country.

E.E.: Do you put yourself in heroine's roles while writing?

Rosanne:  YOU BET!!! Who wouldn’t want to be held by such great heroes?

E.E.:  Do you write while listening to music?

Rosanne: Yes, I ALWAYS write to music – all the theme songs from some of the greatest westerns, especially LONESOME DOVE and THE BIG COUNTRY.

E.E.: Which hero would you most like to invite to dinner? 

Rosanne: JAKE HARKNER (From my Outlaw Hearts series)

E.E.: What drives your hero crazy? 

Rosanne: In LOGAN’S LADY, the one thing that drives the hero crazy is the heroine’s haughty attitude and her advanced education. The hero can’t even read.  The one thing that drives the heroine crazy is the hero’s lack of “proper” manners and the fact that he can’t read and is always making fun of her use of big words he doesn’t even understand.  She considers him an uneducated, crude “cowboy.”

E.E.: Describe an absolutely perfect day.

Rosanne:  An absolutely perfect day for me is for it to be warm enough to go outside early in the morning with a cup of coffee and listen to the birds and watch the baby rabbits in my garden – then do a little gardening myself – then go inside and write for a while – then enjoy another cup of coffee in my garden at noon – then take a short nap – then write more – then work outside a little more.

E.E.:  What has been your most rewarding publishing moment?

Rosanne: My most rewarding publishing moment was when my Sourcebooks editor asked me to write a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS, a book I wrote in 1993 and always wanted to continue with a sequel. It took over 20 years to finally find an editor who wanted that sequel. Those two books led to two more and became my Outlaw Hearts series about my beloved “bad man with a good heart” – Jake Harkner. I am hoping to write a fifth book. It is already written “in my head.”

Enter the drawing for some fantastic prizes from Rosanne!

First prize – Signed copy of LOGAN’S LADY plus a copy of my NEXT TWO NEW BOOKS  as soon as I get my copies – CHRISTMAS IN PARADISE in an anthology called LONGING FOR A COWBOY CHRISTMAS – coming in September. And RIDE THE HIGH LONESOME, my first “Outlaw Trail” book coming in November. Plus  a surprise gift and other goodies.

Second prize – Autographed copy of LOGAN’S LADY plus autographed copies of all four of my “Outlaw Hearts” books – OUTLAW HEARTS, DO NOT FORSAKE ME, LOVE’S SWEET REVENGE and THE LAST OUTLAW. Plus some misc. goodies.

Third prize – Autographed copy of LOGAN’S LADY plus some misc. goodies.

Answer Rosanne's question and leave a comment to be entered. Don't forget your email address so we can contact you.

My editor says there have been several books written about Americans going to England and getting caught up in English culture, but not many about the English coming here and landing in our rough and rugged cowboy culture. That is the basis for my book, LOGAN’S LADY. Would you like to see more books about this? It is food for humor and culture clash and it was fun to write!

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