E.E. Burke's Best of the West: Linda Broday's Newest Outlaw Bride

Greetings, readers! After a hiatus, I am back with Best of the West, and wanted to kick off this holiday season with a spotlight on a new release in the Outlaw Bride series from New York Times bestselling author Linda Broday.

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Once Upon A Mail-Order Bride

Accused of crimes he didn't commit, ex-preacher Ridge Steele is forced to give up everything he knew and make his home with outlaws. Desperate for someone to confide in, he strikes up correspondence with mail-order bride Adeline Jancy, finding in her the open heart he's been searching for. Upon her arrival, Ridge discovers Addie only communicates through the written word, but he knows a little of what trauma can do to a person and vows to stand by her side.

Addie is eager to start a new life with the kind ex-preacher and the little boy she's stolen away from her father - a zealot priest of a terrorized flock. As her small family settles into life at Hope's Crossing, she even begins to find the voice, and confidence, she'd lost so long ago.

But danger is not far behind, and her father will not be denied. While Addie desperately fights the man who destroyed her childhood, a determined Ridge races to the rescue. The star-crossed lovers will need more than prayers to survive this final challenge...and find their way back to each other again.

Meet Linda

Linda Broday is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 24 full length western romance novels and short stories. She resides in the Texas Panhandle on land the American Indian, Comancheros, and early cowboys once roamed, and on a still day she can often hear their voices whispering in the breeze. She loves research and looking for little known tidbits to add realism to her stories and is inspired by historical events

Website: LindaBroday.com 

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/lindabrodayauthor  

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbroday

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/linda.broday/  

Let's find out more about the new release...

Who are your favorite characters from this series?

This is a hard one. I’ve loved each one I breathed life into. Each had their own set of seemingly impossible challenges. But I think Adeline (Addie) Jancy in this one had so much more to overcome. She can’t speak and has to rely on writing everything down. She’s been through sheer hell. Whipped and put in prison by her own father, kept in the dark for two years then hunted once she’s released from the penitentiary. Addie doesn’t think anyone could ever love her—until she meets the outlaw, Ridge Steele. He shows her what unconditional love and a true marriage is. From the moment he meets her, he treats her as an equal. Her wishes and dreams are just as important as his. But then Ridge is the most caring, giving one of the outlaws. And when Addie is taken, he doesn’t stop until she’s back in his arms. I just love this couple who are so right for each other.

Is this the last book of the series?

Yes, this is the 4th and final book of the series and I’m so sad to leave this special outlaw town of Hope’s Crossing. The town has been a safe place of refuge for people seeking asylum and a new start. The four original outlaws who started the town have gotten amnesty and new lives with wives and children but there’s still much to do. They see themselves as caretakers of the land and the ones to find justice for those too weak to find it for themselves. Even so, they know they’re the last of a dying breed. The world is becoming more civilized and the law is fast catching up. They’re ready to turn over the reins to the lawmen though so it’s time to end the series.  

Are you taking your characters in new directions?

I certainly have in this book. The world is changing so fast and westward expansion has put settlements in the far reaches of Texas. Ridge knows his time as an outlaw is short so he works at gaining respectability and settling old scores. He wants to clear his name and get right with the law. He’s tired of looking over his shoulder and is constantly thinking about what he has to do to protect Addie and keep her safe. I’ve never written a non-speaking character before but I wanted Addie completely vulnerable. I found out exactly how hard it is to write someone who can’t utter a word and I can say that I probably won’t attempt it again. Still, I’m glad I did it with this book.

What have you loved most about this series?

I’ve loved writing about these men living outside the law—their honor, the rules they set down for themselves, and the lines they don’t cross. They have so much heart and the sense of justice beats inside them. They’ve been wronged and harshly judged but they keep working to make better lives and finding wives to share their lot with. They want to walk tall in the sunshine and they find a way to make it happen. There is no giving up in these men. They fight hard and love with as much enthusiasm. I would be proud to have any or all stand by my side when the going gets rough. They’re the best of the best and they live inside me.   

What’s next?

I begin a new series in April 2021—Lone Star Legends. Each book will feature one of the children who grew up on the famed Lone Star Ranch as an adult. A new generation of Legends to carry on the family name. Book 1 is The Cowboy of Legend and it features Gracie Legend who is neck deep in the Temperance Movement. She butts heads with a saloon owner in Fort Worth’s Hells Half Acre. Then I’ll have Book 2, A Cowboy’s Christmas Legend, in September 2021. 

Reader Question: Have you ever found yourself committed to an unexpected situation you get into? How did you handle it?

Giveaway:  A book (print or ebook) and a 2021 calendar that I designed.

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