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Welcome back Kaye Spencer with a new Western historical romance featuring a lady gambler...
When beautiful lady gambler
Lainie Conrad’s husband, Seaton, is murdered, she sets out for revenge. Lainie
is certain that cardsharp Rutherford Tolliver is guilty, but she has to find a way
to prove it—and when she does, she’s not about to let her own little ol’ arrest
get in the way!
U.S. Deputy Marshal Nick Foster
catches up with her, determined to get to the bottom of why she walked out on
him months earlier. There’s a high bounty on Lainie’s head for a murder she
didn’t commit, so Nick has no choice but to arrest her for her own
protection—and to keep his heart safe, as well.
But Lainie has bought in to a
high stakes poker tournament in Denver, Colorado, and nothing will keep her from
facing the scheming Tolliver across the poker table in a final showdown that
pits skill against skill and trickery against vengeance. She escapes from Nick
once more and runs to Denver. She must keep her vow to her murdered husband,
for only then will she be free to find love again.
The ghosts of the past are no
match for The Lady of the Cards when her future is at stake. She can’t afford
to lose when she’s GAMBLING WITH LOVE…
Excerpt from Gambling with Love
Lamp light shadows played off of
Lainie’s swept-up golden tresses, and visions of their last night together in
New Orleans seized him. Right then, Nick hated himself for how shamelessly he
still loved her.
“You can only imagine my extreme
disappointment when I saw you standing on the stairs. All this time I’d hoped
you were dead.”
The teasing welcome in her tone
belied her harsh words, and a warm rush of missing her made it hard to keep a
clear head with a churning den of rattlers twisting around in his belly. He’d
never loved a woman before Lainie waltzed into his life, and even though she’d
run out on him almost as quickly as she’d arrived, there was no room in his
heart for another woman. There never would be.
“Your aim was off. It was just a
graze, but it rang my bell and bled like hell.” There wasn’t enough light for
her to see it, but he turned his head and pointed to the scar that began at his
right temple and ended over his ear.
“Why are you assuming my aim was
off? By your own admission, it did knock you out, which was the object of my intent,
I’ll have you know.”
Nick cocked an eyebrow, mocking
her. “So you’re a sharpshooter?”
He loved the lyrical lilt of her
laughter, and she laughed now.
“Next time you use that little
parlor gun of yours, make sure you’re close enough to cram it right into the
poor chump’s belly when you pull the trigger. You still might not kill him, but
you’ll increase your chances of slowing him down, that’s for sure.”
“Why, thank you so much for the
advice. However, in my defense, if you hadn’t tried to disarm me, I wouldn’t
have pulled the trigger. It was your own fault that I shot you. Your ultimatum
left me no choice, but to demonstrate the sincerity of my convictions.” Her
voice dripped of syrupy sweet sarcasm.
Nick remembered all too well.
“Are you planning on shooting me again?”
A grin played at the corners of
her lips. “That depends upon your intentions toward my virtue.”
Lainie busied herself with
adjusting the lamp wick until she was satisfied with the glow.
Her subtle jasmine fragrance
made it difficult to keep his hands to himself. “You know my intentions toward
your virtue have never been honorable.”
Meet Kaye
Native Coloradoan Kaye Spencer lives in a small, rural town
located in the heart of the infamous Dust Bowl area of the 1930s. While drawn
to cowboys and the Old West, all genres and time periods are within her
story-creating realm. She refers to herself as a lover of words, a crafter of
stories, and a hopelessly hopeful romantic.
Reading Louis L’Amour’s westerns, listening to Marty
Robbins’ gunfighter ballads, watching the classic television westerns, and
growing up on a cattle ranch all inspired her love of the American Old
West—truths and myths alike. She admits to an obsession with Phantom of the Opera and the Arthurian
legends. Her favorite book is The Mists
of Avalon, and she never tires of the music from Les Misérables and La Bohème.
Retired from a career in education, Kaye enjoys the dual
life of full-time writer and spoiler of grandchildren. Kaye is also afflicted with ACD (Accumulative
Cat Disorder) for which there is no known cure.
Follow Kaye:
Newsletter – Front Porch
Circular – http://ow.ly/Rwt7n
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
Nine or ten years
ago, I entered an on-line writing contest sponsored by The Romance Studio.
It was a 3-Round competition. The first two stages of the contest were
writing the first 1000 words of a story based on a pre-determined
story prompt. The third stage was to create a newsletter. At each stage, you
posted your entry, readers logged-in and read the entries, and then voted. If
you 'finaled', you went on to the next level.
Anyway, Gambling with Love evolved from one of
the story prompts of that contest. Here's the prompt:
Character A is in law enforcement and must
find and arrest Character B. These characters have a romantic history that went
sour. Character A's feelings are still strong for Character B. Write their
reunion scene with the arrest in mind.
From there, Gambling with Love found a setting in
1883 in Denver, Colorado against the backdrop of a high-stakes poker
tournament. The heroine, Lainie Conrad (Character B) is a professional poker
player seeking revenge against the gambler responsible for her
husband's murder. Her plans for revenge are compromised when U.S. Deputy
Marshal Nick Foster (Character A) shows up to arrest and escort her back east
to stand trial for suspected murder.
What could we find in your heroine's purse?
Lainie usually
carries one of two matched derringers in her purse. Some people say diamonds
are a girl’s best friend, but Lainie’s found that a two-shot parlor gun never
lets her down.
What one thing about your hero drives his heroine crazy?
While Lainie admires
Nick’s devotion and duty to his profession as deputy marshal, it drives her to
distraction that he doesn’t share her philosophy that rules are made to be
broken, especially if it suits her purpose.
And what one thing about your heroine drives her hero nuts?
Nick Foster could
throttle Lainie, because she brushes off how much trouble she’s in. He wants to
help clear her of murder charges, and she’s bound and determined a poker game
is more important.
What’s your favorite movie of all time?
My favorite movie is
The Princess Bride. Heroes, giants, villains, wizards, fencing, fighting,
pirates, true love… It doesn’t get any better than this.
What is your favorite movie line?
My favorite movie line is from Quigley Down Under when Quigley is facing Marston at the end of the
movie. The gunfight is over, and Quigley says to Marston (regarding his gun): “I said I never had
much use for one. Never said I didn’t know how to use it."
Today Kaye will give away several copies of Gambling with Love. Just leave an answer to her question to enter the drawing (along with your email address).
I grew up in a card-playing family. While we didn’t play much poker, we did enjoy pitch, gin rummy, solitaire, and cribbage. How about you? Do you play cards and, if so, what do you like to play?
