New Release: Christian Western Historical Romance from Ginny Sterling

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Emily and Elias Jessup left their home in southern Texas, tired of living a life of poverty. They soon find out that life is no better alone on their own. With not a penny to their name and no job prospects, the siblings turn to stealing from the rich to survive. Constantly on the run from the law, the two know that their days are numbered before the law catches up to them.

Ellen Holladay comes across a handsome 'farmer' in desperate search of his sister who has been kidnapped. But can a handsome face and winning smile hide the fact that he is obviously lying to her? When his sister, Emily, is found in the arms of bounty hunter Cade Singleton – Eli’s true identity is revealed.

Elias willingly turns himself in to Holladay, in an effort to make peace with the woman that has captured his heart.  In a strange twist, he is suddenly married to her and sworn in as a bounty hunter himself. Can his new wife see past his previous sins, giving him the chance to start again? Can she accept her new husband and the dangers that being a Lawkeeper can bring? Is falling in love worth the risk … and the greatest reward?

Here's an excerpt:

“Elias! Elias!” He heard his name yelled aloud in the darkness. A voice he never hoped to hear laced with tones of horror and panic. His sister, Emily, wasn’t prone to flightiness or one to exaggerate either. She tended to be pretty cool and level-headed, with an occasional flare-up of temper just like any of the others in the Jessup family. 

Something was wrong, and Emily had been right. Elias didn’t take lightly to his younger sister being accurate in her premonition of their attempt at a robbery, especially when she claimed to have seen a bounty hunter in town. Now, he’d sent her straight into the devil’s clutches, a rich devil named Masterson. He had been the local braggart that Elias had bet his hat on earlier in the day. Elias assumed he’d be an easy target. Older, thin and spry. He figured that if Emily could ply him with drinks and lure him out into the alleyway, it would be easy to wrest his money from him. Masterson had boasted that he’d made a killing in the horse auction he’d held here in Cleburne a few days prior. 

Elias grabbed the reins of the two horses that he held in the darkness and began to run as fast as he could with the animals trailing behind him. Those horses would be their means of getting away. While he wanted to leave them and race to her aid, he couldn’t, or they’d be trapped without the horses. He pulled harder on the leather straps, pulling with all his might. His boots slid in the dirt from the two anchors that wouldn’t seem to budge any faster than at a slow pace. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The horses normally responded easily and carried them quickly. It was almost as if they knew that something was wrong and didn’t want to be a part of it. 

Elias heard his sister’s voice scream his name and dropped the reins there in the street behind him, moving into action. He pulled his Colt from the holster. He knew he would be in for a verbal lashing from Emily for using a gun, but the moment called for it. He had to save her from whatever was wrong! She hadn’t entered the alleyway that they’d planned on and now he was praying that she was in the blackness just ahead of him that ran alongside the restaurant. His eyes had been adjusted to the night’s inky darkness. But as he got closer to the building, he stepped into the light, blinding him momentarily. Darting forward regardless, he struggled to adjust his eyes to see what was going on. Ahead of him, he could see something was happening and hoped it was Emily he saw moving.

The high-pitched, blood-curdling scream as a dark figure hit the ground confirmed it was her. He’d never heard the likes of it before and felt his face drain of all color. Was she dead? No! She was flailing on the ground in the darkness and he heard vomiting. Perhaps she was simply ill. Something was very wrong!

The dark figure that stood over her morphed into two inky bodies before his very eyes. Elias held his gun up and noticed that his hand shook with fear. He wiped the sweat from his brow and concentrated on the black mass that had doubled, thinking he’d lost his mind. As Emily’s body was dragged upwards in the darkness before him – he confirmed it was her that had been on the ground writhing about. This was madness and he’d crossed the bend! What in the world was going on? He could barely discern the shadows ahead of him and if he hadn’t realized that the dark mess on the ground was his sister, he’d have never known for sure otherwise. 

“Help! Help me!” Emily’s voice pierced white-hot at his gut, moving him forward. His eyes were finally adjusting a bit to the change between the light that had blinded him and the pitch of the black alleyway. “Eli? Elias, where are you?” he heard his sister moan, causing guilt to burn through his veins. Guilt, remorse, and rage.

Elias yanked his gun up again. He saw his hand still shook and took aim far away from where he assumed Emily was. Just before he pulled the trigger, he saw, gratefully, that she was dropped to the ground again. Her voice let out an awful yelp indicating something was wrong or she was hurt in the fall. He didn’t care because if she was on the ground that meant she was out of range of his bullets. He focused instead on the frighteningly tall figures before him that were shrouded in black.

He pulled the trigger. An explosion of fire burst from the barrel of his gun, causing his hand to jerk up and shocking him at the recoil. Eli forgot how powerful the gun was in the moment. He’d only shot it a few times for hunting or to test it out. He’d never fired at a man before. He’d never had a reason to yet.

“No guns!” Emily whimpered from the ground. Eli stared at her dumbfounded. Didn’t she realize he was trying to save her from whatever was causing her to scream? No one else had come running into the night yet, but he was sure it wouldn’t be long! No guns? Was she kidding? His sister had been bodily attacked on a mission he’d given her. She was on the ground, potentially injured and a horrific, foul smell was emanating from her direction. Squinting in the darkness, he stared at her and realized that the smooth, classical woman she wanted to portray earlier was gone. She was completely disheveled in the dirt. 

“Oh, mercy,” he breathed quietly in horror. Had Em been raped in the alleyway? He’d kill the man! His sweet, innocent little sister! “Em? Em? Emily, are you okay?” he asked shakily in a voice he didn’t recognize. Elias stared at her on the ground, his heart clenched in terror. His mind racing with all sorts of horrors that had occurred, along with how he’d right the wrong that had been done to her. Faintly, he heard another voice. It didn’t match Masterson’s snotty, booming, arrogant voice that he’d heard earlier in the day as they had sized up their prey. 

“Elias Jessup! You and Emily Jessup are under arrest! Don’t you move! Silence, boy! You are under arrest for the murder of Edward Masterson and wanted for robbery.” This cold voice demanded attention and respect, both of which he brushed off as he stared at Emily on the ground.

“No! Not murder, no guns!” Emily whispered faintly in the dark, staring where he stood. Comprehension finally dawned on him. They were under arrest? This was the bounty hunter from earlier in the day? He was the tall figure that stood in the darkness between him and his sister. Who’d he shoot then? Did he miss? Was it Masterson? If he shot the bounty hunter, he’d hang for sure regardless of if he died or not! The law didn’t take kindly to their own being injured on the job.

“Emily!” he called out shakily. Eli needed to know she was okay and safe. He could hang as long as she was all right. His eyes tried to read her face in the darkness, but he could barely see her. All he could see was milky blue taffeta on the ground and shadows. Her face was a mere hint of paleness in the inky shadows. What he wouldn’t give for just a bit of light right now so he could verify that she was all right.

“I’m fine, Eli – run!” Emily ordered weakly. “Go! Run!”

“Don’t make me shoot you in front of your sister, Jessup! Girl, you are to be silent!” the voice barked and, deep down, he knew the man was the bounty hunter she’d claimed to see from earlier in the day. He’d scared her and Eli didn’t listen. He heard the faint click of the hammer being drawn back and stared up at the barrel.

“Go away,” Emily said aloud, in a voice that sounded stronger. She was a fighter and he… he had the full attention of the lawman. They were in danger, both of them. If they were both captured, they would both stand trial for robbery. He, however, would stand trial for murder and swing from the nearest tree. If he died, it would leave her alone in the world, since neither of them was welcomed home anymore, after their choices had led them astray in their father’s eyes. 

“I’ll come for you, Em,” he promised. Shoving his gun back in the holster, he turned and ran while he still could. It made him feel such shame to be leaving Emily behind, but he knew that he wouldn’t rest until she’d been freed. The horses had not moved from the spot where he’d dropped the reins. 

The bounty hunter would be coming quickly behind him and he’d be lucky if he wasn’t shot in the back while fleeing. Keeping low, he picked up the reins and quickly hurried into the saddle. Nudging the horse’s flank gently, the steed needed no other encouragement to pick up the pace and get them both out of town. As he ducked down low in the saddle, he hugged the horse’s neck to stay safe and free from harm. 

    “Emily, stay strong.” He vowed again, “I’m coming for you.”

Meet Ginny

Ginny Sterling is an avid romance writer. She enjoys telling tales that tug at the heart. She enjoys reading and creating stories that leave the reader smiling, laughing or crying. She mostly writes Western Romances Books - including two new series: Broken Road Romances and The Lawkeepers. She also writes Contemporary romance, as well as the Timeless Brides Series (Time travel romance). 

Having lived in several different parts of the United States, she and her family have settled in Kentucky. She spends all of her free time writing, quilting, or shopping for coffee mugs to add to her collection.

email: GinnySterlingBooks@gmail.com

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TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/ginny_sterling

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

Ginny: Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein. Ickle me, Pickle me, Tickle me too is still my most favorite rhyme/story ever. I remember having it read to me when I was little and reading it to my children. My first fiction book had to be Clan of the Cave Bear and I recall being so impressed with the world woven by Jean Auel and then I got to *THAT* scene and was shocked that people do that! LOL!!

E.E.: If you could interview one person, who would it be? 

Ginny: Oh gosh, I feel like I should give some regal or fabulous answer (like George Washington, Queen Elizabeth, the Pope) but in all honesty? I'd love to interview Alan Shephard or Neal Armstrong. I'm a space nerd (in fact, I got to describe a launch in my time travel book, Enchanted by You) and would probably disgrace myself with the amount of nervous giggling and questions I'd ask. I mean, there are so many things that rattle off constantly in my head at the idea of weightlessness and being in space that peak my interest. The Mars project, what are their opinions? Thoughts? Would they go back up knowing what they know now? Serious. space. nerd.

E.E.: Tea or Coffee?

Ginny: Coffee, cafe, koffe, java, the bean, brew ha ha, nectar of the gods... I might be slightly addicted. I drink it black, with sweetener and cream, just cream, flavored creamer, or blended with Irish butter and cinnamon.

E.E.: Whats your favorite kid joke? 

Ginny: How do you make a hanky dance? Put a little boogie in it!

E.E.: What does it mean to love someone? 

Ginny: Oh wow. I mean, how do you describe something so beautiful and so personal? I believe in happily ever after and a deep, true love. When I write, I try to develop that bond with the characters. Everyone has off days and things that annoy them...but everyone has a need as well. There is something so vital about finding someone that just 'gets' you and understands who you are at the very heart of your being. Someone that loves you for who you are, not who you could be. Its a perfect pairing of differences that make you realize that when people say 'he's my better half' - that is because they mean it. You don't see the person, you see the soul and how beautiful it is. *That* is what I try to convey in my books <3

E.E.: What is the first thing you do when you finish writing a book? 

Ginny: Call my mama.

Here's how you can reach Ginny:

email: GinnySterlingBooks@gmail.com

FACEBOOK:    https://www.facebook.com/Ginny.Sterlingbooks/=

TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/ginny_sterling

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginny_sterling1/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ginnysterlingbo/

Today, Ginny will give away a copy of her eBook, Lawfully Mine. Leave a comment and enter the Rafflecopter.

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E.E. Burke's Best of the West: Welcome to Whitcomb Springs, Montana

Today we have a special treat! Two-for-one Western historical fiction with MK McClintock and Samantha St. Claire in the Whitcomb Springs series...

Whitcomb Springs by MK McClintock

In the spring of 1865, a letter arrives in Whitcomb Springs for Evelyn Whitcomb. The Civil War has ended and the whereabouts of her husband is unknown, but she doesn’t give up hope. With courage, the help of a friend, and the love of a people, Evelyn finds a way to face—and endure—the unexpected.

“Whitcomb Springs” is the introductory, stand-alone short story of the Whitcomb Springs series set in post-Civil War Montana.

Amazon ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon UK

Here's an excerpt

Whitcomb Springs, Montana Territory—April 25, 1865

The letter fluttered to the table. Evelyn stared at the sheet of paper but could no longer make out the words as they blurred together. Surrender. She prayed this day would come, they all had, and after four tortuous years, the war was finally over.

There would be more capitulation on the part of the South, and too many families who would never see their men again . . . but it was over.

Separated, yet not untouched, from conflict, Evelyn Whitcomb lived in the same town her husband and their two friends founded one year before news of the Civil War reached them. By way of her sister, who lived in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania with their parents, they were kept informed as often as Abigail could get a letter through. Evelyn often wondered if she should have returned to Rose Valley to help with the war effort, much as her sister Abigail had done, yet she found the needs of Whitcomb Springs to be vast as the town continued to grow.

Many men and boys left, leaving their wives, mothers, and sisters behind to fight for a cause they didn’t fully understand, yet still felt it their duty to serve. Others remained behind to continue working in the mine and watch over those families with or without kin.

Evelyn read over Abigail’s letter once more, letting the words settle into her mind, for even now she struggled to believe it was over—that her husband might return home.

Dearest Evelyn,

For too many years now I have shared with you the horrors and travesties befallen many of the young men with whom we spent our childhood. News has reached us that on the ninth of April, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Oh, sister, I dared not believe it was true when Papa brought home the news. He tells us not to become overly excited for there will surely be a few more battles waged until the news reaches both sides, but we can thank God that this war is officially over.

Your news of Daniel’s disappearance has weighed heavy on my mind these past months since we heard, and Papa has attempted to learn of his whereabouts, to no avail. We have not given up! There is much confusion right now on both sides and Papa said it could be weeks or months more before the men return home. Do not lose faith, sweet Evie.

Your most loving sister,

Abigail

Healing Fire by Samantha St. Claire

After the death of Nora Hewitt's husband, the citizens of Whitcomb Springs didn't see odds favoring the young widow for holding onto the ranch with only her ten-year-old son to assist. That changes when a gentle giant of a man offers a helping hand.

Motivated by compassion and his own grieving heart, the blacksmith becomes a mentor for the troubled boy and befriends the attractive widow, scandalizing the town gossips. Propriety is wielded like a weapon to separate them, but Providence makes its own plans through fire, loss and redemption.

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Here's an excerpt

    The boy, lost in boots too big for his feet, stumbled through the door. “Look, Mama! Three hens have started laying again. Spring is sure to be coming now.” He set the basket carefully on the table, but as he spun back to close the door, his jacket cuff caught the basket, sending it crashing to the floor.

Their collective intake of breath seemed to suck the air from the room. The boy looked up at his mother, face pinched. Before he could say anything, Nora grabbed his arm. “Matthew! How could…” She released him, taking one long stride to the broken eggs, bleeding yellow. Her boot heel came down on the shells, hard and deadly accurate, shattering fragile shells and sending rivulets of yolk in star-like patterns beneath her shoe. Each met the same fate.

Her chest heaving, she glared at the destruction beneath her feet. She brought her shaking hands to cover her face, savoring the emotion and hating it. The small hand that touched her back was warm. It trembled just a little.

“It’s okay, Mama. It’s okay.” The boy’s voice was uncertain, as though he wished it to be true.

Nora kneeled before him, her hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I should not have raised my voice.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I know you hurt, Mama.”

The anger that had sustained her these past two days drained from her like the yolks into the cracks of the floor. In its place stood her son. A resolve flowed back into the aching chambers of her heart. She couldn’t steal his childhood by making him bear her grief. Rising to her feet, she lifted the boy into her arms. As she did, his father’s boots slipped from his feet.

Meet the authors

MK McClintock is an award-winning author of historical romance and westerns, who has written several books and short stories, including the popular "Montana Gallagher" series, the "Crooked Creek" series, and the "British Agent" series. She continues the search for a time machine that can transport her to nineteenth-century Montana or Scotland—either works. MK enjoys a quiet life in the Rocky Mountains where she spins tales of romance, adventure, and mystery set in bygone times.

If you'd like to know when MK's next book will be out, please visit her website at www.mkmcclintock.com, where you can sign up to receive new release updates.

Website & Blog ~ Amazon ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

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Samantha St. Claire was born in 2016, the alter-ego and pen name of an author of historical fiction born a few decades earlier. She may have found her niche in western historical fiction, served up sweet. Never faint of heart, her signature protagonists face the hazards of the frontier with courage, wit, and a healthy pinch of humor.

Follow www.samanthastclaire.net to read more about the research that has helped develop the characters, towns, and stories of the Sawtooth Range Series.

Website & Blog ~ Amazon ~ Facebook

Let's hear from MK McClintock

What inspired you to write your main character’s story?

MK: Like many of my characters, they come after the story idea begins to form. I usually see a place in my mind and start to work out the where and how someone might have lived there. I picture someone walking on a trail or conversing with people in town, and that’s when I imagine the type of character it would take to live the life I’ve envisioned.

Evelyn came easily to me. She wanted her story to be told as an individual, but her story also represents a great many women after the Civil War, but they also lived through four years of waiting and wondering with a lot of tears in between. To me, Evelyn represents those strong women who didn’t give up, who moved forward and built a life not knowing if their husbands or sons would return home. She’s the matriarch, so to speak, of Whitcomb Springs. She bears a great deal of responsibility and strives to find joy at the same time. She was an interesting character to get to know, and I’d say she inspired me, more than the other way around.

What do you enjoy about writing stories set in Montana?

MK: Living here makes it easy. There’s magnificent beauty everywhere I look. It doesn’t take much to go for a short drive and find yourself surrounded by untouched wilderness. When I visit Glacier Park (in the off-season), it’s easy to find yourself alone, wondering if a bear or elk or wolf is going to cross paths with you. Even harsh winters can lend insight. I’ll go for a walk when it’s 10 degrees, pine tree branches are heavy with snow, and there’s nothing around me except the occasional print of someone, or something, that might have walked there first. The imagine goes a little wild. When I hike a mountain or visit one of my favorite hidden lakes and stand there in the silence, perhaps an eagle flies overhead or a mountain goat jumps on nearby rocks, it’s not difficult to imagine what life could have been like 150 years ago.

What are three things people may not know about you?

MK: I’m the dictionary definition of an introvert; I’m likely the palest outdoorsy person you’d ever meet; and I used to sing and ballroom dance.

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Let's hear from Samantha St. Claire

What inspired you to write your main character’s story?

Samantha: The frontier experience was far less romantic than we often imagine. It was dirty, dangerous and was often heavy with tragedy. In “Healing Fire” I wanted Nora Hewitt to represent the resilience and the courage of a frontier woman. While she may no have been physically as strong as the men who carved homes from the untamed lands, she possesses an indomitable strength of character that continues to inspire us today.

When we meet Nora, we find her grieving the loss of her husband and infant. The stages of grief are as real for her as they are today, but she doesn’t have the luxury to prolong those stages. Survival takes precedence. And with few options she must come to terms with her loss and push through the pain of loss. I wanted to show that moment early in the story when she makes a decision to become the parent her surviving son desperately needs. (See excerpt)

What do you enjoy about writing westerns and western romances?

Samantha: I love the wild landscapes, those wide-open spaces sparsely populated. For as long as I can remember, my imagination created characters and stories of the people who lived there in frontier days. The stories start in the plains, the mountains, the valleys where there may be evidence of those who lived out their adventures. I like to visit the locales, stand in the rock foundations of someone’s home, looking out the remnants of a window at the view they saw every morning. I begin to wonder what life was like for the woman who washed her dishes there or watched her family working out their morning chores.

The next step of writing her story is satisfying. It’s a bit like sewing together the forgotten pieces of a quilt found folded inside a trunk in someone’s attic. Watching the characters come to life is, at times, exhilarating.

The greatest delight for me as a writer of western romance is to learn from readers that the characters inspired them to be strong or face some difficult issue in their own lives. To read a review in which a fan says she was moved to tears makes me smile. For me, that is the pinnacle of success and motivates me to write the next story.

If you could travel in a time machine to an old West town, which one would you visit and why?

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