Friday, December 30, 2022

WELCOME, JESSE CAMERON

JESSE AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE

By Caroline Clemmons

Please welcome Sheriff Jesse Cameron as our guest character today, the hero of JESSE ANE THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE for agreeing to our interview.

Thank you, ma’am. I’m honored to be invited, though I am that surprised at your invitation. In Harrigan County, I dinnae receive requests to speak to the public like this.  



I know you’re a Texas sheriff, but I detect an accent in your speech. Would you tell us from where you’ve come?

Aye, I came from Scotland. First, I worked as an indentured sailor for seven years to pay for my passage to America. I started my indentured service at fourteen—almost fifteen—because I could pass for eighteen, you ken? I was that tall for my age.

What was life like growing up in Scotland?

My family lived on a farm not far from Kelso. We raised sheep. Mum also had chickens and a few goats for milk. She made and sold her goat cheese. We also had a couple of cows. You can tell I didnae escape caring for the animals. We lived in a small cottage, but we enjoyed one another. I had a grand time growing up. I didnae mind working with Da on the farm, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life.

Scottish Cottage


Your leaving must have upset your parents.

Aye, they worried about me leaving so young. Mum and Da are great parents who understood my wish to leave and live in America. In fact, they will join me here after my Gran dies. She’s a grand lady, so no one is eager for that day to come.

What brought you to send for a mail order bride?

Several months back, I helped fight a grass fire on a local ranch. Volunteers barely saved the house, but much of the grass and some cattle were destroyed. A couple of people collapsed from the heat and stress. If not for a sudden downpour, more would have been lost, including men exhausted from fighting the fire. The sudden danger presented to so much land and so many people reminded me how fleeting life could be. I evaluated my life and realized it was time to settle down. I bought a house and sent for a bride. My best friend is my deputy, and he decided to send for a bride from the same matchmaker. Turned out our brides are cousins.

That sounds like a good result. Are you each pleased with your bride?

Aye, the plan worked out grand. My bride, Rosalin, is beautiful, regal, intelligent, and works hard to please me. I couldn’t be happier—except I feel like there’s something she’s hiding from me. I haven’t worked out what it could be, and she insists there’s nothing. She brought her nephew, who’s 8. He’s a good boy, but he has a lot of nightmares. My deputy is sure pleased with his bride, who is a pretty chatterbox.

Rosalin


Ma’am, I appreciate you having me here today, but I have to get back to work. Tell your readers if they’d like to learn more about me, check out my story in JESSE AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD64JC1D?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

 

Here’s the description:

What will happen when her lawman husband learns the truth about her criminal past?

Sheriff Jesse Cameron is dedicated to uphold the law of his adopted country. After leaving Scotland, he came to Texas, and learned he liked the place and the people—at least, most of them. He keeps Harrigan County free of troublemakers with his “strict but fair” policy. Now that he has a steady job and has bought a house, he figures it’s time to find a wife and start a family. He and his best friend write to the same matchmaker, hoping their brides will be sisters or friends. Jesse hopes his wife will provide a peaceful home and welcome him each evening with a good meal and a warm smile.

Growing up in an orphanage left Rosalin Arnold too naïve to avoid being trapped in the clutches of an evil man who has her picking pockets. Those who’ve tried to escape him always fail, and are severely punished—or killed. Rosalin has been plotting to get away, and seizes her chance to escape. She takes her best friend with her, and also a boy of eight. All she and her friends want is a home where they can live without constant fear. She prays she has successfully evaded the man who has tentacles everywhere.

What will happen when her past catches up with her, and she’s forced to confess everything to Jesse? Of course Jesse will defend her, but will he forgive her lies?


 

Excerpt when Jesse returns from a manhunt. As he was leaving, he asked his neighbor to take his bride to his home.

He hurried up to his front door and stopped short. Did he knock? This was his house, but he didn’t want to scare her.

While he deliberated, the door opened and a wee lad stared up at him. The boy scrutinized his badge, then his face. “You must be Sheriff Jesse Cameron.”

He stepped inside and took off his hat. “That’s right. You must be Rosalin’s nephew.”

“Yes, sir. I’m Henry Bernard. Did you get the bad guys?”

“We did.” He hit at his leg with his hat as he looked around the parlor. Furniture had been moved and decorations added. Odd feeling, being treated like a guest in his own home. “Um, is your aunt here?”

“I am.” She swished into the room and smiled at him. “I hope you don’t mind that we’ve stayed here in your absence.”

His tongue tangled and he couldn’t form a sentence. While he gaped at the prettiest woman he’d ever met, the boy took his hat from him and hung it on the hat tree.

She gestured to the kitchen. “Mrs. Pickard brought over a pie this morning. She thought you’d be back today.”

He managed to say, “I… I better wash up. Dinnae usually look like this. Had a rough few days.” He washed up at the kitchen sink, wondering if that was all right. Wait—this was his house.

 

Wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous and Healthy New Year!





Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Widows, Babies, and Brides by Kathleen Lawless

Widows, Babies and Brides    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086GGVGP2    
Save $9 this weekend only.   

 

99 cents for Four Complete Western Historical Romances 
 
CALLIE'S HONOR 

Recently widowed Callie wants nothing to do with any man, particularly a handsome drifter with his own agenda.  
 
MADDY’S FUGITIVE  

Isolated farm girl Maddy finds herself swept up in a dangerous adventure with an escaped convict trying to clear his name.  
 
ANORA’S PRIDE   

There’s a new marshal in town who thinks Anora is married, a ruse she wishes she’d never entertained.   

They try to keep their distance, but fate decrees otherwise amidst a town riot. 

 

~UNDER THE COVERS READER CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST WESTERN HISTORICAL! 

 

GRACE’S FOLLY   
Imagine how Grace feels when the man she hires to masquerade as her husband turns out to be the Pinkerton detective sent by her father to find her.   

 
WILL EACH OF THESE COUPLES FIND THEIR WAY TO HAPPILY EVERY AFTER AMIDST DECEIT, DANGER AND PERIL?  

 

Excerpt:

Rafe angled her chair around till they faced each other  
and he had one knee on either side of her. "You don't  
trust me, Callie. Now just why exactly is that?"  

Callie averted her gaze.  

   His free hand snaked between them. Thumb and  

fore- finger pinched her chin, turning her face back around to  
his. "I expect an honest answer now."  

Eyes steely, chin thrust forward, Callie met his gaze.  

Her skin burned every place Rafe held her; "I don't trust  
any man."  

She expected him to release her like a hot rock.  

Instead, he took his time about it. Slowly his fingers  
uncurled from around her wrist. Slower yet the fingers  
imprisoning her face gentled, till their touch bordered on  
a caress. "Why's that?"  

     Feeling her hands tremble slightly, she knotted them  
in her lap, away from his gaze. "Never met a man yet who  
gave me any reason to trust him. Including my pa and my  
older brother."  

     "I see." Rafe sat back in his chair and crossed his arms  
over his chest. "In that case, apology accepted." He  
extended his right hand toward her, leaving Callie little  
choice but to slide her hand inside his. She was conscious  
of the warmth of his skin, the callused, leathery feel of his  
palm and fingertips. The sensations chased clear up her  
arm in the most unsettling of ways.  

He didn't let her go right away. Instead, he raised her  
hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on the spot where he'd  
removed the sliver. Then he did something that caught  
Callie totally off guard. He guided her wounded thumb  
slowly to outline the contour of his lips, bottom and top.     

 Callie felt as if melted wax spilled through her limbs in  
a heated rush. Opening his lips, he pulled  

her thumb just inside the hot moist cavity of his mouth and  

gave a slow gentle suck that she felt clear down to her toes.  

"Since you don't trust me, anyway," Rafe said, his  
breath touching her forehead like steam rising from hot  
water. "I guess it won't make much difference if I kiss  
you."  

"Don't." The word barely escaped from the tightened  
muscles of her throat.  

With one finger beneath her chin he tilted her face up  
toward his. "Any woman smells this good, she needs kissing  
if only as a thank you from the lucky man close  
enough to notice. "  

Callie trembled clear down inside her boots as he lowered 
his head to hers.  


Author Bio:


USA Today Bestselling Author Kathleen Lawless blames a misspent youth watching Rawhide, Maverick and Bonanza for her fascination with cowboys, which doesn’t stop her from creating a wide variety of interests and occupations for her many alpha male heroes.     

With nearly 50 published novels to her credit, she enjoys pushing the boundaries of traditional romance into historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense and women’s fiction.       

She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest and loves to hear from her readers.  www.kathleenlawless.com 

 

Sign up for Kathleen’s VIP Reader Newsletter to receive a free book, updates, special giveaways and fan-priced offers.    http://eepurl.com/bV0sb1