Welcome yet another talented author from the Rawhide 'n Roses Anthology. Lyn is also up against my book Laying Claim in the Rone Awards. Please welcome, Lyn.
Lyn Horner resides in
Lyn’s Texas Devlins trilogy blends authentic Old West settings, steamy romance and a glimmer of the mysterious. This series has earned Lyn several awards, including two Reviewers Choice Awards from the Paranormal Romance Guild. Her most recent release, Dearest Irish, is nominated for a Reader’s Choice Award on BigAl’s Books and Pals.
Hi, Paty. Thank you for swapping blogs with me today. I’m
glad to be here and have this chance to talk about our upcoming anthology, Rawhide ’n Roses.
Being a contributor to this collection of short stories has been
a real learning experience. I thought it would be fun and wouldn’t take much
time. Right. The problem is I don’t often write short stories. How was I going
to tell a complete story, a romance no less, in two or three thousand words?
Most chapters in my novels are longer than that. What had I gotten myself into?
Well, I quickly learned the key is to cut out all “fluff”. I
ended up cutting at least a third of my first draft, a painful process as you
know. We authors don’t enjoy dumping sentences, paragraphs, even whole scenes
for the sake of brevity, even if it does improve the story. Now I’d like to
share a snippet from my short story.
The Lawman’s Lady
by Lyn Horner
Blurb:
Marshal Trace Balfour doesn’t care for schoolmarm Matilda
Schoenbrun’s straight-laced attitude. However, a few moments alone with the
spinster lady makes him realize she isn’t quite what he expected. It also makes
him curious. Why doesn’t she like to be called Mattie? Most of all, what would
she look like without her specs and with her hair down?
Excerpt:
“Move
aside,” Marshal Trace Balfour ordered, pushing through the noisy throng
gathered in the street outside the Golden Slipper Saloon. Their shouts and
laughter had drawn him from his office up the block. Among the crowd, he saw
the local Methodist preacher, the undertaker and the owner of the mercantile
across the dusty street. Several ranch hands, in town on their day off, made
most of the racket.
Trace
also noticed the schoolmarm, Matilda Schoenbrun. With her brown hair wound in a
tight bun at her nape and wearing a drab calico gown of the same color, she
brought to mind a brown jay such as he’d seen as a boy in south Texas . When she spotted
him, she threw her shoulders back and narrowed her lips, looking down her
bespectacled little nose, setting his teeth on edge.
“Marshal, please put a stop to
this!” she demanded in a haughty voice.
“Ma’am, that’s what I aim to do.”
Touching his hat to her, he shouldered aside a pair of cowboys whose laughter
and catcalls almost drowned out the shrieks coming from a pair of females
rolling in the dirt. Trace recognized them as saloon girls form the Golden
Slipper. With red and purple skirts bunched around their knees, they fought
viciously, scratching, biting and pulling each other’s hair.
He’d rather face a gang of bank
robbers than deal with these snarling wildcats, he thought grimly. Almost
tripping over their tangled petticoats, he managed to grab hold of one’s
flailing arm and the back of the other’s tightly laced black bodice.
“That’s enough!” he growled,
hauling them to their feet. One, a red-haired gal named Nellie, screeched and
raked his restraining hand with her sharp nails while the other, a blonde whose
name he forgot, slapped his face. Cursing under his breath, he gave both
snarling females a hard shake. “I said that’s enough, ladies. Either settle down or spend the night in jail.”
* * * *
Dearest Irish, book
three in Lyn Horner’s Texas Devlins trilogy, has been nominated for a 2014
Reader’s Choice Award by Books and Pals, recently selected as the Best Review
Site by Indies Unlimited.
Book blurb:
Set in1876, Dearest
Irish stars Rose Devlin, the youngest of three psychic siblings who hide
their rare talents for fear of persecution. Gifted with the extraordinary ability
to heal with her mind, Rose inadvertently reveals her secret to Choctaw Jack, a
half-breed cowboy she finds fascinating. Unfortunately, she harbors another,
darker secret that threatens her chances of ever knowing love.
Choctaw Jack straddles two worlds, dividing his loyalties between his mother’s people and the family of a friend who died in the Civil War. Like Rose, he keeps shocking secrets that could cost him his job, even his life. Yet, he will risk everything to save his dying mother, even if it means kidnapping Rose.
Excerpt:
Choctaw Jack straddles two worlds, dividing his loyalties between his mother’s people and the family of a friend who died in the Civil War. Like Rose, he keeps shocking secrets that could cost him his job, even his life. Yet, he will risk everything to save his dying mother, even if it means kidnapping Rose.
Excerpt:
Rose regained her senses slowly. Feeling herself rock to and fro, she
groggily recognized the loping gait of a horse beneath her. But how could that
be?
She forced her eyes open, taking in the starlit sky and the dark landscape
passing by. Blinking at the sight, she realized she was seated crosswise on the
horse – in a man’s lap. Just like that, the scene in her bedroom with Jack came
back to her, and she knew whose chest she leaned upon and whose arm was locked
around her.
Panicking, she cried out in fright. Pain lanced through her jaw,
reminding her of the blow her teacher-turned-abductor had delivered just before
she’d sunk into oblivion.
“Easy now,” the brute murmured. “You’re all right. Nobody’s gonna hurt
you.”
She threw her head back to see his shadowed features. “I’m not all right,
ye . . . ye kidnapper!” Cupping her painful jaw, she demanded, “Take me back
this instant!”
“Can’t do that, Toppah.”
“But ye must! Tye and Lil will be looking for me.” Catching the odd word he’d
spoken, she repeated it. “Toppah? What’s that?”
“It’s you. It means yellow-hair.”
“Oh. Well, don’t be calling me that again. Now turn this horse around and
take me back,” she again demanded.
“Nope. We’re heading for the Nations. You might as well relax and enjoy
the ride.”
“Enjoy the ride, is it? You’re daft!” She pushed at his steely arm and
attempted to twist free, but, although his hold caused no pain, it was
unbreakable. Feeling smothered and panicky, she shoved at his chest, managing
to create a small space between them.
“Be still,” he ordered sharply. “Do you want to fall off and break your
neck?”
Before she could reply, another man’s voice sounded nearby, speaking in
an unfamiliar tongue. Unaware of his presence until that moment, Rose uttered a
frightened cry and instinctively shrank against Jack. His arm tightened around
her for a moment. He said something to the other man then spoke softly to her.
“Don’t be afraid, Poe-lah-yee.
That’s only Tsoia. He is my friend, my blood brother. He won’t touch you as
long as he thinks you’re mine.”
“Yours! I’m not yours!” she shrilled, once more stiffening against him.
“You might not want to let him know that.”
Twisting her upper body and craning her neck, Rose caught a glimpse of
the other Indian’s shadowy form. He rode near them and, unless she was
mistaken, he led another horse.
“What did he say?” she warily asked.
“He said you screech like an owl,” Jack replied, a grin in his voice.
Rose huffed in annoyance, not liking the comparison. After a moment’s
silence, she asked in a softer voice, “And what did ye call me a minute ago?”
“Poe-lah-yee. It means rabbit.”
“Rabbit! I told ye before I’m no scared rabbit.” Although she did feel
like one just now, she privately admitted. “Oh, and my hair’s not yellow, ’tis
strawberry-blonde. That’s what they’re calling the color back in Chicago these days.”
“That right? Well, I guess I could call you Poe-aye-gaw. That means strawberries.”
“For goodness sake, can’t ye call me by my proper name?”
“I dunno,” he drawled. “Poe-aye-gaw
is kinda nice, or maybe P’ayn-nah.
That means sugar. Yeah, I like that one.”
Sugar? Did he think her sweet? And what if he did? It made no nevermind
to her. Snorting in disdain, Rose squirmed uncomfortably in his lap.
Available in ebook and print:
http://tinyurl.com/l64ctss
(Barnes & Noble)
Find Lyn Here:
11 comments:
Great blog and excerpt,Lyn.
Thank you, Char. Only a few days until launch. Can't wait!
Paty, thanks again for having me here today. I love banner. It's beautiful and romantic.
Both books sound fabulous!!!
Nice post, Lyn! The books sound great! Can't wait to read them! Tweeted as well. :)
Riding by to say "Howdy, Lyn and Paty." It's a great day here where Lyn and I live. Hope it is in Oregon also.
Hi Lyn,
Great post, nice to learn more about you and your wonderful stories.
Regards
Margaret
Hi Lani, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the anthology.
Howdy back at yuh, Caroline. It sure has been a beautiful day. Maybe spring really is on its way.
Thanks for riding over.
Hi Margaret,
Nice to see you here. Won't be long now until release day.
I loved the blog. I tweeted.
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