She was no lady. He was a gentleman gambler. Together they were like gunpowder and flint, setting the west on fire beneath a Devil Moon.
Western lore dominated my childhood. Kid-friendly western movies streamed from the local theater. I saw them all and yearned for life on a ranch, a six-shooter and spurs. Not much of that in Georgia farm country but a kid can dream. Decades later my dreams saw fruition when I began creating my own tales of the West. Though I had been weaned on male dominated features where women were merely in the supporting roles or part of the scenery, I wanted to showcase atypical women of the West.
Surely, all women of that era were tougher than hardtack and had hearts bigger than the sky, but I wanted them to put aside their bonnets and petticoats and stand toe to toe with the men. I wanted them to strap on six shooters and ride herd and take on bad guys and bad times just like the men.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved those rough and tumble good guys in their boots and Stetsons even if it was mainly their horses strumming my heartstrings. TV westerns were better at showing strong go get ’em women but that only made me more determined to give my characters some grit and sass.
The first of my western heroines made her debut in Delilah’s Flame. Delilah takes justice by the tail and gives it new meaning. Teddy Gamble steps out in Devil Moon. Teddy is prickly as a cactus flower and pretty as a desert sunset. She runs a stage line, wears buckskins, battles road agents, a hostile takeover attempt, and her own wayward heart. She needs all the grit and sass she’s got when a handsome Frenchman enters her domain and claims a part of it.
Writing historicals is a little like time travel. I loved and lived every minute of Teddy’s adventures and misadventures even though she’s braver and bolder and a better shot than me. I am strongly addicted to American history, particularly that of the West. I enjoy creating characters whose lives show the strength and forbearance that gave us our heritage.
Devil Moon is the second of a trio of Guns and Garters Western Romances, to be released as an ebook this fall from Trove Books. Pre-order Devil Moon now at Smashwords at Barnes & Noble and on Apple iBookstore.