Lillian Hayes from Deadly Ties

Welcome to Nighthawk Talks. I'm Nighthawk and our guest tonight is Lillian Hayes from Debra Parmley's novel, Dangerous Ties.

Up until recently, Miss Hayes was engaged to marry. Her fiancé turned out to be a no good con man who persuaded the people in her hometown to exchange their gold for worthless paper. Leave us say, the folks weren't happy and, to their discredit, thought Miss Hayes, one of their own, was involved.

All set, Miss Hayes? Just talk into the microphone there.

Well, life is just full of surprises. I thought nothing would surprise me any more. Goodness. This metal thing will share my voice with people?

Yes, ma'am.

Well. Goodness. And all we do is talk. Goodness.

Well I suppose you'll want to know about the bank notes my ex fiancé stole from the townsfolk. I do not know where they are and I never did. So don't start down that trail. I won't stand for it.

Calm down, Miss Hayes. I'm not saying you're involved or that you know anything about the gold.

I do apologize. Too many people have assumed the worst of me when I gave them no cause to. It's an awful thing when you're telling the truth and no one believes you. Simply awful.

They didn't just talk behind your back, did they?

Why if Nicholas Brace hadn't shown up when he did, before that rope broke, I wouldn't be here talking to you today. That man saved my life. And he believed me too, when no one else would. He's the one man who has always believed me and never doubted.

What happened to your fiancé?

He just up and disappeared one day, taking the gold with him. I can understand how the townsfolk were upset. It was a terrible thing he did, talking them into exchanging their gold for his worthless bank notes. Shelton Security bank notes aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. You might as well use them to light your fireplace if you have any of them.

How did you get involved?

My cousin Carl talked me into coming out west and introduced me to Mr. Shelton. Why, if I'd stayed back east… But then I wouldn't have met Nick. He's a good man that Nicholas Brace. Handsome too. When he looks at me I feel warm and happy, like the sun has just come out from behind the clouds. He taught me how to shoot to protect myself, so I wouldn't be at the mercy of men like Kingston and his hired guns ever again. But I'm worried about him. He's riding into town right into that nest of snakes and I know exactly how quick they can turn mean on you. I aim to follow him somehow, if I can't talk him into letting me go with him. I couldn't bear it if something happened to Nick.

Maybe I should be asking about Nick. Do you see yourself having a future together. A wedding, perhaps?

Goodness no. Wedding? (squeak) No, look what happened the last time I got engaged. I'm in no hurry to marry anyone. Though Nick is a fine man. But a future with him? No, I really can't say. I just want him to be alive and healthy. As long as he is alive and healthy I will be happy. He has his life on the ranch up north and I've been enough of a bother to him aleady. He's late delivering his horses, after taking care of me. No, no, a future with Nick would be too much to hope for. I can't think about that now. I have to get to town.

We'll let you get going, Miss Hayes. Before you go, is there anything else you'd like to share with our audience?

Well yes, that life is short and people can't always be trusted but there are still good men in the world. I'm lucky such a good man found me in time to save my life.

Miss Hayes has left the building. To find out more about her, and the handsome Nick Brace, check out Dangerous Ties by Debra Parmley.

Elwood Calhoun from Lakota Honor

From the small town of Willow Creek, Colorado, we've pulled mine owner Elwood Calhoun to be our guest tonight.

Before we bring him in, let's look at his connection to the heroine of Lakota Honor by Kat Flannery.

Calhoun is interested in marrying Nora Rushton, who spends most of her days locked up in her home with a father who resents her for her healing powers. Calhoun isn't the only one after Nora.
   
Lakota native Otakatay has been hired to kill the witkowin - that is, witches like Nora. This, of course, opens a whole other can of worms which may have dragging Otakatay's sorry butt in here. But for now, we have Elwood Calhoun, chomping at the bit.

Where the hell am I? Can I make money from this?



Good evening, Mr. Calhoun. Welcome to the studio of Nighthawk Talks. I'm Nighthawk...

Hawk? You look like an oversize blackbird. Are you some kind of injun spirit animal, because I don't believe in that nonsense.

Well, I can see why Miss Rushton isn't rushing to marry you.

Nora Rushton will be my wife. I can give her a life she’s always dreamed of, besides I’m quite the catch. I went all the way to Chicago to get this gold tooth.

From what I understand, Miss Rushton's father doesn't want you to marry her either.

That drunk? Ha!

And then there's Otakatay...

No half-breed will stop me. I get what I want. (laughs) I’ve got reinforcements and I’ll come back with a vengeance.

What makes you think you can get away with this?

I am rich and handsome.

Money can't buy love.

I’m not looking for love. Didn’t you read the story? Money has always gotten me what I want, so nice try and I never give up. I’ll get Nora if it’s the last thing I do and I’ll kill that damn half-breed in the process.

Please, somebody remove our guest from the studio. If you want to find out what happens to this charming gentleman, read Lakota Honor. I haven't met Nora and Otakatay yet, but I'm already rooting for them.

Marly Landers from Under A Texas Star

Tonight we welcome back Marly Landers from Under A Texas Star.

Throughout history women have masqueraded as men as a means of working in a field closed to women... like the military. Many times, they are only discovered when injured or killed. Your story, as told, doesn't go into many details of how you pulled it off. Care to share?

I'd traveled as a boy before. At the end of the war, renegade rebs beat and violated my mama, I was next. I know it. The Sarge showed up in time to save me, but just barely. Mama let me wear britches when I was doing chores so I changed into them and packed up a few valuables I could carry. I only had a couple of dresses and one of them was near covered in blood from Mama. I didn't mind leaving them behind with my bonnets and ribbons.

Okay, but you were much younger without as much... shape. And you had an accomplice. How did you pull it off alone?

Aunt Adele took me by buggy to the city to catch the train east. She saw me settled beside a widow visiting her sister in Rhode Island. As soon as Aunt Adele left, I changed trains and headed south. Of course they checked my ticket and "my mistake" was discovered. When I was let off, I asked where the telegraph station was, so I could send a wire to my family. I left my trunk at the station. I took my handbag and cut through a few backyards, and, I'm ashamed to admit, stole some clothes off someone's line.

It couldn't have been that easy.

I planned ahead. I had an old chemise in my bag from when I was younger. I'm not a very shapely woman and the tight vest squashed down what little shape I had. I had an odd sock to give me a bit of shape where I needed it. Mostly though, I'd been dealing with school boys for years so I knew how to act like one. The hardest part was finding a place to make the transformation. I would love to know how the owner of the tree fort looked when he found a lady's dress and smalls there. I spent the night in the fort and left before dawn: Marly Landers the boy.

What was the hardest part of the masquerade?

Keeping clean. Even a bowl bath is a challenge when you got to keep yourself covered. I spent nights in haylofts and once sharing a stall with sick colt. Mind, that job got me a fifty cents and two good meals. It was a pure joy when I finally got to have a hot bath in a private room.

That was at the Oasis in Fortuna.

Yes, sir. Er... ma'am?

Just Nighthawk.

Read about Marly Landers in Under A Texas Star. Available FREE on Kindle February 24-27, 2013.

To Have to Hold - Tempest and Buck

"A widow with two children, Tempest Whitney has had to mortgage everything to repay the money her husband had stolen. But even as she struggles to hold onto her Utah homestead, a scheming rancher buys up her debts, demanding she either get off his land or marry him. Then a dark-haired stranger shows up, claiming to be her dead husband . . ."

We have that widow and dark-eyed stranger with us today.

Tempest, truth now, what was your first impression of Buck Maddox?

T: Oh my, well, much as I regret having to admit it, my heart leaped right into my throat at the sight of Buck standing outside my door. It was all I could do to hang onto my dignity and not jump on him. And to work up some anger at the confounded man when I thought he'd killed Skeet.

B: Whoo-hoo. Honey, I wish I'd have known that at the time. The only thing that would have kept your virtue safe would have been those two darlin' babes of yours. You were a mess, your hair all scraggly and, Lord, what a temper! But I'd never seen a woman more tempting.

The woman was tempting, but what about the ranch and her menagerie? That must have been daunting.

B: I admit I was a bit taken aback by what you call her ranch. Neither prosperous nor tidy are words I would have used in describing it. By menagerie, I reckon you mean her critters, not sweet little Ethan or Angel. To tell the truth, I would have had to applaud her ingenuity for earning her living. Who would have thought to raise and sell cats, of all things? Course, there were the mules, too.


<mutters> Cats. Why did it have to be cats?

It's rough land, what makes you love it so much, Tempest?

T: Oh, I didn't love it at first, not by a long shot, but those magnificent sandstone walls looking like they'd been sculpted by God, and with their Indian drawings on them and all, well, they grow you, until you wonder how you ever lived anywhere else. I know Buck feels the same way about it as I do now.



I can see that. Though I suspect he'd grow to love anything that you loved and probably hate what you hate. Speaking of which, Jonas Creedy figures prominently in your lives. Tell me about him.

T: That man! I still shudder at the very mention of his name, the low down, skunk-faced---

B: Now, Tempest, honey, shouldn't say unkind things about the dead, now should you?

T: Humph. You weren't the one being leered at by him, Buck. I just thank the Lord you came along and rescued me, you darling devil, you.

B: Damn. Are we about finished here? I need to get this woman home, fast.

Don't let the door slam <slam> ...on the way out.

If you want to learn more about this charming couple, pick up To Have and to Hold by Charlene Raddon.

Until next time... 

Derrick McCain from Bloody Trail

Our last guest from Wolf Creek is Derrick McCain created by author Cheryl Pierson. 

I’m not sure why you want to talk to me.

Our last guest was Charley Blackfoot. After our interview he let slip that he knew you in the war. It sounded like there was a story there.

I did things when I was younger that I’m not proud of, but I guess a lot of others did, too.

What happened?

I left home just after the War started. My older brothers had already lit out. I wasn’t following them, though—I was out to make my own way. And when I got news that my Pa had been killed because of his politics, I deserted and joined up with Jim Danby’s gang, determined to find the men who’d killed my Pa. But then, Jim seemed to get crazier about the things he wanted to do—torturing and killing prisoners and such. I drew the line there, and I didn’t care what happened to me. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d done some of the things he was ordering us to do.

That’s how Charley Blackfeather and I got acquainted—Charley was one of the prisoners Jim was wanting me to kill. When I said no, Jim had the other men about kill me. He thought I was dead, or he’d never have left me. The reason I tell you all this is just to say, there were plenty of others like me, caught up in a world of not being able to know right from wrong. War does that to a man. I’m not making excuses. Just trying to explain.

I think I understand. What brought you to Wolf Creek?

We moved to Wolf Creek when I was twelve years old. My Pa was a headmaster at a Cherokee school in Indian Territory. Then one day, he came home and told Ma we were getting the hell out of there and moving to Kansas.

Why Kansas? I would have thought Indian Territory would have been a safer place to raise a family than Kansas before the Civil War.

From what I could hear, there wasn’t much of an explanation, but Ma seemed to understand without him telling her. She didn’t want to go, that much I knew, but we had to. I thought it was politics forcing us to go, but then I learned something later that shed a whole new light on things.

What did you learn?

When we moved to Wolf Creek, my older brothers, Benton and Eli, were still living at home with us, but Benton eventually got his own place nearby. That just left me and Eli and our younger sister, Kathleen, there at home, and Eli planned on going off on his own, too. But then the War came, and he and Benton went off, thinking it would be a high adventure. They both got themselves killed, and I had left too. Kathleen always held it against me that I went off and left her and Ma, but no one could have known that Pa was going to get himself murdered. Now that I’m back in Wolf Creek, Kathleen is married to a sour mouth preacher, and I’ve taken over the farming there at our home place and taking care of Ma.

So you've come home to settle down.

But I won’t be here forever. I’m too restless to stay in one place forever.

Is that because of your experiences during the war?

The War changed my life in a lot of ways. I was glad to get off on my own—that part was good. I’d never got on too well with my older brothers. They always treated me different, and Pa did, too. Turns out, there was a reason that I didn’t know until a few weeks ago.

What reason?

(Silence)

If you're not going to tell what you found out about your mother, why do you keep mentioning it?

Anyhow, I went off to make my own way in the world, and then felt honor bound to avenge Pa’s killing. Which was just putting me in a bad place, even worse than when I was a Confederate regular. Joining up with Jim Danby’s gang was something I have been sorry for since the day I did it. I was pretty young and needing someone to look up to. But Danby wasn’t the one, for sure. There wasn’t anyone more evil than Jim, but it took me a long time to understand it. When I did, I almost got killed for it. I came back to Wolf Creek when I healed up, and stayed with Ma. She was glad to have me back, having lost Pa, Benton and Eli. But she still never did tell me the truth that I needed to know so much. I had to learn that from someone else.

What? Never mind. I can tell by that smirk that you're not going to give me an answer.

You’re probably wondering what I’m going to do next with my life.

No, I'm wondering if anyone will notice if I strangle you... 
... Okay, I'll bite. What's next?

Chasing Jim Danby’s gang down gave me some satisfaction, like I was righting a lot of the wrong things I’d done earlier. But we didn’t manage to get them all. Some of them are still out there, going on with their lives and the killing and robbing they’re bent on doing. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I might finish up making amends for those years during the War.

One thing that keeps coming back to me is how I might just keep going after the ones that are left until they’re all dead. I know that might mean I’ll be dead first—just depends on who has a faster gun a lot of times. But even if I was to get killed, at least it would be doing something that needed doing.

You don't think taking care of the family farm needs doing?

Farming is not my calling. But neither is murder. I’m just wondering how I’m going to fit into this world. I’m not sure what I’m looking for.

So instead, you're hell-bent on the road for revenge.

You gotta understand, when Jim Danby’s gang rode into Wolf Creek, it changed everything for so many people. I was probably the one that had the biggest secret to keep, having been “one of them” in years past. Who knew there were so many secrets in one small town, though? And all of them important in their own way…

I learned some things about myself that I never would have if Danby’s men hadn’t attacked and brought it all out. I also learned some things about people I lived right there with for years that I didn’t know like I thought I did. But then, they didn’t really know me, either. Despite all that, I still feel adrift—unsure of what I want in life. I’m just not really sure how I need to go about figuring that out. It seems like what I got really good at during the war, that’s something I don’t ever want to have to do again.


On those cryptic words, we wrap up this series on Wolf Creek Book 1: Bloody Trail. Sometime in the new year we hope to have a few characters drop by from Books 2 and 3... maybe even Book 4. Meanwhile, buy or borrow Bloody Trail, written by the authors collectively known as Ford Fargo, published by Western Fictioneers.

Charley Blackfeather from Bloody Trail

Welcome back to Nighthawk Talks. This is the third in a series of four interviews with residents of the town of Wolf Creek who can be found in the pages of Bloody Trail by Ford Fargo. Ford Fargo, by the way, is not one author but many. Today's guest is the creation of Troy D. Smith, who is also the editor of the Wolf Creek series.


Tonight we are joined by Charley Blackfeather, a black Seminole who works as a scout for the cavalry outpost at nearby Fort Braxton and supplements his income by trapping, was dropping off some traditional Seminole medicines to the town doctor when the outlaws struck. He has encountered the Danby Gang before, when he was a Union soldier and they were riding with Confederate guerrillas William Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson. He volunteers for the posse, but is troubled when he recognizes one of the other posse members from the war as well…

This room is strange. But I’ve seen it before, in a dream –there is strong medicine here.

I've always thought so. How long have you lived in Wolf Creek?

I don’t really live in Wolf Creek, I just kinda pass through now and again. I live on the prairie. I scout for Colonel Vine over at Fort Braxton sometimes, when they need me–most of the time I hunt and trap. I bring my hides in to Wolf Creek ever’ month or so, and usually head over to Asa Pepper’s saloon to have a beer. I been comin’ around town like that, off and on, for ‘bout a year.

I take it, you have no family to tie you down to one place.

I used to have a wife and three young’uns. They’d all be growed by now with families of their own, if they’d lived – but they all died when the Confederate Cherokees attacked Opothleyahola’s band at the beginning of the war. And there’s my pa, I reckon he was born a slave in Georgia but ran away to the Seminoles in Florida and married my ma–but he got killed a long time ago, back yonder in the swamps when our people was fighting the U.S. Army.

And yet, you later fought with that army.

Like a lot of my Seminole brothers, I fought for the Union in the war. Partly because of what the Reb Indians did to my family–but I was Union before then, that’s why they done it.

Why fight at all?

Why was I Union? (snort of laughter) Well, let’s just say I wasn’t as much for the Union as I was ag'in' slavery. I take that kind of behaviour personal.

I understand you’ve had some prior experience with the Danby Gang. Can you tell us about that?

(Grunt) I don’t like talkin’ ‘bout that.

(Takes deep breath) But you been real polite and neighbourly, so I’ll say this much… That bunch that rode with Bloody Bill was as low-down as they come. I was at Centralia, where they slaughtered a whole sight of Union soldiers who had surrendered. One of the ones they killed was… well, somebody close.

So this is about vengeance for you.

(Grunt) My people believe in balance. In life for life, eye for eye. We call it Blood Revenge–till a death has been avenged, the world ain’t right. And I been out of balance ever’ since that day at Centralia… and when I seen Jim Danby robbin’ the Wolf Creek bank, I knowed I was gonna finally have a chance to get that balance back. And that’s all I’m sayin’.
 
Which means we'll have to find out the rest of this story in Wolf Creek Book 1: Bloody Trail, written by the authors collectively known as Ford Fargo, published by Western Fictioneers.

Sheriff Satterlee from Bloody Trail

Welcome back to Nighthawk Talks and the second in a series of four interviews with residents of the town of Wolf Creek, who can be found in the pages of Bloody Trail by Ford Fargo. Ford Fargo, by the way, is not one author but many. Today's guest is the creation of James Reasoner.

Sheriff Satterlee leads the posse after the gang of outlaws that raids Wolf Creek and kills several of the citizens. It's a desperate chase, as the posse needs to catch up to the desperadoes before they reach the border and cross over into Indian Territory, where Satterlee will no longer have any legal jurisdiction.

That's me. Sheriff George Washington Satterlee, keeping the peace in Taylor County. Not sure I've ever seen such strange contraptions in all my life, but if this isn't a trap of some sort, I'll talk to you for a spell. Just don't try anything funny.

How long have you lived in Wolf Creek?
Been living here in Wolf Creek for a few years. It's just me, no wife, no kids, and I don't think deputies count as family. I've spent a lot of my life roaming around and used to think I'd never really settle down, but if a man's going to, Wolf Creek is as good a place as any, I suppose. Better than some. It's got your usual mix of decent folks and no-accounts.

Really? Do tell...

I'm the sheriff, not the town gossip.

Okay. How yourself? What did you do during the war? 

I managed to stay out of the Late Unpleasantness, thank you most to death. I suppose if I'd had to pick a side, I probably would have fought for the Union because I used to scout for the U.S. Army. Not much of a reason, I know, but you see, I've always tended to steer clear of other people's troubles. Or at least I did until I became sheriff. Now taking care of other folks' troubles is sort of my job. But I sort of drifted into keeping the peace and never expected to be doing it. Turns out I'm not bad at it, either.

I can certainly understand not wanting to get caught up in a civil war, but what about the issue of slavery?

Well, I never did hold with the idea of folks owning other folks. Of course, I reckon there were other ways to deal with the problem without slaughtering thousands of good men on both sides. But then, the politicians don't ask me for my opinion, do they? If they did, I might give 'em an earful.

I think there were more than a few people who thought the same way, including the politicians. Not all choices you make are one's you like.

Chasing down those outlaws forced me to make some decisions I didn't want to make. When a fella has to make a stand, has to choose between one trail and another, sometimes it can come back to haunt him. I hope that's not the way it'll be here, but you never know.

Thank you Sheriff Satterlee. I look forward to reading more about you in Wolf Creek Book 1: Bloody Trail, written by the authors collectively known as Ford Fargo, published by Western Fictioneers.

Dr Logan Munro from Bloody Trail

Welcome to Nighthawk Talks, I'm Nighthawk - named for my habits not my species. For the next four weeks we're welcoming a few residents of the town of Wolf Creek, who can be found in the pages of Bloody Trail by Ford Fargo. Ford Fargo, by the way, is not one author but many. Today's guest is the creation of Clay More. 

Dr Logan Munro is a Scottish doctor who has seen action in The Crimean War, The Indian Mutiny and The American Civil War. Welcome doctor. I wanted to interview you first since you probably know the townspeople best.

If you want to know about somebody’s health or their past medical history, I’m the one to talk to - but don’t expect an answer!

You can't give us a few hints?

I am a medical man first and foremost and anything a patient tells me is utterly confidential. This town is full of men and women who have their own little tragedies, peccadilloes and secrets that they don’t want anyone to know about. There may have been a past operation, an old bullet wound that they don’t want anyone to know about ...

(Wry laugh)... or maybe something much worse - but I can’t allow myself to breach a professional confidence.


You take your medical oath very seriously.

I live by the Hippocratic Oath in my dealings with patients and I believe that the good folk of Wolf Creek respect that. They trust me as a physician and surgeon. I like to think that folks generally know me as a man of my word.


Maybe you can tell us a bit about yourself instead.

I came here after the War and have seen the town grow. As a doctor I probably get to know more about folk than most. That is to say, as much as they want to tell me. But I get to see where they live, how they live and, since I deal with people from cradle to grave, I often get to see how they die.

Do you have family in Wolf Creek?

(Sigh) I was truly hoping that I would one day. I was married to the sweetest lady, but I lost her to malaria when I was out in India.

(Wry laugh) We lived through the Indian Mutiny, but I couldn’t save her from that cursed illness. That was why I came to America, to start life afresh.

Do you think you'll ever return to Scotland?

No. I have put down roots in Wolf Creek. I like the people – a lot of them, at any rate – and I have shared in their joys and their sorrows. I have traveled the world and doubt if I will ever go back to Scotland. I expect that I will die here one day.

You fought in the Civil War...

I served as a surgeon with the Union. The whole idea of slavery is abhorrent to me. When I lived in India, just before the Mutiny began, I saw the horror of the Caste system. Through no fault of their own there were people who were considered ‘untouchable.’ They were often treated like animals. I hated that. Then when I came to America I found that there was an even worse system. I reckoned it was worth offering my meager surgical skills to the side that was fighting against that inhumanity.    

When you were treating the wounded during the War, did you ever feel like putting someone out of their misery?

You mean, did I ever wish that I could help them pass away? No, I took an oath, which means that I will do my utmost to keep someone as comfortable as I can, especially when they are close to death.

I may not be the most religious of men, but I still have an unshakeable faith in the Lord. It may sound crazy that although we were surrounded by death and destruction, by brutality and armies intent upon annihilating each other, yet in the bubble that is the relationship between a doctor and his patient, I believe that only God may take a life.

That being said, I've heard that you can wield a gun as deftly as you can a scalpel.

(Silence)

We'll let people judge for themselves by reading Wolf Creek Book 1: Bloody Trail, written by the authors collectively known as Ford Fargo, published by Western Fictioneers.

Brianna from Tender Touch

 Imagine faking your own death to escape an abusive husband. Now imagine doing this in the late nineteenth century when women had few rights and options outside of marriage. 

Brianna Wight faked her own death. Then, in St. Louis, she hired a wilderness guide, Columbus Nigh, to take her to Independence, Missouri. There she hoped to join her sister and her family on a wagon train to Oregon. On arriving in Independence, they learn that Brianna’s sister died of cholera and her brother-in-law had taken the children back east. Unable to return to her own home, Brianna convinced Columbus to pose as her brother so that the wagon master will allow her to travel with the wagon train. Meanwhile, her husband discovered her deception and was on her trail.

Welcome to Nighthawk Talks, Brianna. I know this must be very strange for you.

Thank you for inviting me. You're positive my husband won't find out about this, I hope?


In this time and place, your husband is long gone. Nothing you say here will get back to him. 

Your story begins with running away from your husband. Can you tell us about him?
Barret Wight is a good looking man and wealthy, but a miserable childhood turned him into a bit of a bully, I'm afraid. He's also unfaithful. He thinks I don't know, but he has a mistress in town he keeps in a house he bought her.

It's good of you to see that his abuse stemmed from his own past. Many women in your place would be too angry. 

It was a mistake to marry him. I was lonely. With my parents gone and my sister married, I felt this was my last chance for happiness. I was wrong. Still, if I had not made that mistake, I would not have met Columbus Nigh.

What was your first reaction to Columbus?

Fear. Our first meeting was a rather unfortunate one. He was brawling with another man and I was knocked down in the melee.

Traveling with a wagon train is very challenging. What was the hardest part of the journey for you?

I fear that I did miss my lovely clothes, and my elegant home, but compared to freedom, such objects count for nothing, do they? The most difficult part of the journey was making new friends, like Lilith Beaudoin, such a sweet lady, and then having to watch her die a horrible death from cholera. Losing my beloved cat Shakespeare was an extremely unhappy event as well. He was all I had, you see. I had left everything else I owned behind when I ran away from Barret and joined the wagon train.

You were very intrepid. Was it all trial and tribulation? 

I loved the journey itself, the challenges and finding out I was stronger than I'd realized. The wide open spaces of the prairies make me feel so free. But finding Col was the most wonderful part of the trip, of course. I never want to live without him again.

Unfortunately, spousal abuse is still with us, though wagon trains are not. What is your advice to women in a situation like yours?

Take courage and realize you don't have to stay and endure such treatment, that you are stronger than you think and can survive without such a man.

Thank you Brianna.  To learn more of Brianna's story, read Tender Touch, by Charlene Radon, published by Tirgearr Publishing. 


Photos and cover art used with permission of author.

Elk Runner From Yellowstone Heart Song

When nurse and avid backpacker Aimee Donovan encounters a patient who tells her he can send her two hundred years into the past, it's a challenge she can't refuse. She'll get to spend three months in the rugged Yellowstone wilderness at the dawn of the mountain man era. The only requirement: she cannot tell anyone that she’s from the future.

Aimee is transported back in time to the Yellowstone wilderness of 1810, a time when very few white men have ever seen the area. A local Indian, Elk Runner, sees her wandering in the wilderness, apparently lost, and reports back to his white adopted brother. Together, they return to find her clinging to life on a ledge. 


Welcome Elk Runner. You are a Shoshone, right?
I am a hunter of the Tukudeka clan of mountain Shoshone. To the white man, we are known as the Sheepeaters, but our name means "eaters of meat."We are known for our skills at hunting the bighorn sheep, and making fine hides and bows. My people have lived in the sacred Yellowstone Mountains for thousands of years, becoming one with the spirits of the sky, earth, and water.

Tell us about Daniel.
My adoptive white brother - we call him White Wolf - is my best friend and his own worst enemy. He never knows what is good for him, even when she falls out of the sky. He has always been much too serious about life. Even growing up as children, he would get mad at the practical jokes I played on him. To this day, he blames me for a mishap with a skunk.

Skunk?
<laughter>

Maybe you better tell us about Aimee Donovan instead.
One day, while on a hunt with several other members of my clan, I saw the strangest thing. A white woman was wandering through the forest. She wore odd clothes, and chanted strange words. We all thought she was crazy in the head, but we knew nothing of white women. Perhaps they all act the way she did. I saw it as an omen. I went to White Wolf's cabin to tell him of this woman. He didn't believe me, even calling me the crazy one. He relented and went with me to find her again. I told him the spirits must have brought her to him, since he obviously could not find a woman on his own.

What did you make of her?
She is the strangest woman I have ever met. No meat on her bones, and disrespectful to a hunter. White Wolf will certainly have his hands full with her. She does not understand our ways, but she is brave and has the gifts of healing. We all suspect she is a puhagant, a person endowed by the spirits with magical powers. Once she learns to be respectful, she will make a good wife.

Dosa Haiwi - that is the name we have given Aimee Donovan. It means white dove, because she is like a dove that flew from the sky to rescue my brother from a lifetime of loneliness. She saved my life when some dirty Blackfoot warriors ambushed me. An arrow to the gut is fatal, but she used her magical healing powers to save my life. I will always be in her debt. The hungry look on my brother's face when she examined my healed wounds with her hands will always stay in my mind. <chuckle>

Hey, it was his own fault. He refused to claim her as his wife. Her hands could have been all over him, too, if he wasn't so stubborn.

So, Aimee caused some friction between you two.
The more I told him he needed to take Aimee as his wife, the more he seemed to fight the idea. I don't think this will affect our relationship. I know she will make my brother a better person, which will be a good thing for all of us. If only the stubborn fool realized this sooner.

Are you glad she "fell out of the sky"?
Well, I am alive because of Aimee, so yes. The best women sometimes fall from the sky. <chuckle> Little Bird, my wife, can't read, so I'm safe to say this.

Where do you see yourself in the future?
The future? Some say Aimee came from the future. I prefer to stay right where I am.

Fair enough. Do you have any final words for our audience?
The advice I gave my brother - a man cannot live without a woman. The spirits have brought this woman to him, and only they know the ultimate reason.


To find out more about Elk Runner, White Wolf and Dosa Haiwi, pick up Yellowstone Heart Song by Peggy L Henderson.


Find Peggy and other fine western romance authors on Cowboy Kisses.

Arvid Nielson - Logger in Petticoats

When Hank Halsey follows through on his dream of logging the family mountain he employs a family run logging outfit headed by Arvid Nielsen, whose crew includes three strapping sons and daughter.

Hank Halsey believes he’s found the perfect logging crew—complete with cooks—until he discovers Kelda Nielson would rather swing an axe than flip eggs. As he sets out to prove women belong in the kitchen, he’s the one in danger of getting burned.

To find out more about this Logger in Petticoats, we have her father, Arvid Nielson.

Arvid, your name and accept tell me you aren’t originally from these parts.
My wife Ingrid and I rode a boat from our home in Norway to find a place to raise our children where there would be room to grow. We began a logging outfit when the children were small. Ingrid cooked for the crew and as the children grew they became skilled at various logging jobs. Kelda, our daughter also helped her mother in the cookhouse. Now they are wood bosses and help take the load off my sagging shoulders.

Tell us about Kelda.
Kelda is my daughter. She is skatten min, my treasure. I wished her happiness as I have found with her mother. To help her along I found a man who would love and cherish her. Only I didn’t realize he wanted her on a pedestal and she refused to be anything other than herself.


How do you feel about Hank Halsey?
He is a rare man. I was honored he treated my Kelda so well. Treating like a lady. No one ever had because of her stubborn determination to best all men in the woods. But when they started butting heads, I was beginning to think I’d made a wrong choice.

When did things start to go wrong?
When Hank threatened my boys after they’d given their sister a playful spanking. Then, my Kelda, she hires a cook so she can sneak out and work in the woods. I tried to help them work it out but...

What happened?
I learned you can’t make people love one another  – but things work out in the long run if you leave them alone.

What do you see for the future?
Visiting relatives in Norway before my wife can no longer remember them.

I mean about the romance between your daughter and Hank?
Always listen to your wife and let your daughter pick the man who steals her heart.

Hmm. I wonder if Mr Nielson deliberately misunderstood my question. We’ll have to find the answers in Logger in Petticoats, available through Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

Find out more about author Paty Jager at patyjager.blogspot.com

Also find Paty and other fine western romance authors on Cowboy Kisses.

From Ginger Simpson's Odessa

1886: The wagon carrying Odessa Clay and her father overturns, killing him.  Odessa is near death when Zach Johnson, a reluctant outlaw, finds her. Miss Clay has joined us today to tell us about her ordeal.

Why don't you start by telling us a bit about yourself, Miss Clay.
Well, I suppose you could consider me an orphan, since my Ma died some time ago, and my father recently passed in the wagon accident that started my story.  Pa wanted to move me to Phoenix so I could be around a better class of people, and after a whole lotta trials and tribulations, I finally made his dream come true.


Why Phoenix?
Pa wanted to move us to Phoenix to be closer to his sister, my aunt, Susan.  Ever since Ma died, I really haven't had a woman's influence in my life, and I reckon he thought I'd have a better chance at being courted by a good man.

Someone like Zach Johnson? 
Oh, Lordy.  The man is truly handsome and he makes my stomach feel kinda funny, but he's so bossy.  I keep haven' to remind him he ain't my Pa.

Tell us about the journey. 
Well, things were going fine.  It was hotter than Hades out there in the desert, and if it had been a tad cooler, perhaps Pa wouldn't have cracked the reins to get the horses moving enough to stir a breeze.  If the wagon wheel…<choked sob>  the wagon wheel hadn't struck a rut in the trail and caused the wagon to turn over, Pa never would have gotten pinned.

<silence>

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Do you think that applies to you?
You bet.  I never expected to be left alone in the middle of the desert.  I had two choices: Die with Pa or try to find my way to Phoenix.  I figured I'd just follow the trail, but I didn't get very far.  Thank the Lord, Zach came along when he did.

I expect the experience was educational to say the least. 
I've learned I can survive just about anything.  I went from being lost in the desert to watching a man die right before my eyes in a saloon.  Then I got kidnapped, saved by a couple travelling to Phoenix in a wagon, and I found my Aunt Susan.  I'd say that was a pretty decent lesson.  Wouldn't you?

Tell us a bit more about Zach. Was it love at first sight?
<soft chuckle> Hardly.  He might be a tall good-lookin’ drink of water, but I thirsted for the real thing when I first saw him. I had collapsed from heat exhaustion and thirst in the middle of the trail.

What now? 
I'm pretty sure Zach and I have a future together.  You know, when he found me, he was on his way to join a pretty famous outlaw's gang in order to get enough money from robbing a stage coach to save his Pa's ranch.  He took the time to get me to safety, and you'll find out when you read my story, neither of us are very good at listening to advice.  He's about as bullheaded as they come, and I can be pretty darn stubborn, too.

<Off-side> Dessie?

Looks like it’s time for you to go, Miss Clay. Folks will have to read about your adventures in Odessa, by Ginger Simpson, published by Eternal Press and available in eBook and paperback.



While you're online, mosey on over to Ginger's blog Cowboy Kisses.

Clive from the Chasing Clovers

Nighthawk here, taking a walk on the west side. Stepping out of the pages of Chasing Clovers, we have the T Bar Ranch foreman. Tell us a bit about yourself, Clive.

I've known John Taylor all my life. We grew up together in Calgary. Hell, he's my best friend.

I moved away from Calgary when I was 18, but my own circumstances made me come back to my hometown and the friends I knew there. I needed a job and John owns one of the largest ranches this side of the rockies, so I knocked on his door and asked for a job.

And he took you in.

Better than that, I'm foreman on a prospering ranch, and my best friend is my boss. I'm not sure how long I'll stick around. Every now and then I feel the itch to move on, and lately it's pesterin' me somthin' awful.

Tell us about Livy Green.

Well, now Livy is stubborn, ornery, strong, and sweet all rolled into one. She keeps John
in line and looks after his children.

But things didn’t start off that well, did they?

About the time Miss Green showed up, all hell broke loose on the T bar. John and I didn't know where to begin. Accidents started happenin’ and no, things weren’t goin’ well.

Without giving too much away, how did things turn out?

I saw that it’s possible for people to change. I've also seen my best friend learn to love
again, and that's somthin' I didn't think would happen.

Tragedy's happen. People die. But there is always hope. There is always someone there
to hold your hand during those bad times. Allow yourself to be comforted. Don't hold it
in. I've watched two people who were ravaged with guilt, anger, and despair find
happiness. So I guess what I'm sayin' is if John and Livy can do it anyone can.

What about you?

Ah, hell I don't know. Anyone ever tell you, you're nosy? I reckon I'll stay on the T bar
for a while.

What about romance?

Nighthawk, my love life is none of your damn business!

What can I say? Inquiring minds want to know.

To find out more, pick up Chasing Clovers by Kat Flannery, published by Imajin Books. Available in eBook and soon coming out in trade paperback.

Back-to-School with Miss Gumm

In honour of  the first day of school, I've invited Miss Adele Gumm, from Cherryville Kansas, 1873. 


Miss Gumm, better known to readers as Marly Landers' Aunt Adele, is oft referred to but never appears in Under A Texas Star.


Welcome, Miss Gumm.

Humph! That ungrateful girl has put you up to this, hasn't she? I rescue her from a renegade reb. I put a roof over her head and food in her belly. I teach her to read and write and do sums - I even let her learn history and bookkeeping with the boys - since she had no aptitude for needlework.

Boys and girls have a different curriculum in your school?

In every school! When I started teaching, girls and boys were in different classrooms - if not different schools. That was in the city of course. In a one-room country school, the best I can do is have the girls on one side and the boys on the other. Both learn reading, writing and sums, but the boys learn skills that will help them take care of their accounts or go into business - maybe go to college if their folks can afford it. Girls learn what they need to take care of a home and children.

Whatever her faults, Marly was a quick learner. Except for the needlework, she could handle all the lessons I gave. She was good with the younger children too. I was training her up to take over for me as teacher. No fear of that happening now.

Do you miss Marly?

Humph! She was useful enough when I could get her to work, I suppose. Give her the chance and she'd disappear. Took to hanging about the Sheriff's office when she was younger. Sweeping floors, sorting wanted posters when she should be sweeping the schoolroom floor and cleaning the slates for me. Though, fair is fair, she took her turn at those chores too.

It wasn't seemly, a young girl hanging about a bachelor like Langtree. Not saying he would have taken advantage but I know from experience how easy it is to have your head turned by an experienced man.

What experience is that, Miss Gumm?

None of your beeswax! You keep your prying beak to yourself.

The rules that a teacher has to follow are pretty strict, aren't they? You can't marry or keep company with men. You can't dress in bright colours...

That all depends on your school board, doesn't it? And whether you're a man or woman.

Men are expected to court, so long as the girl is respectable, because a man is considered more respectable if he's married. A woman is expected to leave her profession if she marries so she can get down to making babies and the like.

The school I started in did its best to fill their female teacher's time with chores and Bible study. They didn't want to lose us to marriage. One whiff of impropriety and you were out.

Here, they're just glad to have a teacher. There are plenty of rules, of course, but no one is going to check up and see if I'm in bed by sundown or chide me if I smoke a pipe now and then. As for bright colours... those days are past me now.



Are you smarter than an 8th Grader circa 1900? Find out here.

From Under A Texas Star - Marly Landers

Tonight on Nighthawk Talk, we welcome back Marly Landers from El Paso.

I'm not from El Paso, I'm headed for El Paso. I notice that nice Cherie girl isn’t here. Does that mean I won’t be asked about my glutes and abs? I never did find out what she meant.

We won’t talk beauty tips this time.* Instead, perhaps you could tell us about your journey so far.

That's a long story. Aunt Adele was sending me to a convent school. I’d rather not go into the reasons. Let’s just say, I had other plans. So, I purposely took the wrong train out of Kansas City. Then I had steal boys clothes and muddy my trail so my aunt wouldn't figure out where I was going. Not that she would care too much but I bet she made Sheriff Langtree look for me when I didn't turn up...

How about starting when you met Ranger Strachan?

I guess I first noticed him in Abilene but we met in Dogflats. By that time I was having to walk or hitch rides to get from town to town. He'd been following me for a couple of days – though he said I was following him. He bought me a steak dinner after I gave my supper away to Mr Hayes. He lost his son in the war and he really wanted to blame someone but mostly he was just sad and drunk and whatever Jase might think, I don't think he really would have hurt me.

Excuse me?

He only left a little bruise. I got much worse falling of Trouble.

Your horse?

Jase's horse really. I was borrowing it. Except.... well... I really did feel like he was mine. That's what made it so sad when...

When?

You know, this is really something the way I can talk to you and people all over can hear me. Is it like the telegraph? Does my voice carry over wires?

Sort of. What about Trouble?

He was a good horse, even if he deserved his name. Jase said you were going to ask me about being a detective - though I'm hardly that. I just helped out some with the murder investigation. I mean I did figure out who killed Marshal Strothers, but Jase was the one that proved the case and even if I did break up a few bar fights, I think he only made me deputy to keep me safe.

Marly, do you ever run out of breath when you talk?

<chuckle> Sometimes.

You can find out more about Marly Landers in Under A Texas Star, by Alison Bruce
* And in her previous Nighthawk Interview.

Under A Texas Star is available in paperback at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble on sale in eBook format at Amazon.com , Amazon.uk and Smashwords.

From Under A Texas Star

Welcome back to Nighthawk Talk. Tonight we have a blast from the past, Texas Ranger Jason Strachan. Howdy, Ranger.

Good evenin'.

The Texas Rangers are legendary. Their history goes back to the early years of the American colonization of Texas when Stephen F. Austin hired ten experienced frontiersmen as rangers for a punitive expedition against a band of Native Americans. In 1835, the Texas Rangers were formally created as a law enforcement and defensive organization.

Sounds about right.

What made you join the Rangers?

Somethin' t' do.

And...

It was the Civil War. My father joined the Confederate Army out of a sense of duty or maybe because it was the thing to do at the time. I was to stay home and take care of my mother and sister.

 You didn't.

I did for awhile, but I was young, foolish and in love with the idea of adventure. Still, I joined the Rangers because I saw it as a way I could protect my family. We mustered to guard our home state from Comanches and banditos - not other Americans. As it happened, when things were getting desperate, we were sent east to fight.

 That's when you met Miss Jezebel.

Eventually. She and Fred rescued me when I was injured and helped get me back home. I will always be beholden to her for that.

You were lovers?

I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that last question, else I'd have to assume you were casting aspersions on my honor as a gentleman.

You were close friends?

I will always consider Jez my good friend. She was there when I needed her and I will always try to be there when she needs me.

 Which is what brought you to Fortuna when she asked for your help.

<chuckle> That was plain old good luck. Her message caught up with me a couple of days after we arrived in Fortuna.

By we you mean you and Marly Landers.

Yep. But before you ask the question I know you're dying to ask, think about how much you like your nose unbroken.

Uh - I was only going to ask how Landers worked out as your deputy.

Fine. Landers is a natural born detective - observant and nosy.

 Will you work together again?

Maybe you best ask Landers that question.

Maybe I will. Marly Lander was a guest on Nighthawk just before our change in venue. If you'd like to read the transcript of her earlier interview, click here.

Under A Texas Star is available in paperback at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble on sale in eBook format at Amazon.com , Amazon.uk and Smashwords.