Sit-Down a Spell with Western Romance

Happy Saturday morning, friends. Let's go back to the Old West for a look at my novella, Cloaked in Love.

If you're like me, you have certain expectations for historical western romance. It has to have a cowboy, a strong, and sometimes fiesty woman, a western setting, and though it doesn't have to, it's always good to have some two-legged polecats around to ratchet up the tension.

Cloaked in Love is set on an isolated ranch in Wyoming at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The quiet, beautiful scenery is deceptively peaceful because the story is about a young woman held captive by an outlaw gang.

A lot of gangs roamed the Old West, but their tactics and victims varied. There were the train and stagecoach robbers, the bank robbers, and those that wandered the countryside, robbing at random.

The gangs were romanticized in dime novels and the press until many, like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy, became folk heroes instead of the vicious killers they were. The truth is, these blood-thirsty, greedy men's quest for money and notoriety terrorized towns and countryside. They left hundreds of innocent people murdered in their rampages.

Shootouts mesmerized the public, though only a few were due to feuds like the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Most pitted the gang against lawmen, who were the true heroes of the Old West.

With Pa off on a cattle drive, Jeannie Baylor is alone on their isolated Wyoming ranch. When she's taken captive by a gang of ruthless outlaws, she realizes they intend to kill her when they get ready to move on. Unexpectedly, one of the outlaws proposes a fantastic scheme to save her life. But she has a plan of her own, and its success depends on the cloak she's crocheting for a friend.

Don't forget to leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for

Cloaked in Love by Stitches author Elaine Manders! Winner will be

announced in the April 30th edition of the Weekly Windup. 

The Outlaw Takes a Bride: A Book Review

I love historical fiction-my favorite era being WWII, but I'll read just about anything. Recently it seems like most of the books I've read have been set in the Old West, and it's been fun to immerse myself in that time period of America's history. I've learned about laws and customs, but I've also gotten a taste of what it would be like to live off the land-growing your food, hunting your meat, building your home, etc.

Chores such as doing laundry was an all day event: pump water into a huge tub (or get it from a nearby river or lake), build a fire, heat water over the fire, scrub clothes, rinse, hang to dry, and by the way, don't catch your long skirts on fire while you're working. I certainly have a new appreciation for the men and women who often left family behind to scratch out a living in a primitive land.

One of the Old West books I read is Susan Page Davis's The Outlaw Takes a Bride. I won it in a drawing from her website, and a review was not required, but I enjoyed the book so much I wanted to share it with Stitches Thru Time followers. I've included the buy link below because you're going to want to get this book! So without further ado, here's my review:

This is the first Susan Page Davis book that I’ve read, and I wish I had discovered her writings much sooner. I love historical fiction, but don’t read a lot of “cowboy” stories. I may need to change that. The Outlaw Takes a Bride is a well-written, well-researched story with a fascinating premise. The characters are realistic and complex, with strengths and struggles. Sally is sensitive and tender, yet resilient. Her faith is a natural part of her everyday life. Despite living a lie, John is a true gentleman in his thoughts and behaviors to ally. He is not cavalier about the situation, but rather his subterfuge gnaws at him as the story progresses. 

Descriptions of daily tasks effectively evoke the era and gave me an understanding for how challenging it would be to live without modern conveniences, yet made me appreciate the simplicity of the lifestyle. I learned a lot about the social customs, attitudes, and attire of the Old West, and I enjoy a writer who can include that sort of information without it being dry or textbookish. I enjoyed getting to know Sally’s parents, and how they were integrated into the story at the end. I loved the ending. It was exciting and unexpected, and kept me turning pages. This book won a Will Rogers Medallion Award, and I can see why. I look forward to reading more by this author. Highly recommended.

You can purchase The Outlaw Takes a Bride from Amazon.

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win Driver's Confessional by David Winters. Winner will be announced at the January 29th Weekly Windup.

Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, journalist, blogger, and history geek. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, a stone's throw from Fort McHenry, she has lived in historic places most of her life. A member of ACFW, RWA and SinC, she writes historical romance and mysteries. Linda is a docent for the Wright Museum of WWII and a trustee for her local public library. She lives in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Visit Linda at www.LindaShentonMatchett.com or sign up for her newsletter.