Cowboys of the Old West By Elizabeth Rose

gunslinger300I love watching old western movies. Who doesn’t? Recently I started a new series called Cowboys of the Old West.

I have many interests and can’t seem to write just one subgenre of romance. So along with my medieval, small town contemporary, and paranormal romances, I now write westerns as well.

The stories in my series range from short stories such as The Outlaw to novella-length stories like The Drifter. So far there are five books in the series which also includes The Bounty Hunter, The Gambler and my latest release, The Gunslinger.

While researching the Old West, I found myself extremely interested in stagecoaches. My heroine in The Drifter is Nessa Pemberton. She is a widow with a young son. She also has a brother who has lost the use of his gun arm fighting off stage coach bandits – or road agents. Her husband died in a similar episode. Chase Masters is a drifter who is mistaken as the bandit, Bloody Bart. He arrives at Nessa’s stagecoach relay station wounded and in need of her help.

Back in the Old West there were stagecoach relay stations – or swing stations. Traveling across the open plains in a drifter2300stagecoach was rough, dirty, long, expensive and very dangerous. They could be attacked by bandits, Indians, or be a victim to the elements of nature. It wasn’t uncommon to break a wheel or get stuck in the mud.

Along the road to their destination there were relay stations where they could stop to refresh themselves and get a fresh team of horses. As the stagecoach approached, there was no way of knowing if even the relay station was safe. Therefore, the conductor who took fares, watched over passengers, and sometimes was responsible for the mail, blew a stagehorn as they approached. The station master would also blow a horn in return to tell the stagecoach it was safe to enter.

The stagecoaches ranged in size, probably the largest and nicest being the Concord coach which was usually painted red and had large yellow wooden wheels. It had canvas flaps that could be dropped down over the open windows. It was usually pulled by four to six horses or mules. It had three wooden seats inside that held nine people. The people who couldn’t afford one of the nicer seats bought tickets to sit atop the roof with the luggage and were called hangerson.

bounty2300 The stagecoach driver was called the reinsman or the whip, and sat up front atop the box or boot – a deep luggage carrier where valuables and sometimes gold was carried. Next to him was a stagecoach guard with a rifle called the Shotgun. Since travel was very dusty, the passengers were given long coats or dusters to wear over their clothes.

When they stopped at the relay station it was usually only for ten minutes, or up to a half hour if they were eating. They could buy a hot meal from the station keeper that usually included hot strong coffee and Johnnycakes – a type of cornbread. The station itself was usually just a small cabin and a barn or corral, and was run by just a few stock-tenders.

The books in my series are only 99 cents each, and the first four books are now in a boxed set – Cowboy of the Old West – Volume 1 which is also available as a paperback. There will be another volume to follow as I release more books in the series.

Here is an excerpt from The Drifter:

 Chase’s eyes slowly opened, and he felt as if he’d died or was close to it. His wound hurt like hell and bright light blinded him, telling him it was daytime. He went to raise his hand to shade his view, and that’s when he realized he couldn’t move either of his arms – which were above his head.

“Don’t try anything funny, mister.”

He focused, and saw that he was lying in a bed in a log-built cabin with sunlight streaming in through the window. That gambler300same woman he’d seen in the barn who’d tried to shoot him was standing over him and still had that damned gun pointed in his face.

“What the hell!” He tried to move again, and found himself pulling at the ropes that bound his arms above his head to the iron barred headboard. “You tied me up? Is this usually how you treat your wounded guests?” He tried to kick at her with his good leg, and realized his feet were tied together too, and fastened to the iron posts at the foot of the bed. “Look, lady, I don’t like what you’re doing. Now untie me before I make you sorry.”

“James, get in here,” she called out, and a man with a limp-hanging arm hurried into the room with a little boy at his side.

“Nessa, he’s awake! I still think you should have killed him instead of patching him up,” snarled the man.

“Are you really an outlaw?” asked the kid, starting to walk to his side. The woman reached out with one hand and stopped outlaw300him.

“Stay back, Billy. He’s dangerous.”

I’m dangerous?” He chuckled at her comment. “I’m wounded and hog-tied like a pig to a pole and you’re standing over me waving that damn rifle in my face. I’d say you’re the dangerous one, lady.”

“Don’t talk!” she ordered. “I don’t want to hear you say a word til the next stage comes in and we can get you out of here and over to the sheriff in Deadwood.”

“Oh, good. That’s exactly where I was headed anyway before I got tied up and distracted. I need to talk to the sheriff of Deadwood again.” Actually, he’d been coming from Deadwood, not going there, but she didn’t need to know that.

“What?” She batted her long lashes and squinted those bright green eyes of hers. She looked tired, as if she hadn’t slept in awhile, and her soft auburn hair hung long and tousled around her shoulders. “Why would a bandit be going to see the sheriff? You’re lying.”

“I’m not a bandit,” he told her. “My name is Chase Masters and I’m a drifter.”

Lizrose300 Author Bio:

 Elizabeth Rose is the author of over 40 books. She writes medieval, small town contemporary, paranormal, and western romance. She has also just released her first young adult book, Mary, Mary, from her Gnarled Nursery Rhymes Series which was a finalist in the Golden Palm Contest.

Her first book was released in 2000 from a traditional publisher followed by four others. She had to stop writing for many years to go back to the non-writing working world. After losing her job two years ago, she turned to Indie Publishing. She is a fast writer, and also had a good-sized backstock of unpublished novels, and now has 41 published books. Her westerns have consistently been on Amazon’s top 100 best-sellers in the western category, and her medieval boxed set, Border Lords and Ladies has been holding at number 3 on Amazon’s best-sellers list for the ancient worlds category as well.

She has a background in art, and has designed all her covers as well as made her own book-trailers and website too.

You can sign up for her email list and read excerpts of any of her books at http://elizabethrosenovels.com. Her twitter handle is ElizRoseNovels and her facebook page can be found under Elizabeth Rose – Author (don’t forget the dash.)

Here are the links to her Cowboys of the Old West Series as well as the other books mentioned.

The Bounty Hunter – Book 1, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QJ4EWDC

The Gambler – Book 2, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R6K0NZY

The Drifter – Book 3, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S433X8G

The Outlaw – Book 4, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D2USPR0

The Gunslinger – Book 5, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V10ZQCA

 

mary2200Mary, Mary – Book 1 (Gnarled Nursery Rhymes)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VQMOJVC

 

Border Lords and Ladies Boxed Set

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UM9J9TM