'Twas the Fight Before Christmas
a short story in
Wolf Creek, Book 9:
Romancing The West is pleased to present a double feature: Wolf Creek, Book 9, A Wolf Creek Christmas, and Wolf Creek Book 10, O Deadly Night. Each volume contains six Christmas stories, all centering around Wolf Creek in 1871, written by award-winning western authors. Today, RTW hosts, well, me, and what an honor it is to be included in this anthology.
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| Jacquie Rogers |
I’m a country girl at heart, raised on a dairy farm in Idaho — a great place to grow up. My friend and I rode our horses all over the Owyhee Mountains and managed to get ourselves in just about every sort of pickle. Now I live in the suburbs of Seattle with my husband who is also my cheerleader (sans pompoms) and proofreader. I write in several genres including fantasy romance, and YA fantasy, but mostly western historical romance. My latest release is Sleight of Heart. The fourth book in my award-winning Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Miners, will be released later this month.
I love to hear from readers! Please visit my website, sign up for my newsletter, or join the fun at the Pickle Barrel Bar & Books at Facebook. I also wrangle Romancing The West.
'Twas the Fight Before Christmas
Gib Norwood owns a large dairy operation outside town, along with his brothers Peter and Paul (whom his late father conceived with a slave, Glory, who also lives with them.) Christmas finds them in a dispute with the troublesome ranch hands of cattle baron Andrew Rogers — a dispute that involves a wagonload of prostitutes from Abby Potter’s School for Wayward Girls, including Miss Abby herself.
About Gib Norwood and Abby Potter
When I came up with this idea, the notion of a Confederate veteran, a fifth-generation slave owner, whose only remaining family was his half-aunt, a quadroon who was his father’s and his slave, and her twin sons, who are also Gib’s half-brothers. So here we have a man who fought for the South, but now his family are all considered “colored” even though the octoroon twins look Caucasian as long as they keep their hats on. Gib sees the injustice here, and his goal is to create a prosperous living for his family, even though he knows they’ll never be accepted in white society. But money always talks.
Abby Potter is the madam and owner of Miss Abby’s Boardinghouse, the high-class brothel in Wolf Creek. She’s short in stature but tall in business acumen. No one puts anything over on Abby. And no one needs a Christmas more than she does, either.
Sleight of hand? or Sleight of Heart
A Straight-Laced Spinster
Lexie Campbell, more comfortable with neat and tidy numbers than messy emotions, is determined find the sharper who ruined her little sister and make him marry her. When his lookalike brother Burke appears, she greets him with a rifle and forces him to help her. Can she resist his magic charm?
A Gambler With Magic Hands
To claim the family fortune, smooth-dealing Burke O’Shaughnessy has to find his brother Patrick, despite being saddled with an angry spinster. But when Lexie shows an astounding talent for counting cards and calculating odds, he figures she might be useful after all. Can he draw the queen of hearts?
Recipe for a hero: Take one Maverick, add in a little Remington Steele. Blend. Maybe throw in a little James Bond (shake, don’t stir), and mix in some of my dad’s unique brand of humor. Go off half-baked, and there you have it — Burke O’Shaughnessy.
Available on Kindle, and soon at other online stores and in print.
Wolf Creek Book 9:
The Last Free Trapper
by Jory Sherman
A Savior is Born
by Meg Mims
That Time of Year
by Jerry Guin
‘Twas the Fight before Christmas
by Jacquie Rogers
A Kiowa Christmas Gift
by Troy D. Smith
Renewal of Faith
by James J. Griffin
Wolf Creek, Book 10:
Sarah’s Christmas Miracle
by Big Jim Williams
Irish Christmas at Wolf Creek
by Charlie Steel
A Home for Christmas
by Cheryl Pierson
The Angel Tree
by Chuck Tyrell
The Spirit of Hogmanay
by Clay More
O Deadly Night
by Troy D. Smith
'Twas the fight sounds like a great story, Jacquie! Congratulations on your new releases.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Danita. Yes, three releases in three weeks have kept me hopping. :)
DeleteGreat story, Jacquie. Not at all what I expected. Thoroughly entertaining throughout with strong characters. And the politics and attitudes of the times shine through.
ReplyDeleteKeith, I appreciate that. This story sets up WC11, so I had to include more backstory than I normally would in a short story, which worried me some.
DeleteThat's what I like about Jacquie's writing, always steeped with authenticity and historically accurate. I'm looking for more.
ReplyDeleteJerry
Jerry, thanks for stopping by. I've had to do a lot of reading about the racial attitudes immediately following the Civil War, and Troy helped me, too. What a goldmine he is. :)
DeleteJacquie, I really enjoyed this story of yours and the new family you've created! What an imagination you have! And I just love Abby. She is getting to be a real fixture in the town of Wolf Creek.
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Abby surprised me, I have to admit. I'm really glad Troy said I could write her character. As for the Norwood family, they each emerged with their own personalities, and that was fun to watch unfold. We'll see more of the Norwoods in WC11. Thanks for stopping by, Cheryl!
DeleteI'm glad someone has taken on Abby! And the Norwoods are going to be fascinating. Say, I wonder if Gib will compare notes at some point with schoolmaster Marcus Sublette, since they were both Confederate sharpshooters...
ReplyDeleteSublette and Norwood do present some interesting possibilities. So do the twins, Peter and Paul. They aren't sharpshooters, but they're scrappers. And Abby is a joy to write--so interesting and so layered (pardon the pun).
DeleteJacquie, love all of your stories, and I have enjoyed each of the Wolf Creek books I've purchased. You are one writing mama. I'm looking forward to Miners.
ReplyDeleteMiners is coming along. I thought I was near the end but something else happened... I know, a little late for a new thread but so it goes.
Delete