Even an American Western romance can borrow from other cultures. My Dana Ransom’s TEMPTATION’S TRAIL hero (and my favorite!) Harmon Bass is no ordinary cowboy. His rugged Texas and mystic Apache worlds are as foreign to my heroine, Easterner Amanda Duncan, as sleeping under the stars and treating snake bite and bullet wounds. It’s their differences that draw them together in an unexpected relationship spanning a five-book series (even though this is the only book in which they are the main characters). Those opposite expectations are what makes this twosome work so well together . . . except when they don’t. And that’s even more fun! Here’s a taste . . .
HERO FOR HIRE
When Amanda Duncan headed West to find her missing brother, she knew she was out of her element. Her privileged upbringing in a fancy boarding school hadn’t prepared her for the perils of frontier Texas. So Amanda made a plan—all she had to do was hire a hero. But when the legendary Harmon Bass showed up, he wasn’t what she expected. What kind of hero didn’t carry a gun?
Here's a taste . . .
The Excerpt
Every plant in the Big Ben was a porcupine. Nature armed to the teeth, Amanda thought as she gingerly sliced into a thick-bodied cactus. Sucking on a section, she brought a handful back to Harm.
“Chew it,” he mumbled. “Don’t swallow it.” He stuffed a piece into his mouth and began crushing it for the precious juices.
Amanda did the same. She looked a mess; all sticky from the heat, with her hair in wet strings, her inappropriate clothing damp, and tender skin an angry red from burning. She talked too much. She rushed headlong into trouble. But at that moment, there was no place he’d rather be than half-dead of snakebite in a desert with Amanda Duncan.
She’d better be careful. Those desert plants can deliver a kick!
I can’t wait to bring this series back for new readers (even if it means the laborious task of scanning and reformatting my aged paperbacks since I no longer have manuscript copies). I AM anticipating the job of doing new covers and promoting them to a new generation of readers. AND I am currently working on a new book in the series which will feature Harm and Amanda’s son, Rand.
Here's to lots of surprises, amazement, and writing and reading delight in 2025!
♚♚♚♚♚
Nancy Gideon on the Web
