Lies, Love &
Redemption… A
Steamy Western Romance
by
Kelli A. Wilkins
Hi everyone,
A man limping along the prairie. He’s been shot and left for dead. He’s bleeding and hurt bad. And thirsty. So thirsty. It’s hot and he wants to rest, but he knows he has to push on. If he collapses again, he’s not going to get up and he’ll die here. But maybe he’s already dead and this is hell. Or maybe not...
That was my introduction to Sam, the hero from my historical western, Lies, Love & Redemption.
That was also how I introduced readers to Sam—lost and hurt and wandering along the prairie.
Here’s the book summary that came from that initial
idea:
Shot and left for dead, Sam Hixton stumbles into a general store on the Nebraska prairie and collapses into the arms of Cassie Wilcox.
Cassie’s world is turned upside down when the handsome stranger drops into her life. Sam is another complication she doesn’t need: her business is dying and her trouble with the townspeople is escalating. Yet she’s determined to keep the store open — no matter what the cost.
As Sam recovers from his injuries, he hides the truth about his identity and convinces Cassie to let him work in the store. He’s attracted to her and admires her independent nature but quickly realizes Cassie’s in way over her head. They fight their growing attraction, and Cassie questions whether she can trust her fragile heart to a mysterious stranger. Will he accept her once he knows about her troubled past?
Cassie resists Sam’s advances and represses her feelings until one fateful night when they give in to their fiery passion. Together, they work out a plan to save the store but find their efforts are thwarted—and their lives endangered—by the locals.
Sam’s secret returns to haunt him and pulls him away just when Cassie needs him the most. Will he regain her trust when she learns the truth?
Cassie has everything invested in the store—can she save it and find true love with Sam before it’s too late?
***
Believe
it or not, that first scene came to me several years ago. When I got the idea for the book, I did all the initial
research and wrote a very rough draft. Then the manuscript just sat around. I’m
not exactly sure why so many other book projects came ahead of it, but they
did. The story was always there, but I guess I wasn’t ready to revise and edit
it.
When I started working on the book again
I found that although the basic premise still resonated with me, I wanted (and
needed) to make a lot of changes. I always had the opening scene of Sam walking
across the prairie in my mind. I knew where he was going (to Cassie’s store),
and I had the general idea of how the story would play out and who the
characters were, but I didn’t have the specifics of each scene.
As I got further into revising the
book, the details became more solidified. I added new scenes, deleted others,
and generally gave it a complete makeover. Now it’s a much stronger (and better)
book than it was originally.
But before I started writing, I did
a lot of research. First, I had to decide when and where the book would take
place. I knew it would be on the prairie somewhere (Kansas? Nebraska? Iowa?)
and set after the Civil War. Once I picked a time period and a place I
researched everything I could about it: what was going on in the country at
that time, how people traveled, what their occupations were, what they ate, how
a general store was set up…
I enjoy reading about history and
exploring what life was like in different time periods, so doing the research
part of a historical romance is interesting—but time consuming. I was always
scribbling notes about details I could use in the book. I never used them all,
but adding realistic details helps draw readers into the world of the
characters, even though it might be very different from how we live now.
Here’s
a mild excerpt:
Cassie dusted off a can of apricots
and restacked it on the shelf. “Why do I even bother?” she muttered as she
picked up the next can.
Another week had come and gone, but
her days were always the same. Get up at dawn, sweep out the store, dust off
the cans, and . . . wait. Her few customers strolled in on Saturday and Sunday
afternoons to buy odds and ends, but nearly everyone bought their bulk goods at
the general store in Baxter. Townsfolk came here only when they wanted
something quick—or on credit.
The bell above the door jangled,
but she didn’t bother to turn around. “That you, Luke? You’re up early. I bet
you haven’t seen this side of ten o’clock in—”
She glanced over her shoulder and
shrieked. The can of apricots slipped from her hand and rolled across the
floor.
A stranger covered in blood leaned
against the doorjamb.
She rushed to his side. “Who are
you? What happened?”
The man locked his blue eyes onto
hers. “Help me.”
He held a battered leather satchel
out to her. “Hide this,” he said, then collapsed forward.
Cassie caught him around the waist
and eased him to the plank floor. Was he dead? She felt the side of his sweaty
neck. His heart was beating, but he looked like hell. His clothes were coated
in blood and dirt, and his face had a sickly white hue to it. He was lucky to
be alive. Someone had shot him full of holes.
Where had he come from? Holloway was
in the middle of nowhere with no railroad connection, and it wasn’t on the
stagecoach line. She hadn’t heard a horse out front, and he couldn’t have
walked here from Baxter, could he? That would be suicide.
Wild ideas raced through her mind
as she stared down at him. Maybe he was a fugitive or a bank robber. Decent
people didn’t get themselves shot for no reason. Whoever shot him could’ve been
following him, looking to finish him off.
Her gaze settled on the satchel.
What was in it? Money? Gold? The deed to a silver mine? Why did he want her to
hide it?
Cassie brushed her hair away from
her face and frowned. What the hell was she supposed to do with him? Why had he
wandered into her store, of all places? The last thing she needed was a
half-dead stranger complicating her life. His being here would only stir up
trouble—and she already had more than she needed.
Maybe she could— With a start, she
realized he hadn’t moved. She shook his bloodied left shoulder. The man remained motionless. “Damn it to hell.”
She yanked the satchel from his grip, then ran behind the counter and stuffed
it in the bottom drawer. There wasn’t time to look inside and see what the
stranger was hiding. Whoever he was, he needed help—fast.
Order your copy of Lies, Love & Redemption here:
***
I hope you enjoyed this inside look at the making of Lies, Love & Redemption. I welcome
comments and questions from readers. Be sure to follow my blog for the latest
updates and visit me on social media!
All through November I'll be highlighting my Medallion
Press historical romances on my blog and Facebook pages. These full-length
romance novels are available on several ebook platforms and all are just $2.99.
If you haven’t read any of them, why not give them a try?
And… FREE READS from all of my romances (all genres)
are now on my Manic Readers page: http://www.manicreaders.com/KelliAWilkins/
Happy Reading,
Kelli
MEET
THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 19
romance novels, and 5 non-fiction books. Her romances span many genres and heat
levels.
Her
paranormal-comedy, Beauty & the Bigfoot, was published in September 2017.
Kelli released Trust
with Hearts, a contemporary romance, in July 2017. Her third gay
romance, Four Days with Jack, was released in June 2017. Kelli’s trilogy
of erotic romance novellas, Midsummer Night’s Delights, Midwinter
Night’s Delights, and Ultimate Night’s Delights was
published in spring 2017.
Loving a Wild
Stranger
was published in January 2017. This historical/pioneer romance is set in the
wilds of the Michigan Territory and blends tender romance with adventure.
Kelli's third
Medallion Press romance, Lies, Love & Redemption was
released in September 2016. This spicy historical western is set on the
Nebraska prairie in 1877.
Her writing book, You
Can Write—Really! A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction is a fun and
informative guide filled with writing exercises and helpful tips all authors
can use.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her website,
www.KelliWilkins.com to learn more
about all of her writings, read book excerpts, reviews, and more. Readers can
sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/HVQqb.
Here
are a few links to find Kelli & her writings on the web
Facebook
Contemporary Romances: https://www.facebook.com/Contemporary-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1965702023664339/
Facebook
Historical Romances: https://www.facebook.com/Historical-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1703805359922371/
FREE READS from all of Kelli’s romances (all genres)
are now on her Manic Readers page: http://www.manicreaders.com/KelliAWilkins/
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