by Sandra Madden
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GENRE: Western Historical
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BLURB:
Matilda
Rose Applebee isn't looking for love when she captures Cooper T. Davis at
gunpoint. Her younger sister is in the family way and claims Cooper is
responsible. Matilda aims to haul the snake-belly back to her sister's waiting
arms. But Cooper insists Matty's sister is mistaken as they begin a long and
dangerous journey.
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EXCERPT
Matilda Rose Applebee had bided her time until she figured the fast-talking drummer had passed out. No more than a silver-tongued swindler, Cooper T. Davis drifted from town to town selling patent medicine. Until now. Marty was about to put an end to his nefarious career. With the element of surprise on her side, she'd slipped into his room, Winchester at the ready.
The man was snoring loud enough to cover the noise of a stampeding herd of cattle, let alone one small woman.
She hissed in his ear.
He moaned and pulled the pillow over his head.
"Git up, varmit."
"Go away," he mumbled.
"You're comin' with me now to marry my sister or I'm makin' her a widow. Take your choice."
Before she could stick the rifle in his ribs to show him she meant business, the shad-belly rolled over, away from Matilda. He didn't even bother to open his eyes.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
This mostly truthful
biography is longer than most of my books. But the older you become, it seems
the more there is to say. Whether it’s
important or not. Whether anyone is
listening.
I was born in New York City
but raised in Winthrop, Massachusetts, a small isthmus that juts into the
Atlantic Ocean five miles north of Boston. During the long cold winters – read
REALLY COLD! – I read and I wrote. My favorite authors were Bronte and Austin
before they became required reading. I wrote stories to amuse myself which led
to writing the 6th grade school play. When I discovered drama classes in the
ninth grade, I gave up writing for a few years. And, yes, I was the perky
cheerleader who played Emily in Our Town.
Not a dry eye in the house!
Following high school
graduation my family moved to the warmer climate of South Florida - just when I
was getting acclimated to the constant cold.
At the University of Miami,
I majored in Radio/TV/Film. (As the program was called in those days - and one
of the first departments of its kind in the nation.) I minored in drama. For
three of my four years in college I acted in thirty- minute radio dramas almost
on a weekly basis. Inevitably these live broadcasts of Theater X were love
stories in which I played the heroine. Usually, the tragic heroine. I credit
this experience as having set me on a course of no return. Romance and fantasy
became my fate.
But first I experienced a
short-lived career as a broadcast journalist. I was too far ahead of my time to
fight the slings and arrows of the newsmens’ contempt, so I switched. I became
a broadcast copy/promotional writer and worked in the Miami and Los Angeles
markets. But my most rewarding work was as a writer/producer/host for a Miami
PBS station. (Due to the public broadcasting budget each person is expected to
fill a variety of roles for one salary. One small salary.) I focused on How-To
series, public affairs – of the political kind - and women’s issues. During
this time I met many inspiring women who shared their stories with me, women
whose remarkable achievements, great spirits and strength influenced my work as
I started to write. First, I became a published poet. It didn’t take much time
for me to write short verses.
As with most writers, I
wrote my first historical novels in the evenings after my day job. A second
wind is required to do this and it magically appears with the passion for
writing.
Passion for the writing and
persistence in submitting are the keys to becoming a published author. The secrets of the sisterhood gleaned from
lessons learned along the way.
Not long after being
published I discovered that a writer’s life is not all about the voices in your
head demanding release to a page – frequently at an inopportune time. And it’s
not all about three figure contracts, champagne tours and as much chocolate as
you can consume. Oh. No. A writer’s life includes thundering deadlines, dry
spells, assorted blocks, carpal tunnel syndrome and frozen shoulders.
Occasionally, the green-eyed monster rears her head and wraps grown women in
knots. But most of all, writing romance is a wonderful love story in itself.
There is nothing else a romance writer would rather be doing. She is totally in
love with romance and with the ability to share her stories with gracious
readers. Thank you, dear reader.
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The tour dates can be found here
