Welcome Guest – Lori Bates Wright

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Thanks so much to the Petticoats and Pistols gals for having me over! What an honor to spend some time with y’all today. For those who don’t know me, let’s see if we can fix that.

I love history and I have a thing for old western tv shows. I also enjoy a good mystery, and if it involves a love story with a few funny moments—all the better! Currently, I’m at work on my sixth book overall which is #3 in my A Matter of Intrigue series featuring some unconventional Pinkerton ladies.

Book #1 of this series, The Songstress, was a 2022 Will Rogers Medallion Award winner!

(Me looking stunned but elated! I rarely enter contests.)

Book #2, The Adventuress, lives up to its name and will always remain close to my heart. Let me tell you why.

A herd of buffalo near Cimarron Canyon

First of all, this one was set in Cimarron, New Mexico, surrounded by the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Though I’m now a Texan, I was born and raised in New Mexico. My grandfather’s family owned a ranch near Cimarron and our family history in northern New Mexico goes back to the 1700s. My papaw was an old cowboy at heart, and his grandmother’s family really did own a local restaurant/saloon/hotel in Cimarron back in the 1800s.

Secondly, in my research for The Adventuress, I discovered some important historical accounts. The Civil War had come to an end. Hundreds of soldiers returned home to find they had no home anymore. They were broken and many were bitter about the terrible losses they had suffered. They migrated westward to the untamed New Mexico Territory, which encompassed modern day New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Nevada and Colorado. Lawlessness became the norm, and corrupt government took over. Hired guns took sides and some of the best-known showdowns took place within the counties of New Mexico Territory.

Lastly, I will always remember The Adventuress as the book I was writing when Covid-19 visited our household. I managed to avoid the worst of it, but my husband spent four unforgettable days in the hospital. Not a particularly happy memory, but an adventure just the same!

The story:

To purchase, click here.

Former Texas Ranger, Nathan Wolfe, has a reputation as a fast gun. Half-Apache and raised in a Spanish mission on the fringes of Cimarron, New Mexico, he knows what it’s like to be an outcast. He’s spent years carving a name for himself, but when someone sets out to destroy him, he joins forces with the Pinkerton Agency as an undercover priest. All goes as planned until he crosses paths with the spitfire daughter of his former commander.

Jessa Jamison has a serious aversion to gunslingers and is committed to nabbing the ruthless outlaw who killed her father. Certain she’s found an advocate in the tall cleric, she soon struggles with feelings of guilt brought on by her unfortunate attraction to the handsome stranger.

Inching closer to the truth, they discover corruption at every level. No one is beyond suspicion. Soon, the imposter strikes again. Nathan is captured at the scene of the crime and it’s up to Jessa to listen to her heart and prove his innocence before it’s too late.

Giveaway

To get you caught up in time for release of Book #3, The Governess, in November, let’s do a giveaway of the first two books of this series! A signed paperback set of The Songstress and The Adventuress.

To enter, comment below with the name of your favorite western television show.

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85 thoughts on “Welcome Guest – Lori Bates Wright”

  1. Waaaay back when we got our first little round screen in a big cabinet, TV about the only thing that was on was cowboys. Bob Steele became my favorite cowboy, dressed all in black . as he was on 4 or 5 times a day. Years later Roy Roger and Dale Evans started playing and then Gene Autrey. Finally Lash Larue came along and I was officially in love. Had his pictures all over my teenage walls. lol

  2. Wagon Train or Have Gun Will Travel for serious shows and Mavrick for a fun one. All of the way back when the Dumont Network was around and there was a channel 1 on the TVs. For those not old enough, Chanel 1 was reallocated to taxi and other radio traffic and Dumont went under.

  5. Welcome Lori! Nice to have you! A TV show? Well, for me(back in the day) was anything in the 60’s and 70’s. Which were Gunsmoke, High Chaperal, Bananza(everyone loved Little Joe!), The Virginian and The Big Valley! I’m sure I’m missing some! Maybe Cimarron Strip? With Stuart Whitman? But we had a big variety! And David, by the late ‘60’s we had a colored tv! Whoa! LOL But, we did have to go outside now and then to turn the antenna until we got the rotary! Back in the day, eh? Heh.

    But, my favorites, was watching all the black and white westerns of the 1950’s! Wagon Train, Have Gun Will Travel, Laramie, Gunsmoke, and Wells Fargo. I think my favorite will have to be Wells Fargo!

    • Bonanza was a constant in my childhood. Every Saturday evening after Laurence Welk and HeeHaw.

  7. Oh, wow, I do NOT have just one!! My list is: The Guns of Will Sonnet; Gunsmoke; The Virginian; Lancer; Wagon Train; Big Valley; and Rawhide.

    • I have not jumped on the Yellowstone train yet. I’ve heard good and bad. But I love, love the country up there. Beautiful!

  10. oh my to choose 1 favorite would be so very hard Bonanza, The Rifleman, Big Valley, Rawhide, Gunsmoke and all the rest – we still watch many of them on Me-Tv and GRIT Channels free over the air tv!

    • Me, too. I catch them on INSP channel when I can. I vary on favorites. Sometimes I get on a Virginian kick, other times Big Valley. They all seem like old friends.

  11. That’s so hard, there so many good ones- Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Branded, Rifleman, Wagon Train, and Laramie to name a few.

  12. I had so many favorite Westerns when I was young. They were enthralling and special. Roy Rogers, Gunsmoke, Rifleman and Rawhide were wonderful. I miss those days and pine for the heroes.

  13. I used to watch Westerns every afternoon after school in the 1950’s. I was captivated with the cowboys who were real men. When men were men. I enjoyed Have Gun, Will Travel, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, The Rifleman, Roy Rogers, Zorro, Rawhide and so many more.

    • The Virginian’s early seasons were soooo good. When Betsy and her father were on there. And Randy. He was a favorite for sure.

  15. So fun to have you here today, Lori. I watched a ton of westerns when I was growing up. I’m pretty sure that’s what led to me falling in love with cowboy romance. 🙂 Some of my favorites were Wagon Train, Bonanza, and The Big Valley. Then in my teen years came shows like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Young Riders, and Paradise starring Lee Horsley. Loved them all!

    • Paradise! Lee Horsley was a huge reason I tried my hand at writing my own heroes. I couldn’t resist putting on paper his iconic raised eyebrow “seriously??” look! LOL Such a good show.

    • Fun Fact: I named my firstborn after Jarrod Barkley. At the time, it was a unique, kinda rugged name.

  17. When I was a kid, Westerns had largely died out in prime time, with the exception of a few, plus a few miniseries, like How the West Was Won and Centennial. And there were Western-adjacent shows like Little House on the Prairie, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

    If you count those, then Little House on the Prairie was my favorite.

  18. Welcome today. Oh your books sound wonderful. I have so many cowboy movies that I still watch today. Any John Wayne cowboy movies, Bonanza, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Rawhide, The Virginian, The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Roy Rogers (that one started because mom became friends with Dale Evans) and so many more.

    • My favorite Bonanza episode was when Hoss has three mail-order brides show up to marry him and he has no idea why. Any episode with Hoss was good. He was great at bringing the comedy.

  20. Laramie! my 16 year old daughter introduced me to it this year. I grew up watching westerns with my dad but had never seen this one. I now own all 4 seasons. Slim and Jess are the best, Slim is my favorite and I tend to picture him in any westerns I read as the hero. Another favorite is The Big Valley and more recent The Magnificent Seven (TV series, not the movies), The Young Riders is a favorite too.

  23. Your family history sounds very interesting. Isn’t it enjoyable to find out these types of things about you fore bearers? I am working on the ancestry of my family with a little luck here and again. We had quite heroic men and women which it would be quite an adventure to walk a day in their shoes to experience the type of life they lived. So much has changed over the years! They would not know now to function in our world at all. I will say we would have a great deal of difficulty living in theirs as we are so spoiled. Imagine doing wash on a washboard over a wooden tub, no rubber gloves and just a bar of lye soap. I can remember my paternal grandmother making lye soap. She had bars of it laying out in a storeroom upstairs to dry. Oh the memories. I sincerely look forward to reading your books as I love history mixed with guns a blazing. And do not forget to put some romance and humor in the mix.

  24. I think I’d have to choose Bonanza. I recall watching it when I was younger, but I don’t think it held my interest very much. Thanks so much for the facts you shared and for the chance to win a book prize.

  25. I’m not a fan of tv in general, but I’ve watched a few episodes of the Lone Ranger with my husband. I’d much rather read a book, however!

  29. Good morning and welcome! Your books sound like great reads! I was born in Texas and I was raised in New Mexico. I have been back to Texas for the past 48years. When I was growing up my dad loved watching Cowboy movies and Cowboy shows, so we watched them with him and I really loved to watch them. We used to watch Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Rawhide, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, Laramie, Wagon Train and lots of good shows, Rifleman-one of my favorites, Cheyenne, The Rebel, The Lone Ranger, Death Valley Days, The Virginian, Gene Autry,, Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid, Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, The Real McCoys, among other ones, I loved them all. Have a great day , I loved remembering all these Awesome shows, a walk down memory lane. 🙂

    • Alicia, sounds like we have a lot in common! Growing up in the southwest, you understand my lifelong draw to the Old West. Watching tv westerns has a familiar feel. 🙂

  30. #1 for me would be “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.” When I was a kid, I liked “Bonanza” and “Big Valley” which my grandpa watched.

    • Dr Quinn had a great supporting cast. My books tend to be full of quirky characters, too. 🙂

  31. We didn’t have a tv until I was a junior in high school, so I had to go to the neighbors to watch Wagon Train. By the time we had one, I was gone, so it wasn’t until after I was married that I watched many westerns, but Bonanza, High Chaparral are two I remember well.

  33. Your books sound like they will be very good reading. My favorite Western TV show depends on what decade we are discussing. Early on, it was THE RIFLEMAN and ZORRO, among others. The 50’d and 60’s had so many good westerns. For the 60’s BONANZA was THE one. The 70’s and 80’s + it was DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN, YOUNG RIDERS, and for fun, WILD, WILD WEST. I really miss good westerns on TV.
    Thank you for the giveaway and best wishes for a successful release of Book 3.

  37. Hi! Love the cover of your books also. I watched so many Westerns when I was younger. Loved John Wayne, in any of his movies & Rawhide, Bonanza & all the others. Love those cowboys!!!!

  39. I watched Bonanza a little bit growing up but I would have to say I love movies more. I’m a huge John Wayne fan and loved moves like El Dorado.

  41. We didn’t have a TV for a good part of my growing up years, so I haven’t seen a lot of the older westerns. I did see the lonesome dove miniseries at some point and do enjoy westerns.

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