Gun For Hire Series

NEW WHR SERIES “GUN FOR HIRE” KICKS OFF WITH A BANG! by Cheryl Pierson

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There’s a new series in town! GUN FOR HIRE is a multi-author series that focuses on ten men who must rely heavily on their guns throughout their lives. They don’t expect to ever settle down and have a normal life, much less ever fall in love! But, and there is a big but…they didn’t ever expect to meet “the” woman who can make all of that fall into place for them, either!

GUN FOR HIRE includes books by some present and past fillies, and many other talented authors, including Charlene Raddon, who put the series together. It was her brainchild and she made all the gorgeous covers! I was so thrilled to be asked to participate because I had a story in mind I’d been wanting to write and it fit right into the broad premise that Charlene had come up with.

Linda Broday kicked off the series with her book, CREEK, yesterday. Oh, my stars, y’all. Let me just say, I think I’m in love with every one of these men – and that’s before I’ve even read their stories! I’ve ordered CREEK and am just waiting for the perfect time to be able to sit down and immerse myself in his tale.

Next comes DUSTIN by Margaret Tanner. Her story will be available on March 30, but you can pre-order NOW! Charlene Raddon’s story, KIRK, follows on April 15. (So pay your taxes and then treat yourself to a great story!) LANCE by Heather Blanton follows two weeks later, and then DEVON by Carra Copelin.

Jo-Ann Roberts’s hunky hero is named ASH, and SHAD is Caroline Clemmons’s heartthrob. Tracy Garrett’s story is CLINT, and my LANDON is next in the lineup, rounded out by Winnie Griggs’s  story, LUKE.

My LANDON won’t be out until July 15, but boy, there’s lots of great reading in the months ahead, and of course, Winnie’s story just after mine, at the end of July.

Some of these stories will be available not only on KINDLE, but also in print, including my tale about LANDON. Aren’t these covers gorgeous? 

Here’s the blurb to whet your reading appetite! You can pre-order LANDON now, as well as many of the others, and the availability to pre-order the remainder of the others will follow soon.

Landon: Gun For Hire Sweet Western Romance Series #9

Alissa Devine finds herself in an unthinkable situation when her father is murdered, and she’s left to raise her young brother, Zach. With $22 to her name and her no-account gambler father’s burial to pay for, Lissie has no choice but to carry on with her father’s plan to take part in the Oklahoma land run. But single women aren’t allowed on the wagon train.

Landon Wildcat’s mission for months has been to find the man who abducted his younger sister. His search ends when crooked gambler Happy Devine gets what he deserves at the end of Land’s gun. But that act of vengeance leaves Lissie and Zach alone with no man to accompany them on the wagon train.

Wagon Master Bill Castle hires Land as his scout; a devil’s bargain—for both of them. Land offers Lissie his protection, suspecting the unscrupulous Mr. Castle has indecent intentions toward her.

When one of the settlers is murdered, Land takes the outlaws on in a desperate battle to protect the only witness, and nearly pays the ultimate price. Land’s life hangs in the balance, but the wagon train moves on, callously deserting him and the teen boy he saved, along with Lissie and Zach.

Through the hardship, Lissie and Land both realize how much they love one another, and what they have come so close to losing. Though danger lurks around every curve in the road, Lissie believes with all her heart there is a place for their small band of settlers in this untamed Territory. Now that love has finally come, will Fate allow a miracle for their happiness with this new beginning?

Our GUN FOR HIRE series page is still populating, but the first four are up if you want to go take a look at them, too, and pre-order. Here’s the link for the series page. Here’s the link for the series page, and keep checking back to see more as they are added there. The link for LANDON is just below–he hasn’t made it to the series page yet, but he’s coming, along with the rest of the gang!

AMAZON GUN FOR HIRE SERIES PAGE

PREORDER LANDON HERE! 

I love series like this one. The heroes and heroines are all different because they come from varying backgrounds and places, but the heroes have something in common that holds the thread of the series together. 

CHERYL’S AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

 

What is That I Smell?

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Did you know that our sense of smell was the first thing to develop when humans appeared on earth? Our “smellers” are very old and very complex. It was not only vital to locating food but also finding a mate. Our nose can sense 1 trillion odors, both good and bad.

So when I’m writing stories, I need to implement the sense of smell far more than I do.

Fragrances and odors are closely entwined with memories. A sniff of Pond’s loose body powder for women instantly reminds me to my mom. And Old Spice always brings back times with my dad.

I remember so often coming home from school and Mom would have red beans cooking on the stove or she’d have a cake baking in the oven. If I smell those, it instantly sends me back to my childhood. Also, in my childhood, if a certain food gave off what to me was a bad smell, it wasn’t going in my mouth. I watch my great grandson who’s almost three. He always smells things before he puts them in his mouth. It think that’s very interesting. A dog often does the same thing.

Courtesy of Jade87 on Pixabay

My husband never wore any after shave much because he had asthma and smells would sure send on an attack. But I loved the natural smell of just the soap after he showered. Smells are so powerful.

We camped a lot and I still remember the smell of an open fire and my mom frying bacon or making coffee. There’s nothing like it.

Did you know our sense of smell is strongest in the evening? Smell is directly related to the sleep hormone. In man’s early days on earth, smell helped us not only find food but to discern danger. It came in mighty handy.

And then there’s the fragrance of rain in the air. The official word is petrichor. It’s the release of organic compounds in the soil into the air during and after a rain event. I don’t know about you, but that’s one of my favorite smells. I love to stand outside just smelling the fresh air. It refreshes my soul.

Smells are closely associated to romance. I once dated a guy for a short time that gave off a scent that I could not get past. He was clean and didn’t have body odor but I hated the scent of him. Later, I learned that he was not the person he presented to people and was thankful I dodged a bullet, thanks to my discerning nose!

Now it’s your turn. How has your sense of smell helped you in life? Do certain things spark memories? I can’t wait to hear your responses.

Also, don’t forget that Creek is available for preorder. It’ll be in ebook and paperback. The paperback should show up on Amazon in a few days.

This leads off the multi-author Gun For Hire series. I can’t wait for you all to see these fabulous covers that the Charlene Raddon made. Here’s a list of the authors: Margaret Tanner, Charlene Raddon, Heather Blanton, Carra Copelin, Jo-Ann Roberts, Caroline Clemmons, Tracy Garrett, Cheryl Pierson, and Winnie Griggs.

Here are the three of the series that are already up.

Next month, I’ll have some giveaways of Creek as well as an awesome book trailer.

Don’t forget about our Petticoats and Pistols Reader Group on Facebook! CLICK HERE

Wishing you all a blessed day and week.

Linda Broday 

What the Heck Are Wrist Cuffs?

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I had never heard the term wrist cuffs that cowboys wore until pretty recently. I’d seen pictures of them but didn’t know what they were called or why they wore them. Maybe you already did and are way ahead of me. That’s quite possible.

Definition: Wide soft leather bindings that cowboy wore on their wrists to protect them from barbed wire fencing, cattle kicking and causing injury and protecting shirt sleeves. They also protected against rope burns and branding irons. They are also called roping cuffs and sometimes gauntlets.

I’ve seen them on motorcycle riders quite a bit for protection on the road. These were very popular on cowboys until the turn of the century but you can still see them on some working cowboys today.

I admit, they’re pretty cool and make the wearer look tough.

When I started writing Creek, my sweet western romance, I wanted him to wear them but in his case it was partly to conceal an ink drawing on his wrist. My cover designer put them on him but they looked horrible so we took them off.

I have an eleven year old girl in my story. Willa July Calder was left orphaned when her mother dies but she was told to look for a man with a thunderbird drawing on his wrist. That would be her father. When she happens to see Creek’s, she’s convinced he’s her father and starts following him everywhere.

Thunderbirds were revered by Native Americans who believed the mythical birds carried magic and could protect the person.

I won’t give the plot away. The book is available for Preorder. This is Book 1 leading off a multi-author Gun For Hire series with two others of the books also available for preorder now. These are Sweet Western Romances and mine goes on sale March 15. Margaret’s will be available March 31 and Charlene’s April 15. There will be 10 altogether. Here’s the series link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTHVRM6K?tag=pettpist-20

Here are the rest of the series: Zane by Heather Blanton, Keith by Carra Copelin, Ash by our own Jo-Ann Roberts, Shad by Caroline Clemmons, Clint by Tracy Garrett, Landon by Cheryl Pierson, and Luke by another Filly Winnie Griggs.

We sure hope you’ll find these entertaining. Have you read a good western lately? If so, what is the title? Do you like westerns? Let’s talk. I don’t have any copies to give away yet but I will later on.