Today is a book excerpt and blurb stop for the virtual tour of the
historical romance novel Taming Jenna
by Charlene Raddon.
During her tour, Charlene will be awarding an
e-copy of one of her books from her backlist at each stop to a randomly
drawn commenter, and a Grand Prize of a $30 gift card will be awarded to a
randomly drawn commenter at the end of
the tour. So to be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment below (and
a way for Charlene to get in touch with you). To increase your chances of
winning, feel free to visit
other tour stops and leave comments there, too.
Author bio:
Charlene
Raddon began her fiction career in the third grade when she announced in Show
and Tell that a baby sister she never had was killed by a black widow spider.
She often penned stories featuring mistreated young girls whose mother accused
of crimes her sister had actually committed. Her first serious attempt at
writing fiction came in 1980 when she woke up from a vivid dream that compelled
her to drag out a portable typewriter and begin writing. She’s been at it ever
since. An early love for romance novels and the Wild West led her to choose the
historical romance genre but she also writes contemporary romance. At present,
she has five books published in paperback by Kensington Books (one under the
pseudonym Rachel Summers), and four eBooks published by Tirgearr Publishing.
Charlene’s
awards include: RWA Golden Heart Finalist, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice
Award Nomination, Affair de Coeur Magazine Reader/Writer Poll for Best
Historical of the Year. Her books have won or place in several contests.
Currently,
Charlene is working on her next release.
Blurb:
THE WRONG MAN
Deserted by her father at the tender age of seven, Jenna
Leigh-Whittington had taught herself to ride, shoot, brawl…and steer clear of
the opposite sex. But now, in a lonely Utah canyon, the Pinkerton agent has
drawn her gun on a rugged stranger—only to discover that, far from the
dangerous outlaw she’d been tracking, he is Branch McCauley, hired gun…and the
most irresistible rascal ever to tempt and torment a woman!
THE RIGHT WOMAN
If there’s one thing McCauley trusts less than a female, it’s a
female who packs a six-gun. But what a woman! Vowing to bring the sensuous
hellcat to heel, McCauley has no inkling that their passionate battle of wills
has just begun. Taming Jenna will be the most seductive—and satisfying—job he’s
ever taken on.
No sooner had they broken into the
open than a volley of shots whizzed past their ears. They hugged their mounts'
necks tighter and spurred them on. Jenna took out her gun and fired an
occasional wild shot, knowing Branch was doing the same, though she could
barely hear the blasts above the pounding hooves and her own thundering
heartbeat. Once she thought she heard Mendoza shout in Spanish, a curse or a
prayer. Perhaps both.
A bullet whizzed overhead, snapping
a twig from a tree in her path.
"Come on, Gent," she urged
the sorrel. "Get me out of here alive, and I'll give you a whole bucketful
of oats." Hot fire bit into her side, like a hitch from too much running.
Jenna kept riding. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw that both men
were still in their saddles, though Branch was farther behind than she liked.
The realization that he was trying to protect her wrenched her heart. Damn
fool. If he gets himself killed, I'll...
Bits of lather off of Gent's neck
peppered Jenna's face. She could feel the sorrel's powerful muscles quiver
beneath her and knew he was tiring. She kept up her words of encouragement and
prayed they'd be able to stop before the horse faltered. She hated having to
mistreat her animal.
Minutes passed like hours, yards
like miles. It seemed as if they had splashed through the stream a hundred
times. Branches lashed her face and arms and snagged her clothes. Her hat was
gone. Her thick braid slapped against her back like a whip. Tendrils tom loose
by the wind stung her eyes. Gradually the firing lessened. Finally Branch was
beside her, signaling her to ease up.
"No sign of being
followed," he shouted when they'd slowed to a lope. "Stick close to
the stream; it'll give us more cover in case we need it."
Jenna nodded. The day had become
horribly hot all of a sudden. Sweat dripped in her eyes and pooled between her
breasts. She sat hunched against the painful hitch that refused to leave her
side. To fight off the nausea, she dragged in great gulps of air.
Branch frowned as he studied her.
"Are you all right? You're as white as a Christmas Sunday."
"I'm fine, just winded."
"Are you sure? I don't like the
way you look."
"I'm not fond of your looks
either, McCauley. You wanna stop for a picnic or are we gonna ride?"
She kicked her sorrel and once more
took the lead. Branch's brows drew down over his troubled eyes as he watched
her go. He'd seen pain in her eyes. Even her words were slurred. When Mendoza
came alongside, clinging to his saddle horn with his bound hands, Branch told
him to keep a close eye on her and yell out if there were a problem. Then
Branch dropped behind again.
Where had the day gone? Jenna
wondered. It couldn't be evening already. Yet the light was growing dim. They
had turned into a shallow gorge that led southeastward out of the main canyon.
The ascent slowed the horses to a fast walk. Then they were running again.
Jenna didn't notice.
All she felt now was pain. White hot
agony centered in her side. She struggled not to give in to it, but the nausea
and the dizziness were becoming worse.
For a moment she thought she heard
someone call her name as night descended with amazing speed. Then she heard
nothing more; no hooves thudding over the uneven ground, no wind whistling past
her ear, not even her own heartbeat or Gent's weary wheeze.
She sensed something was wrong as
the reins slid from her hands. Too tired to care, she let them go.
Then she was
sliding…drifting…sailing into the darkness…deeper, deeper into the pain.
Links:
An exciting excerpt that makes me want to know what happens next.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really great story, I loved the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing with us! I absolutely loved the excerpt and can't wait to check it out. =D Will be following for the remainder of the tour.
ReplyDeletecloud.weaver.girl AT gmail DOT com
First, I want to thank my host for having me today.
ReplyDeleteSecond, thanks to the ladies who have already left comments. You must get up earlier than I do. Maybe you're on the east coast, whereas I'm in the Intermountain west.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic read and will keep you up half the night reading. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteGail, have I mentioned lately that I adore you?
ReplyDeleteInteresting characters
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thanks for the excerpt and the chance to win!
ReplyDeletenatasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
WINNER FOR THIS DAY:
ReplyDeleteMomJane.
Congratulations Jane, I'll email you.
Nice excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeletekareninnc at gmail dot com