For Immediate Release:
Bestseller’s Stolen Computer Inspires
HISTORICAL ROMANTIC SUSPENSE SERIES
with Kick-Butt Pinkerton Heroine
“Western Romance at its best.” ~ Midwest Book Review
“Relationships keep the pages turning.” ~ Library Journal
“Pure fun. Fans of Westerns should get this one.” ~ Affaire de Coeur (4.5 Stars)
Austin, TX — Writing a series of whodunits was the last thing on the mind of national bestselling Historical Romance author, Adrienne deWolfe, until her computer crashed – and got stolen from the repair shop.
“I was struggling to write my first fantasy when my hard drive blew up,” deWolfe recalled. “The night before the meltdown, I actually had a dream that the manuscript would never get published. Does that make me psychic?”
DeWolfe, who lives in and writes about Texas, can joke now, but she said the loss of a manuscript is every writer’s worst nightmare. “There must have been some Higher Plan for me, because my publisher contacted me two days later, asking me to write a Western. From the ashes of that lost fantasy rose my favorite heroine: a fiery-haired, gun-slinging ex-bawd with a Pinkerton badge.”
DeWolfe’s fictional firecracker, Sadie Michelson, stars in a new series of Western Whodunits, Lady Law & The Gunslinger. Book 1, Devil in Texas, pits the cagey, street-smart Sadie against her ex-lover, “Coyote Cass,” a smooth-talking gunslinger, who’s working for the enemy. The sparks fly when these star-crossed lovers reunite, waging a battle of wits and wiles that ranges from Galveston’s seamy red-light district to the glittering health resorts of the “Saratoga of the South” (Lampasas) in 1883.
“Sadie’s a hoot,” deWolfe said. “She has a temper, and she’s not afraid to use it! But what I really love about Sadie is she’s courageous and resourceful — a female action hero that modern women can cheer for. She leaps out of a burning building; she demonstrates steely nerve when bullets are whizzing past her ears; she battles armed foes, who vastly outnumber her, so she can rescue a kidnapped child.
“But to make Sadie really interesting,” deWolfe said, “I turned her into Cass’s long-lost love, the one woman he has never been able to forget — even though he thinks she betrayed him to the Rangers.”
So what happened to that computer?
“It remains one of life’s Great Mysteries,” deWolfe said. “Of course, I like to think the rust-bucket is now giving the thief the same misery my hardware used to give me.“ (See post, Help! My Printer Has a Poltergeist.) “Yes, losing a 400-page manuscript was traumatic,” deWolfe admitted. “I was able to recover from the shock — and the pain — of losing something so precious because I’m a life-long student of Attitudinal Healing, and the program gave me the skills to cope with grief. It also helped me see that I could turn tragedy into a story of triumph and perseverance — the kind of story that should be recorded for readers.
“Whenever I write, I keep in mind that the writer-reader relationship is extremely intimate,” deWolfe explained. “When a reader chooses to immerse herself in my fictional world, she’s giving me a direct connection to her emotions. I want her to be entertained, of course, but even more importantly, I want her to feel inspired and empowered by the women in my novels. That’s why I make a conscious effort to write strong, independent heroines.
“And that’s why I try so hard to walk-the-talk in my own life,” deWolfe continued. “During the computer debacle, when I was on the verge of an emotional meltdown, I stopped the ranting, took a deep breath, and asked myself, ‘What would Sadie do — besides blow off the thief’s head?’
“The answer wasn’t, ‘She’d crumble,’” deWolfe continued. “I knew the best way to deal with my loss was to create something new, to get back in the ‘writing saddle.’ Little did I know, Sadie had a bombshell waiting for me!”
Sadie, who works undercover as a casino singer, refused to exit the stage meekly at the end of the book, deWolfe explained. “Like any self-respecting diva, Sadie demanded an encore performance. I realized Devil in Texas couldn’t be written as a straight Historical Romance, as I’d originally planned. Sadie needed me to figure out a way – and fast – to continue her love affair with Cass in a series of Romantic Suspense novels. And who can blame her? Cass would be a handful to tame in just one book!”
Devil in Texas received high praise from national bestselling Western Romance author, Barbara Ankrum: “Adrienne deWolfe has done it again with a rousing adventure that’s sure to please any lover of Western novels. Deftly weaving rich characters with a sublimely unique plot, Devil in Texas is the perfect blend of laugh-out-loud storytelling and heartfelt emotion. DeWolfe delivers a deliciously wicked pair of star-crossed lovers, a Texas-Ranger whodunit, and a rascally raccoon, named Vandy, who will steal your heart. Honestly, I couldn’t put it down!”
DeWolfe’s writing has also been praised by USA Today bestselling author, Julie Ortolon: “Adrienne deWolfe never ceases to delight. Her spunky heroine’s and sexy heroes offer an exciting read every time. The subtle levels and dimensions deWolfe gives her stories and her characters are an added bonus to an entertaining tale. She is a true storyteller for anyone who enjoys something above the ordinary.”
Based in Austin, deWolfe is the recipient of 48 writing awards, including the Best Historical Romance of the Year. She has written novels for Bantam Books and Avon Books, in addition to ePublishing Works, which published Devil in Texas and its sequel, Dance to the Devil’s Tune. Both novels are available in print and ebook formats.
Excerpt
DEVIL IN TEXAS
Book 1, Lady Law & the Gunslinger
By Adrienne deWolfe
Reaching for his six-shooter, Cass waved his 17-year-old sidekick to safety and poked his head around the corner. A bearded figure in a sack suit was climbing through the window. Apparently, Cass had caught a thief breaking into the hotel.
He marveled at the irony. All his life, he’d wanted to be a Ranger, to fight for right and make the world a safe place for little kiddies to play. Even though that dream had been derailed when he turned vigilante, Cass’s altruistic side couldn’t let some desperado barge into the building and loot innocent folks.
Stepping into the moonlight, he confronted the burglar.
“What’s the matter, mister? Stairs aren’t enough exercise? “
The thief went rigid.
“Hands,” Cass barked, cocking his .45.
Slowly, reluctantly, the burglar spread his gloves in the universal sign of surrender.
“I’ll frisk him,” volunteered 17-year-old Collie. The kid looked ridiculous when he lurched forward in his widow’s weeds, which he’d stuffed with a matched pair of cantaloupes. They thumped together in his corset.
Cass wanted to wallop the kid for such a lousy stakeout disguise. “Confound it, Birdie” — he improvised the name — “is that how your mama taught a lady to behave?”
His prisoner chuckled. The sound was low and husky, reminding Cass of whiskey, scarlet, and sin all rolled into one.
“Looks like Birdie found Admiral Farragut’s lost torpedoes.”
“Mind your manners, cockroach,” Cass growled. “You’re talking to a lady.”
Straight white teeth flashed in the thief’s graying beard. “Somebody’s got his facts all tangled.”
Cass’s brow furrowed. Something about that voice wasn’t right. For one thing, it wasn’t scratchy enough to be old. For another, it reminded him poignantly of Sadie.
Cass cursed himself. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted by grief. Sadie had betrayed him. She’d told the Rangers about his murder warrant. After a hurt like that, Cass shouldn’t have cared that the golden-eyed hellion had vanished in a fire.
But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about those long-lost days of star-gazing, berry-picking, and sharing secrets in the hayloft with Sadie. A yawning emptiness consumed his soul. The nights had lost their thrill because he could never love, war, and make up again with the Devil’s Red-Haired Daughter.
He dragged his thoughts back to his prisoner. “What’s that bulge under your coat?”
The ghost of a dimple peeked beneath the thief’s derby. “The usual.”
“Want to be more specific?”
“See for yourself.”
Cass frowned. This conversation was familiar—macabrely familiar. But his memory had to do with Sadie and a skimpy negligee that had nearly stopped his heart.
“Take off your hat,” he commanded suspiciously.
Another saucy dimple peeked. “You want it? Come and get it, hotshot.”
Cass’s patience was rapidly unraveling. Defying knives, blinding powder, and whatever else the thief might throw, Cass stalked closer. A tepid breeze stirred the draperies. The masculine scents of leather and horse wafted past his nose, along with the feminine fragrance of rosehips: Sadie’s favorite tea.
Now Cass was close enough to notice anomalies beneath the burglar’s bowler: a mustache that was just a hair off balance. Lips that were pink and kissably soft.
Cass’s brain told his senses they were liars, but his heart couldn’t give up the hope. With a shaking hand, he knocked off the thief’s hat.
Eyes as hot as golden brands burned into his.
In the next instant, a boot sent his gun flying. A second drop-kick plowed into his midsection.
“Son of a—” Cass stumbled to his knees, winded.
Collie reached for his revolver.
“No!” Cass tackled the boy. They hit the carpet in a tangle of limbs and lace. “That’s Sadie!”
“Are you loco? Sadie’s dead!”
They flopped like a couple of beached whales, Cass’s spurs shredding the boy’s petticoats. Sadie glanced over her shoulder, that wicked dimple flirting with her lips. One last smirk for his embarrassment. One last sigh for all that might have been.
Then, with an audacious wink, she fled.
Book Description
DEVIL IN TEXAS
Book 1, Lady Law & the Gunslinger
By Adrienne deWolfe
Pinkerton Agent Sadie Michelson poses as a casino singer to investigate a Texas Senator. Before she can cozy up to her quarry, she must get past his bodyguard, William Cassidy, her long-lost lover.
An outlaw seeking redemption, Cass was lured to Texas by the promise of a Ranger badge. But he hasn’t forgotten the sassy siren, who toyed with his heart. When Sadie proposes a truce, Cass suspects she’s hiding something.
With assassins dogging their heels, Cass and Sadie uncover a murder conspiracy in the senate. To stay alive, they must do the one thing they’re dead set against: trust each other.
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