CANYON CROSSING by Kristy McCaffrey #blogabookscene #westernromance #prairierosepubs @prairierosepubs @McCaffreyKristy

By Kristy McCaffrey

Blog-a-Book-Scene is a monthly themed blogging endeavor from a group of authors who love to share excerpts from their stories. Find us on Twitter with the hashtag #blogabookscene and #PrairieRosePubs.

August's theme is Alone Again, Naturally. This scene is from my short novella, Canyon Crossing. Annabel Cross is left stranded in the Grand Canyon.

She dreamt she died in Grand Canyon.

Annabel’s eyes flew open and she gasped for breath. Lying on a narrow precipice, hundreds of feet from certain death, the Grand Canyon beckoned to her, ready to cradle her in its otherworldly embrace. Did she still dream?

Carefully, she pushed herself upright, hardly daring to breathe. Perched on the edge of a cliff, she was inches from a dramatic fall. A side glance to the east told her the sun was rising. What had happened? She and her guide, Frank Smith, had made camp, eaten a meal of beans, biscuits, and coffee, and then gone to sleep. Where was he? Where was the mule, Speck, who carried their gear? Had they fallen to their deaths?

Annabel sought to calm her panic. She was only twenty years old, she couldn’t die now. A slight movement caused her to slip; she frantically grabbed a scraggly bush, fear filling her with desperation. Finally, she stopped, barely daring to breathe lest it dislodge her further. Her mind raced for a solution.

Maybe Frank was nearby.

“Help.” Her voice was weak.

“Help!” Better, stronger, but not enough. “Help me! Help! Help!”

“Are you hurt?” a man yelled from above.

Annabel’s gaze flew upward, not recognizing the voice. Still, elation filled her. “No. I-I don’t believe so.”

“If I throw a rope, can you grab it?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll try.” She attempted to quiet her shaking.

A knotted cord slapped the ground beside her. Slowly, she reached out with her right hand and grasped it. Letting go of the bush, she clung to the lifeline with both hands. In small increments she moved upward, all the while straining not to slip off. Just as her aching palms screamed for release, she neared an unseen ledge that harbored the man and the life-saving tether. As she struggled to climb over the edge, a large shadow reached for her and strong arms yanked her to the safety of flat ground. A man hovered above, breathing heavily.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Annabel said. Drained of strength, she lay on the ground, facing the sky. “How did you find me?”

She winced as the rising sun glowed behind him, casting the man into an enigmatic dark silhouette. Shading her eyes, a flash caught her eye.

He wore a badge, a silver star.

Available at Amazon for 99 cents.

Also in Kindle Unlimited.

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The Horse Queen of Idaho

by Heather Blanton

Some girls dream about princess dresses and tea parties. And then there are girls like Kittie Wilkins. Yeah, she liked the more genteel, refined things in life, like her piano, but all that was a poor second to her beloved horses.

Kittie, who became known as the Horse Queen of Idaho, was born in Oregon in 1857, but moved with her family to Idaho where they began ranching. As Kittie grew, so did her skills with horses. Astounding skills. She rode as if she’d been born in the saddle. Passion, skill, and an effervescent personality combined to make Kittie the perfect woman for building a successful horse operation.

By 1880 her father had invested a fair amount of time and money in horses and the payoff was beginning to stream in, especially in the form of his daughter. By ’87 Kittie was making spectacular contributions. Not only riding, roping, and breaking horses better than most of the hands, she was the head salesperson and marketer. Newspapers loved the story of the pretty little filly, pun intended, who could not only do a man’s work but excelled at it. Kittie loved playing to the male reporters who were stunned but, in most cases, also admiring of her success.

For thirty years plus, the Wilkins Horse Company at Bruneau's Diamond Ranch supplied thousands of horses for customers all over North America. Thanks to Kittie’s leadership, it built and maintained a sterling reputation. Sales were strong for decades and the Diamond Ranch counted some pretty impressive customers among its fold, such as the US Army and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

One cowboy later wrote about Kittie’s tough reputation, “If a man weren’t a good rider when he went to work for Kit Wilkins, he was a good rider when he left or he wasn’t riding at all—unless in a hearse.”

Now that’s how you make a cowgirl … a supportive father and a little burning determination.

If you’d like to learn more about Kittie, allow me to recommend a couple of fascinating articles: http://cdapress.com/columns/syd_albright/article_4dd5755c-a08d-11e5-9fac-97c77a19e031.html and https://ruralwomensstudies.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/meeting-miss-kittie-my-friendship-with-kittie-wilkins-the-horse-queen-of-idaho/ 

Riding with the Texas Rangers

As a writer, there is nothing more exciting than stumbling upon a tidbit of history that you can weave into an epic story. A few years ago, I was doing research on the Alamo and Texas independence for a class. I happened to stumble upon this, the Grand Scheme for the Americas.

A three-pronged plan by Napoleon III which would make Mexico a colony of France. First, he planned to recognize the Confederate States of America and form a military alliance with them. Secondly, he would reintroduce the monarchy by establishing a cousin Maximillian I in Mexico and increase trade. Last, he would create a buffer state from the Rio Grande to the California Baja.

 He poured in troops which did little more than prop up the government. However, with the confederate loss, the rebels in Mexico began to win back territory from the conservatives. Using the American navy and backed by the Monroe Doctrine, Napoleon had to back down leaving troops behind at the mercy of Benito Juarez.

My devious mind took hold. I let my alter ego, Tessa Berkley, invented the Ranger company D from Whiskey Drum Creek. A four-member team who will unwittingly fall onto tantalizing clues with each story. A mad French nobleman who believes, he is now the Emporer of Tejas, and with each passing book, his madness deepens.

Will the ranger's and their heroines survive the treacherous paths ahead? You'll have to join me along for the journey in the Texas Conspiracy.

Book One, Incident at Cold Creek, pits Ranger Tyrone Calhoun Dixon against a half-breed gambler who is trying to purchase all the land along a railway by force, murder, and stolen land deals. He comes upon a ranch outside of Cold Creek only to find the man wanted for questioning, has been murdered.

Here is the blurb for Incident at Cold Creek.

Lilly Prentiss must come to grips with her husband's untimely death and the harsh reality of his many secrets. When a handsome drifter rides in with a promise of helping out, she accepts his offer, even if she doesn't believe he's telling the truth.

A cut of the cards with a gambler who holds the deed to her ranch seals her fate. She has no choice bu to play the hand she's been dealt, even if it cost her life.

Texas Ranger, Tyrone Dixon is on the trail of the prime suspect in the killing of a judge. When the trail leads to a rundown ranch in Cold Creek, he finds the man's wife bathing his body for burial. As Ty pitches in to help her get her ranch running again, he finds his badge can't shield his heart when it comes to the incident at Cold Creek.

If you'd like to read more, please feel free to use the link below and read the opening of Incident At Cold Creek. Amazon

Please feel free to comment. Some lucky person will get a pdf file of this new release. Do note, Tessa writes a bit hotter than Nan.  I hope you will all enjoy reading about the men of Company D. Four Texas Rangers, bound by honor and the brotherhood under the star, all for the glory of Texas.


Happy Reading! 

Nan O'Berry / Tessa Berkley