Devils on Horseback -- Jake's Story

The post-Civil War soldiers of the Devils on Horseback continue on with their search for a new life after the horror and hell of war. Now reduced to a group of four -- Nate was married and starting a new life in a small Texas community -- and searching for employment as D. H. Enterprises, Jake and his companions find themselves in a small community that has been nearly destroyed by the deaths of their sons and husbands in the Civil War as well as other difficulties with night raids from a mysterious band of criminals who are sweeping the town and kidnapping any woman they can find under the age of 35. The mayor of the town sends word to the Devils on Horseback that their muscle, their savvy as soldiers and their need for employment would be useful to this small struggling community.

Jake is a former corporal in the Confederate Army and is also being sought by a Union Army captain who was commandant of a Union prison camp. These "devils" were the only Confederate soldiers ever to escape from his "hell-hole" and he has become obsessed with revenge for his "failure" to keep them imprisioned. Jake is also a former thief -- a child who stole in order to feed siblings and himself after being abandoned by his mother and who took the last name of one of the whores in a brothel where he was living. All in all, a very troubled person when he went into the war and who found a "family" of sorts when he found these comrades who have become the only people he trusts. Now the Devils are hoping that their current "assignment" is located far enough off the beaten path that the Union captain will have difficulty finding Jake.

In the midst of trying to solve the mystery of the night raids -- who is behind them, where are the women, how to prevent future raids, etc, Jake meets Gabriella Rinaldi, the daughter of the mill owner who had been beaten almost to death during one of the previous raids. She must now run the mill as well as try to bring some common sense into the town thinking on how to protect themselves. Needless to say, Jake and Gabriella are attracted to one another, but they are also both needing to find that "someone" who will believe in them and will accept them for who they are. Jake struggles with his past, his sense of being a nobody from nowhere and worthless to anyone other than his Civil War buddies. The friendship and love they find together begins to rebuild what fear and hopelessness have destroyed in the past.

Again Beth Williamson has populated this book with personalities that are strong, varied, interesting, authentic, and the kind of people-at least in some cases-one would like to have known in real life. Underlying this story is the continuing loyalty and friendship of these men for one another, for respect and value they have given one another because they were soldiers of honor and who sought to be true to their ideals even when war and life in general did everything to destroy their sense of themselves. I still love to read of their Southern charm and the respect they show women -- they all love women in any shape or form, but no matter how disagreeable one of the female characters may be, they are unwaveringly polite and respectful. Oh to have some men in our modern times like that!

I also appreciate the way that the author has not backed away from the debris that war creates in lives and communities, especially as Jake faces himself and his past, as he deals with his need to love and be loved, and as he faces his the reoccurring terror of dark, small places born in the Union Army prison camp. War is indeed hell, but out of that conflict came five men who learned that there were people upon whom they could depend. Gabriella's love and the acceptance of the community are the "medicines" Jake needs and grabs for his hurting soul. This book is a great read and will not disappoint. I give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

Devils on Horseback -- Zeke's Story

Ezekiel (Zeke) Blackwood, his brother Cornelius (Lee) and their cousin Gideon Blackwood are the three remaining members of the Devils on Horseback. In the little community of Tanger, Texas, together with their buddy Jake Sheridan, they have found a welcome and very possibly, a home. They have been successful in ridding the town of the marauders who were kidnapping women and selling them as sex slaves in Mexico. The town's mayor has been found out to be an embezzler and along with Gabriella's mother, have escaped the penalties for their crimes by running away to parts unknown. However, there is trouble in paradise. Zeke has been forming an attachment for the preacher's daughter and during the last raid, this lovely and demure creature has been killed right in front of him as he struggled to save her from capture. His failure to do so and her resulting death have thrown him into a world composed of an alcoholic haze that is now months' long. Zeke's brother Lee is himself a casualty of the War having lost one of his arms to a battlefield surgeon. His continuing anger at this eventuality and his rage over having to live as a partial man (as he sees it) are a part of the background of these two brothers.

In a strange series of events, the town council of Tanger comes to Zeke asking him if he would be the new sheriff--initially on a month's probation -- providing he stayed sober and didn't cavort with whores (another activity in which he indulged repeatedly during his drunken stupors). He agrees and makes a serious attempt to fulfill their expectations as he has come to realize the the drink and the resulting craziness are not how he wants to live. He is hoping that this new job and responsibility to the people of the town will help fill that emptiness he no longer knows how to combat.

Enter Lucy Michaelson -- a young woman who is herself a survivor of the War and who is seeking a job in the local saloon. She is not a prostitute and makes it clear that she does not plan to earn any of her money "on her back" as is often the case with saloon girls. She is a hard worker and an honest person, but because she works in the saloon, she is branded a "fallen woman" -- guilt by association. Even after being put in jail as the instigator of a bar fight--a charge she successfully repudiates--she is treated with respect and kindness by the new sheriff who is attracted to her strength, her obvious survivor skills, and her honesty.

Beth Williamson continues the saga of this little town while telling Zeke's story. She draws a picture of a 19th century community that is populated by good people and not-so-good, people who are anxious to judge others before knowing the facts -- persons who seem to inhabit every town and city in the world--and characters who are normal, troubled, kind, generous, stingy, and who are all wanting to be accepted and nurtured within the context of this town and its dynamic. Zeke struggles with his own demons while trying to correct situations in the town, some immediate like the drunks in the saloon on a Saturday night, as well as problems of long-standing and which could change the course of history for the entire community. He is a character that is very real, and in a world that had no Alcoholics Anonymous, he tries to find the solution to his own problem. His heart is slowly healed by Lucy--a brave, gutsy, brassy, pushy broad of a woman who is not herself whole but who is willing to confront both her own neediness and Zeke's pain in order to bring them both to wholeness.

What is there not to like about this story? Williamson has written brilliantly of the personal story of the main characters while also telling the story of the community and its rehabilitation in a difficult post-war world that will not be fully healed for over a hundred years in the future. This is a warm and winsome story set in the heart of the Texas of old, yet it brings the reader face to face with issues that are as current as tomorrow. Reading this and the other Devils on Horseback stories will never be a waste of time. I hope Williamson plans to tell us Lee and Gideon's story in the future. I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5.

Musical Marketing Muse by Sara Taney Humphreys

Win a package of author goodies from Night Owl Reviews. Just comment on this blog post. This is a cross blog post / contest between Night Owl Reviews and Night Owl Romance.

One lucky winner will be chosen from all the entries

Include the first part of your email address with your comment. You need to be a NOR newsletter subscriber to enter. That's how we get your full email address...so you don't have to post it all on the comment. You must be 18 or over to enter. Entry open to USA citizens only - USA Postage Only. No Purchase Necessary. Contest Ends: 3/5/2010
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Musical Marketing Muse by Sara Taney Humphreys

The song that sparked my creative juices and woke up my muse is called "Honey on the Skin". You can find Amy Petty and her spectacular music on her website http://www.amypetty.com/ John connected me with another awesome musical muse. The Strike Nineteens. TSN are a band of adorable guys from Scotland. Ladies...think William Wallace/Braveheart accent....yummy.

Their music is gritty and intense. These darlings actually wrote me two songs! One of which will be on their new album "Screams for Denver" which will be released this Spring. I look forward to checking them out LIVE when they come to the USA later this year.

You can check out their music at http://www.myspace.com/thestrikenineteens Cross marketing with music is fun and a little outside the box...just the way I like it.

Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife--Pride & Prejudice Continues, by Linda Berdoll

Every woman wants to be Elizabeth Bennet Darcy -- beautiful, gracious, universally admired, strong, daring and outspoken -- a thoroughly modern woman in crinolines. And every woman will fall madly in love with Mr. Darcy -- tall, dark and handsome, a nobleman and hearthrob whose virility is matched only by his utter devotion to his wife.

Their passion is consuming and idyllic--essentially, they can't keep their hands off each other--through a sweeping tale of adventure and misadventure, human folly and numerous mysteries of parentage.

Hold on to your bonnets!! This sexy, epic, hilarious, poignant and romantic sequel to Pride & Prejudice goes far beyond Jane Austen.

Anyone who has loved Pride & Prejudice in its many forms has probably wanted the story to go on! Ending with the double wedding of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, the original Austen story is beautiful as far as it goes. But as we all know, especially those of us who delight in romance novel series, we need the story to go on.

There are a number of authors who have attempted to continue the story of Elizabeth and Darcy and some have done OK and others have not done well at all. Linda Berdoll has done, in my opinion, a magnificent job of telling the continuing story. We must all realize that Jane Austen was herself a maiden, unmarried lady, who included married couples in the original story -- Mr. & Mrs. Bennet, the Gardeners who were aunt and uncle to Elizabeth, and Mr. Collins and his bride, Charlotte--there is limited information about the inner characteristics of the marriages of that time. It would have been almost impossible for Ms Austen to continue on with the Darcy story without simply making it "more of the same" as that was all she had experienced. Suffice it to say that Jane Austen told such a story of depth and color that it is possible for a talented writer like Berdoll to take the saga to the next level.

Ms Berdoll has not only related a story that is, in many ways, equally as fascinating as the original, but she has successfully adapted her writing style to very closely reflect that of Ms Austen. The terminology, vocabulary, and sentence structure are reminiscent of Austen's style of writing. That not only tells the story with greater authenticity, but also helps the reader to feel that they have continued on with the Bennet/Darcy story in a very real way.

Ms Berdoll has also continued the stories of Mr. Bingley & Jane, Lydia, as well as the Bennets. She again acquaints us with the acidic Lady Catherine, and tells us more about Mr. & Mrs. Collins. So be of good cheer, Pride & Prejudice fans: not only do we learn more of the Bennet/Darcy marriage, we continue on with all of these colorful and much-loved characters. There are some who are classic in their reading tastes who are offended that anyone would try to continue Ms Austen's stories. I think that is narrow thinking and as one who loves a good romance, I applaud Ms Berdoll's efforts to give us a great extension to the story and more of those wonderful people of Merry Ole England. I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5.

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The Edge of Desire -- by Stephanie Laurens

"Christian, I need your help. There is no one else I can turn to . . . L" When Christian Allardyce, 6th Marquess of Dearne, reads those words, his world turns upside down. Lady Letitia Randall is a woman like no other, and the day he left her behind to fight for king and country was the most difficult of his life. He never forgot the feel of her lips against his, but never expects to see her again. Yet now she seeks his help, and Christian knows he will not resist her plea.

Letitia believes that Christian abandoned her when she needed him most, and she hates to call on his aid. But to clear her brother's name, she has sworn to use every weapon at her command, even if it means seducing her ex-lover. Yet all the while, Christian is waging a war of his own--a campaign of pure pleasure and sweet revenge that will take them both beyond the edge of desire.

Loveless marriages were not uncommon, in fact, they were more common than most modern individuals realize. It was not only royalty who married to continue an aristocratic line. Often the future of any title was held in the tenuous hands of a man and woman who wedded and bedded in order to continue on their way of life. There were also marriages of convenience which passed wealth (in the form of fat dowries) from eligible maidens to high-living aristocrats as well as poor but gently born maidens who sought to bring wealth into their families through marriage. However, Lady Letitia Randall did not fit into either of these categories. Her husband was a secretive, possessive, common man who simply set out to add the beautiful Lady Letitia to his museum collections and to wile his way into the salons of the haut ton. She knew the basis of her marriage was never going to be true affection, and in her hour or need, when she needed the man to whom she had given her heart, she received nothing but silence in response to her desperate calls for rescue. Little did she know that her lover, Christian Allardyce, was actually an undercover agent for the British Secret Service, or at least the early 19th century version of that agency. He was, in fact, so deeply undercover that he never received Lady Letitia's letters or her calls for rescue.

Now, many years later, with her husband having been found murdered and the authorities having set themselves to arrest her brother as the murderer, Lady Letitia knows of only one person she can trust to put matters to rights and to clear her brother from all guilt or perception of guilt. In spite of her resentment at his cavalier treatment of her in her hour of need, she knows that Christian has the contacts and the skills to uncover the true murderer.

This novel is a part of the Bastion Club series and as such brings in some of the characters from other stories in this series. Yet they are not an overwhelming presence but make the reader curious about those characters. I know it made me want to read more of their particular situations and relationships. As is the case in so many historical romances, there is a conflict between the main characters that is supposed to give "spice" to their repartee and to create tension which is resolved when they fall into each other's arms. There is some of that in this book. But the underlying story of the murder, the hint of espionage, the mysterious identity of Christian's former boss, the secret room, and so on, give a unique flavor to this romance that lifts it out of the usual to become somewhat unique. There are some surprises which also add to the ornamentation of the story. I really liked that.

As with all historicals, I like the descriptive passages, the clothes, the palatial dwellings, the ups and downs of the narrow English society, the struggles that many women had to be truly themselves within the constraints of a society who saw them only as decorative breeders. Lady Letitia is a strong and courageous character who has done what she had to do and come out on the other side better, more mature, more beautiful and multi-dimensional as a person and as one who can attract and keep the attention and affections of someone like Christian.

If you like really good historical romance, you'll like this story. I give this novel a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Valentine's Contest - the entire month of February!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m giving away a signed copy of Moonlight on Diamonds. Post a comment below with the name of your favorite romantic suspense novel, or author, to be entered in the contest.