WeWriWa: A Lit Fuse . . . Dana Ransom’s TEMPTATION’S TRAIL

In my book(s), there’s no competition for my favor – I’m equally proud of all of them. Buuuut, I confess, I do have a few that coax me back into their embrace time and time again. And on the top of that literary hill is where my Bass family saga will always reign supreme. In Harmon Bass, I found my perfectly imperfect hero - an intriguing mix of juxtapositions. He’s a well-known tracker out in the wilds of West Texas with a mysterious past that haunts him in the midst of a rugged setting that has killed lesser men. His dime novel reputation brings plucky Easterner, Amanda Duncan from New York determined to hire him to find her missing brother. It’s an impossible match that somehow . . . manages to work wonders for each of these lost and lonely characters. Here’s a taste . . .

HERO FOR HIRE.

When Amanda Duncan headed West to find her missing brother, she knew she was a little out of her element. Her privileged upbringing in a fancy boarding school hadn't prepared her for the perils of frontier Texas. So, she made a plan – all she had to do was hire a hero. But when legendary gunslinger Harmon Bass showed up, he wasn't what she expected at all. True, he was gorgeous beyond belief, but he was also unarmed! What kind of hero didn't carry a gun?

LADY FOR LOVE.

Rugged half-breed Harmon Bass needed a job that paid well and disguised his true mission. What he got was an irritating and irresistible trail partner who could not ride, shoot or keep quiet! Yet with every move she made, he wanted her more! Maybe it was Amanda's sheer pluck...or unexpected courage...or the way her beautiful brown eyes glowed with sensual fire. Here was a woman to tempt and torment him – the woman he'd been waiting for all of his life. Now, as he and the feisty eastern beauty crossed a wilderness dogged by crooked lawmen and avenging outlaws, Harm only prayed they lived long enough to claim the love that waited at the end of . . . TEMPTATION'S TRAIL.

 The Excerpt 

"Miss Duncan, where I'm going, every insect has a sting, every bush a thorn, every snake a fang, the sun is hot, the water's scarce, and the ride is so hard most sane men would refuse to make the trip."

"I'm not most men, Mr. Bass."

Having traded her fancy society clothes for a sensible split skirt and white cotton shirtwaist, glossy boots replacing kid shoes, and the glorious twists of her hair braided back from the milky softness of her face and topped with a flat-brimmed hat, she looked no less feminine, no less fragile. She'd wilt within the hour and be begging for mercy by nightfall, and then he'd have to lose precious time bringing her back. 

Trying a different approach, he took a step closer so that in her boot heels, they were almost eye to eye, she, tall for a woman, built like a supple reed, easily bent, but not easily broken. "How do you know I won't take you out there where there's nothing but nothing and slit your throat?" he goaded, letting that sink in before adding with a whisper of menace, "or worse?"

( . . . and a bit more . . .)

Without so much as a blink, she smiled wryly at him. "If that was what you were planning, you'd hardly warn me of it ahead of time, would you? And then," she added with a bit more tartness, "you'd be losing out on the thousand dollars, and I hardly think a man would be willing to sacrifice that for me, so stop wasting time, Mr.  Bass." 

Critical gaze lingering over the coltish sway of her hips as she walked toward the door, he was thinking about the courageous fire in her eyes, thinking she could be wrong . . . thinking way too damned much as he strode after her.

Getting this five-book series back into print is going to be a labor of love – from getting the text rescanned and edited, to a new covers and back copy. And I can’t wait to get started. If you’ve read them before, it’s time to get reacquainted. If you haven’t been introduced, the pleasure will be all mine. Happy reading – coming in 2025!

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