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AVAILABLE NOW!
Outlaw Muse
a western historical romance
www.amazon.com
www.SoulMatePublishing.com
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read an excerpt.
COMING JANUARY 2014: A Game of Chance, a western historical romance set in 1870 San Francisco.
COMING 2014: A Change of Plans, a western historical romance set in 1875 Kansas.
Watch this site for information on current and upcoming releases. Don't forget to check out Write Up My Alley, Lauren's blog about her writing journey, fun facts from history, and life in general.
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An Excerpt From Outlaw Muse:
"You'll need to come with me."
Serena's head whipped around. She stared at him in disbelief. "An unchaperoned woman in a man's company? You must be insane."
"I owe it to you. It's something the Chinese believe. If you save someone's life, then you are responsible for that person for the rest of your life."
Daman grinned. "I did save that pretty neck of yours."
Serena blushed and looked down. A protective wave swept over him as he looked at her profile. He began thinking aloud.
"Now how to pull it off?" He looked her over. "How about my ward? The American cousin and poor relation who has lost her parents."
She narrowed her eyes. "I am twenty-five, you know. A little long in the tooth for being anyone's ward."
"Hmm." Daman thought, constructing the storyline as he spoke. "Still, a cousin could work. Maybe a loving but stern aunt raised you. She died and left you a nice inheritance, but you were taken advantage of by a man who wanted the money and not you."
Serena gasped at his words. He amended the story he spun.
"No, you look much too smart for that to occur. Let's say train robbers killed your fiancé. Or wait. A bank robber. Who's that James character I've heard of?"
Daman smiled as the wheels in his mind turned. "Never mind that now. We can iron out the details later. We'll make you heartbroken, practically a widow. Robert could have died a week before the wedding."
"Robert?"
"You know, Robert, your dead fiancé. Now if we-"
Serena interrupted him. "For having given up writing, you have quite a fertile imagination."
Excitement overcame Daman. It had been a long time since the creative juices flowed through him. In the space of a few minutes, he seemed his old self again. Creating seemed natural once more.
"Anyway, I came to represent your British branch of cousins at the wedding. Now I'm your greatest comfort. We can say you'll accompany me back to London when my business is completed here."
Daman thought a moment. "You'll need the props. The proper clothes. Sorry, but you'll be in mourning, unless the tragic event happened six months ago."
"Westerners don't typically conform to such conventions as lengthy mourning," Serena informed him. "Of course, I have no clothes, mourning or otherwise."
Daman waved that thought away. "The earl has scads of money. Now, what else needs to be done?"
His excitement built. He knew a large part of it was weaving the fantasy once again, playing God with people's lives, bringing into existence what he wished to be and then making it so.
Yet another hidden part of him knew that spending time with the lovely Serena Sullivan also encouraged him to continue fabricating a history for her. He hadn't been attracted to a woman in ages. Not since Daphne left. Of course, he'd physically satisfied himself with a string of women, but none had captured his fancy.
Serena Sullivan did.
