Search This Blog

Thursday, December 18, 2014

#NewRelease: THE SECOND-BEST RANGER IN TEXAS

By Kathleen Rice Adams

Texas Ranger, c. 1846 (Library of Congress collection)
As a Texan, I’ve always been fond of the Texas Rangers, an elite law-enforcement agency that functions as the state’s own FBI. Like their predecessors who patrolled Texas’s wide-open spaces during the 19th Century, the 150 men and women who compose the force today are a tough, savvy bunch no one wants to find on their trail. Texans revere the organization not only for the outfit’s history, but also because today’s Rangers serve as an outstanding example of upstanding devotion to an ideal.

Unofficially formed in 1823 and made official in 1835 by an act of the newly formed Republic of Texas government, the Rangers are the oldest statewide law-enforcement body in the U.S. At first the tough, hard-bitten men were a paramilitary force tasked with protecting the frontier from Indians and desperados. They were poorly paid and expected to furnish their own horses, weapons, and ammunition, but their never-say-die attitude quickly became legendary. Admittedly, sometimes they abandoned the letter of the law in pursuit of their objectives, but they always got the job done.

Fearful of the organization’s reputation, the federal government disbanded the Rangers during the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. Texas re-commissioned the outfit in 1874, after the state emerged from martial law under Union occupation forces. Shortly before the turn of the 20th Century, the Rangers acquired the motto that still follows them today: “One riot; one Ranger.”

Except for one brief-but-notorious period of corruption in the 1920s, the organization has performed its function with stellar character.

The hero in The Second-Best Ranger in Texas, a 99-cent standalone short story Prairie Rose publications released today, is a Texas Ranger booted from the force when his partner’s death turns him into a loose cannon bent on revenge...as soon as he does his brother-in-arms one last favor.


A washed-up Texas Ranger. A failed nun with a violent past. A love that will redeem them both.

His partner’s grisly death destroyed Texas Ranger Quinn Barclay. Cashiered for drunkenness and refusal to follow orders, he sets out to fulfill his partner’s dying request, armed only with a saloon girl’s name.

Sister María Tomás thought she wanted to become a nun, but childhood dreams aren’t always meant to be. At last ready to relinquish the temporary vows she never should have made, she begs the only man she trusts to collect her from a mission in the middle of nowhere.

When the ex-Ranger’s quest collides with the ex-nun’s plea in a burned-out border town, unexpected love blooms among shared memories of the dead man who was a brother to them both.

Too bad he was also the only man who could have warned them about the carnage to come.

Available as an e-book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

To celebrate the release, I'll give a copy of The Second-Best Ranger in Texas, in the format of their choice, to one of the folks who comments on today’s post.





17 comments:

  1. Thanks for the lesson on the Texas Rangers. Can't wait to read about Quinn and Maria. Congratulations on the publication of your short story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Agnes! I hope you enjoy the story when you have a chance to read it. Marie outdoes Quinn on the sarcasm, which is saying quite a bit! :-D

      Delete
  2. Morning Kathleen. Somehow I see Chuck Norris playing the part of Quinn Barclay (The Eyes of Texas are Upon You plays through my mind as I read your synopsis) and Shirley McClain as Sister Maria Tomas. (think 3 Mules for Sister Sara) but a much younger Shirley. I love the premise of the story. Congratulations! It would make a great movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nooooo! Not Chuck Norris! Augh! He's much too short. :-D

      Thanks for your kind words, sweetie. I'll keep my fingers crossed that one of your stories is optioned for a movie if you'll keep your fingers crossed for one of mine. :-)

      Delete
  3. The history and romance of the Texas Rangers are irresistible... at least I couldn't resist them. I'm looking forward to reading your story.

    (And I'm going to have to think about Shirley MacLaine as Maria.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HA! I know you love the Rangers, Ali. Jase, the hunky Texas Ranger in your UNDER A TEXAS STAR still tromps around in my head from time to time. (I do wish he'd stop that. It's disconcerting.)

      We should write a combined volume one of these days: One Texas Ranger story written by a Canuck, and one Mountie story written by a Texan. ;-)

      Hope you're having a wonderful holiday up there in the Great White North!

      Delete
  4. As usual, great fun and loved the story! Doris

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Doris. I always love to hear you enjoyed a story. I feel secure my heroines are tough and worthy of a challenge if the Maven of Women's History likes them.

      HUGS, sweetie!

      Delete
  5. Wonderful story, Kathleen. I do love Texas Rangers, and obviously Ranger Quinn wasn't as washed-up as you made us think. Happy release day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Livia! Quinn just needed his head smacked sideways by a tiny, tough-as-nails nun. ;-)

      When are YOU going to write another Texas Ranger story? I so enjoyed GUARDING HER HEART. Talk about a pulse-pounder! The stagecoach scene had me holding my breath and reading as fast as I could so **I** didn't fall of a cliff. :-D

      Delete
  6. Kathleen,

    Have it. Read it. Love it. *grin* Happy Day after Release Day. lolol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And where have you been, Colorado Chaos? Wreaking havoc in another state? ;-)

      Delete
    2. Kathleen,

      No. No. Wreaking havoc right here in Colorado. *wink* Just shunning social media and all things Internet related. I do that every so often. It's one of my strategies to maintain control over the little grip I have on reality. As the saying goes, "Some days it's not even worth chewing through the restraints." lol

      Delete
  7. Kathleen, you always have the most interesting stories to tell. You had me at washed up Ranger and a nun with a violent past. LOL
    It's always such a joy to read your blogs and your books. I think about you often.
    All the very best to your corner of Earth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah, I had ME at washed-up Ranger and nun, too! :-D

      You are always so kind and supportive...at least when you're not impaling the rest of us with that sneaky, rapier-like wit of yours.

      I hope your holidays and the year to come are blessed with every good thing, sweetheart. BIG HUGS!!!!

      Delete
  8. This sounds like a really cool story! I love when history and fiction meet!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Dorothy! History and fiction are well acquainted around these parts. ;-)

      It's nice to see you! We hope you'll visit often. :-)

      Delete