Gambling with Love by Kaye Spencer - January #blogabookscene #prairierosepubs #westernromance

The blog-a-book-scene theme for January is Baby, It's Cold Outside. Here is teaser from my western romance Gambling with Love, which is set in Wyoming and Colorado in the spring of 1883.

Deputy Federal Marshal Nick Foster is on the trail of gambler Lainie Conrad, a woman wanted for murder, and has finally caught up with her at a hotel during a spring blizzard. They have a history...

Teaser

Taking the stairs to the second-floor hallway, Nick let himself into Lainie’s room. Low light glowed from the oil lamp on the bedside table, and fire burned in the parlor stove near the bed, neither of which surprised him. Lainie liked to be comfortable, and paying to have a warm, lighted room awaiting her arrival was something she would do.

Stowing his gear and coat in a corner, he looked the room over. Apparently, she was traveling light nowadays. Her steamer trunks and portmanteau were missing. It looked like she was living out of a couple of oversized leather bags. For as fastidious in her dress and grooming as she was, that wasn’t like her, which made him wonder what she was up to.

Nick added another piece of wood and a shovelful of coal to the stove, grateful to be inside after riding three hours through the raging blue norther that, right now, was doing its damnedest to batter down the building with gusts of howling wind that rattled windowpanes and slammed loose shutters. He looped his gun belt over a bedpost within easy grasp, stretched out on the bed, situated his hat on the off-hand side, and slipped a set of handcuffs beneath it. He’d give her a chance to come with him of her own accord, but knowing Lainie… Well, she wasn’t getting away so easily this time.

While he waited, it felt good to let the weariness of the trail ease from his bones. Minutes later, the doorknob grated, and the door opened. That she didn’t use her key told him she knew he was waiting for her. It was her gambler’s nature; she noticed every little detail.

She paused at the threshold, coffee pot in hand, and the trim line of her figure silhouetted for a moment against the dim yellow hallway light before she stepped into the room, closed and locked the door. Crossing the few steps to the stove, she situated the coffee pot on the flat top, and placed a coffee cup, the room key, along with her reticule, on the table. Taking her time, and seemingly oblivious to his presence, she removed her short-waisted jacket, draped it over a chair back, and sashayed to the bed.

Lamp light shadows played off her swept-up golden tresses, and visions of their last night together in New Orleans seized him. Right then, he hated himself for how shamelessly he still loved her.

“You can only imagine my extreme disappointment when I saw you standing on the stairs. All this time I’d hoped you were dead.”

The teasing welcome in her tone belied her harsh words, and a warm rush of missing her made it hard to keep a clear head with a churning den of rattlers twisting around in his belly. He’d never loved a woman before Lainie waltzed into his life, and even though she’d run out on him almost as quickly as she’d arrived, there was no room in his heart for another woman. There never would be.

“Your aim was off. It was just a graze, but it rang my bell and bled like hell.” There wasn’t enough light for her to see it, but he turned his head and pointed to the scar that began at his right temple and ended over his ear.

“Why are you assuming my aim was off? By your own admission, it did knock you out, which was the object of my intent, I’ll have you know.”

Nick cocked an eyebrow, mocking her. “So, you’re a sharpshooter?”

He loved the lyrical lilt of her laughter, and she laughed now. “Next time you use that little parlor gun of yours, make sure you’re close enough to cram it right into the poor chump’s belly when you pull the trigger. You still might not kill him, but you’ll increase your chances of slowing him down, that’s for sure.”

“Why, thank you so much for the advice. However, in my defense, if you hadn’t tried to disarm me, I wouldn’t have pulled the trigger. It was your own fault that I shot you. Your ultimatum left me no choice, but to demonstrate the sincerity of my convictions.”

 Her voice dripped of syrupy sweet sarcasm.

Nick remembered all too well. “Are you planning on shooting me again?”

A grin played at the corners of her lips. “That depends upon your intentions toward my virtue.” Lainie busied herself with adjusting the lamp wick until she was satisfied with the glow.

Her subtle jasmine fragrance made it difficult to keep his hands to himself. “You know my intentions toward your virtue have never been honorable.”

Gambling with Love is available on Amazon.com

Print | eBook | Kindle Unlimited


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Until next time,

Kaye Spencer
Writing through history one romance upon a time

New Release - Gambling on Forever by Becky Lower - @prairierosepubs #WesternRomance

When Elise Lafontaine spies her father’s missing saddlebag with its all-important papers slung over the shoulder of a man boarding a riverboat, she follows him, hoping to retrieve the contents. Her plans come to an abrupt halt when she is declined entry to the boat, since she is an unaccompanied female.

From his perch on the top deck, handsome riverboat gambler James Garnett witnesses her denied entry. When she shoots him a look of desperation, how can he resist those deep blue eyes and beautiful face? Of course, he comes to her rescue, pretending she is his fiancée—and she is allowed aboard.

Begrudgingly, Elise accepts James’s offer of help to win back the saddlebag and the papers by having him play poker on her behalf, certain the thieving Confederate brothers who stole the bag will lose everything to James. But can Elise be happy with only the saddlebag and its contents? Or has she already lost her heart to the dangerous gambler?

After a sultry kiss, Elise steals his money and the papers and jumps overboard. Then the games truly begin. Now, Elise stands at the biggest crossroads of her life—will she go her own way, fiercely independent and alone? Or will she wager everything on the man who holds her heart--GAMBLING ON FOREVER?

EXCERPT

     After shouting every curse word she could come up with, in no less than three languages, Elise quieted and glanced around the small cabin. She needed to corral her energy—which had been riding high ever since this morning when she first spied the missing saddlebag.

     Taking some deep, calming breaths, she assessed her situation. She didn’t for a minute buy Mr. Garnett’s pronouncement that he had no ulterior motive. Everyone had an angle of some kind. Especially men. Especially men with a smooth exterior like Mr. Garnett. Like Bailey Snodgrass. Ever since he’d set foot in St. Louis and disrupted the lives of Elise’s best friend and her family, she’d been on guard against the many other slick men who had surfaced after the war. Carpetbaggers like Bailey, riverboat gamblers, sweet-talking handsome men…they were all the same in Elise’s mind.

     Susannah was hopefully on her way back to the ranch by now to round up the search party. Elise’s four brothers, each one bigger and fiercer than the next, would be coming for her shortly. Of that, she had no doubt. Their Indian blood and a lifetime in the wilderness rounding up wild horses made them expert trackers, but tracking one of the many riverboats clogging the Mississippi might cause some problems for them, even with their superior skills.

     But they would find her and would do serious damage to the pair who had the stolen merchandise. And Mr. Garnett? So far, she had nothing to report to her brothers about him. But the journey had only begun. And he was a man. She had no doubt he’d do something to trip himself up soon.

     The big steam engine had roared to life a few minutes ago while she spilled every obscenity in her repertoire, and the large paddle wheels started slapping against the waves as they rotated.

     If she were the weepy sort, she’d be shedding buckets by now over her plight. Here she was, alone on a strange, large ship, without even a change of undergarments. But crying never helped any predicament, so she’d calm herself and figure out what to do.

     

'Gambling with Love' - How this story came about by Kaye Spencer

Long about 2007, I entered an on-line writing contest sponsored by The Romance Studio. It was a 3-Round competition. The first two stages of the contest were writing the first 1000 words of a story based on a pre-determined story prompt. The third stage was to create a newsletter. At each stage, you posted your entry and readers logged-in and voted. If you 'finaled', you went on to the next level. (FYI: I made it to the newsletter level, but I didn't win. I think I placed third or fourth.)

Anyway, Gambling with Love, my latest release with Prairie Rose Publications (tomorrow, March 9th) evolved from one of the story prompts of that contest. Here's the prompt:

Character A is in law enforcement and must find and arrest Character B. These characters have a romantic history that went sour. Character A's feelings are still strong for Character B. Write their reunion scene with the arrest in mind.

Gambling with Love is set in 1883 in Denver, Colorado against the backdrop of a high-stakes poker tournament. The heroine, Lainie Conrad (Character B) is a professional poker player seeking revenge against the gambler responsible for her husband's murder. Her plans for revenge are compromised when U.S. Deputy Marshal Nick Foster (Character A) shows up to arrest and escort her back east to stand trial for suspected murder.

While I grew up in a card-playing family, I've never played much poker, although I'm comfortable with a "friendly" game now and then. So, in order to write the poker scene in Gambling with Love with historical accuracy, I needed to refresh my memory with the basic rules and etiquette and also  research the history of cards and poker to put it into historical context. I was not disappointed in the plethora of websites, blogs, and books on both topics.**

Here's where I started:

• Playing cards date historically from as early as 10th century Asia;
• 14th century Europe saw a variety of playing card designs develop;
• By the late 15th century, the 52-card deck was popular as the standard preferred deck even though many card games only called for 20-32 cards, which limited the number of players in a game;
• 15th century England and France saw the evolution of  the four suits of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs; and
• Court Cards—King, Queen, Jack—were influenced by English and French royalty.
• Another interesting aspect of cards is the Joker, also called the Jack of Trumps, Imperial Trump, and Wild Card. This card may have evolved from an Americanized version of the European card game, Euchre, which required an extra card (called the trump card or Jack of Trumps). Consequently, in keeping with the royal court cards, the Joker came to represent the Court Jester or Fool.

Example of a trump or wild card

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Imperial_Bower.png

The Joker has a paradoxical appeal because it carries special properties as the Imperial Trump or Wild Card and, in that role, can resolve problems and win “tricks”. The Joker is as powerful as it is insignificant. It can represent any card and yet it represents nothing without a purposeful designation.

Taking the trivia-history of poker a bit farther...

Poker’s hazy origins are of some debate among those who study this sort of thing. There are arguments supporting its creation in the ancient Orient to the game evolving as a pirate’s pastime. However, there is some agreement that poker’s historical roots reach back to a French card game of vying, bluffing, and betting called “Poque” in which one said Je poque to open the betting.

In America, Poque dates back to the French settlers of early 1800s New Orleans. As the game of poker spread northwards along the Mississippi River, it followed the expansion of the American frontier with the rush to the California gold fields in 1849 and later with the further opening of the west after the Civil War. “Brag”, a three-card British betting card game with a drawing component, influenced the rules of Poque and the “draw” was incorporated into the game. By the mid-1800s, the game was known by its American name, Poker, and was increasingly played with all 52 cards to allow for more players. The term “Draw Poker” was first recorded c. 1850.

Kaye's 48th Edition copy of

The Official Rules of Card Games by Hoyle

According to the Hoyle 1854 edition, these were the accepted hands:

• one pair
• two pairs
• straight sequence or rotation
• triplets
• flush
• full house
• fours

Apparently, Draw and Stud Poker rules appeared for the first time in the card games rule book, The American Hoyle, in the 1875 edition. The 1887 edition noted that four of a kind was the best hand when straights were not played. Interestingly enough, for many years, straights were not generally accepted poker hands.

Hoyle’s rules stated that when a straight and a flush came together, it outranked a full house, but not fours. Until the 1890s, the highest possible hand was four Aces or four Kings with an Ace kicker (a.k.a. wild card, imperial trump or “cuter”). Not only was this hand unbeatable, it could not be tied.

Obviously, the player holding four kings and an ace couldn’t be beaten, however, a ‘cuter’ was a specific type of wild card in that it often bore a dangerously close resemblance to the ace of spades. More than one old west legend sprang up about gamblers losing high stakes pots to this clever imposter when they erroneously thought they held all four aces.

I incorporated a ‘cuter’, aka imperial trump, into the big poker game as a devious little plot twist in Gambling with Love to keep the players on their toes.

Gambling with Love is a re-release that underwent significant plot changes to become the story it is now.

Available March 9, 2017

On Amazon.com

Kindle and KindleUnlimited

Now, for the extra fun part.

I'm giving away sticky note holders. If you'd like one...

• Send me an email at kayespencer @ live.com (omit extra spaces) with your physical mailing address and include the words STICKY NOTES in the subject line so I don't overlook your email. [Protect your privacy. Please don't post your contact information in the comments.]

Then I will send you this sticky note holder through the U.S. postal service. Sister Prairie Roses, you're included in this giveaway, and I will also mail internationally. So, Win-Win for everyone.

(Your email and physical addresses are safe with me. I will only use them to send this complimentary gift to you.)

Until next time,

Kaye
Writing the West one romance upon a time

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**To read more about the history poker in the American Old West, refer to the Time-Life Books series on The Old West, specifically the volume devoted to “The Gamblers”, or visit the internet sources devoted to the game of poker, which are too numerous to list here.