Thursday, October 25, 2007

A Bounty Hunter's Life



My November release Bodine's Bounty is set in western times, circa 1882. When I was doing my research for the story, I learned some surprising facts about bounty hunters and what the west was like back in those days. In the story, my hero Bodine is secretly hired to protect a runaway heiress on a mission all her own. He thinks the job frivilous but learns quickly the task is much more difficult than anyone could have predicted - Emma Marie Rourke is a strong and determined young woman. With his brother's killer on the loose, Bodine can't wait to finish his job with Emma so he can pursue the outlaw responsible for his death.






Did you know:

Bounty hunters were never paid on the spot for turning in their prisoner. Because of the red tape involved the bounty hunter would leave his address and have to wait for his payment.

Bounty hunters names were never recorded- anonimity meant survival.

The average bounty for a prisoner brought in was $100 to $300 but some ranged as high as $500.
The highest award offered in British Columbia was $4000 for William Haney who robbed a train and killed a special constable tracking him down. He was never captured.

In B.C., wanted posters never used the DEAD as part of the equation. Bounty hunters had to bring their prisoners in alive to receive compensation.



In the U.S, bringing in a prisoner alive was perferrable, but dead was acceptable. Alive meant the full compensation - dead less than half. If Bob Ford had turned in Jesse James alive, he'd have received the full and highest bounty during that time of $10,000. Because he killed Jesse he received less than half the compensation.



The Idea:



I'm often asked where I get my ideas from and this time I can readily answer that this story came from a very surprising source. I've always loved Elvis Presley and have seen his movies countless times over the years. I loved the premise of Girl Happy, where a mobster father pays Elvis to watch over his daughter during spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the one-time hottest destination for spring-breakers in the U.S.

Elvis is forced to comply even though he has his own agenda. He doesn't think the job too hard, after all, the daughter isn't much of a social butterfly. He figures he can watch her and still have fun but he learns that the rich heiress isn't a wallflower after all. She leads him on a merry chase and he winds up reluctantly falling in love with her after much ado.

The premise for this Elvis movie had always stuck in my mind and I knew I'd find the right story one day. And then I decided I'd love to write about a bounty hunter. Soon, the two ideas became one and I fashioned Bodine's Bounty with Girl Happy in mind. It just goes to show that one never really knows when or how an idea will hit.































Tuesday, October 02, 2007

HH October Release: A Western Winter Wonderland

A Western Winter Wonderland
Christmas Day Family by Cheryl St.John
Marvel Henley thought she was content until the new handsome doctor Seth Paxton and his adorable kids crashed into her life! Suddenly she began to yearn for things she had long stopped wishing for....
Fallen Angel by Jenna Kernan
When Abby March is accidentally shot she and her young boy are taken into a rugged stranger’s care. Dark and mysterious, Ford Statler hides a softer side and offers much more than just a Christmas to remember....
One Magic Eve by Pam Crooks
Chet Lattimer is attracted to Sonja Kaplan despite local gossip, and he finds himself asking Sonja for help with his motherless little boy. With Christmas on the horizon and magic in the air, their lives may just change...forever!

Read the excerpt

Buy
A Western Winter Wonderland

HH October Release: An Innocent Courtesan by Elizabeth Beacon

An Innocent Courtesan
From unloved bride...Caroline Besford will no longer be any man's pawn. Her father forced her into marriage with a man who refused to share her bed. In making her escape, Caro became Cleo—an untouched courtesan! Amazingly, the husband who ignored his plain bride is now pursuing her!...to adored mistress!But as Cleo is drawn into a web of lies and deception, she cannot deny her growing desire for her husband. And what will the colonel do when he discovers that his darling Cleo is his dowdy wife, Caroline?


Read the excerpt


Buy
An Innocent Courtesan

HH October Release: His Rebel Bride by Helen Dickson

His Rebel Bride
''Break as many hearts as you please, Marcus, but you'll not break mine." In the dark days of rebellion against King James, a woman is wagered on a turn of the cards....Marcus, Lord Reresby, is the loser. Now he must marry the daughter of the man he hates. Her beauty, spirit and fortune will be some small recompense—and he has never found it difficult to tame women before....But passionate Catherine will not be tamed. She makes no secret of her hatred or her dangerous political beliefs, and Marcus comes to realize that he has let a rebel into his house...and his heart!


Read the excerpt


Buy
His Rebel Bride

HH October Release: Lord Libertine by Gail Ranstrom

Lord Libertine
Bored with his dissolute life, Andrew Hunter craved a new diversion. And one presented itself in the form of the mysterious Lady Lace! Her practiced flirtations branded her an experienced woman—but her bewitching kisses spoke of innocence and purity.Lord Libertine set himself to seduce the truth from her. But the notorious rakehell was not prepared for the answers he gained. And in discovering the lady’s secrets, he endangered his own heart!


Read the excerpt


Buy
Lord Libertine

HH October Release: The Harlot's Daughter by Blythe Gifford

The Harlot's Daughter
Lady Solay’s eyes met those of a hard-edged man. His implacable gaze sliced through her and, for an instant, she forgot everything else. A mistake. She had no time for emotion when so much depended on her finding favor at court.Lord Justin Lamont couldn’t look away from the late king’s scandalous—illegitimate—daughter. Head held high, she walked as if the court adored her. No matter the pain in her eyes, Justin resolutely snuffed out a spark of sympathy. He must guard against her bewitching charms....


Read the excerpt


Buy
The Harlot's Daughter

HH October release: The Warlord's Mistress by Juliet Landon

The Warlord's Mistress
Living as a refined lady, Dania Rhiannon has kept her true origins hidden. While soldiers swarm the streets of this northern outpost of the Roman empire by day, influential officers are drawn to her House of Women by night. Dania hasn’t once been tempted before now to share in intimate pleasures, but her world is rocked when she realizes that one masterful warrior could all too easily seduce her into his arms. But is Fabian Cornelius Peregrinus truly attracted to Dania—or does he suspect what lies beneath her mantle of respectability?


Read the Excerpt


Buy
The Warlord's Mistress