Month: May 2016

New Release! Blood at Haught Springs

May 30, 2016 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Last Friday I released a new publication, a novella that is the first of three in the series I call Men of Haught Springs. Here are the details:

Title: Blood at Haught Springs
Author: Marsha Ward
Genre: Western Adventure Novella with two Bonus Short Stories
Publisher: WestWard Books
Date of Publication: May 27, 2016
Price: $2.99 (ebook formats)

Book Description:
Wes Haught wants his brother to grow up and take on his share of the chores at the family’s general store. Lonnie Haught dreams of the day he can leave home and use his gun. Both brothers resent the added work their father’s recent accident has laid on them.

When a new family arrives in Haught Springs, Wes falls for the fair-haired daughter, while Lonnie seizes upon the father’s offer of a job as his chance for escape.

But lies unravel and lives hang in the balance as brother fights against brother.

Fiery emotions and vengeful acts erupt in a smoldering new Western adventure novella from the author of the acclaimed Owen Family Saga.

Included with this novella are the short stories Cottonwood Cowboys and No More Strangers.

Excerpt:
Wesley Haught opened a barrel of beans, set the wooden top aside, and prepared to sack up ten pounds for his waiting customer, Mrs. Slonaker. The bell over the door of the store jangled, and he looked up. A tall, bearded man came through the door. Wes was sure he hadn’t visited Haught’s General Store and Commercial Emporium before. Perhaps he was just passing through town. Wes appraised the dark suit the man wore, made of expensive fabric and nicely cut. He must have money. Maybe he’ll spend some of it today. He smiled at the thought.

“Morning,” Wes said. “I’ll be with you shortly.”

“Take your time,” the stranger replied, but with a terseness to his voice that indicated he was not in the habit of waiting his turn. He stroked a nicely trimmed yellow beard that had two streaks of gray. His hair— that is, what Wes could see below the man’s bowler hat— was a lighter color of yellow, as though it had faded over the years.

Wes bagged and weighed the beans, then tied the sack closed with a bit of twine. He’d just turned to add the beans to Mrs. Slonaker’s order piled on the counter, when the door’s bell jangled again as it opened. A rustle of skirts told him he had another female customer.

“Lonnie,” he called over his shoulder into the back room. Lazy lay-about, he thought, his mood turning sour. At nineteen, Lonnie was three years younger than Wes, and he was the worst brother in town. In his mind’s eye, he saw Lonnie sitting at the work table, feet propped on the top. Playing with a pistol. As usual. The fact that Dad didn’t seem to see Lonnie’s shiftlessness was like a knife in Wes’s guts.

“Lonnie! Get out here. Folks are lining up.” He hated using a brusque tone of voice in front of customers, but Lonnie wouldn’t move unless he thought Wes meant it.

“In a minute,” Lonnie hollered.

From the sounds coming out of the back room— the clicks of rotation and soft swishes of metal seating into metal— Wes knew his brother was fitting cartridges into the cylinder of his pistol. “Huh,” he snorted, then turned back in time to see the new arrival close the door, sashay toward the man in the suit, and take his arm. He inhaled sharply and blinked at the sight of her.
~~~

Purchase Links:
Kindle | Smashwords (all ebook formats) | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore

Author Bio:
Amazon best-selling author Marsha Ward writes authentic historical fiction set in 19th Century America, and contemporary romance. She was born in the sleepy little town of Phoenix, Arizona, in a simpler time. With plenty of room to roam among the chickens and citrus trees, Marsha enjoyed playing with neighborhood chums, but always had her imaginary friend, cowboy Johnny Rigger Prescott, at her side. Now she makes her home in a forest in the mountains of Arizona. She loves to hear from her readers.

Find Marsha online:
marshaward.com
facebook.com/authormarshaward
marshaward.blogspot.com
twitter.com/MarshaWard
authormarshaward@gmail.com

Join Marsha’s Readers Mailing List to be notified of new releases: Click here

Share This:

Sample Saturday: Cover Reveal – Blood at Haught Springs

May 21, 2016 / Marsha Ward

I’m excited to reveal the cover of my new novella, Blood at Haught Springs, which will be released as an ebook next Friday, May 27.

Blood at Haught Springs

This ebook edition contains two short stories, as well: Cottonwood Cowboys, and No More Strangers.

As you can tell by looking at the cover, I plan more stories featuring men from Haught Springs, a fictional town in Texas, and the surrounding area.

~~~

Have you picked up a copy of my new novel, The Zion Trail?
After you read it, please post a review at Amazon.

Thank you!

The Zion Trail

Share This:

Sample Saturday: Blood at Haught Springs

May 14, 2016 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Welcome to Sample Saturday. Later this month, I’ll release a novella, which will be the first of several tales in a new series: The Men of Haught Springs. Here’s a snippet from the story of brothers at odds, Blood at Haught Springs.
~~~

The Men of Haught Springs

By closing time, Lonnie had not returned to the store. Wes shrugged off his dissatisfaction. His brother had probably headed home early to bear tales to Dad of how badly Wes had treated him. Sack of lazy bones, he thought, and locked the front door. He had one stop to make at the butcher’s, then he’d get home.

The house was a mere block away when Wes had completed his errand, and he covered the distance at a fast pace, gripping the valise in one hand, and a parcel containing a cut of beef in the other. Maggie, the Haught’s housekeeper, had requested a roast for tomorrow’s dinner. Wes had first thought of bringing home a goose someone had brought in to trade for groceries, but had dismissed the idea. Dad shouldn’t have rich poultry yet. Beef broth is better for him while he mends.

Grove Haught’s injuries had come about when he was thrown from the seat of a freight wagon and run over by a wheel. Fortunately for him, Wes had run to stop the team before the second wheel crushed his father’s chest. Even so, the first wheel had done significant damage, and Dad had been in bed recuperating for some time.

This morning, he had seemed better, and said he wanted to get out of bed and sit in the parlor for a while. He had grudgingly accepted Wes’s assistance, after asking why Lonnie hadn’t volunteered to do the task. Wes had to explain that Lonnie had already left the house to get in his gun practice before the store opened.

Wes hoped the evening at home would go better than the morning had. Someday Dad will see I’m of more worth than a dozen of Lonnie. He half expected his father to fit out his brother in a coat of many colors, like the man in the Bible had done for his favorite son. Before Lonnie could gain more favor with their father, Wes was determined to prove his worth. Today, he had made a good start, getting those leases sewn up.

A wash of satisfaction swept over him, and he grinned. Another pleasant thought popped into his mind. Miss Nina. Matters could not look better in that department. She as much as begged me to see her again. He realized he hadn’t firmed up any plans to that effect. I’ll have to make an appointment to take her on a picnic or to a dance as soon as possible. He inhaled a lungful of sweet night air and decided that, on balance, it had been a splendid day.
~~~

Watch for next week’s cover reveal for Blood at Haught Springs.

Have you picked up a copy of my new novel, The Zion Trail?
If you’ve already read it, please post a review at Amazon. Thank you!

The Zion Trail