Gunslinger Shiloh Coltrane has returned home to
work the family's Wyoming ranch, only to find there's still violence ahead. His
sister and nephew have been murdered, and the killers are at large. Dr. Sydney
Cantrell has come west to start her medical practice, aiming to treat the
people of a small town. As she tries to help and heal, she finds disapproval
and cruelty the payment in kind.
When the two meet, it's an attraction of
opposites. As Shiloh seeks revenge, Sydney seeks to do what's right. Each wants
a new life, but will trouble or love find them first?
Wild Women Authors is pleased to feature Andrea Downing and Shot
Through the Heart, a recent historical romance released by the Wild Rose
Press. Up first is gunslinger turned Wyoming rancher, Shiloh Coltrane.
Good
morning, Mr. Coltrane. Tell us something about yourself, beginning with where you
are from. Born and raised in Wyoming
Tell
us a bit about Shot Through the Heart. I used to be a hired gun, travelling around quite a
bit. I left my family’s ranch because I
couldn’t get on with my papa, but I finally decided to hang up my guns and go
back and help my sister, who’d inherited the ranch. Trouble is, when I got back on home I
discovered my sister and her son had been murdered, so of course, I need to find
those men that killed her before I can settle well back home.
What
did you think the first time you saw Sydney Cantrell? I thought she was an angel descending the steps in the
saloon. I knew she couldn’t be a soiled
dove, but I had no idea who—or what—she was.
What was
your second thought? The next time I saw her I was waiting to see the new doctor…only
to discover it was her! You can imagine
my surprise, and also my
embarrassment because, after all, when you see a doctor there are private things you
don’t want to show or discuss with a woman.
It was strange.
Did
you feel it was love at first sight? Pretty much, but I was plum confused so I
wasn’t really thinking much about my feelings at that point.
What
do you like most about Dr. Cantrell? She’s real caring, for both the townspeople
and the local Indians. But I’m not sure
her independence is a real good thing—seems a bit headstrong to me, but then
maybe we both are.
How
would you describe her? I’m not sure
whether you mean her looks or her personality.
Looks-wise, she’s got this red-gold hair and almost hyacinth-colored
eyes and really pale skin. She’s beautiful.
Personality-wise, as I said, she’s really independent and headstrong;
makes up her own mind and is difficult to dissuade from her own opinions. I
guess that’s how she became a doctor against her parents’ wishes.
How
would she describe you? Probably in a very similar way—we’re both set
in our ways and have our own ideas of things we’re not likely to give up.
That’s a problem, ‘cause I’m going after my sister’s killers and Syd doesn’t
approve of killing.
What
made you choose gunslinging as a career? What makes anyone choose it? You
sort of fall into it. You find you’re
quick with your gun and a good shot, don’t mind fighting people, and like the
travel. But I got sick of taking orders
from other men who didn’t want to get their hands dirty, so to speak.
What
is your biggest fear? Not finding my sister’s killers.
How
do you relax? Huh? Who the heck
relaxes? What’s that? I’ll be running a ranch when I’m done with those
murderers and there’s always something to be done on a ranch.
Who
is your favorite fictional character? I don’t know any fictional characters; I
don’t read much, if that’s what you mean.
What
is the best piece of advice you ever received? Keep your guns
clean, your eyes open, and a slipknot on your horse.
Thanks
for spending time with us, Mr. Coltrane. And thank you for offering us an
excerpt from Shot Through the Heart:
She crouched behind him, unable to stop the thought her patient’s
physique was a prime example of why a female shouldn’t be a doctor, according
to her last professor. Oh, yes—we
wouldn’t be able to treat men without thinking of marriage. Ha! She shook
her head to banish the thought, now supplanted by admiration for the curve of
his buttocks, and stood up. Put on her professional tone. Looked into eyes the
color of a storm-brewing sky and felt a rush of desire to run her hands though
the shaggy blond hair.
Never. Never ever.
She breathed out, pulled herself back to the moment.
“You’re covered in glass.”
“What else is new?”
“Are you in pain?”
“Some. It can wait. Not enough to concern me.”
“You’re going to have to take off your pants and lie on your stomach so I
can examine you.”
He didn’t take his eyes off her as he said, “Well then you’re going to
have to help. My hands….” He held out his hands, palms up, for her to see.
She realized he was right but resented her own huff of annoyance as he
lifted his arms away from his sides. She reached for the buckle on his gun belt
first, her irritation with his smirk making her proceed faster than she might
have, with less care.
He grimaced.
“Did that hurt?”
“’Course it dang well hurt. I’ve got glass—”
“I can see you’re covered in glass, Mr.?” It suddenly struck her she’d
been so stunned by her patient, she hadn’t even got his name.
“Coltrane. Shiloh Coltrane.”
She pulled herself together once more as she stood, disconcerted, her
gaze avoiding his. “Perhaps you’d like to see the barber? This is something he
can—”
“If I wanted a shave, I’d see the barber. What I want is…what I want is
to get this dang glass out of my skin, my hands particularly. And the piece
that’s sticking me in the…the…behind.”
“There are bits in your face as well.” She reached for his belt without
another word and undid it, hanging the gun belt on the chair before reaching
for his pants belt and pulling it free. That, too, landed on the chair.
“I know I’ve got bits in my face. Let’s just deal first with the hands
and …and behind.”
“All right,” she said. “I’m not going to take your pants off for you. Let
me see your hands.”
Once more, Shiloh held out both hands, palms up.
Flustered, she blurted, “Sit down.” She went to her bag and searched for
the carbolic, gave it a shake before putting some on a cloth and wiped a pair
of tweezers. She pulled a tin basin out of the bag as well. She pivoted back to
him to find him still standing. “Sorry I forgot. You can’t sit, can you?”
“Not really. Am I causing you problems?”
Now it’s
time to chat with author Andrea Downing, beginning with:
What
movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Fortune’s Daughters by Elizabeth Kehoe
and Centennial by James Michener The former is about the Jerome sisters, one
of whom, Jenny, was Winston Churchill’s mother and another of whom, Clara,
married a Brit who started one of the first cattle companies in Wyoming. Centennial
touched on the British starting
ranches as well, and the two of them together gave me the idea for my first
book, Loveland.
What
event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you
feel it impacted the novel? There isn’t really an event as such, but in
2012 I was able to purchase a small holiday home outside of Jackson, WY, in
Wilson. Since then I’ve got to know
Wyoming pretty well—I’d traveled there many times before as well—so it’s become
the setting for most of my books. I’m
not sure, in this book, the Wyoming setting made much of an impact other than
the traveling Shiloh has to do and the long months he spends away because of
the distances involved.
Tell
us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced
your decision to submit to them? I’ve been with The Wild Rose Press since my
first book, back in 2012, so I am sticking with them. They have great respect for the most part for
their authors and treat us pretty well.
What
book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Are
you kidding?! I have about fifty novels
on my kindle waiting to be read, mostly literary fiction with a few romances
thrown in. I read a lot of books set in
the West, such as those by Ivan Doig, Anne Schroeder, or Paulette Jiles, but I
also read western romance of course, such as those by Shanna Hatfield, Patti
Sherry-Crews, and Hebby Roman.
Lastly, what's up next
and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I’ve been
working on and off on a women’s fiction book but that’s resting, you might
say. The pandemic has really taken it
out of me with my daughter and son-in-law living here so I have no idea when I’ll
get back to it and when you’ll see it on the shelves.
To
purchase Shot Through the Heart, go to:
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54751926-shot-through-the-heart
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shot-Through-Heart-Andrea-Downing-ebook/dp/B08DHV8VQ5/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/shot-through-the-heart-by-andrea-downing
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shot-through-the-heart-andrea-downing/1137387142?ean=9781509232345
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/shot-through-the-heart-18
To learn more about Andrea Downing and the stories she
creates, go to:
Twitter:
@andidowning
https://twitter.com/AndiDowning
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/writerAndreaDowning/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/andidowning/andreas-roundup/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/andidowning/?hl=en
Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446229.Andrea_Downing
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/andrea-downing
Amazon
Author Page : http://www.amazon.com/Andrea-Downing/e/B008MQ0NXS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Please follow Andrea on BookBub and Goodreads
