Three Sisters by Susan Payne

Three very different sisters find the loves of their lives if only they accept fate’s interference in their quest. Bea and her younger twin sisters search for the family denied them and find three men willing to make them a home.

Wild Women Authors features Susan Payne’s Three Sisters, a western historical romance set in 1870s Southeast Texas. First up is oldest sister, Beatrice O’Malley.  

Where are you from? That is a very good question and for which I do not have an answer.  I remember a city in Ohio is where I started school. That was the first time I remember the family being all together. My father was happy and home most evenings.  No worries or cares.  I guess that is where I’m from.  I am searching for that again [along with] my sisters, Trudy and Andy.

Tell us a bit about Three Sisters. My mother passed when I was still young and the twins little more than toddlers.  My father began drinking heavily and for a gambler, that didn’t bode well.  He began cheating to keep from losing, but word got out and he had to keep moving to stay out jail or being tarred and feathered.  I don’t want you to think he didn’t take care of us or anything like that.  He missed my mother terribly and was doing the best he could at the time.  When I first met Marshall Devlin, I knew he was trouble for me and my family. But you can’t change fate. Just as I had to admit my sisters were old enough to know their own minds as well.

What did you think the first time you saw Marshall Devlin? That he was extremely attractive – and knew it.  I didn’t dare let him get close or he’d know I was hiding something.  The one thing I didn’t want a lawman knowing.  My sisters weren’t much better with each of them practically tying themselves to lawmen as well.

What was your second thought? That he was more dangerous than I had anticipated. He seemed to have a personal need to know my business--everything about me. 

Was it love at first sight? Certainly not. Lust certainly, but not love.  I don’t think he knew the meaning of the word or believed in its existence.

What do you like best about the Marshal? He is extremely loyal.  To his job, to the men he works with and to the people he loves. Not that he’d let anyone get away with a criminal activity, but he’d go the distance to make sure you were treated fairly.  That you paid your dues and then returned to him.

How would you describe him? Bossy, single minded, dedicated.  Once he’s made his mind up, it’s difficult for him to change it.  Has one way of looking at things which usually means he gets his man.  For us, it meant he often was on the wrong trail.

How would he describe you? Bossy, single minded, dedicated.  I had spent years on my plan and I intended to finish it no matter how long it took. He thought I was foolish for wasting my time.

What made you choose dealing cards for a career? My father would entertain us children with various card tricks.  Some included slight-of-hand like finding a coin behind a child’s ear or retrieving a card from thin air.  He taught us the tricks as we got older and it went from there.  I can spot a card shark by watching how he handles his cards. I have saved my employers and others at my tables by pointing them out.  My sisters are as talented even if they don’t like the life.  It allows us to travel when we get a new lead.

What is your biggest fear? That I will lose track of my siblings. I know they are adults and some are married, but I struggled my whole life to keep us together. I don’t want to give that up now.  Especially since the family seems to be growing.

How do you relax? I don’t think I do.  I used to knit to keep my fingers nimble though there isn’t any reason to any longer.  Now I knit little hats and booties for the new arrivals which will keep me busy for the next few months.  I’d rather be busy then relaxed, I guess.

Who is your favorite fictional character? Hmm, I never thought about it before. Perhaps, Emma.  I knew my mind and didn’t let anything stop me.

Thank you, Beatrice, for taking time to speak with us. We’d now like to chat with Susan.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Pearl S. Buck was especially memorable. She wrote gritty, down to earth stories which often included the darker side of life. I focus on the lighter, better side of people, but I understand more due to her writings.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? My growing up with sisters.  There was a wider gap between me and my youngest sister so she was considered the baby.  I always tried to fit in and follow my two older sisters. We had a Three Musketeer sort of feel going between us. What mother didn’t know – no one told her.  We felt invincible together.

Tell us a bit about your publisher. I had self-published my Sweetwater Series of eight stories through Wild Rose Press and then offered stories for their consideration.  They put those stories under contract and we’ve been doing so ever since.  A great group to work with and a strong support group for the writers. I have eleven books published since December, 2019.”

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? The pile is growing although I finally broke down and got a free Kindle. I have been reading several books a month although I still do edits and am writing several works at the same time.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? Blind Faith, a Regency was released December 9, 2020. Then I have two eBook releases in January, 2021. A Regency, Woman of His Dreams and western, How to Return a Mail Order Bride. They are shorter stories meant to be read when a person doesn’t have a lot of time.  Next is another historical western novel, The Texas Ranger and the Veterinarian.  

 

To learn more about Susan Payne and the stories she creates, go to:

Website: http://www.authorsusanpayne.com

 Tweet:  @SUSANREID640

 https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Payne

 Email: AUTHORSPAYNE@GMAIL.COM

 To purchase Three Sisters, go to:

 https://www.amazon.com/Three-Sisters-Susan-Payne/dp/1509234110

 An Excerpt:

          Devlin walked into the casino as usual and as usual it was quiet, the patrons behaving in a civilized manner, taking their losses quietly and their wins with much more enthusiasm.  His gaze moved around the room, searching for anyone who may be cheating the unsuspecting townspeople, someone used to dealing from the bottom of the deck. 

          Feeling like he got kicked in the gut, he watched her come out of the back room. She was tantalizingly beautiful emerging from the office where they counted the winnings for the night, the office where the owner entertained his most profitable customers with Brandy, Cognac and willing women.

    The woman walked to her station by the roulette table and pasted on the come-hither smile of her trade.  He went to her, like iron to a magnet.  Once beside her she glanced at him, her brows rose in a question then returned her focus on the players and their bets, ignoring the man with the federal marshals’ badge.

    “Place your bets, gentlemen, last call to place your bets,” she said in a husky voice, like a woman just waking up after a night of lovemaking. . .

          “Tell me, what’s your name?” His deep timbered voice rumbled.

    “What’s yours?”

    “Devlin, Marshal Devlin.”

    “Ah-h-h, the Devil.  Well, I have heard of you, Marshal Devil.  Aren’t you out of your usual territory?  I mean, I was told you only show up where there’s trouble or is it that trouble shows up where you are?” she asked, sipping the cup of coffee she poured for herself without offering him one. After all, he wasn’t an invited guest.  At least she hadn’t invited him.  She would be better off without his attentions, able to do what she was really there to do without the Devil getting in the way.

    “Come on, give me a name at least,” he coaxed.

    Hoping he would go away if she appeased him, she replied, “Call me, Ginger, everybody else does.  Ginger Taylor.”

    “Hmmm, with those eyes and that hair, I’d think an ‘O’ should go in front of your last name, like O’Riley, or O’Brian.,” he said twirling a ginger colored curl around his finger at her left temple.

         Ginger smiled and replied, “Anything you say, Marshal, but I have to get back to the floor or Maurice will be yelling for me.”

          “Tell Maurice you have a private game upstairs.  I can make it well worth your while,” Devlin offered watching her reaction.

         He didn’t need to wait long.  She was up and pushing the door open into the casino before realizing she was going to move. Calling back, she said, “I don’t work above the main floor. If you want a game upstairs, Marshal, it will have to be solitaire.”  

          She left him standing in a room of laughing men.