Adrienne
deWolfe makes a return visit to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers today.
Adrienne is a #1 best-selling author and the recipient of 48 writing accolades,
including the Best Historical Romance of the Year Award. Learn more about
Adrienne and her books at her website.
Bawdy Songs for a Sassy Siren:
Pistols and Petticoats
Schlock.
That’s what my high school English teacher called my best attempts at poetry
when I was enrolled in his Creative Writing class.
But the joke’s on Mr.
Snooty, ‘cause nowadays, I’m a bestselling author, who writes bawdy rhymes for
her latest heroine: a wise-cracking, pistol-packing torch-singer, who
headlines in Dodge City’s infamous Long Branch Saloon (1879.)
I have to admit, I’m
having a ball writing schlock. (So go suck a lemon, Mr. Snooty.)
I’m not exactly sure where
the inspiration for Sadie Michelson’s songs came from in my new novella, Shady Lady, which is featured in the
Historical Western Romance Anthology, Pistols
and Petticoats. For decades, I’ve been terrified to
write anything even remotely like poetry for public consumption, thanks to a
certain harrowing writing class.
To make matters worse,
I get knee-knocking scared whenever I have to sing. In another of my
high-school era tragedies, I stood in an auditorium, packed with
students and parents, and forgot the lyrics to my Christmas solo.
(Did I mention I HATED high school?)
Needless to say, Sadie is
nothing like me. A red-headed siren with a rapid-fire wit, my lusty
heroine isn’t intimidated by corrupt lawmen, drunken
hecklers, raunchy gamblers, or sniveling high school teachers. Sadie
gave me the courage to write poetry again – even if some
of it might raise a stodgy eyebrow:
"Then
came a Texas cowboy,
A
downright orn'ry guy.
Bulgin'
at the chaps, he was,
With
notches on his fly ...”
(Lyrics
from Shady Lady by
Adrienne deWolfe)
Sadie sings the previous
verse about her hotheaded, gun-slinging lover, whom rival bawds have nicknamed
the Rebel Rutter. (I’ll leave their reasoning to your
imagination.) William “Cass” Cassidy also sings bawdy
songs.
But not all my lyrics are
naughty. (Darn, huh?) I penned two ballads and a love song, called Destiny, for
Sadie to sing when she and Cass return in my upcoming Historical Western
Romance, Devil in Texas (Book 4,
Velvet Lies, Summer 2014.) Here’s a sneak preview of Destiny:
Suns
may rise, stars may fail.
Worlds
collide; love prevails.
Through
all time, you and me,
Heart
to heart, destiny.
(Lyrics
from Devil in Texas by
Adrienne deWolfe)
So now you’re probably
wondering: Did I ever muster the courage to sing solos again? Yes,
I did! Years and years later (in another state, under another name,) I
appeared in a variety show. Nobody booed. (I’m pretty sure none of
them were comatose!)
Pistols and Petticoats (A
Historical Western Romance Anthology)
From bestselling authors Barbara Ankrum, Adrienne deWolfe and Sharon
Ihle come three fresh novellas, featuring three firebrand ladies, each
determined to make her mark while making her match. Adrienne’s contribution is:
Shady Lady - 26,000 word prequel to Devil in Texas (Velvet Lies, Book 4)
Fiery singing sensation, Sadie Michelson, thinks falling in love is
bad for business—until William "Cass" Cassidy, a hotheaded
gunslinger, sets his sights on wooing her. But when a Texas Ranger arrives in
Dodge City to extradite Cass for a crime of passion, Sadie must use all her
wits and wiles to lure the law from her man's trail. And that means risking
everything—including Cass's love.
Buy Links
