Shot From the Hip

Blurb: 

Gunslingers, ranchers, cowboys, gamblers, and more make their appearance in this exciting collection of short stories set in the American Old West.

Author Holly Bargo takes an unflinching look at this most romanticized of American eras with bigotry, oppression, and hardship leaving their marks. Resilient and resourceful characters rise above those and other challenges with strength and, oftentimes, humor. Clean, sweet romance weaves its magic through many of the stories.

Shot from the Hip contains these stories:

• Angels High: A woman who makes her living by winning at a man’s game learns to expect trouble, especially when the stakes are high. But when trouble finds her this time, Angelica Durant gets more than she bargained for.
• Coming Home: Life is hard. No one knows this better than Dessie Humphrey who’s trying to hold onto the family farm. When aid comes in the form of a wanted gunslinger, she’s in no position to refuse.
• The Escort: Buck hires on as an armed escort to accompany a rancher’s haughty daughter and her companion to Boston for her debut into polite society. Both young women are lovely, but the young companion catches Buck’s eye and warms his heart. He thinks he’s too old and jaded for this innocent girl; but, when danger strikes, he’ll risk his life for her.
• Hair Trigger: A female gunslinger returns to her hometown to claim her inheritance and
• get justice for her father’s wrongful death, but crashes into a statute of limitations.
• Heart of Gold: A dying man begs an honest cowboy to take a fortune in gold through a lawless territory with Indians on the warpath. He didn’t reckon on becoming responsible for keeping the man’s daughter safe along the way.
• The Lesser of Evils: Cast from the native tribe that adopted her and the only home she’s ever known to make her way in the white man’s world, Sun Gold finds herself faced with a language barrier and a choice she never wanted.
• The Mail Order Bride’s Choice: Looking to improve her circumstances, an indigent woman travels across the country as a mail order bride to meet a fiancé who has plans for her other than marriage.
• Pride and Peace: It’s an open secret on the Lazy Five that Jessie North is a woman, but that doesn’t stop Daniel Harper from reacting badly when he learns about it. Can he overcome his prejudice when the proud half-breed saves his life?
• The Rancher’s First Love: When a gravely wounded Chinese woman collapses on Clint Cheswick’s front porch, he doesn’t expect to compete with his half-breed foreman for her affection.
• Resurrection: Undertakers bury the dead; they don’t resurrect bodies left for dead. But that’s exactly what Antonio DiCarlo does when a lovely Swedish immigrant lands on his doorstep.
• The Saint: A wounded outlaw throws himself upon the mercy of a Mexican priest. His demand for sanctuary gains him more than just temporary safety.
• Survival of the Fairest: A woman kills her abusive husband and flees, heading west to restart her life under an assumed name.

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Shot-Hip-Tales-American-West-ebook/dp/B083D8VCRY

Author Interview with Holly Bargo

AW: Welcome, Holly.

HB: Thank you, Alethea, for hosting me on your blog.

AW: How long have you been writing?

HB: Writing or publishing? I’ve been writing stories since I was a little girl, mostly weird, outrageous, improbable adventures reminiscent of fairy tales that in my teens evolved into fantasy and science fiction. I submitted short stories to several publishers and received encouraging feedback. In my twenties, I won a national contest, although I never did see the story published. I still have the Dragonlance® tee-shirts and chess board, though, that were included in the grand prize. The chess set is awesome.

In my late twenties, I signed on with a publisher which soon went belly-up owing me royalties. At the time, I was proud of that book; now, it embarrasses me. It should never have been published. Anyway, that’s what I wanted to do: be an author.

I continued to write sporadically. I submitted queries and manuscripts. I got nowhere. Then life intervened with working for a living, children, and livestock. When the digital publishing revolution opened, I resisted e-books for a few years and finally succumbed when a friend self-published her book and it did well. Under the impetus of “if she can do it, then so can I,” I embarked upon the independent author journey and never looked back.

AW: Your book catalog shows mainly romances spanning various sub-genres. What inspired you to branch out into western historicals?

HB: I edit for bestselling western author, Russ Towne. He read one of my books and enjoyed it, then asked if I’d be open to collaborating with him. I agreed. We discussed how the partnership would proceed and decided we’d each write six short stories. He wondered how I’d do with one of his characters, so I took on Buck Evans, the protagonist of a “A Bloody Day in Destiny,” and used him as the hero in “The Escort.” The entire project was great fun and resulted in publication of Six Shots Each Gun.

AW: What differences between western historicals and your usual genres were particularly challenging?

HB: Historical accuracy. I’m a history buff, which helps in editing other authors’ work and imposes constraints upon my own stories, because the historical details have to be right. I truly believe that only fiction rooted in realistic elements can suspend the reader’s disbelief. Therefore, I do research to ensure the historical details are accurate. Few things annoy me more than when I read a book and the author fails to do that.

AW: You published two more volumes of western historicals after Six Shots Each Gun. What inspired you to write those?

HB: The next collection of short westerns, Satin Boots, also began as a second collaboration between me and Russ. He suggested dipping a toe into “my” genre, romance, and we agreed to do so, but to stick within the historical time period. However, our schedules didn’t coordinate, and we eventually published two separate books in 2019. In early 2020, I decided to combine my stories from Six Shots Each Gun and Satin Boots into a single volume: Shot from the Hip.

AW: Do you foresee more western historicals in your future?

HB: I do. However, I couldn’t say when. I’ve been flirting with an idea for a novel, not just a collection of short stories. It’ll probably be a western romance.

Author bio: Holly Bargo is a pseudonym, but really did exist as a temperamental Appaloosa mare. The author primarily writes romance, but collaborated with bestselling western author Russ Towne to produce a collection of western short stories published as Six Shots Each Gun. That inspired this collection which includes Holly's six books from the earlier book and six clean, sweet western romances.

Holly lives with her husband and assorted livestock on a hobby farm in southwest Ohio. She works full-time as a freelance writer and editor and has published over 20 books since 2014. See Holly's catalog of books on her Amazon page or website.