WeWriWa: An Untarnished Hero

I grew up watching Westerns with my dad (who was MY hero!). I adored those strong, silent types who stood for good and demolished evil (by the end of each episode!) to rescue the girl, the dog, and the town before riding off into the sunset. Sigh . . . I often wondered what would become of that modern day hero if he stayed put, married the girl, and established roots beside her. How would he adapt to a life so different from the way he’d made his living? Jimmy Redbone, the stoic hero in my new WIP is that guy who, as a U.S. Marshal, dedicates his every waking hour to the service of his badge. Until he meets Willamina Sayers, a rancher’s daughter who’s determined to be that girl who won’t be left behind. Here’s a continued look at our hero’s rather single-dimensional life up until that fateful meeting . . .

During his years of lonely and more than a little dangerous duty, he’d had work associates, not friends. In four days, Jimmy felt closer to ranch foreman, Matteo Ramos than the agents he’d stood beside - some for better than a decade.

He’d lived detail to detail and didn’t own anything permanent except July. With no expensive habits to speak of, everything he made went into the bank. He woke up, showered, picked up his badge and gun and went to work. When on protective duty, he lived from cheap hotel room to rathole motel room on the road with folks who tried to bribe him, seduce him, or escape him while he did his best to keep them alive. He was a shield for the scum of the earth, a babysitter for drug addicts, money launderers and mobsters. Helluva good way for someone like him to make a living. But no way to build a life.

Willamina Sayers had been the exception, he admitted to himself, drawing in a deep, cleansing breath.

I’m so loving this story, having just reached the end of the first draft. What fun I’m having taking some of the shine off that unblemished surface! After angsting over a suitable title since Chapter Four so I can start thinking about promo (I know it’s a way down the road, but it’s never too early to start!), I finally found one that doesn’t show up a dozen times in an Amazon search. What do you think of AN UNTARNISHED HERO ? 
While I take a short breather before starting the first round of revising, I look forward to seeing what you’re up to in your creative endeavors and how the new year is treating you so far.

Happy Not 2020 and Happy Writing, fellow Warriors!!

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