Overview

Is there a future in a prairie town where Darlin’ is her only name?

A one-way stage ticket to the frontier leaves a young woman penniless and alone in Long Grass, Wyoming. With no other hope than to survive another day, she takes up the only profession open to her. Years later she encounters the cowboy she can love, and her first taste of pleasure - and happiness.

Cowboys, however, are born to wander, and their kisses are as brief as the lives of young women without family or means. Accepting that her days will be numbered too few, Darlin' escapes into her scribblings where her dreams of freedom can soar over the limitless prairie.

When she recognizes her own truth and a chance for love in the longing gaze of a townswoman, will she finally find kisses she can trust?

Two determined women in a hostile world save themselves — and each other — in a lyric, sensual love story as only Karin Kallmaker can tell.

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING:
main character witnesses abuse, botched abortion

Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Narrator: Ann Shanks Etter

Listening Length: 4 hours and 31 minutes

Audible.com Release Date: November 04, 2022

Publisher: Romance and Chocolate Ink

All About the Books (I HEART SapphFIC)

Why this book and why now?

It is especially important now, with far right groups attempting to erase our stories from the present, to tell stories of us as we probably existed in the past – existed and survived.

What is a significant way your book has changed since either the first draft or the way you thought it would turn out when you first had the inspiration?

My original vision for the story did not have a happy ending. I saw little in my research that indicated one could be believable for women on the American frontier who were treated as expendable property. I wrote instead of a spiritual resolution. When I opened it again ten+ years later, with more inspiration about re-seeing “historical” accuracy, I found a different solution, and it is not just a happy ending, but a believable one.

Would you and your main character(s) get along?

Absolutely. Darlin’ and I believe in many of the same things: books, creativity, love, and sovereignty over our minds. In many ways, Darlin’ is the woman I might have been if I’d lived in that era.

Do your character names have special significance or meaning?

Darlin’s lack of a name is significant. She means so little beyond the money she can make for other people, that nobody cares to find out what her actual name is – she’s simply “Darlin’.” When she gifts that information to her Someone near the end of the story I hope that the reader feels the power of trust in that moment.

What TV show would your main character(s) most likely binge watch and why?

I think Darlin’ would very much enjoy Wynona Earp. It’s the kind of story she would have written, with strong, forthright women in charge of their own lives and futures.

What 3 things would your main character want with them if they got stranded away from civilization, and why?

Paper, pen, and ink. Darlin’ has a lifetime of knowing that, while books are wonderful, she can make her own if she has to.

Publishing a book is a huge accomplishment and it’s time to party! Choose a celebratory beverage for one of your main characters to toast the release of your new book.

A strawberry daiquiri. Because strawberries are a dim, wonderful memory from her childhood, I know Darlin’ would have strawberries any time that she could. Given how mercilessly hot it is in southeast Montana, anything iced would also be a treat.

About Karin Kallmaker

Ice cream. TimTams. Coffee. Tells tales about women who are the heroes of their own lives. Love IS the universal story.

About Ann Shanks Etter

Narrator of sapphic lit. Number person. Ocean lover.

30+ years on stage as an amateur actress in roles as diverse as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz to Barbara in August:Osage County. Extensive voiceover training. Book clips for author promotional podcasts.