PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR

“Ashley E. Sweeney minces few words as she unravels Ruby Fortune’s fate on the early Arizona frontier. Wild west performer, drug addict, ardent lover, mother, and murderer, Ruby’s story is gritty and unabashedly raw. She quickly learns she is sometimes no match for the trials that come her way, but she survives as only she knows how—with her strength, her wit, and her gun. Spellbinding from beginning to end.”

—JAN CLEERE, New Mexico-Arizona Book Award winner of Military Wives of Arizona

“Ruby’s is a thrilling ride across the hard land of Arizona in the early 1900s as one woman takes on and tames the West. Sweeney’s third novel is a courageous stunner.”

—GRETCHEN CHERINGTON, author of Poetic License

“Smart, savage, and bold as brass, Ruby Fortune’s strength and sense of survival explode from the pages of this portrait painted by master storyteller, Ashley E. Sweeney, using the harsh, historical Arizona Territory as her palette. Through captivating and unsettling events, Ruby’s independent spirit, ingenuity, and sheer guts held me hostage from the first vivid page to the last.”

—LAURIE BUCHANAN, award-winning author of the Sean McPherson novels

“Ruby is a difficult woman, in the best way possible. She shoots, she kills, she enjoys lustful sex. She survives. She protects her children and the people she loves. Literature is filled with men like this. But there are very few Rubies. Reading her story, I reveled in her life-force. She is a newly described American archetype.”

—SHELLEY BLANTON-STROUD, award-winning author of Copy Boy

“Ruby Fortune doesn’t harden her heart or break apart at the cruel hands of domestic abuse, but gains compassion and strength in her ultimate journey to wholeness by fighting for dignity and self-worth, loving fiercely those close and deserving, and by welcoming all to her table and more. A bright and resilient gem of a woman in an unforgiving land.”

—DEBRA THOMAS, award-winning author of Luz

“Gritty, honest, and real. Sure to be on everyone’s TBR list.“

—NANCY E. TURNER, award-winning author of Light Changes Everything

“Ruby Fortune defines grit and grace—she is the heroine we need in these times. Riveting and beautifully told.“

—SUSAN TWEIT, award-winning author of Bless the Birds