Paula Graves' COWBOY ALIBI

Jayne, here, to introduce Paula Graves. If you love romantic-suspense, this is an author you should definitely get to know. She is one of the few writers in the genre who understands intuitively how to combine romance and suspense so that each enhances the other. Trust me, it's not easy.

By the way, in another life Paula is a graphic artist. She and my fabulous webmaster, Cissy Hartley, are responsible for producing the dust bunny videos for my Jayne Castle books, Silver Master and Dark Light. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank both ladies. Elvis has never looked better.

Enjoy COWBOY ALIBI!

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Paula here.


When I decided to write romances, I approached it as a reader. What do I like in a book? What themes are most exciting, entertaining and satisfying to me? And I quickly figured out that one of my favorite themes is the timeless "Us against the world" story. Take a couple of people with all sorts of internal conflicts between them, pit them against a "big bad" that threatens them both, and then watch the sparks fly.

In my September Harlequin Intrigue, COWBOY ALIBI, amnesiac Jane Doe and Wyoming cop Joe Garrison couldn't be more at odds. He believes she had a part in his brother's death, while she has no memory of anything except a faint certainty that the life she can't remember holds a lot of scary, potentially devastating secrets.

But when someone from Jane's hidden past targets them both, they're forced to depend on each other for their very survival. Toss in sizzling sexual tension and the piece by piece reveal of Jane's hidden past, and you have the story at the heart of COWBOY ALIBI.

In this scene from early in the race for their lives, their lack of trust in each other, combined with their attraction to each other, ratchets up the tension.

Frost covered the ground outside the cabin, tinted shell-pink by the glow that kissed the eastern sky. The sun had not yet made an appearance over the Sawtooth Mountains, but the light on the horizon was enough to illuminate the small stockpile of firewood stacked on the side porch.

Jane pulled on a pair of work gloves she'd found in the kitchen and started to reach for the top piece of wood when she heard a snapping sound in the tangle of pines and aspens a few yards away.

She peered into the gloom, the hair on the back of her neck rising. She eased her hand into the pocket of her jacket, where she'd tucked Joe's service weapon before leaving the cabin, and pulled it free. Pressing her back against the rough clapboard of the cabin's outer wall, she held her breath and tried to be completely still and invisible, watching the trees for any sign of movement.

She heard a soft rustle, then another twig snapping. Two shadowy figures slinked through the scrubby underbrush, flitting in and out of sight. Jane released her breath and they froze, two pairs of bright gold eyes turned her way.

Wolves. They stared back at her briefly before slipping away, wraithlike, in the gloom.

Jane crossed to the edge of the porch, trying to catch another glimpse of them as they retreated, but they had already disappeared from view. She started to turn back to the wood pile when she heard a creaking noise behind her. Her heart rate doubling in a split second, she whipped the gun up, whirled and aimed.

Joe stood in the doorway, his hands lifting slowly. His gaze locked with hers, hard and wary. "Drop the weapon, Jane."

She swallowed hard and lowered the gun to her side. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Likewise," he drawled, taking a step toward her and holding out his hand. "I'd like it back now."

She didn't like the dark suspicion in his eyes. "Did you think I would shoot you?"

"People don't usually aim a weapon if they're not prepared to pull the trigger."

She pressed her lips together, annoyed by his dry half-answer. She handed him the gun and turned to pick up a couple of pieces of wood for the stove. But he caught her arm and pulled her around to face him.

"So, you're only out here for the wood?" He held her by her upper arms, his grip painless but firm.

She lifted her chin. "I'm out here for the wood."

He stepped forward, forcing her back up against the wall of the cabin. Heat radiated off his body, warming her through the denim of her jacket and jeans. He smelled of whiskey and wood smoke, the scent rich, dark and masculine. She pressed her hands flat against the rough wall, overwhelmed by the urge to touch him.

He snaked his left hand out and curled his palm around her waist. He slid his fingers slowly, deliberately over the curve of her hip, stopping at the pocket of her jeans and tracing the contours of the bulge inside. "So why did you need the keys to my truck, then?"

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"Us against the world" stories are often romances, but they can also be "buddy" stories, such as the developing friendship between Riggs and Murtaugh in the movie LETHAL WEAPON or Lee and Carter in the East meets West martial arts/comedy RUSH HOUR. And you even see the theme play out in television shows such as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Buffy and the whole gang) and THE X-FILES (was there ever a better "us against the world" vibe than that between Mulder and Scully?)

What are some of your favorite "us against the world" stories?

-- Paula Graves

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