| FEATURE AUTHOR | sometimes those ideas don’t make a lot of sense in the morning. Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? I’ve primarily been reading ebooks lately. It’s very convenient to just browse online and download a book to read. But I do like having a physical book to hold and turn the pages. I’ve listened to audiobooks on long car rides with my kids, but I find it a little harder to concentrate on the words when listening to an audiobook. It’s just a different experience. Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you? I would absolutely like to thank my fans. I’m still amazed that people out there are reading words that I wrote, in a story I made up. They can follow me on Facebook as Laylah Abrams Author.
Enjoy an excerpt from A Fair Trade A Fair Trade Laylah Abrams Historical Western Romance Raised by his fur trapper father and uncles, Jack Briggs has always made do with little more than a knife and flask. Alone now, he searches for a place to call home. And refined and beautiful Penelope Findley may be the person who can help him find it as he leads the Findleys’ wagon to Oregon. Honor-bound by her marriage vows, Penelope snubs the rugged wagon leader whenever he shows an interest in her. But when she is widowed during the journey, Jack tempts her with the 48 | UncagedBooks.com
means to remain independent: protection in a temporary marriage and payment once he receives the free acreage allotted to married settlers in Oregon. Penelope doesn’t realize all Jack really wants is her. All she wants is the freedom he promised. After all, could he ever love her if he knew about her past? Excerpt When they stopped in the afternoon to rest, Jack marched through camp, past the playing Long children and the men relaxing with their pipes. He spotted her sitting with little Bess in the shade beside one of the wagons. The girl wiped her eyes as Penelope held her tight. “No, little angel,” he heard her say. “We are all going to make it just fine.” Her voice wavered a tiny bit. “And there are no monsters in Oregon, no matter what your brother told you.” “Are you sure?” “Yes. And if you don’t believe me, here comes Mr. Briggs. He knows all about it, for he’s been there before.” The girl’s eyes widened until she looked like a little owl trying to burrow into Penelope’s lap. She whispered something that Jack couldn’t hear. “Oh, he’s not so very frightening,” Penelope answered. He smiled at them both. Bess let out her usual squeal at his presence and hopped away. They watched as she ran back to where the other children played. “Well, I was hopin’ to speak to you alone, Princesa,” he said, turning to her. He had a speech planned. “I know you don’t like takin’ help from me, but I want you to consider a proposal.” She stood and put up her hand to stop him. “I expect I understand very well what you are proposing, Mr. Briggs. Mr. Reaves has already brought up the subject, and I have already given him my answer. I can assure you I would sooner die out here than—” “That’s not at all what I’m proposin’. What I’m askin’ is for you to marry me.” Penelope stared at him. “Marry you? Why would you want me to marry you?” “Well, it would be an arrangement of sorts,” he answered. “What I’d like when we get to Oregon City is for that register to say I’m a married man, entitled to 640 acres of land.”