She Was Sheriff

She Was Sheriff

Winner, 2017 NM/AZ Book Awards "All She Wanted Was a Gold Band—What She Got Was a Tin Star" For as long as she could remember, Maud Overstreet figured she’d grow up, get married, have a house with a white picket fence and a brood of kids. Now, in 1872, she’s tired of being the bank president’s spinster daughter and equally tired of washing, ironing and cleaning. When, out of the blue, Dry Creek’s town council offers her the job of replacement sheriff, she accepts. And her sheltered world explodes. For the first time, Maud enters a saloon, tastes whiskey, learns to shoot, learns to ride a horse and drive a stagecoach, arrests people, and leads men in search parties. Yet she still has time to dream about her long-errant boyfriend, Elijah J. Goodman, off—somewhere—for the past few years. She is convinced they will marry when he returns and hopes it will be soon. But the discovery of gold brings all sorts of unsavory characters to her town, including the threat of the notorious James Mooney Gang. There are rumors of an impending bank robbery. Maud enlists the help of Mayor Seth Critoli, but it’s up to her to save Dry Creek from disaster. "A light-hearted look at a woman who gets a job nobody else wants and makes it her own. Maud is a spunky, likeable heroine who comes into her own . . . as the town's protector of law and order." —Anne Hillerman, NY Times Bestselling Author "A well-written thoroughly entertaining romp through the Gold Rush country with a reluctant officer of the law who discovers an aptitude for a job most thought only a man could do." —Chris Enss, NY Times Bestselling Author New Mexico native Melody Groves lives the life of a full-time freelance writer. She travels the world, meets amazing people, and writes about it all. Born and raised in Las Cruces, southern New Mexico, she spent a few years "growing up" on Guam and in the Philippines.Winner of numerous writing awards, she is author of the award-winning Colton Brothers Saga series set in 1860s southern New Mexico/Arizona: Border Ambush, Sonoran Rage, Arizona War, Kansas Bleeds and Black Range Revenge with Trail to Tin Town in the pipeline.In addition to that series, she penned She Was Sheriff, set in 1872 northern California, sequel to Lady of the Law also in the pipeline.Non-fiction books include: the 2011 New Mexico Book Award winner, Hoist a Cold One! Historic Bars of the Southwest. Fascinated by rodeo, she wrote Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide: All About Rodeo. Her book Butterfield's Byways: The First StagecoachLine and Overland Mail Route Across America was a finalist in the 2015 Zia Award and NM/AZ Book Awards.Melody writes for True West, Enchantment Magazine, New Mexico Magazine, Wild West among others. In 2018, she won the prestigious National Press Women's Award for her article in True West Magazine.When not writing, she plays rhythm guitar with the Jammy Time Band.