The Ruby Queen

Book excerpt: Mattie Wallace is rejected by her family and her community, when she refuses to marry one brother - because she loves the other. Labeled a trollop and run out of town, she finds herself on the road with meager possessions and little money. Soon, Mattie meets Roxana: a woman in the Trade. Mattie is impressed with Roxie's confidence, independence, and her lovely wardrobe, and also with the fact that Roxie has made herself a life that is not dictated by a man. Mattie joins Roxie on her way to a new and profitable life in the West, where women are few and men are willing to pay for their company. Making her way to Abilene, Kansas - a cow town where cowboys spend their money on whiskey and women - Mattie soon learns the ways of the women in the Trade, and the hazards of the west. This book contains graphic sex and violence, and is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.