Crossing the Sierra Nevada by stagecoach in 1868, Judith Adams brings along all her Eastern illusions about the Wild West - illusions borrowed from the romantic dime-novel Westerns she loves to read. In the real West, however, the heroes don't necessarily wear white hats. Take Jack Granville, for instance. He and fellow passenger Ellie Wales seem to share some kind of secret - is Jack as courageous as he appears to be? And outlaw Nate Clum - does his rough exterior hide an extremely brave heart? When the stagecoach is ambushed, Judith's life suddenly seems to come right out of the dog-eared pages of her favorite dime novel.

Stuart Murray was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, but immigrated to Irvington, New Jersey, with his family when he was eight. He now lives with his wife and four children in New York's Hudson Valley. Author, editor, and journalist for twenty-five years, Stuart Murray has written many books, including eight historical novels and five works of nonfiction. Murray recently completed Three Miles from Anywhere, the story of Rudyard Kipling's years in the United States. This book and his nonfiction The Honor of Command, the story of General John Burgoyne's doomed Saratoga campaign, were published last year. Under the pseudonym Oliver Payne, Murray wrote the eight-volume Northwest Territory series of historical novels, and he was also founding editor of the long-running Western series Stagecoach. His interests include playing guitar and singing. At one time he played semipro soccer, and he has coached youth and college soccer for twenty years.

Judith’s Dime Novel is his first novel with Avalon.