Amazon Judith B. Glad, Writer & Botanist Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: Uncial Press ISBN-10:  1601740123 Type: Fiction Pages: 288 Copyright: 2001, 2006 ISBN-13: 9781601740120 Independent Katie Lachlan has caught the eye and heart of a rich suitor who won't take no for an answer. Luke Savage killed a man in a gunfight and swears he'll never carry a handgun again. A strong attraction and mutual dependence link them together for a journey along the brand new transcontinental railroad, as she flees the suitor who stalks her and he runs away from his past. Instead of safety, they find new danger as they are forced to travel on foot across a wintry landscape. While Katie learns that independence is no match for force, Luke discovers that saving Katie is more important to him than the vow he made. Striving together against wilderness, gunfighters bent on retribution, and a frontier town on the brink of riot, they find their strength, their convictions, and their very love tested by adversity and danger. Excerpt "Where will you sleep?" His breath was hot on her cheek as he said, "In the hay bin, probably." He laid the quilt over her. Once more she caught his sleeve, by feel, for while her eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, he was still little more than a pale shadow against the blackness. "No! Please." Knowing full well what she should do, she decided to go with what she wanted, instead. "Stay with me." "Katie, I--" "I don't want to be alone, Luke. That's all." She could feel the indecision in the way he not-quite pulled his sleeve free from her grasp. "It ain't fittin'." "You said you'd protect me." She really didn't want to be apart from him. A little bit of her admitted she needed his strength and his protection. That she'd sleep better with him beside her than clear across the railcar. "Just a minute, then." His sleeve pulled free of her clutching fingers and she heard the scuff of his boots. In a moment he was back, dumping an armful of hay beside her bed. With his feet he pushed it all together, widening the bed. Again he walked across the railcar. Katie wondered how he could see what he was doing. Whatever it was, it took him several minutes, and disturbed the donkeys while he did it. This time when he returned, it was to set his bedroll--four feet long, perhaps a foot in diameter--beside her. "Where's your fiddlecase?" Katie touched it where it sat beside her bed. "Right here. Why?" "Hand it here. I want to tie it to my bedroll." As she hesitated, he said, "We might have to hightail it out of here right sudden. I want everything to hand if we do." "What about the provisions?" "I already packed them and the saddlebags on Lafayette. All we have to do is open the stall and grab his lead line." Lying back, he pulled the edge of the quilt over him. Katie suddenly realized how big and how male he was. And how warm. "They're already hitched together." He squirmed a little. "Don't untie your boots," he said drowsily, "or unbutton your coat." "Are you expecting trouble?" Her answer was a soft exhalation. Luke was asleep. No wonder. He'd probably not slept well since they'd left Chicago. A week ago? At least. Katie tried to count on her fingers, but found that the nights and days ran together. She couldn't even remember how many nights she'd slept with Luke. Slept with Luke! Wait just one minute, here. She'd sat beside him on a railcar seat. She'd even leaned against him once or twice. And last night she'd snuggled back against his chest. She had not shared a bed with him. Until now. Beside her he was like a stove, radiating warmth. Despite the noise of the rails and the howling of the wind--it must be blowing a gale!--she could hear each rustle and whisper as he moved and breathed. The interior of the stock car was colder than the railcar had been, yet Katie was far warmer. She wore wool next her skin, covered by her fine cotton chemise and the calico dress she'd bought from Lizzie. Outside the dress was a shawl crossed over her breasts and her coat--heavy Union blue melton, as warm as a coat could be. Luke must be clad in as many layers. He still wore the dark green wool shirt and the leather vest he'd had on the first time she saw him. His coat was sheepskin, with the fleece inside, where it did some good. The heavy denim of his trousers was probably not as warm as her skirt and petticoat, but under them he undoubtedly wore longjohns as adequate to the conditions as her wool challis camisole and pantalets. She might as well have been lying naked beside Luke, so preternaturally aware of him was she. Although they touched nowhere, it was as if they touched everywhere.

Brenda Gill for Sensual Romance
A survivor of the War Between the States, Luke Savage is tired of killing and death. When he's forced into a gunfight and kills Japhet Breedlove, he vows to never again carry or use a handgun against another human being. Undecided about his future, Luke takes the job of bodyguard to a young woman returning to her home in Oregon.

Katie Lachlan is beautiful, headstrong, and self-reliant. She has "enough stubborn for three people and one cat". Katie has always been able to take care of herself, but when she catches the eye of wealthy and powerful Hamilton Steens Whitney III, she decides to return home to escape his advances. Whitney has decided that Katie will be his bride and nothing will stop him from having her. He follows her, trying to kidnap Katie and return to Boston with her.

Pursued by the Breedlove relatives who want revenge for their cousin's death and by the obsessive Whitney, Luke and Katie are on the run for their lives. Forced to depend on each other, but fighting their growing attraction, they travel the new transcontinental railroad, through a blinding snowstorm, and face a confrontation with the notorious Breedloves and the obnoxious Whitney.

I've purchased several books from Awe-Struck and I'm embarrassed to admit that I've overlooked Judith B. Glad. I won't make that mistake again. I have found a new author to enjoy. Noble Savage was a joy to read. The characters are vivid and well-written and seem to come alive. The dialogue was fun and didn't seem forced. It seemed as if this was a movie playing out in my head as I read the book. It takes a special gift for an author to do this and Judith B. Glad has it. I wanted to shake the villianous Whitney, tell him to go back to Boston and get a life.

Eliabeth Burton, Blue Iris Reviews
Katie Lachland learned early how to look after herself, but when a sinister Boston Brahmin stalks her halfway back to Idaho she's willing to accept a little help.



Luke Savage is tired of killing and wasn't too keen on taking the job of getting Katie home safely. He quickly decides, however, that it would be better not to let the stubborn, feisty young woman know she didn't hire him herself. What he doesn't count on is her falling in love with him -- and vice versa.

But the fancy dude from Boston isn't the only one on their trail. There's a pair of gunmen after Luke for killing their brother, even if it was in a fair fight. Before long the question isn't whether he can keep Katie safe until they reach Salt Lake City but whether either of them will manage to survive.

Judith Glad is one of the finest writers of historical romance currently at work, and Noble Savage is every bit as exciting and sexy as a reader could want. In a genre where solid characters are vital, hers vibrate with life and spirit. They move in and become friends so quickly and effortlessly we can't remember when we didn't know them, and we share their joys and pain and terror unabashedly.

Ms. Glad's depth of reasearch and her clear love for the American West and its history is superb, and she has an exceedingly deft touch that provides just the right helping of what she knows to transport the reader to that time and those places.

If you love historical romance and haven't met Ms. Glad, don't waste another minute. If you've never cared for them, pick up a copy of Noble Savage and you might just change your mind.