Mrs. Victoria Buys a Brothel

1865, United States It took thirty years and a dislocated arm for Victoria to leave her abusive husband. Heartbroken, she has to choose her own life over the hope of ever seeing her son again. She escapes the manor in the dead of night carrying nothing but a white wedding dress. Her journey leads to Swainsburg, a tiny town in Wyoming where the local prostitutes take her in as one of their own. To save them from eviction, Victoria buys the brothel. Running a house of entertainment turns out to involve far more than piano recitals, cancan performances, and charming lonely cowboys. Her violent past refuses to stay buried, respectable society keeps its distance, and danger follows her across the frontier. It's hard to navigate the delicate tensions between respectable ladies and whores, between white society and the "others." Her new friends are women who carved out a place for themselves in this merciless world; people who, like her, came to Swainsburg after growing tired of running. Victoria falls in love. She doesn't notice; she can't even imagine the possibility. The townspeople say the widow Díaz is strange. Natane is actually incredibly awkward, kind, and very lonely. Victoria has no name for this burning friendship, but the feeling grows and demands to be acknowledged. A sweeping queer historical romance about chosen family, healing after abuse, women who refuse to disappear, and finding love where no one thought it could exist. This special edition also includes Tales of Swainsburg: thirteen bonus short stories that expand the town, its characters, and their lives beyond the novel. And yes, it's also about women who age, gossip, drink, fall in love, and help you hide the body of your dead husband.