A Western historical romance series

THE SOILED DOVES SERIES

Welcome to the Soiled Doves series, in which Sarah takes you back to the days of the wild, wild west in this western historical romance series. The series pays tribute to the working girls of the wild west, and their contribution to bringing civilization to the land of the gunslingers, cowboys, sheriffs, gold rushes and saloons. 

The series is light-hearted and humorous, packed full of adventure, action and excitement. And of course, they’re all love stories, with a Soiled Dove as their heroine. The Soiled Doves are fast-paced, standalone romance novels in which those iconic ladies get their happily ever after. 

The Inspiration

Sarah blames too many hours spent watching Gunsmoke as the origin of the series. Most particularly, watching hour after hour in which Miss Kitty didn’t get her man. If, like Sarah, you longed for Marshall Dillon to make his move, this series if for you.

The Research

Sarah found the research for this series fascinating and lost herself in hours and hours of learning about those go getter gals who went west to make their fortunes. For most, their dreams died in the dusty towns they plied their trades. However, for a few, they made their mark on history and Sarah has sewn bits of stories of the real Soiled Doves into the stories of her heroines. 

The Real Soiled Doves

A couple of ladies stood out from the crowd and Sarah would love to share them with you. Before we get to the gals, it’s worth noting there were two types of “bad girls” in the west. The first were the prostitutes, and the second were the dance hall and saloon girls, who contrary to popular opinion were not prostitutes and were there to provide female companionship to the saloon’s women starved patrons. 

Fannie Porter started as a prostitute in San Antonio at just fifteen. By the age of twenty she’d made enough to open her own brothel. She built the reputation for fair prices, good looking girls and straight dealing card tables. Lawmen and outlaws rubbed shoulders at Fannie’s, and she was well known at being able to keep everyone’s secrets.

Belle Brezing is widely believed to be the inspiration for Gone With the Wind’s Belle Watling. Belle (Brezing) plied her trade in Lexington, Kentucky. Belle first started working as a prostitute aged 19. She came to fame during the Spanish-American war when her brothel hosted many an officer. Her first establishments were cheaper dollar houses, but in 1898 she opened her more luxurious $5 house on Megowan Street.

Matty Blaylock, born Celia Mattie Blaylock, ran away with her sister from her Iowa bible thumping family when she was eighteen. Although she started out trying to make a living as as seamstress, court records list her as working as a prostitute in Fort Scott and Dodge City. She met Wyatt Earp and they are listed in the 1880 census as married. She became addicted to laudanum due to severe headaches, and after the gunfight at the OK coral she left Tombstone believing Wyatt would contact her. He never did, and she died at 38 of laudanum poisoning. 

Mattie Silks followed the gold miners to Colorado and set up a successful brothel in Georgetown. She fells in love with Cort Thompson and actually fought a duel over him with rival madam, Kate Fulton. This is the only recorded case of an all female gunfight. In Denver she established the enormously successful House of Mirrors and became  a very wealthy woman. She used her wealth to provide food and shelter for the needy.

Big-nosed Kate aka Mary Katherine Horony hailed from Hungary and was allegedly married to Doc Holliday. Their fighting was legendary and Kate was known to support Doc’s drinking and gambling habits. Their “marriage” ended when Kate signed an affidavit implicating Doc in a robbery. The Earps stepped in and saved Doc, but they never got back together and after drifting around from town to town, she eventually died destitute.

Julie Bulette came from London and arrived in California. She followed the Comstock Lode silver and gold strikes to Nevada and found herself the only unmarried woman in the camps and immediately set up shop as an independent operator. Competition wasn’t long in arriving but she remained hugely popular. In January 1867, her several beaten and strangled body was found in her bedroom. Her funeral was attended by thousands and her beauty, wit and charm became legendary.

Mary Jane Canary, better known as Calamity Jane, wore men’s clothing, drank like a fish, proclaimed herself an army scout in the Black Hills, and did the occasional stint as a prostitute for madam Dora DuFran (although her refusal to bathe made her less of an asset to Dora). She also claimed to have been involved with Wild Bill Hickok. Although there is proof that she worked as a miner, wagoneer and prostitute, not many of her claims can be verified and her relationship with Wild Bill appears to be wishful thinking on her part. 

Dora Dufran came from Liverpool originally and worked as a prostitute by age fourteen. She followed the Deadwood Gold Rush to the Black Hills and opened a brothel at fifteen. She owned and operated several brothels and because of her love for cats is attributed with coining the term “cathouse”. She married a professional gambler who helped her grow her business and died in 1934, and is buried in Deadwood’s Mount Mariah Cemetery, along with Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock, her husband and her pet parrot.

Mollie Johnson was Dora’s main competition and also became a prostitute at 14 or 15. She gave herself the name Queen of the Blondes, and her brothels were known for being wild and dangerous places. The girls often got into fights to the entertainment of the customers. She married African American comedian Lew Spenser who was arrested for shooting a woman who turned out to be his first and legal wife. As the mining dried up and with it business, Mollie drifted into obscurity and not much is known of what happened to her after she left Deadwood.