Prairie Falcons

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

Prairie falcons are medium-sized falcons similar to peregrines located in Western North America. They might be better called desert falcons from their need for open space and arid dry habitats.

They’re scrappy survivalists, with females much larger than males. They don’t like human interaction much but are considered an entry level bird for falconry. They're smart but don’t catch on to routine well if training has been lacking. But when trained well, they’re incredible hunters—aggressive, agile, and determined.

Prairie Falcon
(courtesy of Deposit Photos)

Proper training includes providing abundant food (to avoid developing the habit of screaming for food) and extensive "manning" (close contact and handling). Unlike the peregrine, they do not respond well to training with the swung lure, as missing the lure brings out their impatience. Teaching prairie falcons to climb and "wait on" to stoop on game is best accomplished by a reward system of flushing game or serving live birds such as pigeons for the falcon to chase when the falcon has assumed the proper position several hundred feet or more above the falconer.

The prairie falcon's eagerness to hunt and chase requires it to be patiently taught that when it assumes the proper waiting on position the falconer can be trusted to reliably flush game. As the falcon comes to understand this, it learns to hunt as an effective team with the falconer.

* * * * *

In my upcoming book, The Falcon, the heroine is trying to raise a prairie falcon she found as a fledgling.

The Falcon by Kristy McCaffrey
Wings of the West: Book 12

Coming July 3, 2026

Mexico

December 1899 

Josie Ryan’s connection to Texas runs deep, from the land to an almost preternatural kinship with the animals in the wild. This bond has led her to the edge of life and death, from saving a boy caught in a fire when she was eleven years old to being struck by lightning to a mountain lion attack that almost ended her life. The discovery of an abandoned falcon chick leads to a fierce attachment, but with only intuition to guide her, Josie struggles to train the wildest creature she’s ever encountered. When she learns of a man who could help, she’s determined to gain an introduction. 

Mateo Almirón, El Halconero—The Falconer—and Argentine gaucho, is tasked with delivering two prized purebred Criollo mares to Matt Ryan, a man whose reputation casts a long shadow. Years ago, Ryan saved the life of Mateo’s father, and the horses will settle the longstanding debt, but when the exchange goes wrong, Mateo is entrusted with protecting Ryan’s daughter, Josie. Now Mateo and Josie must hide in the mountains of Northern Mexico where stories abound of Josie’s mother, a woman who lived among the Comanche and rose from the dead. 

But in a place alive with superstition, Josie and her untamed falcon will give rise to a new legend …

Josie is the youngest child of Matt and Molly from THE WREN.

* * * * *

Available for pre-order from Amazon, Nook, and Apple Books.

(It will also be available at Kobo, Google Play Books, and in paperback on release day.)

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Time Travel Triggers: What Sends Love Through Time?

 

Every time travel romance needs a catalyst:
a magical, mystical, or completely unexplained force that rips the characters out of their timeline and drops them into another.

Why did I decide to write time travel?

Because Time for Love by Constance O’Day Flannery kept me up all night reading. A woman gets dental work done inside what used to be a train depot. A mysterious force ignites, and suddenly she’s in 1876 and mistaken for a mail-order bride.

I was hooked.

Years later, after plenty of research, I wrote Time to Save a Cowboy. My heroine travels back to 1890, triggered by two things: an antique garnet ring and an old locomotive.

Time Travel Catalysts in Romance

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
While wearing an antique jeweled watch, the humming stones of a Scotland ruins pull Claire back to 1743.

A Highlander for Hannah by Mary Warren
A love spell meant to find “the one” accidentally summons an 18th-century Scottish Highlander.

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
A hidden compartment in inherited furniture transports the heroine to seven years in the past.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
A magical Harlem garden and a haunted piano bring a handsome Renaissance man across time.

Why I Love Writing Time Travel

My favorite part—the history.

For Time to Save a Cowboy, I chose 1890 Hesperia, California and went deep. I discovered that the hotel had running water, rare for the time, and learned about the Los Flores Ranch. I even visited the land while it was still a working ranch.

In the past few years, that property had been replaced with houses.

Time may move on … but in stories, love always finds a way back. 💕

 

Writing Scams Aren't A Joke ~ Julie Lence

 

Today is April 1^st.  Many refer to it as April Fool’s Day, the day to pull harmless pranks on the unsuspecting.  Some are elaborate schemes that require time to plan and carry out. Others are spur of the moment, with both hoping to achieve an end result of laughter. What isn’t funny is the elaborate scheme meant to cause harm, and in the writing world, such has been happening as far back as last summer.  

Authors are individuals who spend their days (and nights) sitting alone in front of a computer writing a story in the hopes someone will read it and enjoy it enough to brag about it to friends and family. Some may think we’re loony shutting ourselves off from society, and they may be right. But any author will tell you that days of eating potato chips for lunch and tuning out the sights and sounds around us are worth it just to hold our published book in our hands. What isn’t worth the blood, sweat, and tears we poured into a novel are the tricksters looking to steal our dreams.

Daily, authors are bombarded through email and social media accounts by people claiming to be professional book marketers wanting to help them succeed. They’re offering to put your book in front of book clubs to net you Amazon reviews… to market your book to thousands of readers via their own social media pages and groups… to turn you into the hot new break-out author earning thousands in just a short amount of time. Most will have the title to your book and offer a quick sentence stating they read the book and loved the plot and the interaction between the characters, which is nothing more than a lie. With the use of AI, it’s easy for them to locate character names and plot points to make you believe they are legit. In reality, these book clubs and social media accounts don’t exist; the sender (scammer) being from a foreign country hoping to steal your hard-earned money and then disappear faster than you can blink. 

Since last year, I’ve received plenty of these emails and inquires. I’ve also been contacted by fake profiles of legitimate authors who want nothing more than to hook me up with an unscrupulous agent who is going to do the same thing; take my money and run. The best I can advise—be aware that these scams exist, and if you are contacted by someone, err on the side of caution by doing a thorough search on that person before inviting conversation with them. Keep your money (and sanity) out of the hands of the wicked.   

 

Black Women Voters in 1870 Wyoming Territory by Zina Abbott

 

Last month, I wrote a post about the first women jurors chosen to serve on a jury in 1870 Wyoming Territory. It  all came about when The territory legislature granted women full voting rights on December 10, 1869. You may find that post by CLICKING HERE

The first opportunity for Wyoming Territory women to vote came on September 6. 1870. Although Utah Territory granted women the right to vote shortly after Wyoming Territory, and women there had opportunities to vote in both February and August of 1870, there is no record of Black women there voting.

In South Carolina, many suffragists, both white and Black argued that the recently enacted Fourteenth Amendment granted women voting rights, Black women voted in some regions of South Carolina in October and November of 1870. The Supreme Court later ruled that the Amendment did not guarantee voting rights to women, so women there were not granted that right until August 1920. 

However, in Wyoming Territory, suffrage was granted by the legislature without reliance on the Fourteenth Amendment. Among women voters in the September 9, 1870 election were Black women—quite a step forward for many who were likely enslaved less than a decade earlier. Unfortunately, since Native American tribes were treated like separate nations, women suffrage in Wyoming Territory did not extend to Native women.

Nancy Phillips, probable 1870 voter

Despite the racism that did exist, there were those in Wyoming Territory who worked to protect Black women’s suffrage alongside that granted to the white women. The following quote is from territorial secretary, Edward Lee:

Edward M. Lee

Partisan strife to secure votes among the male adherents of rival candidates culminated in the afternoon, when a brace of colored sisters, hanging gracefully on the arms of a deputy United States marshal of Irish birth, were escorted by him to the polls, and indulged in the right of suffrage. Was not this remarkable coalition a precursor of more harmonious relations between these heretofore bitterly antagonistic elements? The descendants of Ham and St. Patrick hobnobbing in political communion? Verily, ‘the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and a little child shall lead them.’

Another account of the 1870 election comes from Justice John Kingman, also an ardent supporter of woman suffrage. In testimony before the 1876 Massachusetts Legislature, Kingman noted: 

I remember a case in point, which, at the time, caused me much uneasiness. We had, at first, a large proportion of Southern men and Northern Copperheads. By that I mean men who advocated secession, and came to Wyoming to escape being drafted. Carriages were employed by the candidates to bring ladies to the polls. At the hotel were a number of colored girls employed as servants. After a while a carriage drove up with four of these colored girls in it. They were helped out, and as they went to the polls the crowd quietly parted; they voted and returned to the carriage without a word said. Then I breathed freely; I knew all was safe.

Both accounts make note of partisanship in the shadow of the recent Civil War. Lee and Kingman were Radical Republicans who had served in the Union Army as brigadier generals, as had Governor Campbell. All three men were committed to equal rights, but they knew that there were many people in Wyoming who were not.

At South Pass City, several drunken and armed white men proclaimed they would not allow any Negros to vote. They attacked a fellow voter who made the statement that they should be allowed the same privilege, as granted by law. A U.S marshal broke up the riot and saw to it the Black men were allowed to vote. When it came to the Black women, the U.S. marshals decided on a more pro-active approach to insure their safety.

The names of the Black women who voted are unknown. Like the numbers of white female voters, the number of Black women who voted  are not known. However, it is known through census records that thirty Black or “mulatto” women above the age of twenty-one lived in Wyoming Territory. Most of them arrived in Wyoming Territory as part of a family unit, many of them who owned property. About twenty-five percent lived with their employers and seventeen percent lived independently. The largest Black population lived in Cheyenne. Three lived at nearby Fort D.A. Russell, and resided with their employers.

Women’s right to vote in 1870 started a long tradition of political activism for Wyoming’s Black community. In spite of the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protected Black male suffrage, a great deal of opposition to this right existed.

For the rest of the nation, states and territories granted women suffrage in a piecemeal fashion until finally, fifty years after Wyoming women were granted the right to vote, all women in the United States were granted this right in 1920. Universal suffrage was a tradition in which Wyoming Territory led the rest of the nation.

 

The setting for most of my latest release, The Bride Who Step Dances, takes place in 1874 Laramie City, Wyoming Territory, just four years after Wyoming Territory women voted for the first time. This book is now available as an ebook and at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE

 

Sources:

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/black-women-vote-in-wyoming/

https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/then-i-breathed-freely-black-women-vote-wyoming-1870

Yikes, Friday the Thirteenth.

                                           

 Friday the thirteenth is a cultural phenomenon, rather than a single historical event, blending religious tradition, ancient folklore, modern media, and a movie franchise. 

   Number 13: The number 12 is seen as complete (months, zodiac signs etc.), making 13 disruptive and unlucky, a concept possibly linked to ancient mathematics.

 

   If you have Triskaidekaphobia a fear of Friday 13th, you've almost made it though the year as the 13th of February and March are in the past. But beware, November 13th is yet to come.

The Friday the 13th superstition is a blend of Christian beliefs (Judas as the 13th at the Last Supper, and Jesus' crucifixion on a Friday) and Norse mythology (Loki crashing a 12-god banquet leading to the death of the god Baldur.           

 Also an historical events like the Knights Templar arrests by French King Philip IV on October 13, 1307. 

In modern day Pop Culture, the Friday the 13th horror movie franchise further cemented the date's scary reputation in current times. 

   In France, Friday 13th may have been associated with misfortune as early as the first half of the 1800's. A character in the 1834 play The Subtleties of Scribbles states, "I was born on a Friday, December 13th, 1813 from which come all of my misfortunes".

   In England, an early documented reference occurs in H. S. Edwards' biography of the famous Italian composer, Gioachino Rossini, who died on Friday 13th  November 1868: Edwards writes..."Rossini was surrounded to the last by admiring friends; and if it be true that, like so many Italians, he regarded Fridays as an unlucky day and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that on Friday 13th of November he passed away."

  In America, we have Thomas William Lawson's 1907 novel, wherein a stock broker picks Friday the Thirteenth as the day in which he will set about events that bring Wall Street to its knees. When originally published, the novel was a resounding success. 

               Do you admit to believing in any superstitions!?

                         

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Romantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

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The California Gold Rush by Reggi Allder

 

The California Gold Rush. In 1848, carpenter James Marshall was working for John (Johann) Sutter, found gold at Sutter’s Mill, Coloma, California on the American river (about 36 miles northeast of Sacramento now the capital of California). Word got out slowly at first, but by1849 the gold rush was on. Those searching for the yellow metal were called forty-niners. By the way, James Marshall and Sutter did not profit from the find.

According to research, the gold rush had a profound impact on the US territory. It dramatically changed the demographics. Before the discovery of gold, California’s population was approximately 160,000. The majority were Native American but by about 1855, more than 300,000 people had arrived. Most were Americans, though a number of settlers, and people searching for the gold, also came from South America, Europe and China. The Gold Rush was credited with hastening statehood for California in 1850. 

Panning on the Mokelumne River California (1860 illustration)

In the beginning, forty-niners were able to retrieve loose gold flakes and nuggets from the river with their pans in rivers and streams.

The panting is called Californio miner processing ore, c1862. The Oakland Museum, California.

Later, commercial gold mining took over. 

Between 1848 and 1855, an estimated 750 tons of gold were extracted in California — worth over $75 billion in 2025prices. A few days ago, gold was over 5,000.00 dollars an ounce. Want to do the calculation?  As of this writing, it is $4,432.10 per ounce. How much would it be worth now?

Did you know the football team from San Francisco is called The 49ers?

My Sierra Creek Books often take place in the areas were gold and other precious metals and jewels were found. My Country Heart Sierra Creek Book 4 follows the adventures of a jewelry designer and her discoveries in Sierra Creek. 

Excerpt: Her Country Heart Sierra Creek Series Book 1 of 4
After the recent events, they all needed a day off. It was surprising Wyatt had suggested the outing. She still hadn’t asked him what the land agents said because she didn’t want to start a quarrel with him. Secretly, she hoped he’d been disappointed in their response about the worth of the property and that’s why he’d said nothing or because he’d considered her position and wanted to please her. In any case, she was going to try honey rather than vinegar with him. So, when he suggested a picnic, she quickly agreed.

It didn’t take long to get to the river. The gently flowing body of water was lower than she remembered but looked just as welcoming as it had when she was a kid.

“Most people use the main swimming hole downstream.” He parked on a pullout next to the river. “But I thought this would be a quiet place to pan for gold.”

“Perfect.” She grabbed the picnic basket and walked toward the river.

Wyatt carried the towels, a blanket and a cooler. He set out the blanket near a picnic table and a barbeque pit.

Amy stood on the edge of the river. She’d taken off her shorts but still wore her T-shirt. She hesitated. Wyatt’s eyes were scanning her. Unconsciously, she tugged on the back of her suit, all too aware how out of date and out of fashion she appeared. Dressed like a middle-aged woman, she’d bought the suit when she was pregnant with Bobby. She should have a bikini or at least a two-piece suit now. She put a new swimsuit on her list. Unfortunately, with no funds, the list was long and not likely to get shorter.

Wyatt tossed his jeans and shirt on his towel next to the riverbank.

Stunned to see him muscled, tanned and wearing only a dark racing Speedo, her mouth opened.

“Mommy, hurry. I want to swim.”

She yanked off her T-shirt and threw it on her towel and dove into the water. The cold water filled her big suit. It was just what she needed to cool her heated body after seeing Wyatt.

With her arms out she called, “Bobby, jump to me.”

Instead, he waded into the water but squealed with delight.

“Come on, big guy.” Wyatt grabbed him and held him in the water. “Use your arms. Bobby, kick. We’ll be with your mother in no time.”

“I’m swimming. Look.”

“Bobby, that’s great. Come on just a little further.”

Unable to wait, she stepped forward and grabbed her son into her arms. “You were super.”

“Is that good?”

“Yeah, that’s good.” She kissed him and turned to see Wyatt grinning at them.

“Amy, is your leg all right?”

“Yeah. All good.”

He nodded and swam backstroke to the other side of the river and then with a fast freestyle came back to their side of the river. “It’s been too long since I’ve been here. I can watch Bobby if you want to swim to the other side.”

“Thanks.”

Afterward, Wyatt took them farther up the river and, with an old black pan, he showed Bobby how to look for gold.

Did you ever pan for gold? Please leave a comment. 

If you go for suspense look for Reggi's Allder's Dangerous Series. Dangerous Moves is the latest. Dangerous Web is book one of 4

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How Cowboys Celebrated Easter

 

Out on the open range, Easter for cowboys was usually a quieter, more practical affair than the church-centered celebrations back East. Spring was a busy season in cattle country--calving was underway, grass was coming in, and long days in the saddle left little time for formal observance.  Still, many cowboys marked the holiday in simple, meaningful ways. If a ranch was near a town, they might ride in for a church service, trading dust-covered hats for a brief moment of reflection. More often, though, Easter was acknowledged right where they were: on the trail, around a chuckwagon, or beside a small campfire under the wide prairie sky. 

 Food played a central role, as it often does on holidays. The ranch cook might make an effort to prepare something a bit more special than the usual fare--fresh biscuits, maybe a pie if ingredients allowed, or even eggs if they could be had. Coffee was strong, conversation a little lighter, and the men might swap stories or speak of home, where families were likely celebrating in more traditional ways. For some, Easter was a reminder of distant loved ones and a life left behind, adding a note of quiet sentiment to an otherwise rugged existence.

 Though their celebration lacked ceremony, many cowboys still carried a personal sense of faith. A few might read from a small Bible kept in their saddlebags, or bow their heads briefly before a meal. In a landscape as vast and unforgiving as the frontier, moments like Easter offered a chance to pause, reflect, and find a bit of peace. Even without churches or choirs the spirit of the day endured--simple, resilient, and shaped by the rhythms of life on the range. 

Happy Easter,

 

Sandra 

 

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