To plot, or not to plot? ~ T.K. Conklin

  

  For those of you that plot, I applaud you. I was never a plotter. Winging it was the way I did it. As I wrote, the characters would usually take over the story and do their own thing. It's a method that has worked pretty well for me so far. Then the dreaded writers block hit!!!

  For several years I struggled to get my brain to refocus on writing. It took an author cruse, the Love Lit Cruise, and a four day cruise alone for my brain to finally reset. So worth it! During Love Lit, author Krysta Dearson put me in writer's bootcamp, and I set time every day to get with her and author Victoria Taylor to write. Progress was made. On the four day cruise alone, I kept up that routine and got quite a bit accomplished.

  A while back I had a brilliant idea for a new book. This time I was going to attempt to actually plot it out. I have tinkered with Scrivener, but couldn't get the hang of it. I tried Dabble, but no success. I'm currently working on a series with EberWrite, but haven't made it far. Ellipsus has some interesting and unique features. I may mess around with it more in the future.

  Several years ago, at the Chanticleer conference, Plottr was one of the vendors and were giving a great deal on a lifetime membership. Troy Lambert was the Plottr representative and did a great job of explaining the software. I signed up for the lifetime membership and forgot about it for a year or so. I messed around with it now and then and did some of the YouTube tutorials, but with the new book I was determined to use it and make progress.

Plottr comes with many templates for various genres and that is helpful. It's easy to move the scene cards around and rearrange your ideas. The Character tab and Places tabs help you keep track of your characters and places. Especially if you have a series.

  So far the story is coming along nicely. Yet, as always, the characters tend to take over to I have to adjust my outline. But that is super easy.

  It's definitely been helpful but I still have a lot to learn with the program because there are tons of useful things in it.

  I still write with Word but if you want you can write your chapters in Plottr on the scene cards. It's easy to export it into Word later.

 Most people I talk to love Scrivener. I have attempted to use it off and on over the years but, for some reason, it doesn't click with me.

  If you are a plotter, what is your preferred plotting method?

  If you want to check out Plottr, here is my link. plottr.com/?ref=tara

The Ranches ~ Brandi Creek

 

Hello, you lovely people. Brandi Creek here.

When I finished writing The Cowboy I Left Behind, the first book in The Cowboys of Majestic Run series, I thought I was simply introducing readers to Majestic Run Bloodstock.

But somewhere along the way, the farm became more than a setting.

The training barns, the breeding program, the horses, and the people carrying old history through those pastures all started to feel alive in a way I couldn't quite walk away from. The more time I spent at Majestic Run, the more I realized there were still stories left to tell.

This series allowed me to explore a world that combines two things I've always loved: cowboys and horses. Some of it came from research into breeding programs, bloodlines, and the quiet pressure that exists behind every promising racehorse. Other parts came from my own love of horse racing and the wonder of watching foals find their legs for the very first time. There's something special about a place where legacy, new beginnings, and big dreams all exist side by side.

That love of horses started long before I became a writer. When I was in high school, my parents managed a ranch in Washington. We spent our days leading trail rides through the forest, riding horses along the beach, and gathering around bonfires at night while campers shared stories beneath the stars. It remains one of my favorite times in life.

One of my strongest memories is walking out into the pasture each morning with a bundle of lead ropes slung over my shoulder. I'd clip halters onto twenty horses, climb onto one bareback, and ride back to the barn while the others followed behind me. At the end of the day, we'd do it all again in reverse. Looking back, I realize those experiences shaped so much of the way I write ranches, horses, and the people who dedicate their lives to them.

The characters who call Majestic Run home lived in my head for months. They made mistakes, carried old wounds, fought for second chances, and refused to take the easy path. Watching their stories unfold across these rolling Kentucky pastures became one of my favorite writing experiences.

If you'd like to spend more time in these worlds, I'd love to invite you to visit two of my favorite ranches.

The Cowboys of Majestic Run is a complete duet set in the world of Kentucky horse breeding, where wounded cowboys, second chances, family legacy, and healing hearts collide.

Men of Mountain Tide Ranch Retreat is a five-book western romance collection spanning more than 2,700 pages. Inspired in part by those years spent on the ranch in Washington, the series is filled with damaged cowboys, resilient heroines, healing after heartbreak, family bonds, friendship, and happily-ever-afters set against breathtaking mountain views.

More than anything, I hope you'll saddle up, spend some time at Majestic Run Bloodstock and Mountain Tide Ranch Retreat, and fall in love with these ranches, horses, and characters the same way I did while writing them.

Happy Reading,

Brandi Creek

Visit the Ranches 

Men of Mountain Tide Ranch Retreat

Available on Kindle and through Kindle Unlimited

Get It Now!

The Cowboys of Majestic Run

Coming to Amazon July 17, 2026

Available in Kindle Unlimited

From the Fugio Cent to the Frontier Penny ~ D. K. Deters

It’s hard to believe that the final penny was struck in 2025, marking the end of a 232-year production run. Last week, I was looking through some old pennies I’d saved. It made me wonder about the first American penny and what a penny was worth by the 1880s.

The Fugio cent holds the distinction of being America’s first official circulating coin. It was authorized by the Congress of the Confederation and minted in 1787, a few years before the establishment of the U.S. Mint. It is also one of the few American coins associated with Benjamin Franklin. Its imagery is very close to the designs Franklin had used earlier on the 1776 Continental Currency dollar patterns.

 

The front (obverse): A sun shining on a sundial with the word “FUGIO” (Latin for “I flee” or “I fly”), referring to time flying by or the passage of time. Beneath it appears the famous motto “MIND YOUR BUSINESS.” In the 18^th century, it meant to “pay attention to your work and responsibilities.” It serves as a reminder that time is passing, so make good use of it.

The back (reverse): Thirteen linked rings representing the original thirteen states, surrounding the words “WE ARE ONE.”

Some coin collectors consider the Fugio cent one of the most historically significant American coins because it links the Revolution, Franklin, and the birth of the federal government.

Interestingly, many Fugio cents survive today thanks to what collectors call the Bank of New York Hoard. In 1788, the bank stored several thousand Fugio cents in a keg in its basement. The coins were stored away again in 1856 and largely forgotten until the cache was rediscovered in 1926. Because many of the coins had remained untouched since the eighteenth century, hundreds survived in mint-state condition.

The coins were given to clients as souvenirs and keepsakes until 1948. At that time, only 1,641 of the coins remained. From there, many of these coins were donated or sold. The bank retained 819 of the coins.

I don’t have any relatives from New York, but it’s fun to dream that just maybe someone kept one of those coins for their family. But I digress.

Since my WIP takes place in the 1880s, it’s worth noting that by then a penny still had real, if modest, buying power in towns across the American West.

      

By 1880, Americans had seen several variations of the penny, but the Indian Head cent was the penny of the day. Interestingly, the front profile of the Indian Head cent actually depicts Lady Liberty wearing a Native American feather headdress. The Philadelphia Mint produced nearly 39 million Indian Head pennies in 1880, compared to the 398,577 Fugio cents struck in 1787.

On the frontier, a purchase depended heavily on where you were. Remote posts often ran on barter and credit.

While a penny wouldn’t buy a meal, it still mattered in daily exchanges. In that sense, the humble cent wasn’t just currency—it was a measure of the ordinary moments in the Old West.

(The following prices aren’t exact for every town.)

Everyday Small Goods

• Stick of candy – 1¢ to 2¢
• Handful of penny candy – 1¢ to 3¢
• Matches (single or small bundle) – 1¢ to 5¢
• Lead pencil (cheap) – 1¢ to 3¢
• Sheet of writing paper – 1¢
• Envelope – 1¢ 

---

Food Staples (small amounts)

• Cup of coffee (in a town shop or counter) – 5¢
• Hard biscuit or roll – 1¢ to 3¢
• Small piece of cheese – 3¢ to 10¢
• Salt pork (small cut) – 5¢ to 15¢
• Beans (by the scoop) – 3¢ to 10¢

---

Tobacco & Personal Goods

• Chewing tobacco (pinch or plug slice) – 2¢ to 10¢
• Pipe tobacco (small measure) – 5¢ to 15¢
• Basic soap bar – 3¢ to 10¢
• Simple handkerchief – 5¢ to 15¢

These were small comforts, but they were part of everyday life in a cash-poor frontier economy.

Resources:

https://web.archive.org/web/20161017224536/http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Fugio.intro.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20140701221227/http://hlrc.com/articles/09132013.pdf

Root Beer Float Anyone?

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

How many remember the Root Beer Float? It was a summer favorite where I grew up. Recently, I had the pleasure of doing some research on the subject. Here are some interesting facts. But first, we must set the stage.

In late 1890, Bob Womack found gold in the Cripple Creek area. By 1891, the strike was verified, and the rush was on.

By 1896, Coors had started selling his beer in a store he purchased for that purpose. Prior to this, many miners brewed their own spirits. There was even a root beer called Myers Avenue Red, brewed in the area.

Now, we come to the Root Beer Float.

In August 1893, Frank J. Wisner was looking out at night and saw the snowcap on a dark mountain, Cow Mountain to be exact. It reminded him of vanilla ice cream in a dark liquid. The next day, he put vanilla ice cream into the Myers Avenue Red root beer. He called it the Black Cow.

The other story says Wisner saw the snowcap on Cow Mountain, which reminded him of the black-and-white cow. Hence the name Black Cow.

Now, here's the question. Was Frank J. Wisner in Cripple Creek, Colorado, in August of 1893? Did he own the Cripple Creek Brewing Company in Cripple Creek, Colorado? 

The evidence seems to suggest the answer to those questions may be 'no'. Perhaps the most telling piece of the puzzle. His family called him a flim-flam man.

As with all legends, there may be elements of truth. I leave it to you whether you want to believe the story or do further research.

Still, it's a great story and can give Colorado another first. 

Until next time.

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon 

In 1869, Wyoming Shocked America by Letting Women Vote

In Wyoming Territory, women didn’t have room for fainting couches. They ran boarding houses, filed homestead claims, managed ranches while husbands were on cattle drives, and taught school in one-room buildings with coal stoves.

So it’s no surprise that a strong woman, Esther Hobart Morris, helped change history in the rugged mining towns of the West long before women across America won the right to vote.

Morris lived in South Pass City, a rough gold-rush town filled with miners, saloons, and muddy streets. At the time, women in the United States had almost no political power. They couldn’t vote, hold most public offices, or influence the laws that shaped their lives.

Morris believed that needed to change. When the Wyoming Territory debated whether women should have the right to vote, she supported the idea and spoke openly about equality. Territorial leaders eventually passed a groundbreaking law—granting women the right to vote in 1869. Wyoming became the first place in the United States to do this. The law was signed by John Allen Campbell, and it sparked national attention.

Morris didn’t stop there. In 1870, she became the first woman in the United States to serve as a justice of the peace, helping settle disputes and uphold the law in South Pass City. Her role proved that women could serve in positions of authority just as capably as men.

Thus, a Wyoming woman in the 1870s could walk into a polling place, argue her opinion, and go home. The men adapted because on the frontier, survival depended on respect. Strength wasn’t intimidating. It was necessary.

Wyoming became known as the Equality State. Decades later, when the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women the right to vote nationwide, Wyoming had already been allowing women to vote for more than 50 years.

On the frontier, where people often had to build new communities from scratch, bold ideas sometimes took root first. I am thankful that Esther Hobart Morris was brave enough to stand up for a women’s right to vote.

 

Cowboy Kisses News ~ Julie Lence

 

Good Morning Cowboy Kisses Readers & Authors. To keep you up-to-date with blog happenings,  Amanda A. Brooks is on hiatus until further notice. Her 9-5 job is keeping her extra busy, and rather than leave the group and take a chance there won't be a slot for her when she can return (she really doesn't want to leave us), a hiatus is the best thing for her and for us. I will let you know when she resumes dazzling you with her blogs. 

Thank you! 

Julie        

Character Interview with Barbie Bennett ~ Julie Lence

 

On a warm, spring afternoon in Reno, Nevada, I’m visiting with pop music star and CEO of Bella Cosmetics, Barbie Bennett. Exiting the elevator into Bella’s newly renovated offices of charcoal grey and raspberry, Barbie’s niece and assistant, Tina, strides toward me, a red skirt swishing around her knees and the hum of typewriters and hushed voices wafting behind her.  After a warm greeting, Tina leads the way to Barbie’s office; a large room with the same grey and raspberry colors, floor-to-ceiling windows offering a stunning view of the mountains outside of town, and an over-stuffed sofa and chairs grouped around a coffee table. Seated in one of the chairs is Barbie Bennett. Long dark hair, flawless makeup, and a blue pin-striped suit tailored to fit her slim figure, Barbie’s smile puts to ease any jitters I may have regarding the famed singer. Tina is quick to make introductions and point me to a chair, then she leaves and Barbie turns her attention my way.         

 ‘Thank you for meeting with me today, Ms. Bennett.’

‘Please, call me Barbie.’

‘All right,’ I swallow nervously. Afterall, she is famous world-wide. ‘Barbie, can you tell my readers a little about yourself? Please?’

A small crease in her brow, she lifts a silver coffee carafe off a tray on the table before us and pours coffee into two cups. ‘I’m not sure what I can tell your readers that hasn’t already been printed about me.’ She sets the pot down, pushes the creamer and sugar my direction, and a platter of pastries, which I decline, even though they look sinfully delicious. ‘Everyone knows I have a twin sister—Bailey. She’s a big star in country music.’ She fixes her coffee then, with cup in hand, sinks back into the chair’s cushions. ‘We grew up on a ranch outside of Reno with our six older brothers. They’re all married now, with children of their own. Mom and Dad still live on the ranch, along with our several head of cattle and numerous horses. Almost everyone in the family rides, and alongside our ranch hands, we have three barns to house most of the horses. The others are housed at my brothers’ private barns. A smile spreads across her heart-shaped face. Zach works the ranch. He and I have been together ever since the afternoon he rescued me at the Cheyenne Frontier Days.’              

‘When was that? And how did he rescue you?’

‘Four years ago. At the time I didn’t know, but Zach was a bull rider. He was at Frontier Days to compete in the rodeo. I was there to sing. My tour bus and trucks had just pulled in to the back lot when my crew decided to go in search of turkey legs, including my bodyguard, Seth. I wasn’t hungry, so I decided to walk behind the chutes and pens housing small animals. Two days on the tour bus and I really needed to stretch my legs.’ She pauses for a sip of coffee. ‘Anyway, my ex was there, which I didn’t know. He and I didn’t part on good terms.’ She grips the cup, and hard. ‘He came up behind me, accused me of sabotaging his career—he’s a musician. I tried to get away, but he grabbed my arm and yanked me to him. That’s when Zach pulled him off me and shoved him to the ground. Before I could react, Seth appeared and squired be back to the bus. Later, I sent Seth in search of Zach, to ask him to join me for supper.’       

‘How did that go?’

Her eyes twinkling, a blush creeps into her cheeks. ‘He was… I was…’ She swallows hard. ‘I don’t remember what we ate, but I can tell you, I wanted him to kiss me. So much, I actually ached for his touch, which surprised and scared me. As I said, my ex and I didn’t part on good terms. He broke my trust and my heart, so much that another relationship was the last thing I wanted. But Zach was different. He was every bit the cowboy; polite, quiet, and so gosh-darn handsome. And those muscles…’  She sighs dreamily. ‘He’s still all of those things. There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not thankful I met him the following afternoon behind the chutes.’         

‘How would you describe Zach?’

‘Honest, hard-working, loyal; someone you’d want for a friend. Lucky me, I’m the one who has his heart.’ 

‘How would Zach describe you?’

 ‘A total mess.’ She emits a small laugh. ‘Anxiety-ridden, spoiled, stubborn, demanding to a fault… Sometimes, I can’t believe he willingly puts up with all of that, but he does. And I love him more than words can say.’    

‘What is your biggest fear?’

‘Losing Zach. He’s everything to me, the one person except for Bailey who knows me better than I know myself. He keeps me grounded, and warms my heart every time he smiles my way. The fame and fortune; I’d give it all up in a heartbeat. But not him. There’s no living without him.’

‘How do you relax?’

‘Friday nights, I snuggle against Zach on the couch in my suite at Ringo’s, the family casino. The lights are low, soft music plays on the radio, and with his arms around me, that’s the best way to forget the tension and stress of the week.’ 

 ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’

‘With Zach. Hopefully, in our own home either on Bennett Ranch or in town. I see him promoted to one of the three foreman we have and me continuing to find ways for Bella to remain successful while singing at the casino.

 ‘I can positively say I and my readers wish you and Zach all the best. The way you glow when talking about him, I’m certain you’ll have that home with him in less than five years.’

 Blushing, she ducks her head. ‘Thank you.’

‘Thank you for taking time out of your day to talk with me. And for those of you who haven’t read Barbie and Zach’s story, pop on over to Amazon and grab a copy of, The Pop Star Loves Her Cowboy. You’ll be glad you did!’

 www.amazon.com/dp/B0FG48TFYH