Guest Author Nina Romano

Good Morning! Please welcome guest author, Nina Romano!

The Girl Who Loved Cayo Bradley by Nina Romano

When Darby McPhee falls in love with Cayo Bradley, a wild cowboy from a nearby ranch, her world is ripped apart. Caught in a lifeless existence of caring for her father and brothers since her mother’s death, Darby does little else but work. But a death-bed promise to her mother to get her education now stands in the way of her heart’s desire to belong to the rough-and-tumble Cayo Bradley.

Darby is Cayo’s redemption from a horrific act in his past that torments him. After being captured as a young boy by the Jicarilla Apache, he now tries to settle back into white society—but how can he? If he loses Darby, he loses everything.

Darby is determined to keep her promise to her mother, but will Cayo wait for her? In this stunning tale of love and loss, Darby comes to understand that no matter what happens, she will always be THE GIRL WHO LOVED CAYO BRADLEY…

Here's a little excerpt:

He knew people saw him as part Apache. Others claimed he was left for dead by bandoleros, and because of his aloof and stealth disposition, and the fact that he was shy and nonconfrontational like the animal, people believed that’s how he came to be named Coyote. Somewhere along the way, Coyote’s nickname became Cayo. He didn’t care what people called him as long as they did, and for sure he knew his name didn’t matter because he’d never fit in anywhere. Once you’ve lived wild and free, it’s near impossible to return wholly capable of fitting into refined society. He knew others like himself, children who had been taken and lived with Kiowa or other tribes, and what he saw in them he knew was the same for him. They were the same outcast breed he was, not a trace of Indian blood, but Indian in the way they thought. He’d never completely forgotten his own language, English, so when he finally decided to go back to living the white folks’ way, he listened to speech, carefully repeated words, and held himself close, like a gambler in a poker game, keeping his cards to his chest. He shouldered these thoughts about himself and that other life he lived before as a yoke on an ox. It weighed on him, but he could do nothing to shirk it.

Nobody in town knew him by any other name. Whatever his component parts were, it

was for certain he was known as a man quick with a Bowie knife, swifter with a whip. That was because nobody had ever seen him shoot a deadly arrow. He wore chaps every day but Saturday when he drove the buckboard. Cayo carried two Colt pistols in his holsters and never rode his horse without a Winchester 30/30 rifle strapped to his saddle. He was a man people respected, a man who kept his mouth shut and eyes peeled, even the eyes they said he had in the back of his head.

A bit about the author in bio form:

Nina Romano earned a B.S. from Ithaca College, an M.A. from Adelphi University and a B.A. and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from FIU. She’s a world traveler and lover of history. She lived in Rome, Italy, for twenty years, and is fluent in Italian and Spanish. She has authored a short story collection, The Other Side of the Gates, and has had five poetry collections and two poetry chapbooks published traditionally by small independents. 

Nina Romano’s historical Wayfarer Trilogy has been published from Turner Publishing. The Secret Language of Women, Book #1, was a Foreword Reviews Book Award Finalist and Gold Medal winner of the Independent Publisher’s 2016 IPPY Book Award. Lemon Blossoms, Book # 2, was a Foreword Reviews Book Award Finalist, and In America, Book #3, was a finalist in Chanticleer Media’s Chatelaine Book Awards. Her latest novel, The Girl Who Loved Cayo Bradley, a Western Historical Romance, has been recently released from Prairie Rose Publications. You can find her on Goodreads, Twitter @ninsthewriter and Facebook.

A note from Nina: I’m most blessed and grateful to have had two wonderful authors that I admire blurb this book. 

Blurbs:

Romano’s story sizzles with the tension of lovers—one struggling to blend Apache ways and white, the other torn between East and West—searching for a way to join two lives going in opposite directions.

— Ruth Hull Chatlien, Blood Moon, Winner of a Reader's Favorite 2018 Gold Medal for Western Fiction and Winner of the 2018 Laramie Award.

 The Girl Who Loved Cayo Bradley, a superbly crafted romantic page-turner, is a deftly spun tale of ill-starred sweethearts in the American West. Darby, a charming farm girl, and Cayo, Apache raised, a secretive man with a disturbing past. Sparks ignite, burning intensely despite cruel circumstances to separate them—an expertly woven story with witty dialogue, fast-paced plot, and stunning, enchanting prose! 

— Michelle Cox, award-winning author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series.

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2J9NQ6L

Oh those mailorder brides

Why???
Why should women wish to become mail order brides?

To leave home and established society, a woman often never saw her home, childhood friends, or parents again took great courage. Perhaps, the reason can be found in the ratio of men to women in the Old West. With the Civil War taking up to three million men, most at the prime marriageable age of  25 years, left many young women fearing the life of spinsterhood. Women needed a man to provide financially for them. If widowed, they needed a husband to feed the children.

Western expansion also left woman alone in cities and small towns as well. Another underlying reason could be the fact that since localities needed women to become wives and mothers, they enacted laws that allowed women to retain and keep property. They also provided legislation that allowed women to get out of bad marriages. One carrot that was definitely a good draw was the right  to vote. Women, out west, would enjoy that privilege years before their counter parts in the East. The right to vote : Utah in 1870, Washington 1883, Montana  1887, Colorado in 1893, and Idaho in 1894.

On the down side, some women viewed the written courtship as a joke. Often writing on whims, leading the anxious groom the butt of jokes. Others might have started out as a lark, but ended up married to men that would make them happy.

Perhaps the biggest factor was - loneliness.Courtship was often chaperoned. To see a young woman, a man must practice genteel actions: speaking to parents to ask permission to see their daughter, leaving a card with his name with the parents, never holding hands ( shocking ). A suitor could ruin his chances by showing crudeness or brazenness, both were unacceptable and often got you banned from the home.

So, how did they go about it? Two magazines were published weekly in San Francisco and Kansas City. There a man would list what he brought to the marriage and hope that a young, strong woman, would bare him sons to keep the family name and help him work in the fields. Often, there were scams just as today. Men or women would have to pay to ship their loves out west by wagon trail, boat, stage, and/or train. It was surprisingly easy to scam off the top of the 'fee' for sending for your bride.

In my new release, Riding from Richmond, my heroine Caledonia McBride, is leaving the aftermath of Civil War and reconstruction in her state. She answers letters she thinks is from Seth Nolan. But nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, three cowhands, who felt they were having too much work, wrote the heart felt letters and paid for her passage as a surprise for their boss. It was their hope, Nolan would then become so besotted with his bride, they could find other pursuits.

The one problem that arises, Mr. Nolan has come back from purchasing a bull with a new bride in tow. Now those cowboys have a problem of major proportions. In comes, Maxwell Barringer. His friends help him when he lost his father. So he takes the job of trying to keep Miss McBride from finding out the mixed up mission. Now, the plot backfires and Max finds himself longing for Miss McBride.

Be sure to check out, Riding From Richmond on Amazon  https://amzn.to/2PPA2P8

Till next time,

Nan

 

How Hopalong Cassidy Got His Name

The character of Hopalong Cassidy was first created by author Clarence E. Mulford in 1904. In this popular series of short stories, Hopalong was portrayed as rude, dangerous and with a crude way of talking. He even had a wooden leg, hence the name Hopalong.

Jump forward to 1935 to the film series. William Boyd transformed the character into a clean-talking, polite, sarsaparilla drinking cowboy hero. Only a few of the popular films were loosely based on Mulford’s books. During the first show, Hopalong got his name a second time after being shot in the leg.

The first Hopalong film.

In the films, Hopalong, and his white horse, Topper, usually ride through the west with two companions, saving damsels-in-distress and righting wrongs. Sixty-six pictures were made by various studios and were called “Hoppies”. They were noted for their fast action and beautiful outdoor photography. Paramount tried to cancel the Hopalong series once, but they were so popular, the studio was forced to bring them back.

When the series was finally cancelled in 1944, William Boyd gambled his future by mortgaging most of what he owned to buy the charater rights from Mulford and the backlog of films.

Boyd thought Hopalong belonged on television and approached the newly formed NBC. On June 24, 1949, Hopalong Cassidy became the first network Western Television Series. The success made Boyd a star. His gamble paid off. Boyd earned millions from the character, mostly from merchandising. In 1950, Hopalong was on the first lunchbox to bear an image.

The series and character were so popular that Hopalong was featured on the covers of national magazines such as Life, Time, and Look. The success of the show inspired juvenile television westerns such as The Roy Rogers show, Tales of the Texas Rangers, and The Gene Autry Show.

In 1951, an amusement park named Hoppyland was developed in Los Angeles. It included a roller coaster, pony rides, and a ferris wheel. Despite all of Boyd’s efforts, it closed in 1954.

Louis L’Amour even wrote four Hopalong Cassidy novels, all of which are still in print.

The shows were off the air from the mid-60s to the mid-90s when the advent of The Western Channel restored the films to cable TV.

I watch the old television versions of Hopalong Cassidy and his sidekick, California Carlson, played by Andy Clyde. I love old westerns, and this is one of my favorites.

If you love nice, soft-spoken heros, try Rocky Road Home, the third book in my Harney County Cowboys series. Rocky isn't exactly a cowboy, but he's-- oh my! Find it and my other books on my Amazon Author's Page.

Which do you prefer? Newer westerns or the older ones? Who's your favorite western star?

Schooners, Sailors, & Sights

An author's life is very busy. Whether full time or part time writing the workload can be heavy. Between your own projects, multi-author series, promotions, advertising, and general work there is always something to do. This doesn't even include research. On the other hand, the research can be amazing.

As an historical western writer, there is always something new to learn, or some aspect of life in the wild west to track down. Still, the learning is fun and the things you discover are amazing. This month I had the privilege of visiting the Laura Ingles Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove Minnesota the actual town where the young author lived. The museum has many interesting items and a great deal of information about life on the plains as well as interactive stations where you can experience the way things were done back then.I especially appreciated being able to see what a real prairie schooner was like and what items a family might bring along with them on the wagon train trip to their new home. They are much smaller than most of us realize or are led to believe in popular television series. 

As I looked through the items used daily by pioneers looking for a fresh start in the west, it made me imagine the long days and multiple hardships one would face on the long trail. It is amazing to think that so many people would have been willing to endure the difficulties and uncertainties of moving their family west. It is easy to forget that even in the Little House on the Parie tales Charles Ingles struggled to make the new homestead work and had to take his family back to the little house in the big woods in Pepin Wisconsin. A combination of warm weather and a series of devastating grasshopper swarms meant a retreat at least for a time.

Wagon's were only one way that travelers headed west.  Many other intrepid people set sail from ports in the East to travel around the treacherous Cape Horn traveling to a California, Oregon, or Washington in hopes of a better life and a patch of land of their own. Sailing would have taken nearly as long as traveling by wagon depending on your destination and held a variety of other perils at sea.  Still, hundreds of immigrants made their way by sea or land to the western lands in hopes of a new and better living for their families.  In the Sailor and the School Teacher aspects of this adventure on the high seas are explored.

The entire Sailors and Saints series explores the transition of life of the sea to a new hope and a happily ever after. Starting something new is always a daunting endeavor but the heroes in the states have a little help, as the set sail for love. Sailors and Saints Series Page  I hope you'll join us to find out what it would have been like to leave one life and try to star another when the prairies were wide open and the call of free land proved irresistible to so many.  

Whether traveling by sea or land one can only imagine the sights that would have been seen by pioneers on their long journey. By sea, one might encounter whales, tropical ports, and even icebergs as they round the Horn. Imagine the excitement as the ships slowly made port and the challenges of outfitting a family to start over again once more.

As I've been rolling through the northern states and seeing so many different landscapes, animals, and sights I can almost feel the thrill of the early pioneers as they encountered their first buffalo, antelope, or herds of wild horses. Perhaps they lived in fear of encountering raiding bands of outlaws or Indians, or perhaps they quaked at the river crossings that could prove so dangerous. The sights, sounds, and scenery must have at once amazed, then wearied the travelers. Traveling by wagon a good day would see fifteen miles of forwarding motion and I'm sure that the early pioneers would have eventually become weary of the same rolling plains stretched out before them day by day. I'm loving seeing so many sights but I travel a little faster in my rolling home. I'll be exploring more of these ideas and thoughts in a new series coming out later this year as well so keep watching for The Brides of Needful along with my other offerings. Please feel free to follow me at my website you can find my series, multi-author projects, blog, and even sign up for my newsletter. Or following at these sights: Facebook Bookbub AllAuthor

Soundtrack of the Old West ~ by Kristine Raymond

And so it begins.  A thunderous blare of horns gives way to an overture of strings - staccato or mournful, depending upon the mood meant to be conveyed.  Then follows the low rumble of drums punctuated by a crashing cymbal; a single, pristine note from the triangle added for effect.  The combination of notes stirs the senses, creating anticipation and excitement, and maybe a degree of trepidation for what lies ahead.   Such is the soundtrack of the Old West - at least by Hollywood standards.

I've never made secret the fact that if time travel were possible, I'd be sporting crinolines and button-up boots in the space of a second, though I imagine I'd be disappointed upon discovering the lack of theme music scoring my adventures in a dusty, frontier town.  I've grown up associating a certain 'sound' with westerns, from the opening credits for The Big Valley and High Chaparral to the overture for The Magnificent Seven.  Makes me sad to think that folks didn't have background music underscoring their daily activities back then.

As an author writing historical western fiction, I have two things to rely on - research and experience.  Born 100 years later than the setting of my first story, the only 'true-life' experience I was able to draw from was my exposure to cinematic westerns (and some time spent living in Arizona in my late-20s.)  And, since music makes more of an impact on me than any of the other arts, the addition of The Wild West: The Essential Western Film Music Collection to my personal collection was, in fact, essential.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Now, I prefer to write in absolute silence - no playlists for me - but while creating Hidden Springs and its characters, there were times I needed to 'get in the mood', as it were.  Cue up Track 16.  Or Track 4.  Or...oh, all right, just start at the beginning and let it play through.  There's not a song listed that failed to inspire and stimulate my creative juices, lending authenticity to the scenes I was constructing; authenticity that may have been manufactured in Hollywood, but every story needs a soundtrack, doesn't it?   

A Visit to the National Museum of Wildlife Art

'Chief' by Robert Bateman

By Andrea Downing

'Buffalo Trail' by Richard Loffler

Set up on a ridge overlooking a wide expanse of the high plains, including the National Elk Refuge, and backing into the Teton front range, The National Museum of Wildlife Art blends into its setting so well, one might think the bronzes of various animals outside the main building are actually the animals themselves.  The  museum houses a collection of over five thousand artworks from more than five-hundred-fifty artists, spanning three centuries, and depicting worldwide wildlife.  The main attraction of the museum seems to be artist, hunter, and conservationist Carl Rungius, for whom the main road leading to the museum is named, and who is blessed with a separate gallery. 

A Rungius I liked!

I cannot say I’m a big Rungius fan; I find some of his works very much better than others, which to me appear flat and lifeless.  But that’s my personal opinion. There are certainly enough works by other artists to hold anyone’s interest, including such varied names as Audubon, Bierstadt, George Catlin, Edward Hicks, Georgia O’Keeffe, C.M. Russell, Thomas Moran, N.C. Wyeth, and (believe it or not!) Andy Warhol, along with pottery by native artists. There are also classrooms, a children’s gallery, conference rooms, a shop, and a restaurant.

Catlin

O'Keeffe

Native Pottery depicting animals

To me the highlight of the visit was the outdoor sculpture trail, currently featuring twenty-one works of art with more expected to be added. One rather upsetting piece on the trail was ‘Lost Birds’ by Todd McGrain. This features

'Lost Birds'

an arrangement of several species now extinct, one from as early as 1878—the Labrador Duck.

'How Many Millions, One Can Only Guess' by N.C. Wyeth, a statement on the near-extinction of American Bison

One of 61 Peaceable Kingdoms by Hicks

While I enjoyed my visit and walk along the sculpture trail on a bright beautiful day, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of incongruity—looking at artwork of various animals when an ark-load of them are just down the road in the Grand Teton National Park.  Perhaps the answer for tourists is to combine the two visits, and get the most out of a stay in or near Jackson WY.

Thomas Moran

"Presidential Eagle' by Sandy Scott

'Black Timber Bugler' by Tim Shinabarger

http://andreadowning.com

All photos author's own

SO, WHAT DID THEY EAT?

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo Property of the Author

As I was going through some early Colorado Magazine articles I came across a short one that got me to thinking. What did they eat and what was the process for so many?

According to the article, in May of 1859 a man from Indiana had left packets of vegetable seeds for sale at the Rocky Mountain News offices. They were selling for twenty-five cents a packet.

Soon the paper was talking about the first crop of radishes and how there were several acres of corn, peak and onion that were sprouting up.  Throughout the summer there were gardens that had peas, beans onions, squashes, cucumbers, beets along with melons.

So you can see, at least in early Denver, there were fresh vegetables available. But what about flour, rice, cornmeal,etc. Those products needed to be shipped in from the 'states' or New Mexico. Prices would vary depending on where they originated from, along with the distance, etc.

The article quoted the following prices:
Flour from the states - $14 @ 16 per 100 pounds
Flour Mexican $10 @15 per 100 pounds
Potatoes 25¢ per pound
Rice 25¢ per pound
Butter 75¢ per pound
Fresh Beef 15¢ per pound
Venison $1 per quarter
Milk 10¢ per quart
Molasses $2.50 per gallon
Whiskey $3.00 per gallon
Bacon sides and Ham 35¢
Cheese 50¢

As winter approached people began preparing to put their vegetables for winter. The cucumbers, tomatoes and cabbage were combined with vinegar.  There also appeared bear, turkey, grouse and duck as the winter months approached.

Early Denver Illustration
Colorado Encyclopedia

As people continued to arrive, many may have had gardens, but those in the high mountains would have had short growing seasons. The town of Guffey, Colorado in the late 1800s chose to grow potatoes to sell to the mining camps. Towns like Fountain and Canon City grew vegetables and fruit.

The Mormons who came through in 1853-54 planted gardens and while the rest of the party moved on toward Salt Lake, there were those who stayed behind to harvest the crops which the carried on to their destination.

This information is in stark contrast to an article in 1881 in the Colorado Miner where the early pioneers met and stated their 1859 menu was Beans, Dried Apples, Hard Tack, Bacon and Taos Lightning.

Which story is true? Probably a bit of each. I can see the how those away from the larger settlements would have to do with much less, but those in the 'cities' seemed to have fared much better.

So, what did they eat? Probably whatever was available. It is something to think about when writing, that's for sure. In my latest novel, "The Outlaw's Letter" my heroine eats cornbread made by the woman who is tending her while she recovers. It seemed logical for someone to eat in 1880.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

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Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

How I Fell in Love with the West

By Laura Drake

I'm a suburban Detroit girl. I moved to California at 23 (but I don't really consider that 'west').

There, I was lucky - I met my forever husband. Our first date was horrible (he talked about his ex the whole time) and the only reason I agreed to a second date was . . . he had a motorcycle, and asked me to go for a ride with him!

I fell in love - both with him and his bike. We took all our vacations on a motorcycle from then on. and I have ridden 100,000 miles together, and I’ve logged over 100,000 on my own. We've ridden from Mexico to the Canadian Rockies, and both coasts, and most in-between.

I’m so grateful for my motorcycle adventures - In a car I probably never would have experienced:

• The awesome vistas of Wyoming, where the land is so open and rolling, that from the top of a hill, you can see how the glaciers carved the land and how time has softened the harsh effects.
• In the badlands of Utah, the delicate multicolored striations in the crumbling ledges made me wish I knew how to dye cloth to be able to recreate it on fabric. 
• The vast open sky of the Four Corners area, with the dramatic red stone monoliths seeming to rise out of the ground in the distance.
• The never-ending green prairies of Canada, where the wheat dances with the wind.
• Small towns in the middle of nowhere, shutting down the main highway that runs through town for a Fourth of July parade, complete with tractors pulling hay wagons festooned with bunting and carrying the local beauty contest winners. 
• Real country stores with wooden floors and pot bellied stoves surrounded by rocking chairs – not to be trendy, but because the old-timers sit there.
• The howling aloneness of the Canadian Rockies, where the mountains stretch on forever.

True, I could have traveled to all these places in a car.  But what makes them unique is that on the bike is that I didn’t go looking for them.  In a car we generally tend To Go Somewhere – have a destination in mind, say a National Park.  You drive there, experience it, and drive home.  On a bike, I like to have a destination, but the destination is not the reason for the trip.  We “happened upon” most of the above places on our way to somewhere else.

There’s something about experiencing life from the seat of a motorcycle that makes it more real and indelible than a car experience. I believe we’ve been so indoctrinated by our “socialization” to be able live so closely together, that we lose the sensitivity to really experience life to the fullest.  The physical and mental rigors of riding a motorcycle scour that protective layer off, and allow the details of life to sink in to the pores of our consciousness. 

To me, riding in a car is like watching a rain storm from inside a house. Then imagine experiencing it on a motorcycle; black clouds ahead, and the straight road ahead leading right into them.  Before you get there, there is a temperature drop, the wind buffets you, you smell the rain in the air, but more than that, you feel the storm inside of you…it almost feels like a small electrical current humming inside your body.  An experience like this is naturally going to remain with you longer than watching rain come down outside a window. 

So I've had the lucky experience of not only seeing the west - I've experienced it. And I tap into those memories to describe the places I've been. Or, since I live in Texas now, I can just hop on the bike and go again!

The Wild Women whose Inventions still Save Lives

By Jacqui Nelson

An inventor's life is an adventurous mix of creativity, practicality, and paperwork. Products need a purpose and patents need to be pursued. Meet two historic women whose inventions helped save lives (on land and at sea) back in their day and today too...

Mary Elizabeth Anderson  

( born 1869 in Greene County, Alabama )

In 1889, Mary and her sister and their widowed mother moved to Birmingham, Alabama where they built and managed an apartment building. From 1893 to 1898, Mary moved to Fresno, California where she operated a cattle ranch and vineyard before returning home to Alabama.

Note: I couldn't find out why Mary went west or why she left. I feel there's a larger story there! But the life-saving invention story happened later, so on we go...

In the winter of 1902, Mary visited New York City where she observed a trolley car driver struggling with windshield visibility due to falling sleet. When she returned home, she hired a construction company to produce a working model of a windshield wiper.

In 1903, she was granted a 17-year patent for a hand-operated wiper with a lever inside a vehicle that controlled a spring-loaded rubber blade on the outside of a windshield. The patent paperwork labeled it a "window cleaning device."

Similar devices had already been made, but Mary’s was the first to be effective. In 1922, Cadillac became the first car manufacturer to make Mary’s windshield wiper standard equipment. Unfortunately, by then Mary’s patent had expired.

Maria Kenny Beasley

( born 1847 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ) 

Note: Sadly, I could not find a picture of Maria.

Two years after being inspired by the 1876 Centennial Exhibition (the first official World's Fair in the United States), Maria gained her first patent in barrel making. She went on to earn seven more patents in barrel making and in 1884 showed her barrel-making machine at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans.

Maria’s machine enabled 1,500 barrels to be produced a day. Royalties from sugar and oil refineries contracts using her barrel-making machine earned her $20,000 annually.

Her other inventions included foot warmers, cooking pans, train anti-derailment devices, and in 1880 a life raft that was "fire-proof, compact, safe and readily launched." Earlier life rafts were made of flat, wooden boards. Maria’s design included guard railings surrounding rectangular metal floats.

In 1912, the Titanic carried 20 of Maria’s life rafts that helped 706 men, women, and children survive until rescuers arrived.

Can you imagine driving a vehicle without windshield wipers? Or boarding a ship that doesn’t have life rafts? 

I can't, and I'm very thankful that these women (and so many other intrepid inventors) made life a lot safer than it was in the past. The more I read about the past, the more I realize just how wild it truly was!

Have you ever invented something or wanted to? 

Hope you'll share your favorite or even your not-so-favorite inventions! I love my computer, but sometimes I hate it as well. Life seemed so much simpler and a lot more relaxed before computers became standard equipment.  

~ * ~

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Cowboy Kisses Updates

Cowboy Kisses bids a teary goodbye to one of its authors. Due to other  obligations, Mina Beckett is stepping down from her post on the 3rd Friday of each month. She is still active on the Facebook Group page, so be sure to keep up with her there. Hugs to you Mina and all the best in the future.

Cowboy Kisses is happy to welcome western romance author Kristine Raymond. Kristine is taking over Mina's slot and should begin this month. Kristine is also active on our Facebook group page and has an author page here (see right sidebar) for you to become more acquainted with her.  Welcome Kristine!

Leave of absence: Maggie Carpenter will be away from her post for a few months. Maggie will still be active on the Facebook Group page. Be sure to connect with her there until she resumes her posts here.

As always, Thank You to our readers for joining us, both here and on the Facebook group page. And Thank You to the authors who contribute to this blog and keep it going. I couldn't do this without you. Hugs!

Julie
      

The Flavors of a Country Childhood by Rhonda Frankhouser

Smells and flavors bring back as many memories as old pictures....or music.

💞

When I pondered what home really means to me, I immediately thought of food. I was raised on a farm by good southern folks who wielded the mystical powers of the cast iron skillet and bacon grease. Between their masterful culinary skills and fresh garden bounty, we never went without a delicious meal.

I can recall the fine stitching of my grandmother's apron and still taste the Juicy Fruit gum she shared as we cooked together. I remember how everyone gathered in the kitchen, laughing over steaming pots of heaven boiling on the stove; mason jars of sweet tea in every hand. Fresh cut okra, squash and onions frying together in a hot-buttered skillet. Home made ice cream being cranked by hand on the back porch. And let's not forget the perfectly browned biscuits and corn bread sitting on the counter with grandma's cheese cloth rags over the top to keep off the flies. Oh God, I miss it! And I miss all those beautiful human beings who raised me in that kitchen.

Thankfully, I did learn how to cook those savory specialties, keeping some of our family traditions alive. Chicken 'n dumplings, chicken fried steak, fried chicken and mashed potatoes, to name a few. Who knew soaking fresh snapped green beans in broth before cooking was the secret to winning over the next generation of vegetable haters. Half 'n half in the banana pudding, instead of milk, naughty, yes, but yum. A dollop of mayonnaise is the miracle in my mashed potatoes, but don't tell my kids. Meat loaf to die for and my grandmother's delicious crispy cornbread and special recipe lemon vanilla home made ice cream, makes my mouth water just thinking about it. 

I'm proud to be the matriarch of the family now, not because I make the rules or offer some godfather like counsel, but because I can still roll a mean biscuit and make lump free sausage gravy. I consider it a true blessing that I was raised before technology took over the world. Before microwave ovens zapped the life out of food and cell phones numbed the minds of the future. I'm glad I lived in a time before families forgot how to look one another in the eye and truly communicate.

What foods do you remember from your childhood? Special traditions? If not food, what? Our family played guitars and dominoes. Let's reminiscence together? We need to remember the simpler things. And we need to pass those precious traditions on to the next generation before they are lost forever!!!

Thanks for listening, Rhonda

Rhonda's award-winning Ruby's Ranch Series, earned a finalist honor in the Uncaged Book Review Raven Awards, a 2nd Runner Up in the prestigious InD'Tale Magazine RONE awards and a Books and Benches, Reviewers Top Pic ~ Books of Distinction award.  Her follow up Shadowing Souls Series and Let Yourself Believe Series, have captured the attention of both romance and mainstream readers alike. Though originally a California girl, Rhonda now writes full time from her lovely Atlanta Georgia home.

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Animal Dances

by Shanna Hatfield

I've been deep in research for a new sweet historical romance set in 1913.

While I was flipping through old newspaper articles from that year, one that caught my eye talked about animal dances.

Animal dances?

During the ragtime era that began in the 1890s and continued through the flapper phase, a number of dance steps referred to as "animal dances" gained popularity, while raising the eyebrows of those who strongly disapproved of the "scandalous" dance moves.

Among the dances were the Horse Trot, Turkey Trot, Kangaroo Hop, Bunny Hug, Grizzly Bear, and Duck Waddle.

Don't those names make you want to jump right up and start dancing?

The dances, and the music that accompanied them, illustrated a new, modern vibrancy previously unknown. They also allowed dance partners to draw close together — with touching and embracing! Oh, the shame of it all!

Those ragtime dancers shocked polite society and became a point of public outrage from coast to coast.

Reportedly, fear of attendees breaking into one of these forbidden dances resulted in the cancellation of President Woodrow Wilson's inaugural ball in 1913. 

Dances were banned or canceled. Arrests made. Newspapers across the country joined their voices to the outcries of indecency.

The December 12, 1912 Tacoma, WA, Times published a poem: 

 When you're in Walla Walla, friends, / You must not 'bunny hug' /Or 'turkey trot,' or like as not, / They'll slam you in the jug; / And, girls, don't romp with 'Texas Tom'; / To do so's taking chances, / For the cops have put the kibosh on / Those naughty, naughty dances."

The dances people found so "naughty" are incredible tame compared to what we see in today's world. 

Even a young Irving Berlin got in on the movement, writing the words to the The Grizzly Bear.

See this "scandalous" dance for yourself!

I cant help but wonder what a cowboy who'd been out on the range would have thought if he'd ridden into town for a Saturday night dance and walked in to find the crowd doing a Turkey Trot or one of the other dances.

In my soon to release sweet historical romance Evie (May 23), the book begins at a ball. Of course, there is a mention of the animal dances!

Here's a little excerpt from the story:

In front of him a woman danced alone in the moonlight. Dark hair spilled around her like a silken cloak while the pale gossamer layers of her gown made him think of a fairy’s wings. Slim arms raised upward, fingers artfully poised. A tall, willowy body slowly spun with fluid grace, as though she balanced on her toes like a ballerina.

Perhaps his imagination had gotten the best of him, but she put him in mind of a woodland sprite come to life. Or maybe she was more like Aphrodite.

From what he could see in the moonlight, the woman was exquisite. The poem he’d recited that afternoon to his rose bushes sprang to mind as he watched her dance, uninhibited, beneath the stars.

Although he hadn’t intended to speak aloud, the words whispering through his thoughts spilled out of his mouth. “She walks in beauty, like the night. Of cloudless climes and starry skies…’” He took a quick breath and added, “and moonlight.”

“Oh!” The woman stopped dancing and whipped around, gaping at him.

“Please don’t stop on my account,” he said, offering what he hoped was a boyish smile...

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, this hopeless romantic is out to make it happen, one story at a time. When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna is a member of Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, Romance Writers of America, Sweet Romance Reads, Cowboy Kisses, and Pioneer Hearts.

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