A Woman's Daily Life and Chores

Living in Colorado affords the family and myself plenty of opportunities to take a drive through the mountains. The scenery is breathtaking, especially during the fall when the Aspens turn golden-yellow. My favorite part of a Sunday afternoon drive is browsing local shops in small towns. Usually, I'll happen upon books related to traversing Colorado or fiction novels written by Colorado authors. Every now and then, I find something I can use for reference material when writing my own stories; cookbooks with recipes dating back to the 1800's, well-known soiled doves living in and around the Denver area. One book I found had to do with a woman's daily chores and life in the late 1800's. While I'm not sure if these tidbits are true, some are funny. I thought I'd share a few with you here.

 

The Bedroom--the family bedroom should be on the first floor, if possible, and the head of the bed should face north. The reason being the human head must be in this direction to preserve the circulation of the nervo-electric fluids. The bed shouldn't be made up too early in the morning. Rather, it should lie open to air for several hours. The room should be plain in décor and consist of simple furniture, nothing more than an easy chair. A chair with a lot of stuffing holds too much dust.

 

Laundry Day--usually on Monday morning, but preparing the water begins on Saturday. Rain water is best. So is soft water, if you have it. Lay a white sheet on the floor, dump the clothing on top and sort according to dark colors, table linens, bed lines, delicates, flannels and wool. Build a fire Monday morning, heat water in the tubs to a temperature that you feel comfortable submerging your hands in. Use a corn cob to remove mud from clothes, and use a wash board when necessary. Clothing should be hung on the line by 10am. White clothes should hang in the sun and dark clothes in the shade. Men's underwear must never hang beside women's underwear.

Eating--when eating, chew often. Ensure your family thoroughly lubricates their food with saliva for good digestion. No drinking during the meal.

The Kitchen--this is the most important room of the home. Spend your money furnishing this room first. If you have funds left over, spend them on furnishing the parlor. Every morning clean the stove. remove the cinders and ashes, brush inside of the fire box and flues, and brush the out side with a hair brush. Sprinkle salt all over to get rid of dirt. If the salt sticks, use sandpaper to get rid of dirt. Blacken and then polish, because no other item in the home contributes more comfort than the range. To whiten unpainted floors, sprinkle with flour and clean, white sand and let family walk over them, scouring floor boards in white. For the walls, do not paint or wallpaper. Instead, white wash once a year. Whitewash is made up of 8 pounds of whitening and 1/4 pound of glue. Cover glue overnight with cold water then heat gradually until dissolved. Mix whitening with hot water, add glue and stir until thick like cream.

Ailments--to prevent from catching cold in cold months, fold a newspaper and spread across your chest to protect lungs. Having stepped on a nail, tie a piece of salt pork rind on the injury and remain quiet until it heals. To remove a wart, roll up a small amount of a spider's web, place on the wart and set on fire, letting it burn down the wart.

The book I have referenced is:   ...And You Think You've Got It Bad by Barbara Fairchild Grimm. Published by: Pig's Eye Press and available at Barnes and Noble ( I did a Google search and this is where I found it listed.)

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/and-you-think-youve-got-it-bad-barbara-fairchild-gramm/1103781399?ean=9780964336810    

Nothing Western About This Trend

All the buzz is about the Kindle Select Program and how authors are seeing increased sales for books offered through that venue.  I have two books contracted with a non-traditional publisher, and it appears, the rumors are true.  Despite having my books given away free on a spotlight day, the promotional effort has created enough visibility that I moved up in the ranks and sold mega copies the following days.  Amazing.  BUT...

The e-publishing uproar is great in so many respects...especially for those with new books to contract and have a say in the price.  I've been writing for over ten years and have several books published through traditional e-publishers, and the concern for me is the pricing.  I'm not as concerned with charges for print books since most of the focus is now on downloads...finally.  There are, however, some old school folks who still want to hold a "real" book in their hands, but are they willing to pay the outlandish prices being asked?

A question I've continued to ask myself for years is...why would someone order and wait to receive one of books when they can go to Walmart and buy two or three by a well-known mainstream author?  I'm good, but I'm also relatively unknown except for in small circles here on the Internet.  I don't know how to increase my visibility unless Oprah discovers me. That's not likely to happen as she hasn't answered any of my emails. *lol*

Besides, the price for me is prohibitive for anyone on a fixed income.  I understand my publishers have to make a profit. They also have to pay the editor, copy editor, cover artist, and whatever other fees are incurred, then we split what's left, which sometimes is more a slap in the face than an honor.  I find that making ten cents per print copy sold ($9.95-13.95) leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.  I make far more on downloads, but the majority of any money I make right now is on the two books with the least expensive price of $2.99.  Those priced in the $5.95 neighborhood are going nowhere and there's nothing I can do but wait until my contract expires and hope someone is willing to accept previously published work.  I see Amazon's KDP as a way of getting my brand of writing in the public eye...something I've been striving to do for years.

I will, in the future, probably chose to self-publish and cut out the middleman, but that doesn't mean I don't recommend signing with a publisher.  New authors who jump in feet first, self-publish, and then rue the fact that their editing stinks, are placing a stigma on the more-seasoned and trained authors who choose the route.  This is a stigma those of us who started in the e-industry have faced all along.  Signing with a traditional house who takes pride in what they turn out has been a valuable experience for me.  I thought I'd written a prize-winning novel with my debut book, but it turned out to be nothing more than a delightful story I'd TOLD.  I didn't SHOW my reader the emotions, smells, and other senses involved in a true novel.  I head-hopped, used passive voice, made rookie mistakes that I've since learned to avoid.  I wouldn't have learned any of this without my editor, and thankfully, I learned before the manuscript was published.  I earned a four-star review on that novel from Romantic Times, which at that period, was being especially tough on e-authors.  That one review will always remain a "gem" in my crown.

Don't get me wrong....I don't believe any of my books are error-free, and I'm constantly learning.  I do that now through critique groups with other experienced authors who have learned similar but often different lessons through their own editing sessions.  I'm still very much involved with and part of my author's groups, but I'm seeing a swing in the trend which lures and confuses me at the same time.  I wonder where all this is leading.

  B&N has already announced they are removing Amazon titles from their stores because of the exclusivity involved..."Barnes & Noble won’t sell books from Amazon’s new print publisher in its brick-and-mortar stores, in an attempt to cut off access for the online books behemoth that it says “undermined the industry” by signing exclusive agreements with publishers, agents, and authors," and lots of other book stores have already closed.  I wanted an e-book revolution, but it it's going to turn out to be a bloody battle like the Civil War, then maybe I've been wishing for the wrong thing.  You?

If The Pants Fit by Alison Bruce

A few years ago I entered the book that would become Under A Texas Star in a literary contest. I was prepared for criticism of my characterization, plot, and/or pace. After all, the chief reason I entered the contest was to get feedback I could use to improve my story.
I was dumbfounded that the judges’ chief complaint was that it wasn’t believable that a young woman could pass as a young man. Now that Under A Texas Star is published, I feel I can indulge in a little rant on the topic.

The dramatic device of a woman masquerading as a man has been around forever. It’s as accepted in historical romance as fast-than-light travel is in science fiction. Let’s set that aside, however. The fact is, women have been successfully posing as men throughout history.

I belong to Minerva, a history list devoted to women in the military. Thanks to the academics and enthusiasts, I learned that at least 400 women fought in the American Civil War. They cut their hair, bound their breasts and learn to behave like men. They were only ever discovered if wounded or killed or, as in the case of Sarah Emma Edmonds, they wrote about it afterwards.

I’ve picked Sarah Emma Edmonds, aka Frank Thompson, as an example because, like me, she’s Canadian. Edmonds escaped an abusive father in Nova Scotia to live in the United States. When her adopted country went to war, she was determined to serve.

Sarah could have been the heroine of her own romance. She served as a “male” nurse in an army hospital, then as a Union spy - disguising herself as a black man, an Irish peddler, and black mammy. In a ploy straight out of Victor-Victoria, she masqueraded as a man masquerading as a woman. Her story includes horse chases, gun play and near escapes - not unlike the adventures of Marly Landers in Under A Texas Star.

Unfortunately Sarah contracted malaria and had to desert or be found out. She returned to Canada, fell in love and returned to the States with her husband. They had three sons who, like their mama, served in the US Army.

To find out more about Sarah, check out her biography or read the Civil War Women Blog.

To find out more about Marly Landers, read Under A Texas Star, available in Kindle, Nook, Kobo, other formats on Smashwords and in paperback on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Disguised as a boy, Marly joins a handsome Texas Ranger in the hunt for a con man and they must bring the fugitive to justice before giving up the masquerade and giving in to their passion.

When Marly Landers is fooled by con man Charlie Meese, she's determined to bring him to justice--even if it means dressing up as a boy and setting off across the plains to find him.

“This is a rollicking adventure and Marly Landers is a girl with True Grit.”
Phyllis Smallman, Arthur Ellis Award winning author of Champagne for Buzzards

Alison Bruce has an honours degree in history and philosophy, which has nothing to do with any regular job she’s held since. A liberal arts education did prepare her to be a writer, however. She penned her first novel during lectures while pretending to take notes.
Alison grew up surrounded by the great dames of golden age mysteries - Christie, Sayer, Marsh - Georgette Heyer’s historical romances and the classic westerns of Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey. Naturally enough her debut novel, Under A Texas Star, is a mystery-romance set in the old west. 

www.alisonbruce.ca, alisonebruce.blogspot.com, twitter.com/alisonebruce,  www.facebook.com/alisonbruce.books