The black cauldron

When I was a kid, we used to visit my maternal grandmother's farm for a week every summer. I was a 'city mouse,' so there were many interesting things to see that we didn't have at our house.

Nanny had a peach orchard in her side yard. She had a huge garden in back, a long line she hung clothes on, a pasture with cows, and a chicken coop with a very mean rooster. She also had a little wash house a few yards from the main house that housed an old laundry machine. 

Between that and the door to the storm cellar, a black cauldron sat on a bare spot in the yard. She didn't use it anymore, but in decades past, it was where she boiled laundry. Nanny would collect ashes from the fires she built beneath it, until she had enough to make the lye she needed to make soap. 

I can't imagine the time and work it took to do nearly everything from scratch. We have a far easier life these days than we realize.

Soapmaking is one thing that's on my list of things to do. 

My mom, a retired English teacher, wrote a companion workbook to a novel that one of her friends wrote. In it, she included a lye soap recipe. If you have kids, especially if you homeschool, you might want to check it out. The title of the book is When the Cowboy Rides Away. It was written by Molly Noble Bull, a woman who grew up around ranchers in Texas.

The novel can be found here, and the workbook can be found here.

If you want something spooky, try the novel and workbook combo titled Gatehaven. It's not western, but it is historical.

Those are available on Amazon, too.

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Before I go, I want to leave you with one more spooky thing so my post's title won't be a total Halloween bait and switch. This isn't western either, but it does support a great cause. 

FULL DARK's 5th anniversary is this month. It's a benefit anthology, and all proceeds go to help veterans and first responders.

What happens in the dark will come to light.

FULL DARK is a collection of eleven short works with impressive depth and range. Twisted tales of ghosts, villains, and the paranormal await you—mystery, heinous fantasy, and pure suspense. Acclaimed and award-winning authors as well as a few talented newcomers have joined forces to be your guide. Venture into the dark if you dare.

Just A Matter Of Time by Loni Townsend

Forerunner by David Powers King

Taking Care Of You by Carrie Butler

The Apartment by Lisa Buie-Collard

The Caricature by Nick Wilford

Shifting Sands by Elizabeth Seckman

Shadows Falling On Rainbows by Celeste Holloway

Meringue, Murder or Marzipan by Tonja Drecker

Haunted Lake by Michelle Athy

Soul Coin by Laura Rich

Retribution by Melissa Maygrove

FULL DARK is a benefit anthology. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Gary Sinise Foundation, an organization that does many wonderful things for our country's active military, its veterans, and the countless first responders who sacrifice so much to keep us safe.

Available in Kindle e-book and paperback at Amazon.

#fulldark11

This I Remember

Thanks for the warm welcome last week! Your comments contained two requests regarding favorite topics--how I research my books and life in the 19th century. This week, I'm going to post about the latter.

My great grandfather on my father's mother's side died when I was a child. As I got older and learned more about his life, I discovered he was an impressive man. (You can read about his many accomplishments and how he used a fast horse to elope with the love of his life here.) He only had a 3rd-grade education, but he was quite successful.

Papa, as he was known to us, was born in 1875 and lived to be nearly 100 years old. I'm lucky that members of my family interviewed him and compiled a book about his recollections of life in the 19th century. I'm posting an excerpt today.

This I Remember 

by William Edgar Whitten

Shoes were patched the same as clothes.

Every farmer raised his own cane and made his own syrup.

Although unexpected company came to see us, Mother would have plenty to eat--chickens, ham, jelly, preserves, etc.

Wagons had no brakes, and when you went down a steep hill, you had to lock one of the hind wheels with a chain and drag the wheel to the bottom of the hill to keep the wagon from running over the team.

A man worth $10,000 was considered a rich man.

A Singer sewing machine cost $30.00.

A family raised its own hogs for a year's supply of meat and lard.

The neighbors would all come together at hog killing time and help each other kill hogs.

Milchcows wore cowbells so that the children could find them late in the evening and drive them up to the house to be milked. One of the children would rope the calf and hold it off while the cows were being milked.

Carpets and rugs on a floor were unknown. Mother scrubbed the floors once a week with a big scrub mop made of corn shucks. She would pour water and white sand on the floors and scrub until the floors were white. Then she would pour more water over the floors to wash the sand off. This left the floors clean and beautiful.

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W. E. Whitten and his wife, Annie.

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I'm one of the sponsors of  The Kindle Book Review's 'Stars & Stripes' giveaway. Click HERE and enter to win a $300 Amazon gift card - no purchase necessary! 

You can enter multiple times to increase your chances. Just choose the first task on the entry widget to open up the others and follow the instructions. Contest ends July 4th.

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My latest wester historical romance, Fool's Iron, released June 1st. 

You can find out more about it on Amazon.

Thanks for visiting.

My first post!

I was thrilled when Cowboy Kisses invited me to be a contributing author, but I must confess I've been staring at the blank page of my first post with nearly as much nail biting as when I started blogging ten years ago. 

Perhaps the best thing to do is post a few tidbits about myself, so you can get to know me.

I'm a multi-published author who writes both western historical romance and contemporary paranormal romance (under a different pen name). I like the challenge of tackling new subjects and genres, but western historical romance will always be my favorite to both read and write.

You can find a brief history of my writing and blogging experiences in my 10-Year Blogiversary post. My bio, books, and social media links can be found on my author page, right here on Cowboy Kisses.

I was born and raised in Texas, and currently call Magnolia home. My house sits close enough to the train tracks that I can hear the rumble of the train and its whistle in the distance. That was great inspiration for the newest book in my Forging America series, Fool's Iron.

Fool's Iron is currently up for preorder on Amazon and will be released June 1st.

I'll be posting the second Friday of every month here on Cowboy Kisses. If you'd like to follow this blog, the follow options are on the right, at the bottom. If you use a service such as Feedly or Follow.it, add cowboykisses.blogspot.com to your list.

I'm open to suggestions for post topics. What do you enjoy reading about most? History? Life in the 19th century? Crafts? Fun and interesting places to visit? Author life behind the scenes?  I'd love to know!