Buying ebooks is too easy by Jan Scarbrough

My ninth-grade teacher Mrs. Neff told us we should buy books. My dad had shelves of books, and my mother read novels usually from the library. When she died, I found notebooks with the names of the books she’d read.

 

So, I bought paperbacks, and for years I moved them from house to house. Then, in mid-2000s, Amazon and other retailers gave us the ebook! OMG! My addiction took on a new life. Buy now with 1-Click ® was too easy! Can I say my compulsion continued?

 

My TBR pile grows, often daily. The Kindle app on my iPad shows I’ve started reading seven books but haven’t finished them yet. To say the least, I get distracted and find another book that catches my interest.

 

How about you? Do you buy books? Ebooks? Paperbacks? How do you read them? Do you like to hold a book in your hand, or do you prefer to swipe to turn pages?

 

If you read ebooks and you’d like one of my ebooks free, sign up for my newsletter at https://BookHip.com/GQQNMAW and download a book!

 

What is Jack willing to do to win the heart of this spirited Kentucky woman?

 

And now is your best chance to find my ebook collection for a 50% discount at @Smashwords as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale! Find my books and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JanScarbrough1360 #SWSale2023

SAILING UP TO NORTHEAST TEXAS

A riverboat port in Northeast Texas?  Strange as it sounds, Jefferson, on Big Cypress Bayou, was an important port in the 1870’s. Jefferson is one of my family’s favorite places to sightsee. We visit antique shops and the candy store (for yummy fudge), drive along the lovely streets, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Many of the 19^th century homes are now bed and breakfast inns, and the Excelsior Hotel still accepts guests. We’ve even been known to go fishing in Lake Caddo. (Not me - I read a book while my husband fishes.)

During the late 1840s efforts were made to clear Big Cypress Creek for navigation. As the westernmost outpost for navigation on the Red River, Jefferson quickly developed into an important riverport. The first steamboat, the Llama, reached Jefferson in late 1843 or early 1844. Within a few years steamboats were regularly making the trip from Shreveport and New Orleans, transporting cotton and other produce downstream and returning with supplies and manufactured goods, including materials and furnishings for many of the early homes. By the late 1840s Jefferson had emerged as the leading commercial and distribution center of Northeast Texas and the state's leading inland port.

Among the persistent legends that have grown up around the town was the belief that Jeffersonians had shunned the railroads. While much of the city's wealth during the antebellum and early postbellum years derived from the river trade, city leaders recognized early the importance of rail transportation and made efforts to build a railroad linking the town with Shreveport and Marshall. Construction of a line began in 1860, but only forty-five miles of road was completed by the outbreak of the Civil War. During the Civil War a meat cannery was established there, as were factories for boots and shoes.

Jefferson was an up-and-coming city after the Civil War. In 1867 Jefferson became the first town in Texas to use natural gas for artificial lighting purposes, and ice was first manufactured on a commercial scale there in 1868. By 1870, Jefferson was the sixth largest city in Texas. In the late 1860s more than 75,000 bales of cotton were being shipped annually. By 1870 only Galveston surpassed Jefferson in volume of commerce.

Loading cotton bales

The town reached its peak in 1872, but in 1873 two events occurred that eventually spelled the end of Jefferson's importance. The first was the destruction of the Red River Raft. The Great River Raft or Red River Raft began in prehistoric times as the river ate away at the river’s bank, causing trees at the river’s edge to collapse into the river. Timber and driftwood formed solid bridges that stretched across the river. In some places the raft was reported to be twenty-five feet deep. Some areas were solid enough to serve as land bridges that could support a man on horseback, although I can’t imagine a poor horse having to cross. With slow-moving flow of water, the silt carried by the river sank, damming the bayous along the river.

Breaking up the raft

Imagine a 165-mile log jam. In November of 1873 nitroglycerin charges were used to remove the last portion of the raft, which had previously made the upper section of the river unnavigable. The demolition of the raft reopened the main course of the river, but significantly lowered the water level of the surrounding lakes and streams making the trip to Jefferson by boat difficult.

Even more important to Jefferson's decline was the completion of the Texas and Pacific Railway from Texarkana to Marshall, which bypassed Jefferson. Death to any city!  Although another line of the Texas and Pacific reached Jefferson the following year, the development of rail commerce and the rise of Marshall, Dallas, and other important rail cities brought an end to Jefferson's golden age as a commercial and shipping center. Though efforts were made in later years to raise the water level on the Big Cypress, the railroads soon displaced the riverboats, and with them Jefferson.

For my latest release, BLUEBONNET BRIDE, I placed a fictional town called Pearsonville a few miles from Jefferson that shared in the riverboat shipping trade. The heroine’s late husband bullied his way to control Pearsonville. Fortunately for Rosalyn, my heroine, she severed all ties with the area only a month before the area’s decline.

Here’s the blurb for BLUEBONNET BRIDE, Men of Stone Mountain book three:

He’s a by-the-book Texas sheriff; she’s on the run from a murder conviction...

When a tornado provides Rosalyn with the opportunity to escape the gallows, she collects her daughter Lucy and flees. They travel far enough West that Rosalyn believes she’s gone to the ends of the earth. She hopes she and Lucy will be safe in this remote North Texas town where she embarks on a new life as a dressmaker. If only she could avoid contact with people, especially the handsome sheriff who pops up every time she turns around. She fears either she or her chatterbox daughter may slip and reveal too much.

Joel Stone has been content with his life, even if it’s not the one he’d dreamed. His younger brothers are married and living nearby, his aunts have moved to Radford Springs, and he is respected for the efficient job he does as sheriff. When he meets the new widow in town, his instant attraction staggers him. She appears uninterested, but he is determined to win her hand in marriage. 

But life doesn’t turn out the way either Rosalyn or Joel plan. They overcome temporary obstacles, but what of the secret she protects? Can he save her from the gallows?

BLUEBONNET BRIDE is available at Smashwords in e-book:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/287177?ref=CarolineClemmons

And in print or e-book from Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Bluebonnet-Bride-Stone-Mountain-ebook/dp/B00BHOC7L8/ref=sr_1_10?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1361679076&sr=1-10&keywords=caroline+clemmons

Thanks for stopping by!

RIDING THE STAGE COACH

Contrary to those in the movies, stage coaches came in several sizes and styles. Some had three seats, some two. But they all had rigorous rules of travelers’ deportment. The following list is from the 1877 Omaha Herald via the source at the end:

Hints For Plains Travelers

The best seat inside a stagecoach is the one next to the driver…you will get less than half the bumps and jars than on any other seat. When any old “sly Eph,” who traveled thousands of miles on coaches, offers through sympathy to exchange his back or middle seat with you, don’t do it.

Never ride in cold weather with tight books or shoes or close-fitting gloves. Bathe your feet the night before starting in cold water, and wear loose overshoes and gloves about two three sizes too large.

When the driver asks you to get off and walk, do it without grumbling. He will not request it unless absolutely necessary. If a team runs away, sit still and take your chances. If you jump, nine times out of ten you will be hurt.

In very cold weather, abstain entirely from liquor while on the road. A man will freeze twice as quick while under its influence.

Don’t growl at food stations; stage companies generally provide the best they can. Don’t keep the stage waiting; many a virtuous man has lost his character by doing so.

Don’t smoke a strong pipe inside, especially early in the morning. Spit on the leeward side of the coach. If you have anything to take in a bottle, pass it around. A man who drinks by himself in such a case is lost to all human feeling. Provide stimulants before starting. Ranch whisky is not always nectar.

Don’t swear, nor lop over on your neighbor when sleeping. Don’t ask how far it is to the next station.

Never attempt to fire a gun or pistol while on the road. It may frighten the team, and the careless handling and cocking of the weapon makes nervous people nervous.

Don’t discuss politics or religion, nor point out places on the road where horrible murders have been committed.

Don’t linger too long at the pewter wash basin at the station.

Don’t grease your hair before starting or dust will stick there in sufficient quantities to make a respectable ‘tater’ patch. Tie as silk handkerchief around your neck to keep out dust and prevent sunburn.

A little glycerin is good in case of chapped hands.

Don’t imagine for a moment you are going on a picnic. Expect annoyance, discomfort, and some hardships. If you are disappointed, thank heaven.

In my western historical HIGH STAKES BRIDE, the heroine tries to reach a stage to escape her two evil stepbrothers. She is plagued by bad luck, that is, until she throw in with the hero.

I’ve ridden briefly in a stage coach a couple of times. I have to say I am very grateful for my nice air-conditioned sedan. How about you?

Source:

KEEPING HEARTH AND HOME IN OLD TEXAS: The How-To Book Your Great-Great- Grandmother Used, pages 201-202, by Carol Padgett, Sweetwater Press.

Caroline Clemmons is the author of numerous western historical and contemporary romances. See her books at her Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Clemmons/e/B001K8CXZ6/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1358718598&sr=1-2-ent

Books also available from Nook, iPad, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords

Thanks for stopping by!

POISON, MURDER, AND WESTERN ROMANCE

Why would a writer focus on poison? I don’t plan to murder anyone in real life. However, I love to kill people in books. Great way to relax. Joking, joking. But perhaps you've seen the coffee mugs or T-shirts that boast, "Be careful what you do or you'll end up in my book" and "I kill people in books." One of the joys of being a writer is that I can take out all my frustrations on my fictional characters. Well, to you they're fictional. To me, they're (almost) real.

GIVEAWAY

I’m giving away a Kindle Fire 3G to one lucky subscriber of my Caroline’s Occasional Newsletter on December 15th. Stop by my blog or webpage (shown at the end of this post) to sign up. You might be the one who wins. I’ll feature newsletter contests like this one every few months. Don’t worry, no salesmen will call, and your email will remain confidential. Lots of authors have giveaways at this festive time of year. This is my gift to readers for buying my books, and I'll continue giveaways as long as I'm able to sit in my nice pink cave and write the books I love. Now, on to our regularly scheduled blog post:

POISONS

I first became interested in poisons years ago from reading Agatha Christie’s mysteries. I still love her books and am fascinated with poison. Many plants have medicinal qualities and other seemingly innocent lovelies can be deadly. For instance, in Alexander Dumas’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, oleander leaves are ground and incorporated into food to murder. Foxglove can heal or kill, depending on how it is administered and to whom. While researching, I pour through books like DEADLY DOSES from Writers Digest Books and old herbals. My eldest daughter fed my fascination with HERBS AND THINGS by Jeanne Rose, a book on remedies that gives both friendly and unfriendly plants and their uses. My youngest daughter has given me several illustrated books on native Texas plants, many of which can be harmful. Picture the writer rubbing her hands and laughing evilly. BWAHAHAHA!

MURDER

Before scientific forensic tests, poisoners had far more freedom. Current pathologists’ tests uncover most poisons and, fortunately, create a hardship for villains. Since my current trilogy is historical, my villain is safe from sophisticated forensics. But not, of course, from my hero and heroine. Many poisons leave tell tale signs that even a medieval physician could detect. All readers know that cyanide leaves a distinctive smell and blue coloration of the victim’s lips for a while after death. Advanced arsenic poisoning colors the fingernails at the base. Can you believe women used to use arsenic to control their weight? I’d love to be thin, but not that way! Women also used to deliberately ingest tape worms supposedly as a help with their weight. But that's another post.

MEN OF STONE MOUNTAIN TRILOGY

For my current Men of Stone Mountain trilogy, I studied poisons available in the Southwest where the book is set. In the first of my trilogy, BRAZOS BRIDE, heroine Hope Montoya is being poisoned. She doesn’t know the killer’s identity or type of poison, but she is an intelligent woman and deduces the poison is administered through her food and/or her tonic. Although she is severely weakened by the contaminant, she devises a plan to escape and gain an ally. The key is to convince Micah Stone to wed her in a temporary marriage of convenience. What would convince him? As is the case now in North Central Texas, a drought has Micah’s cattle dying for lack of water. I don't want you to think Texas is always arid, so here's a photo  while the spring bluebonnets were in bloom:

Photo by my friend Nelda Liles of Plano, Texas, taken on the spring Bluebonnet Trail near Ennis, Texas

BRAZOS BRIDE BLURB

Hope Montoya knows someone is poisoning her, but who? She suspects her mother was also poisoned and knows her father was murdered. Who wants her family eliminated? She vows to fight! She realizes she won’t last the eight months until she turns twenty-five and her uncle no longer controls her or her estate. Never will she be dominated by a man as she was by her father, as she has seen her mother and grandmothers dominated. If she marries, she gains control now, but only if she weds a man she can trust. Only one man meets her requirements. Can she trust him to protect her and capture the killer...but then to leave? She offers him cash plus land adjoining the Brazos River to save his cattle.

Brazos River near where Hope's ranch is located and near my home

Micah Stone has been in love with Hope since the first time he saw her. But he was accused of her father’s murder and surely would have hung if not for his two brothers’ aid. Most in the community still believe him guilty. But the drought has him too worried about water for his dying cattle to care about his neighbors’ opinions. When Hope proposes a paper marriage in exchange for land on the Brazos River and much needed cash, her offer rubs his pride raw. His name may be Stone, but he’s not made of it. He can’t refuse her for long, and so their adventure begins. Can he save Hope before the killer succeeds and kills both of them?

A Jimmy Thomas cover from
www.romancenovelcovers.com

BRAZOS BRIDE EXCERPT

She looked at her hands. Perhaps she was unreasonable. Or maybe insane for sympathizing with a man who'd had to work harder because of her family.
"I know it is an odd situation. If—if you wear your shirt and britches, I guess it would be all right if you slept on top of the cover here." She patted the bed beside her.

He froze. Not a muscle moved, and he only stared at her. Had she misunderstood? Did he think her offer too forward?

She babbled, "That is, if you want to. You said I should trust you. Well, maybe you would be more comfortable where you are." Why didn't he say something? Would he prefer sleeping in a chair to sharing the bed?

From the street below, she heard raucous laughter and someone called to a man named Ben. Music from a piano, she supposed in the saloon, drifted in through the open windows. A gust of breeze moved the curtains and slid across her skin. In this room, though, there was no sound.

Slowly, he rose and extinguished the lamp as he moved across the room. She slid one of the pillows beside hers then scooted down. What had possessed her to offer him half her bed? Would he think she invited more?

Too late to take it back now, for the mattress dipped as he stretched out. Quaking inside at the thought of him so near, she turned her back to him. She heard his weary sigh, as if he relaxed for the first time in a long while.

"Good night," she offered, and hoped he understood the finality of the phrase.

"Yep. Good night, Mrs. Stone." The mattress shook as he turned his back to her. She felt the soles of his feet press against her ankles. He must be several inches too long for the bed and she guessed he had to bend his legs to fit. She didn't dare turn to see firsthand.

She lay perfectly still, afraid to take a deep breath. Soon his breathing changed and she knew he slept. Outside the open window the town quieted and the distant tinkling of the piano was the only sound. Light from the full moon illuminated the room and slanted across the bed. A soft breeze drifted across her, lulling her in its caress.

With a sigh, she fought to relax, but abdominal pain kept her awake no matter how her body cried for rest. Perhaps if she planned, she’d forget the pain and chills that racked her frame.

Plan, yes. She needed a plan for food preparation when she returned to her home. No, Micah said he had a plan. Oh, dear, once more he took charge when it was her life, her home.

Maybe Aunt Sofia and Uncle Jorge would have left by then and things would be fine. Already she felt more secure. She sensed her eyelids drifting closed and the sleep’s blessed relief approaching.

A gunshot ripped apart the night.

The blast startled her and she screamed as something thudded near her head, showering her hair and face with splinters. Panic immobilized her. What had happened?

Micah dragged her onto the floor as a bullet ripped into the mattress.

Did that capture your interest? I hope so!

BUY LINKS

Here is the buy link at Amazon Kindle where BRAZOS BRIDE  is available in print and e-book:
http://www.amazon.com/Brazos-Bride-Stone-Mountain-ebook/dp/B007HS10SY/ref=sr_1_14?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332254739&sr=1-14

The buy link for the e-book at Smashwords is:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/227618?ref=CarolineClemmons

Nook's buy link is:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brazos-bride-caroline-clemmons/1112046241?ean=2940015705805

Thank you for stopping by!

Caroline Clemmons writes mystery, romance, and adventures—although her earliest made up adventures featured her saving the West with Roy Rogers. Her career has included stay-at-home mom (her favorite job), newspaper reporter and featured columnist, assistant to the managing editor of a psychology journal, and bookkeeper. ♥ Now she writes full time and loves it! ♥ She and her husband live in rural North Central Texas with a menagerie of rescued pets. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, travel, browsing antique malls and estate sales, and delving into genealogy/family history.

WHERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY

Excerpts from some of her exceptional reviews can be found on her Website at www.carolineclemmons.com. View her Blog posts Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com and find book reviews, giveaways, interview, and miscellany.

Find her also at:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CarolineClemmonsRomances#!/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/carolinclemmons (No E in Caroline)
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/458092.Caroline_Clemmons
Also on Pinterest and Wattpad
Caroline loves ♥ to hear from readers at caroline @ carolineclemmons. com

ROMANCE'S EVOLVING HEROES AND HEROINES

By Caroline Clemmons

How long have you been reading romance novels? If it’s more than ten or fifteen years, you’ve seen heroines change from the damsel who has to be rescued, to the spunky heroine who works with the hero to help save herself, and sometimes to the kick-ass heroine who rescues the hero.

"Hello? Killer
is that you
I heard?"

Romance heroines are evolving. No longer will readers tolerate the TSTL (too stupid to live) heroine who goes out late at night, wearing only her nightgown carrying a candle, to investigate a strange noise when she knows there’s a killer in the area. Nope, if she is in peril, it can’t be due to our modern heroine’s stupidity.

Readers require heroines to be strong and admirable, just as the heroes are. We don’t like whiners, brutality, or stupid characters in either gender. Even if our hero and heroine are a bit over the top, we want to believe they are people we would like to know in person.

I live a few miles from a small Texas town. This is why I write characters who live in or near small Texas towns. Whether historical or contemporary, the characters who reside in my head are people I would enjoy knowing in real life...except the criminals, but I dispose of them one way or another. Even the secondary characters are people I would enjoy finding on the next acreage.

BE MY GUEST has characters that I admire and with whom I enjoy spending time...once again, except the criminals. ☺ This was my first published novel and released in 1998. I’ve updated it a bit and added back some cut scenes, but the hero and heroine remain the same. I hope you’ll enjoy spending time with Aurora O’Shaughnessy and Will Harrison and their friends and relatives. I certainly have.

That's model Jimmy Thomas standing in front
of my photo of Texas wildflowers

Here’s a blurb:

Aurora Kathleen O’Shaughnessy comes by her flaming auburn hair naturally, and this independent city woman has an inner fire to match. Nothing stops Aurora--that is, nothing short of a Texas flash flood. This super-organized businesswoman might be running from the past, but she’s using this journey to stop and smell the roses-- or rather the spring flowers in bloom across the Texas prairie. But beautiful Aurora has attracted the attention of two unsavory characters stalking her.

Rancher Will Harrison rescues her from the raging waters and she’s his guest for the next thirty-six hours. That’s long enough for Will to fall head over heels in major attraction, and he has a hunch she might feel the same. He has a plan to keep her around until he convinces her to move out of the fast land and in to his life forever. But two predators have other plans for Aurora. Can Will save her in time? Can Aurora save herself?

And here’s an excerpt after Aurora’s car is washed away by floodwater. When Will rescued her from a cottonwood tree, she was a bit banged up. As the above blurb indicated, the high water has marooned her at Will’s ranch house:

    Will let his eyes memorize every detail of her face before, with resignation, he sat up and picked up the phone again to dial his mother's phone number. Kelly answered the phone and he told her briefly about his houseguest. Once again he laughed and winked at Aurora as he answered Kelly's questions. Finally, he told her they would discuss the situation further when she got home.

Aurora

    Aurora loved the way his voice changed tones as he talked to his daughter. He’d sounded friendly and polite when talking to her father, and professional while he talked to the deputy at the sheriff's office. His tone with his daughter was entirely different--patient and loving. His pride and love for his little girl showed in every word he said.
    While Will talked on the phone, Aurora absentmindedly organized the medical supplies on the bedside table into a neat little group on one corner of the tabletop. She realized what she’d done and found he watched with an amused expression. She blushed and put her hands in her lap. Why, why did she have to be such an organization nut?
When Will finished his call to Kelly and his mother, Aurora crossed her arms and accused,  "That's the second time you've done that."
    "What?" Will frowned. “What did I do?”
    "You know, laughed while you answered questions over the phone. What did you say about me?"
    "You heard what I said." Will grinned innocently.
  His stone gray eyes came to life when he smiled, and each time it made her even more aware of her attraction to this man.
She tried to fight the spell he cast over her, to concentrate on her goals. "You know very well what I mean. For instance, what did my father ask that you found so amusing, anyway?"
    Will's smile became mysterious. "That's my secret for now. Let's just say we had a meeting of the minds. I'm sure I'm going to like him."
    Aurora scowled at him, but ignored the implication. "What did your daughter ask that was so funny?"
    "She wanted to know if I still wore my wedding ring--that's been such an unbelievably big deal to her lately. Most kids don't want a stepmother, but she's determined to get one. I think it's because the father of her friend Marcie remarried last year, and Marcie has been lording it over her with tales of how great it is to have a stepmother. When I admitted I removed the ring, she wanted to know if it was because of you."

Will Harrison

    Will shrugged. "I never lie to her, so I had to tell her yes. Then, she wanted to know if I plan to keep you here. That's when I said I certainly intend to try."
    Aurora relaxed her arms and folded her hands primly together in her lap. "Oh, you know very well that I'm on my way to Colorado."
    "I know what you told me." Will said as he took her hand. For a moment he sat examining her hand. When he again met her gaze there was a new intensity there. "Yesterday I let you walk out of the restaurant and hated myself for letting you get away without my even knowing how to contact you. It may sound foolish but I determined to find you again if I had to go to Durango to do so." He traced his finger across her palm. "I promise you it won't be so easy to get away from me next time."
    He had revealed far more of himself than he had intended at this point. He determined to find out if his attraction to her was because of his three years of celibacy or because she was as special as he suspected. Careful not to scare her off, he had to know the answer. To accomplish that, he had to keep her nearby.
    He flashed her a wicked grin, "Although I like my pajama top on you, I suppose you'll be more comfortable in your own things--and definitely a lot safer."

BE MY GUEST is available for only 99 cents from these sources:
Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36811?ref=CarolineClemmons

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/BE-MY-GUEST-ebook/dp/B004M8T1EC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1340584165&sr=1-3&keywords=caroline+clemmons

Thanks for stopping by!

BE MY GUEST - AT THE TOWN THAT CEREAL BUILT

My contemporary western romance with a touch of suspense, BE MY GUEST, is set in and near Post, Texas. Please let me tell you a bit about this fascinating West Texas town.

In the early 1890s, Charles William Post developed a popular caffeine-free coffee substitute called Postum and later made a fortune on breakfast cereals such as Grape Nuts and Post Toasties. As Post's wealth grew, his interests began to expand into other areas. One project that had always intrigued him was the creation of a planned community of model homes and industry. His success in the prepared foods industry provided the financial resources to make this dream a reality.

C.W. Post initially chose a site on the high plains of the Llano Estacado for his projected settlement. Construction of Post City began at the original site until surveyors discovered that the town was 11 miles  from the geographical center of Garza County. Texas State law required a county seat to be located no more than 5 miles from the center of a county, and thus the chosen site could not serve as county seat. Post ordered work to stop and he shifted resources to a site located nearer the center of the county.

Caprock Escarpment near Post 

The new site is the present-day location of Post, Texas. Post is located at the edge of the Caprock escarpment of the Llano Estacado, the southeastern edge of the Great Plains. Post is at the junction of U.S. highways 84 and 380, east of the Caprock escarpment near the west central part of Garza County.

Statue of Post in front of Garza County Courthouse

He purchased 200,000 acres of ranchland and established the Double U. Company to manage the town's construction. The company built trim houses and numerous structures, which included the Algerita Hotel, a gin, and a textile plant. They planted trees along every street and prohibited alcoholic beverages and brothels. The Double U. Company rented and sold farms and houses to settlers. A post office began in a tent during the year of Post City's founding. Two years later the town had a school, a bank, and a newspaper, the Post City Post. The railroad reached the town in 1910.

Garza County Historical
Museum

From 1910 to 1913, Post experimented with attempts at rainmaking. Explosives were detonated in the atmosphere at timed intervals. Precipitation records, however, showed that the efforts failed.

The town changed its name to Post when it incorporated in 1914, the year of C. W. Post's death. By then Post had a population of 1,000, ten retail businesses, a dentist, a doctor, a sanitarium, and Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.

The Post estate pledged $75,000 and the town raised $35,000 in 1916 to bid unsuccessfully to become the site of the proposed West Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, later known as Texas Tech University. Thank heavens, because I grew up in Lubbock, the actual site of Texas Tech University. (And also where Celia Yeary, my husband, and I attended university.)

After an unusual beginning, Post TX is
now a typical West Texas town

In case you’re yawning and thinking who cares, I hope you will stay with me. I have long been fascinated that C. W. Post founded this town. My husband and I have driven through Post what seems like a million times in trips to and from Lubbock to visit relatives. I decided it was the perfect setting for BE MY GUEST.

Deceptively sleepy Double Mountain Fork of the
Brazos River becomes a torrent in downpours

In a heavy rain, this area quickly floods as water rushes to the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River. That’s what happens in BE MY GUEST, when Aurora O’Shaughnessy is quickly marooned with rancher Will Harrison at his ranch for 36 hours. That is long enough for Will to decide to keep her in his life as long as possible. Like forever. Aurora is on the move to Colorado, though, and takes convincing. This excerpt from BE MY GUEST actually takes place at the next county seat over in Snyder, Texas:

Cover Model Jimmy Thomas poses as if
he's in my photo of Texas wildflowers

The clock on the dashboard displayed one o'clock when Aurora found herself free to concentrate on lunch in Snyder. Clouds gathered and rumbled with thunder over the West Texas town. Aurora's empty stomach rumbled with them. After a hazardous morning, fatigue overshadowed her usually cheerful nature. She passed by the fast food places before she spotted the family restaurant recommended to her by the Texas State Trooper a few minutes ago.
    Cars and trucks filled the parking lot. What a lucky break, she thought, when she spotted illuminated taillights and a car backed out of the prime parking slot at the entrance. Aurora saw the lone man in the dusty red pickup truck facing her, waiting for the space. He sat in the very same type and color truck used by two ruffians who had terrorized her earlier in the morning. Although she knew this man could not be one of those two men, an unreasonable anger bubbled up in her directed toward all cowboys, especially those in red trucks.

    Her normally pleasant nature turned aggressive and she zipped the Mustang into the vacated park before the less maneuverable truck could occupy the space. The man honked the truck horn at her as she got out of her car. She just smiled and blew him a saucy kiss as she hurried into the restaurant. After all, any real gentleman would have let a lady have the only space in the first place, she told her nagging conscience.
    Her conscience would not be quieted so easily. She must be in shock from her morning encounter. Never had she acted so rudely. Regretting her impetuous actions already, she thanked goodness the exchange occurred with a stranger and not someone she might meet again.
    Seated in the corner booth, Aurora ordered a hamburger, French fries, and a large Dr Pepper. While she waited for her food, she reviewed the items listed under the town of Snyder in her Texas guidebook. Suddenly, she sensed someone standing beside her booth. As she looked up--and up--a huge cowboy with most of his left leg in a cast leaned his crutches against the side of the booth. He slid onto the seat beside her, which pinned her in the booth with him.

Aurora (Photo
courtesy of
Beth Trissel)

    Aurora scooted to the right as far as possible. "Hey, who do cyou think you are? This is my booth, and no one invited you to share it with me!"
    "Your car's sitting in my parking space, so I'll sit in your booth," he said calmly as he removed his Stetson and ran his fingers through sandy brown hair. He turned in his seat to hang the hat on the hook at the end of the booth by his crutches.
    Aurora blushed when she realized this must be the man whose parking space she mischievously stole. Oh no, how terrible. He must have had to park a long way from the door and hobble in on those crutches. How embarrassing. The one time in her life she acted rudely, her victim turned out to be a man handicapped by a leg cast and crutches. Still, he had his nerve sitting beside her without so much as a "may I."
    Her chin came up defensively. "Okay, I apologize. If you used one of those disability placards on your rear view mirror, people would know you have a problem."
    "Lady, my problem is that you stole my parking space," Will Harrison said coolly. He lifted his left leg so that the cast-encased foot rested on the seat facing them, then swiveled to gaze at her.
    Aurora smelled the cowboy's after-shave mixed with the clean scent of his breath when he turned his face toward her. His stone gray eyes met hers. She saw anger drain from his eyes, replaced by stunned amazement. He leaned toward her.
    Her awakened senses rocketed into response. Each thread on the sleeve of his blue chambray shirt seared where it touched her arm. For a moment Aurora had the astonishing thought that this cowboy might lean further forward and kiss her right here in public. Equally astonishing, but fleeting, came the thought that she wouldn't mind a kiss from this man. Her tongue flicked across her lips and she gave herself a mental shake, unable to turn away from his mesmerizing gaze.
    What can you be thinking? You have absolutely no business falling for some good-looking cowboy out here in the middle of nowhere. Get a grip on yourself.
    Her heart quelled the voice of reason within her mind. Aurora’s her stomach somersaulted from butterflies to flip-flops as she stared into the cowboy's wide gray eyes. She broke his gaze and peered at her folded hands a second before she threw them up in capitulation.
    "Okay, Okay. I just don't know what came over me. I know you saw the parking space first, but I'm on Bubba-overload. Look, it's a long story, but it's been a real killer morning. Once again, I apologize and plead temporary insanity" She placed her hands palms down on the table.

Rancher Will Harrison
(Yes, it's really Jimmy
Thomas again)

    His gaze raked over her, and one eyebrow elevated. "Well, well. I'm almost convinced there's remorse here. Almost--but not quite. Would you like to explain to me what 'Bubba-overload' is and what it has to do with me?"  
    "Listen, I apologized. Let's just drop it. Okay?"  Surprised at the petulant tone in her voice, she adjusted the dark green scarf that held the hair back from her face
    The man peered at her steadily, his voice polite but firm when he spoke. "No, ma'am, we can't drop it. I think I deserve an explanation after that 'Bubba' line. It sounded very much like an insult to me."
    This man obviously had his hackles up and wanted a full explanation. After her morning's adventures, she found herself impatient with this cowboy, even though her mind recognized his request sounded reasonable. Finally, Aurora swiveled at her waist to face him as much as the limited space allowed. "Oh, well, if you insist. You wore that western hat and were in a pickup truck. At a glance, you looked like the typical red-necked Bubba. All you lacked was a big wad of tobacco bulging in your cheek."
    She raised her hand and shook a finger at the man as if he were a delinquent school boy. "Listen, I've had my fill, and then some, with you guys. You follow me, whistle at me, lean out a truck window to sing to me, shout, or wave to me. I even receive various very rude gestures and get mooned. Believe it or not, I do nothing either to initiate or encourage any of this behavior."
    A skeptical smile appeared and he raised his eyebrows. A flush of color heated her face at the memory of her behavior in the parking lot. She held up one hand to stop any comment he might make before she continued.
    "Oh, I know, I acted brashly with you outside just now. Let me assure you, that's entirely unlike me. In fact, it's truly a first. I've never, ever done anything like that before."
    She shook her head in wonder. "I don't know what came over me. As I said, it must have been temporary insanity due to Bubba-overload."
    She pinched the fabric on the leg of the neatly creased blue denim jeans she wore. "Look at me. My jeans aren't skin-tight. They’re not painted on me."  With a tug at the hem of her hunter-green knit top, she added,  "My shirt isn't too tight, it has three-quarter sleeves, and the neck isn't low or revealing."
    Aurora moved her knees and elevated a foot to display canvas shoes. "I'm wearing my little Keds, not flashy pumps with stiletto heels. All in all, I think I'm dressed very sedately and not at all in a provocative way."
    The cowboy slid his glance slowly up and down her then back to her face before he smiled a slow, lazy smile that lit up his eyes and brought a dimple to his cheek. He reached over to grasp her untouched water glass and took a drink from it, his eyes returning to her face as he sipped the icy water.
    Her own mouth opened as she watched his mouth against the rim of the glass. The tip of her pink tongue slid against her upper lip as the water slid into his mouth. She could almost feel his lips as they received the liquid. To hide the rising turbulence in the pit of her stomach, Aurora glared at him. In vain she tried to avoid thoughts of his stare or the dimple that appeared with his smile.
    She forced herself to concentrate on her defense. "Um, I just drive along in my little blue Ford Mustang, enjoying the scenery and minding my own business. I do nothing to call attention to myself. I even try to be a good sport about the immature behavior some guys display."
    She took a deep breath. "I try to take it all in stride and just keep on schedule but"--Aurora slammed her hands against the top of the table--"this morning, two very frightening Bubbas tried to run me off the highway and hijack me or my car."
    His eyes widened and his mouth gaped, but she continued, "I'm only here because a State Trooper happened by in time to interrupt my abduction. Frankly, that scared the life out of me. The longer I thought about it, though, the angrier I became. By the time I got to this restaurant, I had completely lost my cool."
    Aurora took a deep breath and gazed at her hands. She recalled the fright that consumed her when she realized the two men followed her. Only quick thinking on her part prevented the two ruffians from succeeding at their attempt to run her off the road and get her out of her car. She shuddered to think what might have happened if not for the State Trooper. And never, never would she forget the faces of those two men!
    She waved her hands in a fluttery motion. "When I saw you in a truck the same color as the one that ran me off the road...well...I guess I just went bananas, berserk, crazy. That's why I'm pleading temporary insanity." Aurora leaned back and crossed her arms in front of her.
    At this moment the waitress appeared with their food. Aurora stared in amazement as the waitress set the burger, fries and Dr Pepper in front of her and a duplicate of the order in front of the man beside her.
    The waitress flashed what she probably thought of as her most seductive smile at the man. In a low, honeyed voice, she asked,  "Anything else today, Will?"
    He seemed unaware of the invitation in her voice or the hopeful sparkle in her eyes. "Not right now, Norma Sue, thanks. Go ahead and leave the check now and save yourself time."
    When the disappointed waitress left, Aurora appraised Will. How could he fail to notice the waitress’ blatant invitation?  Had he any idea how attractive he was?  Hold on, this guy might be too good to be true.
    Aurora gazed over he shoulder at the departing waitress. "How on earth did she know what to bring you?  When did you give her your order?"
    "When I came in." He leaned across her to get the salt and pepper. Will paused to flash her a truly breathtaking smile and the bottom fell out of her stomach again. "I also told her you would pick up the check.”

BE MY GUEST is available for 99 cents from Smashwords at:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36811?ref=CarolineClemmons

and from Amazon Kindle at:
http://www.amazon.com/BE-MY-GUEST-ebook/dp/B004M8T1EC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338167612&sr=1-3

Thanks for stopping by!

Logging and Love by Paty Jager

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006YTKT2U

Some people may not figure my newest release, Logger in Petticoats, to be a western because it deals with logging. But logging, once the railroads connected the country, became a booming business in the west. All the majestic forests in Oregon and Washington made the early entrepreneur drool knowing they could move the logs and lumber great distances to communities that were growing but had a lack of trees.
Hank Halsey, the hero in Logger in Petticoats, had been eyeing the thick, tall pines on his family’s mountain since he was boy. But helping with the family mine and then taking care of things as each of his other brothers married, he felt obligated to do his duty. By the winter of 1891 he decided it was time to strike out on his own-harvesting the trees on their land.
Knowing very little about logging he hires a family run operation and begins learning what it takes to fall a tree properly and get it moved to the stockpile at camp. A camp of sixty men needs lots of good food to keep them doing a hard day’s work. I added a mother/daughter cooking operation to the mix but the daughter would rather be out swinging an axe than stirring a pot of stew.
Here is the blurb for Logger in Petticoats the fifth book of the Halsey brother series.
Hank Halsey believes he’s found the perfect logging crew—complete with cooks—until he discovers Kelda Neilson would rather swing an axe than flip eggs. As he sets out to prove women belong in the kitchen, he’s the one in danger of getting burned.
Strong and stubborn, Kelda Nielsen grew up falling trees and resents any man who believes she’s not capable, until Hank. He treats her like a lady and has her questioning what that means.
As Kelda and Hank’s attraction builds, she hires a cook so she can sneak out and work in the woods. But will her deceit ruin her chance at love or will hardheaded Hank realize it’s more than his love that puts a sparkle in Kelda’s eye?Excerpt:
Kelda already stood by the door, a man’s black wool coat buttoned to her neck and a wool scarf wrapped around her head. Her flushed cheeks shone in the lantern light. Her gaze met his solid and unflappable.
“If Kelda isn’t back in here in fifteen minutes you can come looking for us.” Hank said to appease Karl as he pulled on his coat,
“I don’t know what you’re worrying about. No man is going to think of Kelda in the way you’re talking.” The door hadn’t fully closed when Dag’s voice cleared the threshold.
Kelda’s shoulders drooped proving she’d heard her brother’s comment. She walked around the corner of the cookhouse to a fallen log at the backside of the building. Hank wanted to catch up to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders. She was a fine woman. Any man would be dang lucky to have her for a wife. He stood in front of her as she sat on the log, her face pointed toward the men’s logging boots on her feet.
Hank crouched in front of Kelda, tipping her face up to read her emotions. “Your brother sees you only as his sister. You’re a woman any man would be lucky to marry.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m the size and body of a man. Men want a small delicate woman.” She wiped at the tears, and her hands clutched his. “Don’t make Far keep me out of the woods. It’s all I have to make me happy.”
Pleading in her eyes and voice sucker punched Hank. “Why would you want to work alongside men in the woods? Women belong in the home.”
“I don’t care to work inside. I love the outdoors and the labor of logging. Don’t keep me out of the woods. It’s the one thing I can do well.”
The strong grip of her fingers on his proved her strength. He had no doubt she was a skilled woodsman…woman. He pried her fingers from his hands and held them between his palms. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you in the woods. It isn’t proper for a woman to work like that. And what if you prove too weak to handle a job and someone else gets hurt?”
“Ooooo!” Her hands ripped from his grasp and rammed him in the chest. He started tipping backwards and grabbed the first thing in reach—Kelda’s arms.
He fell back into the snow dragging Kelda on top of him.
The surprise in her eyes quickly turned to interest as she gazed down into his face. Her body sprawled across Hank, pressing him into the snow. Even with the heavy clothing, her curves were evident as her relaxed body molded over his.
Hank pushed the scarf back from her face and stared into amazing eyes that glistened from the moonlight bouncing off the snow. Her gaze searched his. The rise and fall of her chest quickened. She licked her lips…
He held her head in his hands. Inch by inch, Hank drew her lips closer, wondering if the heat and passion he’d witnessed in her eyes would be in her kiss.
“Kelda!”
The male voice broke through the insanity of his actions. Hank rolled, rose to his feet, and pulled Kelda up with him.You can find this in ebook at:Kindle
Smashwords
Nook
You can learn more about me at my blog; www.patyjager.blogspot.com website; http://www.patyjager.net or on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/paty.jager and twitter; @patyjag. 　http://tinyurl.com/7henkx3http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/123943