LASSO MY HEART By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless

Lasso is also one of those interesting words that is both a noun, originating from the Castilian word lazo, “noose or snare”, and a verb, where something (livestock, typically) is lassoed.

Even today, the lasso is a basic component in any cowboy’s gear.  I’ve had my hero use one in a contemporary romance, and the bad guy use one in a historical romance.  Which got me wondering about the history of this handy, braided piece of rope, which is typically 60 to 100 feet long and sits coiled on the right-hand side of a cowboy’s saddle, in front of the rider.

In my part of the world, credit for this useful tool goes to the Native American craftsmen, who brought the concept from Mexico where it was further refined in the Cowboy territories of the US.  But North America doesn’t get all for credit.  In Ancient Egypt, in a temple built in 1280 A.D., a relief drawing shows Pharaoh Seti I using a lasso to bring down a bull.  Clearly, the Ancient World used a lasso first.

I am pretty sure I will never look at a length of rope quite the same way.

While he doesn’t use a lasso, Daniel Chambers does manage to steal Rachel’s heart in MAIL ORDER RACHEL, Book 24 of Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies.  This clean and wholesome historical western romance is available for Pre-order now, to receive on your Kindle this Friday.        https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088HFGF49

Excerpt from MAIL ORDER RACHEL  

          Daniel paced the platform impatiently.  The train was late.  It had been several months since he had been introduced by mail to a sweet-sounding girl from Boston who had agreed to become his wife.  Even her name was sweet.  Mary Margaret.  He felt in his heart that any woman with a name like that had to be a Christian.  She was Irish, she had told him, with red hair and freckles.  Her words sounded hesitant, as if fearing he might reject her on that fact alone. 
          He’d heard that the Irish immigrants hadn’t been treated very well back East, and could hardly wait to make up any indignities suffered by his sweet bride.

          Finally, the train pulled into the station and discharged its passengers.  Daniel, who stood taller than most, watched each passenger disembark, but there wasn’t a single redhead in the lot.  His shoulders slumped.  Surely Mary Margaret hadn’t changed her mind? 

          As the platform started to clear, he watched a porter approach a young woman with an infant.  The porter carried an infant’s traveling basket which he dropped at the woman’s feet.  The woman didn’t look happy, and heated words were exchanged.  Daniel felt sorry for the little tyke, for the woman held it on one hip as if it were a bag of flour.  

          The porter left and she turned defiant blue-gray eyes his way.  “You must be Daniel.”

          He swallowed his surprise.  This couldn’t possibly be Mary Margaret, his sweet Irish bride.  “Who are you?” he asked as he took a hesitant step toward her and the infant. 

          Dark hair tumbled about her shoulders and looked as if it hadn’t seen a comb in weeks.  As he reached her side, the baby let out a pitiful cry. 

          “I’m Rachel, Meg—I mean Mary Margaret’s friend.  She sent me in her stead.”

          “I don’t understand,” Daniel said.  “Why would she send you?  And who is this?”

To see all the titles in the best-selling series, click here.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086GGVGP2

Happy Reading!  See you in September! 

Kathleen

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WHAT MAKES A HERO? By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless

Ah, the character traits of a romance hero.  I remember the old Mills and Boon days, Harlequin’s parent company for those of you who remember back that far, when we referred to the hero as an SSB. A sneering, sardonic bastard.  He didn’t get a point of view in the story and the heroine was forever trying to interpret his hot/cold actions toward her.  Not until the very end did the heroine find herself swept against his manly chest and reassured that he had always loved her.  True love conquered all.

I’m happy today’s romance novels have come a long way.  What are some of the attributes that readers enjoy in a hero?  Given that single dad romances are enjoying a strong following right now, I would have to say compassion is right up there.  Today’s hero needs to be nurturing, but not wimpy. 

Personally, I prefer alpha males over beta males.  Men who are strong and capable and able to take charge, whether they are saving the world, saving the family ranch, or saving a kitten from a tree. 

As Jayne Anne Krentz states in the introduction to “Dangerous Men, Adventurous Women”, Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, “…women value the warrior qualities in men as much as their protective, nurturing qualities.”   Krentz goes on to add that he is taught to control the two halves of himself, “so that he can function as a reliable mate and as a father.”     

That sounds about right to me.  And those traits were never far from mind as I created the heroes in WIDOWS, BABIES AND BRIDES, FOUR COMPLETE HISTORICAL WESTERN ROMANCES together in one convenient boxed set.

I believe a true hero is one who is willing to sacrifice himself for the betterment of others, whether it is the heroine, her family, or an entire community. 

Rafe, in CALLIE’S HONOR has loved and lost and has only revenge on his mind.  Until he meets Callie and his protective instincts kick in.

Jesse, In ANORA’S PRIDE is a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy.  But he can’t leave Anora.

Jud, in MADDY’S FUGITIVE, is a fugitive on the run, intent on clearing his name.  He has no time for Maddy, yet puts his own needs aside to offer her protection and respectability.

Dex, in GRACE’S FOLLY, is a Pinkerton detective whose mission is in complete conflict with what Grace needs from him. Yet somewhere along the way, Grace’s needs take precedence over his own.

I love each of these heroes and hope you do as well.  The box set is on sale until tomorrow only for 99 cents.  That’s a $9 saving, so go ahead and treat yourself to a dose of strong western heroes and the women who tame them. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086GGVGP2

Bombazine and the 19th Century Widow by Zina Abbott

In my most recent novel, Dead Set Delphinia, my heroine in the fall of 1881 finds herself involved with the furniture store owner in the relatively new mining town of Jubilee Springs. Since he has the skills to nail together a pine box, he has also become the coffin-maker and, by default, the town mortician. This was not all that unusual. While researching Lundy, California for the Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series I wrote, I found in real life the furniture store owner, Andrew Barnes, was also the coffin-builder and mortician for that community.

1870-1880's

As part of the plot, in Dead Set Delphinia, when Bennett Nighy asks for Delphinia’s help to act as a hostess at the viewing of one of the town’s beloved deceased citizens, she decides it is time to visit the seamstress in order to see if the woman can help her put together an appropriate gown in black bombazine.

I sew, and I have been known to frequent fabric stores. However, my first recollection of being exposed to the fabric bombazine came about as I read The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. This novel, based on a true story, tells about Carnton Plantation, the scene of a horrific Civil War battle in 1864, how the land became a cemetery for the multitude of Confederate dead. It continued to be watched over by the widow of the plantation owner who, until her death, wore nothing but black bombazine mourning dresses.

 

Mary Todd Lincoln in mourning bombazine

The word “bombazine” struck me as unusual. The way my crazy mind works, it put me in mind of cabaret music – you know: bomba-bomba-bomba.

Exactly what is bombazine?

bom·ba·zine

[ˈbämbəzēn]

NOUN:  a twilled dress fabric of worsted and silk or cotton.

Bombazine, or bombasine, is a fabric originally made of silk or silk and wool, and now also made of cotton and wool or of wool alone. Quality bombazine is made with a silk warp and a worsted weft. It is twilled or corded and used for dress-material. Black bombazine was once used largely for mourning wear, but the material had gone out of fashion by the beginning of the 20th century. In the nineteenth century, the fabric was mostly made in Norwich, England.

Bombazine is said to have originated in the United Kingdom in the early 18th century but quickly spread across Europe and eventually called bombazine from the old French word bombasin. Interestingly enough, it first found use as a cloth ideal for mourning widows although subsequent growth of the fashion industry allowed it to flourish towards other uses. 

Bombazine was also used to make the black robes worn by judges.

Here are some interesting facts about bombazine:

• Bombazine used to be exclusively made from silk. However, the subsequent need to make it affordable to the masses necessitated the shift from silk to cotton and wool. In many societies in olden times, the price of silk was too exorbitant to merit buying bombazine. However, because bombazine cannot compete with velvet as a luxury material, it was forced to find another niche in a more affordable price range.

• Twilling or cording are the only known methods known for making bombazine. Twilling is process of weaving where cloth strands are pushed through other cloth strands positioned lengthwise on a weaving machine. The resulting cloth has a characteristic diagonal pattern that is highly resistant to ordinary wear and tear. More modern incarnations of twilled fabric include denim which is used for making jeans.

• The use of bombazine as a mourner’s cloth was precipitated by the observation that the fabric has just enough sheen and sparkle for a mourning widow. Too much sparkle would have been construed as a blatant display of disrespect to the dead while cloth with less shine would have been a symbol of low status in society which was not ideal in an era where Victorian affluence was the prevailing theme.

Mary Wylie King, widow 1920

• While bombazine can be made in a variety of colors, it is predominantly manufactured and sold in black. This is consistent with its status as the cloth of choice for mourner’s dresses.

• Today, bombazine no longer has the same status as it once had in Victorian times. Bombazine is still sold in many shops but in substantially lower volumes. The values of the modern times has pushed the material to relative obscurity so much so that not many people are familiar with this type of fabric.

• Modern applications of bombazine include lining material in caskets and jewelry boxes. The next time you see a casket, check out the inner lining so you’ll know firsthand what bombazine looks like.

Sources:

Wikipedia

http://www.typesofclothingfabrics.com/bombazine.shtml

avictorian.com

Dead Set Delphinia is a full novel and the fourth of Zina Abbott's books in the Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs series. You may read more about it by CLICKING HERE.

Her fifth book, Evasive Eddie Joe, is scheduled for publication October 31st.

Zina Abbott has available three other novellas in the Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs series.

Book 3: Aaron’sAnnulment Bride

Book 6:  Cat's Meow

Book 7:  Bargain Bessie

  ~o0o~ 

To read and enjoy all of the books in the Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs series, please sign up and follow us on Amazon by CLICKING HERE.