To Live Or Die In Bear Country by Jan Scarbrough

Novelists have imagination. It’s a good thing, because we usually have not experienced many of the things we put in our novels. For example, I’ve never ridden a bull, but I’ve put professional bull riders in my books. So, research is necessary to be a good writer.

In 2016, when I visited a Montana dude ranch, I learned the wranglers who led trail rides carry bear spray. Good reason!

A 2017 article in Montana Journal covers the whole reason hikers or riders need to carry bear spray in areas where they may encounter bears. 

To the uninformed, “bear spray” is the non-lethal deterrent many hikers and hunters carry to thwart bruin attacks or to confront bears behaving in defense-driven incidents. Another salient fact worth noting to debunk the myth of the Old West—the vast, vast, vast majority of grizzlies do not view humans as prey. The vast, vast, vast majority of close encounters with people involve bears that are: 1. instinctively engaging a perceived threat to cubs; 2. surprise encounters when they can't smell, see or hear us as we amble into them, as when they are feeding on a carcass, in a berry patch, walking along a river when there's a lot of white noise from rushing water, or sleeping in their day beds.

Here’s a video from the 2017 article that describes an encounter with a grizzly bear where the hikers deployed bear spray.

So, of course, in one of my next western contemporaries, I had to add a grizzly bear. Slade Heston comes from Kentucky. He’s a real city slicker. Agreeing to accompany heroine Laurie on a hike, he remembers to carry bear spray.

They hadn’t gone far when he heard rustling in the underbrush. Slade looked to his left beside the trail and his steps faltered. A brown bear puffed and grunted and stared at him with beady black eyes. Laurie stopped, and he bumped into her, catching her right arm in a fierce grip.

“Oh, dear God!” Her voice was low and crackled with fear.

Frozen with dread, he swallowed the urge to flee. He didn’t see any cubs. Maybe this wasn’t a sow. So maybe that was a good thing. But if this guy had a fresh kill nearby, Slade knew their lives were in danger.

A span of several heartbeats passed with the bear standing his ground, not moving an inch. Neither did they. Heart thudding in a dreadful beat, he tried to recall Hank’s words. Don’t run. Always carry bear spray.

That’s it! He fumbled for the can of bear deterrent hooked to his belt. It was the size of a giant canister of aerosol hair spray.

“Get behind me, Laurie,” he ordered, but she didn’t move.

He jerked her behind him, and at the same time flicked off the plastic safety. His hand shook as he extended his arm with his thumb on the trigger. Fearing to lose his grip, he grabbed the bottle with two hands. At that moment, the mass of angry brown fur charged.

Slade’s heart slammed into his throat. He deployed the bear spray, tilting the can downward toward the animal, not straight at it, and whipping the can back and forth. The cloud rose in time to hit the rushing creature in the eyes and nose with an acrid fog of mist. In a split second, the bear veered left away from them and vanished into the underbrush.

“Let’s get the hell out of here!”

Trembling, Slade grabbed Laurie’s hand and started down the trail at a fast walk—a very fast walk.

Take a look at my romantic mystery series Ghost Mountain Ranch to read more about Slade.

https://books2read.com/Darby

https://books2read.com/SladeGhostMountain

https://books2read.com/Kelsey

Writer life behind the scenes

Fans have asked for a peek behind the scenes of writer life. (Be careful what you ask for. LOL) Since I'm plotting my next western, I decided to post on the writing process today. 

Each book starts for me as a simple idea, such as a scene or concept. Or, in the case of a series, it often starts as quest to tell a particular supporting character's story. From there I brainstorm a basic plot. I pick a love interest for my MC, if the previous story hasn't already chosen one, and I decide on the couple's central conflict and their HEA.

To hammer out the basics, I do a bit of broad research. With my latest western, Fool's Iron, I needed a location that was fairly close to Ohio, where there would be (pre-transcontinental) railroad construction during the setting year. I entertained both Illinois and Indiana but settled on the latter. 

From there, I type some general plot notes into a document. Then I plug those into a plotting worksheet, to help me flesh them out and ensure I don't get sidetracked or neglect any major turning points. 

I also make a 'character list' document, in which I come up with names, birthdays, general descriptions, family members, and basic data regarding the MCs and other supporting characters. To aid that, I search for images that represent how the major players appear in my imagination. Looking at these pictures helps me when I'm describing them in the novel. 

When it comes time to start the actual writing, I print out any mention of the character(s) from previous books and double-check to make sure the setting year fits with the timeline of the series. Other items I collect are historical maps of the area and a calendar of the setting year. You might laugh, but it's necessary. I would've had a booger of a time keeping up with Maggie's pregnancy (or the letters to and from her mail-order-husbands!) had I not jotted the progress on an actual calendar.

Once the macro research has been done, the micro research begins. I pause and look up the little things as I go - foods they would eat, clothes they would wear, seasonal activities they would engage in. How fast does a horse walk? Was Utah a state yet? How much did lamp oil and stationery cost? How long did it take a letter to be delivered in 1853? 

Over two hours of research went into the funeral parlor scene, alone, to get all the details right. I kid you not.

As I navigate my way through the story, I do my best to stay true to the character's personality, his or her background, and the social mores of the period. I search word etymology along the way, too, to nix as much modern language as I can. It's tedious, but it pays off in the long run.

Despite my best laid plans, I sometimes get stuck. I hadn't planned for Luther or Liam to show up for any more scenes after the explosion. But Maggie had no reason to stay near Edgar once she reached Bloomington, and I had to keep them together long enough for him to sober up. While researching the real church that was the inspiration for the fictional church Maggie goes to for help, I learned of the split of the Presbyterian church and their support of the Underground Railroad. Liam's smuggling of Luther immediately got written in as a subplot.

I work on the manuscript until the first draft is complete, then it gets several polishing passes before going to my critique partners, my beta readers, and finally my proofreader. 

That was probably more than you wanted to know, but that's the basics of how I write a novel.

Is there something you're curious about that I didn't mention? Ask me!

###

I have a small announcement. 

The story I entered in the 7th annual Insecure Writer's Support Group anthology was chosen as one of the winners. First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts released on September 6th. My contribution, My Heart Approves, is a western historical mail-order bride story. 

First Love is published by Freedom Fox Press, an imprint of Dancing Lemur Press. Its collection of romance stories is clean and wholesome, and ranges from historical to contemporary. There's something for everyone! 

First Love features the talents of Linda Budzinski, Melissa Maygrove, Michael Di Gesu, Sylvia Ney, Katie Klein, Kim Elliott, Templeton Moss, S.E. White, Denise Covey, and Sammi Spizziri. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will touch your heart and rekindle lost feelings. 

Prepare to return to that first love...

###

Get your copy at one of these retailers:

Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/First-Love-Art-Making-Doughnuts-ebook/dp/B09QH3Z28P/
Barnes & Noble  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/first-love-insecure-writers-support-group/1140884369?ean=2940165751301
iTunes  https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id1605240999
Kobo  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/first-love-the-art-of-making-doughnuts
Scribed  https://www.scribd.com/search?query=9781939844897&language=0

I hope you'll buy a copy. Anthologies are a great way to try the writing of several authors at once.

The Birth of the Chocolate Bar ~ Julie Lence

 

courtesy of Pinterest

 Born in Birmingham, England in 1728, Joseph Fry was an apprentice to Dr. Henry Portsmouth, who trained Fry in the medicinal field of herbs, plants, and compound drugs. Fry eventually went on to become a doctor, too, and opened his own apothecary in Bristol in 1748. With a firm belief cocoa powder could help with one’s health, he created recipes for drinking hot chocolate and for using cocoa in medicinal ways, one of which was to cover the ill taste of medicines. In 1761, he and John Vaughan bought Charles Churchman’s chocolate company, along with the patent that came with the company for chocolate refining. They renamed the business Fry, Vaughan & Co., with Fry expanding the company over the years, to include making tablets of chocolate to add to milk and hot water. Sadly, he passed away in 1787 and the company was renamed Anna Fry & Son, with Fry’s son, Joseph Storrs, taking the helm in 1795.

Joseph Storrs II
Wikipedia

  Joseph Storrs was just as talented with cocoa as his father, inventing a method to grind cocoa beans using a Watt steam engine, which led to factory techniques being used in the cocoa business. After his mother passed in 1803, Joseph Storrs partnered with Dr. Hunt and renamed the business Fry & Hunt. Hunt retired in 1822 and Joseph Storrs brought in his sons, Joseph Storrs II, Francis, and Richard as partners. The company was renamed J.S. Fry & Sons and became the largest commercial producer of chocolate in the U.K. Joseph Storrs passed away in 1835 and his sons took control, with Joseph Storrs II adopting a technique of pressing cocoa powder, sugar and cocoa into molds in 1847. It is this Joseph who is credited with creating the 1^st chocolate bar, and in 1866, the company began producing the Fry Chocolate Cream Bar with a flavored center surrounded by plain chocolate. (Today, the original chocolate cream and peppermint cream are considered the 2 permanent flavors. Other flavors are strawberry cream and pineapple cream.)

 

The Fry Factory
Wikipedia

  Joseph Storrs II passed away in 1913 and in 1919 the company merged with Cadbury’s chocolate to create a new name, British Cocoa and Chocolate Company. The Fry’s part of the company moved to Somerdale, Keynsham 1923. By 1981, the Fry name was no longer in use at Somerdale, though the factory still produced chocolates for Cadbury.  In 2007, Cadbury announced plans to close the factory by 2010. Instead, they sold to Kraft Foods, who went on to close the factory in March of 2011.  

National Read A Book Day

 

Today is National Read A Book Day!

Yeehaw!

Books have always been an important part of my world. Before I learned to read, I'd sit in the kitchen while my mom made dinner and pretend to read books to her. 

Reading was part of my bedtime ritual as a child. Mom read to me every night, and when I got old enough to read, I often read the storybooks to her. As I grew older, my love of books deepened. 

The library was a magical place that Mom took me to once a month where I'd stock up on as many books as I was allowed to check out. When I was in high school and discovered romances, Mom and I would often read the same book and sometimes discuss it (back before book clubs were such a popular thing!). 

Books help me relax, take me on adventures, and sometimes a fabulous book takes up residence in my heart. 

Will I be reading a book today? You can bet on it. 

What about you? 

Do you have a favorite book from childhood? Or one you've recently read that has lingered in your thoughts? 

 If you have a chance today, read to a child, or perhaps someone elderly who struggles to see. The gift of reading is a priceless treasure.

May we all read a book and celebrate the joy and importance of reading.

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at: ShannaHatfield

The Origins of the Secret Service

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

Counterfeiting was a serious issue at the end of the Civil War. Nearly one-third of all currency in circulation was fake. In 1865 the Secret Service was established to deal with this issue, acting as a bureau in the Treasury Department to stabilize America’s financial system. They were the first domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency in the United States.

During this time, America’s monetary system was very disorganized. Individual banks could legally generate their own currency, but with so much variation in circulation it was easy to counterfeit money.

The first agency chief was William Wood, who was widely known for his heroism in the Civil War. During his first year in charge, he was successful in closing more than 200 counterfeiting plants.

In addition to investigating paper money forgeries, the agency also monitored groups committing fraud, which included the Ku Klux Klan, mail robbers, smugglers, and bootleggers. The United States Marshals Service didn’t have the manpower to investigate all crimes under federal jurisdiction, so the Secret Service also handled bank robberies, illegal gambling, and murders.

President Abraham Lincoln established the Secret Service on April 14, 1865, the same day he was assassinated, after which Congress considered adding presidential protection to the duties of the Secret Service. But it would be another 36 years before the Secret Service was officially put in charge of protecting the president. In 1894, they began informally protecting President Grover Cleveland. In 1901, the agency took over full-time protection of the president after the assassination of President William McKinley. In 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was created and took over intelligence responsibilities from the Secret Service.

In my latest release, THE STARLING, Pinkerton Detective Henry Maguire is investigating a possible counterfeiting scheme in the household of wealthy entrepreneur Arthur Wingate. Partnering with new agent Kate Ryan and posing as a married couple, they uncover more than Henry planned when information regarding his deceased father, Hugh Maguire, a Secret Service agent, comes to light.

Colorado 1899

Kate Ryan has always had a streak of justice in her. When she decides to apply to the Pinkerton Detective Agency, nothing will stand in her way. Initially hired in a clerical position, she quickly works her way up to field agent with the help of her mentor, Louise Foster. When Louise is injured, Kate gets her first assignment and the opportunity of a lifetime.

Henry Maguire has been undercover in the household of wealthy entrepreneur Arthur Wingate. Employed as a ghostwriter to pen the man’s memoir, Henry is also searching for clues to a lucrative counterfeiting scheme. When Henry’s “wife” shows up, he’s taken aback by the attractive woman who isn’t Louise. Now he must work with a female agent he doesn’t know and doesn’t necessarily trust. And because he has another reason for coming into Wingate’s world, Kate Ryan is unavoidably in his way.

Kate Ryan is the daughter of Matt and Molly from THE WREN, and THE STARLING is the first of five novels featuring the second generation of Ryans in the Wings of the West series.

The Starling is now available in eBook and paperback. Find buy links and read Chapter One here: https://kmccaffrey.com/the-starling/

 

Covid and the Cowboys + Freebie Advance Notice ~ Raine Rochelle

Hi there:

I’m really sorry to say that thanks to a fortnight of being laid-up with Covid I’m postponing the release of Tyler’s story, the first book of The Johnson’s of Junova series. Massive apologies.  Some of you may know that I’m still fighting breast cancer, so it was only a matter of time before I succumbed to the pandemic and, as expected, it hit me hard.

The good news is that I’m slowly getting back on my feet and am hoping to have the book finished over the next few weeks. By way of an apology I’m making Marry Me Haste FREE from 3^rd – 7^th September. This is the first book in The Brides of Brightside Ranch series, which is the spinoff trilogy from The Billionaires of Brightside Ranch.

Here’s a little more about it:

When You're in Love with a Billionaire Cowboy it's Hard...

Rachel Brown is about to marry the man of her dreams; cowboy billionaire Chase Devereaux.

Chase can’t wait for the big day to arrive; everything is in place and he’s now ticking off the days.

When beautiful Megan Rowan returns to Brightside she flirts with Chase, a good friend of her older brother. She also makes a bee-line for Rachel Brown—the girl she believes is trying to steal her fiancé…

(The Brides of Brightside Ranch trilogy follows on from The Billionaires of Brightside Ranch trilogy, and it is recommended that they are read in order for a more enjoyable understanding of the story.)

FREE 3^rd-7^th September

https://www.amazon.com/Marry-Haste-Brightside-Billionaire-Billionaires-ebook/dp/B08ZL25YL7/

Don’t forget that the whole series is FREE in Kindle Unlimited 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NCHVJGQ?ref_=dbs_p_mng_rwt_ser_shvlr&storeType=ebooks

Guest Author Lariette Lee

 Hello Cowboy Kisses: I'm back as a guest author to introduce you to my other works in my Spinsters of Adeline Series.

My Cowboy’s Cemetery 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9CGRKBN 

 

He didn’t want to be her enemy—he wanted to be her lover.

Xavier’s dream of settling on his family’s old homeplace ended in a nightmare, leaving him with a property he could never live on and never sell. When he catches Adeline’s sexy historian trespassing, he knows she’ll uncover more than the town’s pioneer past. He has no choice but to seduce Stacia away from the town she loves—and where all his secrets are buried.

She wanted all of him—not just the part he thought she should have.

Stacia Dix is tired of being known as that ‘gal from the big city.’ When she discovers a cemetery that proves she’s as good as native, she also falls for its owner. Part-time cowboy and full-time gorgeous, Dr. Xavier Butcher is the man Adeline would love to hate. If he won’t trust her with his secrets, he will never have a place in her adopted home town or in her heart. 

Can they put aside the place they want so they can give each other the love they need?

 

Excerpt:

Here was a guy who shared Stacia’s love for the area. The name of Xavier’s company, Alibates, suddenly seemed charming instead of cynical. The ancient flint and its history must have spoken to him as it did to her. And best of all, he seemed to enjoy being here, in her little house, right across the street from his property.

Right. The cemetery. What about that?

Xavier had finished his coffee. It was an opportune moment for him to say goodbye. In fact, he did say he ought to get going as he put his cup in the sink. And here she was begging him to stay.

He hesitated, assessing her with that penetrating silver gaze of his. He leaned against the old surface of her kitchen countertop, his boots creasing as he shifted his weight. They proclaimed him a traditional cowboy, with heavy vamps to protect his feet while riding in brush. They slid against the wood-planked floor, making a masculine sound that filled her ears. His powerful shoulders and biceps in his fitted thermal shirt filled her vision.

An almighty rush was coming.

“I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

“I’ll let you know if you do.”

The frown Xavier usually wore softened as a slow smile spread across his mouth, warm, almost lazy, arousing a strange pressure in Stacia’s lower abdomen. He really ought to leave, before impossible ideas carried her away. They already had, tumbling in her mind, along with thoughts of the empty hours left in the day—nothing planned, no visitors expected.

The companionable atmosphere had long since evaporated. All was silent except for the rain against the windows. Another storm had come, hovering overhead, darkening the kitchen. Stacia gripped the edge of her stool, hands behind her back.

In the gloom, something was rising up between her and Xavier.

He straightened, gently pushing away from the countertop. Had he read her mind? Did he understand just how very much she wanted him? She was too honest with herself to pretend she didn’t. She was too candid to discourage him as he came toward her, cautiously, until he was so close to her she smelled the clean scent of cedar from the trees he must have brushed up against earlier.

“You’ll tell me to leave when you want me to, won’t you, Stacia?” he asked softly.

“Uh-huh.” Maybe she nodded, maybe she shook her head. Oh, he’d gotten her message all right. He’d heard and understood her silent plea. He was so good-looking he must have had a lot of practice reading women. Hell, they probably blasted him all the time with the same signal she was sending him now. 

My Cowboy’s Commitment 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9CJGBPT

The past she never knew…

When Sloane Trentham goes out of her way to confront a thieving cowboy, she discovers the darkly handsome Luc Valencia is more than what he seems. In fact, he’s the only man who can protect everything she loves from burning to the ground. Her heart is on fire for him, but his old commitment to her family might keep them apart forever.

…is the past he thought he’d forgotten.

Adeline is the perfect place for Luc Valencia to lay low while lawyers try to save his business. So why does he let perfectly lovely, completely icy Sloane Trentham provoke him into taking on the duties of the town fire chief? He knows how to put out fires, but the blaze of desire he has for the sister of a man who betrayed him is something else. And the longer he stays in Adeline, the harder it will be to put out.

The past is dormant until a spark of love sets it ablaze. 

 

Excerpt:

Luc shifted his weight, his expression changing from contrition to something far different, filling with the possessive hunger Sloane recognized in the volunteer fire department parking lot. He’d threatened to seduce her. If he succeeded, he would nail that skin on his wall and move on.
Keep telling yourself that.

Luc’s big-boned body gracefully leaned over her as she stared up at him. She really ought to say goodnight and shut the door. She didn’t. He’d paralyzed her with his empathy.
Now he was about to go in for the kill.

A winged grasshopper, attracted by the security light, its habitat likely destroyed by the fire, flew through the opening between the door and its frame. It went straight for Sloane’s head, tangling in the waves of hair tucked into the loose bun she’d thrown her hair into earlier. She jerked backwards, stumbling away from the open door, trying to extract the insect without success.

Instantly Luc stepped inside the doorway, reaching out to grab her. “Hold still,” he commanded.

Shivering with agonized disgust, trying not to flinch, Sloane obeyed. The bug buzzed right in her ear, the sound nauseating as well as frightening. It fought to free itself from her hair, only tangling itself even more, scratching her scalp, its wings flapping against her ear. She gasped and gripped Luc’s shoulder as he quickly released her bun. She couldn’t help shaking her head, her hair falling below her shoulders. 

“Hold still,” he repeated, his voice softening.

Luc grasped her chin with powerful fingers, restraining her so she couldn’t move. She was forced to meet his eyes. His never left hers as he quickly plucked the insect and threw it outside in one smooth movement, closing the door behind it.

Relieved, she forgot she was still clinging to his shoulder. Her chin rested in the palm of his hand, still cupping her face. His fingers caressed her cheek. She leaned into his touch, like a cat who wants to be stroked.

Blushing, she straightened and pulled away. “Thanks. Generally I’m not afraid of grasshoppers but when one gets in my hair—blech.”

“It’s been a rough night, hasn’t it?” Luc murmured, his wide shoulders blotting out everything else, his voice caressing.

Just being this close to him aroused all kinds of heady feelings—and outright honesty. “It’s what I’ve come to expect whenever you’re around, Luc Valencia.”

He answered her with a darkly speculative grin.

She gathered up the ends of her quarrel with him to put some distance between them but her effort was weak. “After tonight, I hope you plan to improve the department’s communications.”

“From now on I will call you personally.”

“That’s not necessary,” she protested, breathless.

“It is for me,” he argued softly, implacable.

Luc gazed at her with hot intent. Sloane’s heartbeat raced back up with a surge of adrenaline, just like when she believed her stable was about to go up in flames. This time she rode the heady rush rather than being dragged along by it. When Luc reached out to touch her, a cautious caress, his fingers barely touching her cheek, she dared to turn her head and kiss his fingertips.  

I enjoy meeting up with other fans of the western romance genre. Please connect with me here:

www.LarietteLee.com

https://www.facebook.com/LarietteLee

https://twitter.com/LarietteLee

https://www.pinterest.com/LarietteLee