Tag Archive | western history

An Interview with Cynthia Woolf (You gotta meet her!)

I’m incredibly pleased today to introduce you to one of my writer friends, Cynthia Woolf. Cynthia writes some truly awesome novels. Her Western romances are not to be missed and her Sci-Fi romances are absolutely page-turners. Of course I’m always a fan of someone who writes both Westerns and Sci-Fi, so I sat down and asked Cynthia a few questions….

Where did you grow up? Siblings? Locale? Were you considered a “bookworm” or a jock? Married, single? Children?

I grew up in the mountains west of Denver, CO. I have three brothers, two older (much older) and one younger. Because my older brothers were so much older than me, eight and twelve years older, my mother always said she raised two families. I was considered a definite bookworm. My mother was a librarian and we always had new books in the house. I loved it because I would get the book before anyone else. I’m married and have no children.

Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

My favorite genre is historical romance. I like all time periods with regency probably my favorite. Two of my favorite authors are Johanna Lindsey and Julie Garwood. And although, I haven’t read Merry’s books yet, they sound like they are right up my alley.

What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

I like to garden and we like to go fishing. Unfortunately, we haven’t been fishing in years now, but we still think about going. Now if we could just find the time.

How long have you been writing?

I started writing when I was ten. I wrote a story, a romance of course, about a little boy that I liked at the time. I still remember his name, David Williams, but nothing else about the story.

Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude? PC or laptop?

I can write anywhere because my first draft is in long hand. I prefer quiet and when I use a computer I prefer my PC.

Are you a plotter or a panzer?

I’m a definite pantser. I feel like when I plot the book it’s already written so what is the point. Of course, that leads to another problem that is more prevalent among pantsers, the sagging middle. I always know the beginning and end of the book but never have any idea about how to get there. LOL It usually works itself out when I’m writing.

Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

I don’t set daily goals. I write full time and I just make sure that I write something every day. I can’t fix a blank page.

What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

I’m not trying to write the next great American novel, I just want my readers to be able to get away from their real lives for a few hours and relax and enjoy my story

Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

I’m working on the second book in my Matchmaker & Co. series, Heiress Bride. I just published the first of this series on December 9th.

What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Write, write and write some more. Get a good critique group. Get a professional cover and get a professional editor.

A fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you.

I collect purses.

Is your book a series? If so, how long? Family saga, other?

Both of my latest releases are part of a series. Capital Bride is the first in the Matchmaker & Co. series. It is a western set in Colorado in 1867 and is about a mail order bride.

My second book out this month is the third in my Swords of Gregara series. It’s called The Swords of Gregara – Honora. It’s a scifi romance that takes place on two planets. The planet Gregara and the planet Thrakus.

Can you give readers a blurb about your book?

Here is the blurb for Capital Bride:

Unexpectedly homeless, un-wed mother Sarah Johnson has few options. They could go live with her cousin William, but Sara believes there’s something untoward about his offer and it leaves her feeling uncomfortable. She’s qualified to be a governess, but no one will have her because she wasn’t married when she had her precious MaryAnn. Matchmaker & Co could be her salvation as mail-order-bride to Mr. John Atwood.

Single father, John Atwood, is raising his daughter the best he can in the wilds of the Colorado Territory but knows he needs help. No woman he knows wants to take on the raising of his daughter who hasn’t spoken since she saw her mother brutally murdered during a bank robbery. Can Sarah, John and their two daughters overcome their pasts and find happiness together?

Here is the blurb for The Swords of Gregara – Honora:

They stole her love, her life and want to steal the secrets secured in her mind. Secrets that could topple world governments and decimate quadrant security forever. Now she’s on an epic quest to find out why and make those responsible pay.

Honora Reyestat gave up everything to become a member of the esteemed Gregarian Guard. No family, no friends, no connections–nothing that can ever be used against her. Captured and enslaved, she’s become a prized gladiator for her master. Given the task of training a new slave, she recognizes a fellow Zolthor and the son of a tribal leader at that. Her mission changes from discovery of the enemy’s tactics and secrets to returning Joridan to his people.

Drawn to this fierce woman as no other, Joridan Dolana tries to explain she is wrong. He’s not Zolthor, he’s Centauri. He was raised on Centauri with his sister. Faced with proof of a father’s ultimate betrayal, he must choose between revenge and the protection of this woman who has sworn to never return his love.

Where can readers find your books?

These are for Capital Bride:

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00AM3CNQ4 Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/UBnOpz Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/263984

These are for The Swords of Gregara – Honora Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00AS4MOJI Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/Y7WjVc Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/267920

How can readers learn more about you? (website, blog, Facebook, etc?)

Readers can find me on my website www.cynthiawoolf.com On my blog: www.cynthiawoolf.com/blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/CynthiaWoolf On Twitter: @CynthiaWoolf

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about you?

Like all authors, I’m so grateful for my readers. I thank you all for reading my books.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit, Cynthia!

Check out Cyntha Woolf’s Amazon author page where you can find links and information about all of her books.

A Special Weekend Guest: Callie Hutton

Nov17

I’m incredibly pleased to present you with a peek into my friend and fellow author Callie Hutton’s world this weekend. Callie’s Historical Western Romances are a treat that can’t be missed. Her latest novel, A Prescription for Love, part of the Oklahoma Lovers series, is out now! (Stay tuned for a sneak peek below)

But before you take a look at her novels, feast yourself on Callie’s take on holiday meals, then and now….

A Trip to the Past By: Callie Hutton

The recent troubles on the east coast got me to thinking about how frightening it would be to suddenly find yourself thrust into the nineteenth century, with no modern conveniences. Just ask anyone from New Jersey, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to share that with you. Loudly.

Since I write mainly historical novels, history and things from the past fascinate me. So I thought I’d write a blog on a comparison between Ms. Modern Millie, and Mrs. Husband’s Name, and see how they would produce a dinner of, oh say, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and biscuits.

Yes, yes, I know that’s not the healthiest meal, but I doubt husbands from the past would have appreciated a ceasar salad and veggie patty for dinner after a hard day of plowing the field. So let’s have Ms. Modern put her knowledge of calories and cholesterol aside for the night, and offer her family decadence.

Solution number one for Ms. Modern: Drive through KFC, and pick up an order, slap it on the table. Done.

Solution number two: Frozen breaded chicken from the supermarket, Bob Evans mashed potatoes, Green Giant green beans, Heat and Serve biscuits.

Solution number three: All right, let’s get serious. Ms. Modern buys dead animals parts (as my daughter describes it), drags the pieces through milk, then flour. Pours oil into a pan, fries up the chicken. A box of instant mashed potato flakes makes a nice, easy side dish, and fresh green beans from the supermarket and Pillsbury canned biscuits complete the meal. When dinner is eaten, she loads up the dishwasher, pushes a button and logs into Facebook.

Mrs. Husband’s Name is contemplating her dinner. She goes to the chicken coop, wrestles a chicken to the ground and whacks off its head. After slapping it on the kitchen table, she gets wood from the woodpile, shoves it into the stove and gets a fire going. Next she plucks the feathers from the chicken, then holds it over an open flame to singe the little hairs left.

With her well sharpened butcher knife, she cuts the chicken into pieces. THEN she gets to drag it through the milk and flour. A huge glob of lard hits the frying pan and she begins that part of the meal.

Mrs. Husband’s Name heads to the root cellar to gather a few potatoes and then to the garden to pick the green beans. Horrors, the chicken is burning! She races back to the house, saves the chicken, and saves the day. So who cares if it’s a little black?

Since the nutritional benefits of potato skins is unknown to Mrs. Husband’s Name, she peels the potatoes and, after a trip to the well to get a pot of water, puts the potatoes on to cook. She settles at the kitchen table to snap the beans before she pulls out the flour and other makings for biscuits. Tired yet?

Keep in mind once the meal is eaten, she clears the table, feeds the scraps to the hogs, then heats water to wash the dishes. Do you wonder why Mrs. Husband’s Name groans when Mr. Husband’s Name looks at her with a twinkle in his eye and asks if she’s almost finished with her work, and he’ll wait for her in the bedroom?

No wonder they died so young.

Callie has been making up stories since elementary school, and writing gave her a way to turn off the voices in her head. She’s had a number of articles and interviews published over the years, and finally decided to put her writing skills to the test and write novels. Oklahoma is where she hangs her hat with her husband of thirty-six years, two young adult children, and three dogs. You can catch her hanging out at Facebook, Twitter- @CallieHutton, and her home base, www.calliehutton.com. Stop by sometime and say hello.

Here’s a peek at A Prescription for Love:

Guthrie, Oklahoma, 1903. Betrayed by his fiancée’s infidelity eight years ago, pharmacist Michael Henderson vowed he’d never risk his heart again. But he doesn’t anticipate the tug of attraction he shares with his new employee.

Heidi Lester flees her home, determined to prove to her overprotective parents she can conquer her debilitating asthma, to make a life of her own. However, her unscrupulous fiancé has no intention of letting her go. He has his own plans for Heidi and her inheritance.

Will a scheme to ruin Michael’s family force Heidi to marry her fiancé, or will assistance arrive from a surprising source to allow her to be with the man she truly loves?

Michael followed Clarence out the door, letting the heavy, scarred wood swing shut, drowning out the noise of the band tuning up, and conversation of those enjoying their box supper. Steam shot from the warmth of his mouth, as Michael’s breath hit the cold night air.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Henderson?” Clarence turned to him, hands fisted at his side.

Michael leaned against the clapboard wall of the church, arms crossed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Heidi Lester is my fiancée.” Despite the dim light shining from the church hall, with his flushed red face and bulging eyes, Clarence radiated anger.

Michael needed to remain calm. This man deserved to have the hell beat out of him, but Heidi had been through enough embarrassment tonight. She didn’t need to witness the two of them rolling on the ground like a couple of bar brawlers. “So you say.”

“You’re damn right that’s what I say. As does her mother and father,” Clarence bristled. “We’re betrothed, and her parents agree. She accepted my ring. It’s done.”

Michael’s eyebrows shot upwards. “Is that right? Funny how you haven’t mentioned the one important person in this discussion. You agree, her mother agrees, and her father agrees. What about Heidi?”

Clarence shrugged. “Of course she agrees. Her parents know what’s best for her, and once she gets this nonsense out of her system, she’ll return to Oklahoma City and do her duty.”

“Her duty!” Michael pushed away from the wall. “The year is nineteen aught three, Mr. Manfred. A woman no longer marries to do her duty.” Michael brought himself up short, and smiled. He sounded like Ellie. She would be proud.

“Heidi has always done what she was told. She will honor her parents’ wishes and marry me. And you can bet I won’t wait one day past her ridiculous demand of a full month,” he snorted.

God, the man annoyed him. From what he’d seen of the Lesters, the mystery remained why they would want their beloved daughter tied to such an arrogant, pompous man. “If that’s the case, than I doubt Mr. and Mrs. Lester truly know you.”

Clarence’s lip curled. “Regardless of what your opinion is, Henderson, stay away from Heidi. She belongs to me.” He moved to grab the door, but was soon flat on his back, holding his jaw.

You can purchase A Prescription for Love from Amazon here: http://amzn.to/S3M9G9

Callie has generously offered a free download of A Wife by Christmas, #2 in the Oklahoma Lover series to one lucky commenter.

Western Wednesday – How the Chinese Built the Transcontinental Railroad

Sep5

Every once in a while you come across a tidbit of American history that, for whatever reason, no one ever taught you in school. I came across one of those bits while doing research about the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. While I always knew that Chinese immigrants took part in the rise of California and the building of the railroad (thanks in part to an episode of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman), I had no idea how big of a part they played.

The Transcontinental Railroad was built from the outside in. Teams worked to lay tracks from the east heading towards the mountains and from the California coast heading back east. They met at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869. A large number of the workers laying the tracks from the east to Utah were Irish immigrants, and about two-thirds of the workers laying the tracks from California into the mountains were Chinese.

Two-thirds! That’s a lot of people! It’s a huge percentage. And yet there they were, making one of the greatest accomplishments of the nineteen century possible.

Chinese railroad workers

Another fact I didn’t know is that Chinese men and women (but mostly men) began to immigrate to California from across the sea almost as early as Americans from back east made the trek. They came for the same reasons. There was gold in them there hills and if you were quick enough and clever enough you could stake a claim. So just like their American counterparts, enterprising Chinese men, with or without previous knowledge of mining, high-tailed it across the Pacific to California. In a lot of cases their journey by sea was much easier than the overland routes Americans used.Just like their American counterparts, the Chinese found that the streets of California weren’t necessarily paved with gold. They had to come up with alternatives. Many of them became merchants supplying the men who turned to farming or ranching instead of mining. The change came with the construction of the first California railroads in the 1850s. Chinese ex-miners turned to railroad work in larger numbers than their white counterparts, who for whatever reason saw the back-breaking labor as beneath them.

Then came the call to build the first transcontinental railroad in the 1860s.

In the beginning the Chinese weren’t involved. And in a 2 year time frame the Central Pacific Railroad company only laid 50 miles of track. Then, in 1865, E. B. Crocker of the Central Pacific Railroad company hired fifty Chinese workers as an experiment. Not only did they turn out to be highly efficient and eager to learn all aspects of railroad construction, their leaders promised that they could get more men. 15,000 more men.

This was all highly ironic within the context of what was actually going on at the time in California. The Chinese were thought to be too small and too polite to do the work. Aside from being merchants, many of them ran laundries or kitchens for miners (yes, stereotypes are stereotypes because at one point they were true). They kept to themselves, ate their own strange foods, and were as far from the burly white miners and farmers as Californians could imagine.

One thing they did bring with them that proved to be incredibly useful for building railroads, especially through mountainous territory, was their understanding of gunpowder and explosives. Remember, the Chinese invented gunpowder and knew how to manipulate it. They were the ones who blasted tunnels through mountains and cleared otherwise unnavigable terrain.

And of course, as you might expect, they weren’t paid the same wages as their white contemporaries. In fact, newer waves of Chinese railroad workers coming directly from China were paid less and less until at last they went on strike to gain a more equal wage.

When the golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit the Chinese workers who had constructed the railroad faced several choices. True, there were more railroads to be laid and some of them went on to help with that construction. But there wasn’t enough work for everyone. Some of the newly unemployed workers pocketed their paychecks and went back home to China, filled with stories of adventure from their time overseas. But others stayed in California and other parts of the west, setting up shops and restaurants and becoming as much a part of America as immigrants from Europe.

It’s obvious when you stop to think about the richness of California culture and its roots. But somehow I wasn’t taught about these things in school. And while our nations might not be the best of friends today, we actually share this unique sliver of the history of California and the railroads of the west.

For more really fascinating information on the subject, please check out – http://cprr.org/Museum/Chinese.html

Western Wednesday – What Makes The Railroad So Dang Awesome?

Aug22

What was the single biggest game-changing technological advance of the 19th century? Not exactly an easy question to answer considering how many things were invented between 1800 and 1899. But if I had to choose, I would definitely make an argument for trains. With the advent of the railroad, countries shrank dramatically. People and goods could suddenly be transported vast distances in short amounts of time. Nowhere was this more evident than in the American West.

I happen to love trains. Like, a LOT. I once took the train from Orlando, Florida to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That is still one of the most awesome trips of my life. Someday I want to ride the train all the way across this country, from Philadelphia to Seattle. I love the sound of trains in the distance too. So here I go, rhapsodizing about how amazing the advances that the railroad brought to the West in the 1800s as giddily as a tween talking about the latest Twilight movie….

Steam engines were originally invented for industrial use, to power looms in the burgeoning textile industry of the 1700s and to operate pumps in mines at that same time. These first steam engines were huge. They could do amazing things, but not on a practical level. So began the quest to build smaller, more compact engines that would be suitable for transportation. Because the notion that this technology could be used to make things go faster was definitely on people’s minds.Horse-drawn “railways” had been in use from ancient times, but it was in Britain in the first three decades of the 19th century that steam locomotives were first developed. Those first thirty years or so were all about proving that the concept could be a reality. Early steam engines, like Richard Trevithick’s unnamed locomotive in 1804, Matthew Murray’s Salamanca in 1812, and George Stephenson’s Locomotion of 1825 and The Rocket of 1829 were fascinations whose principals were soon put to industrial and commercial use. By the end of the 1820s small railways were popping up between the major industrial cities of England’s north to transport goods and people.

The first railroads in the United States were the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, developed in 1829 and the South Carolina Railroad, which had its first journey on Christmas day, 1830. By the end of 1830 there was only just under 40 miles of railroad tracks laid in all of the US. Ten years later there were over 2,750 miles of railroad tracks in use, both industrially and commercially. These mini-railroads started out as ways to move things from a specific point A to a specific point B. Then people got smart and started to connect them. Before long trains were moving over long distances in short periods of time. It was a transportation revolution.

The early railroads in the eastern half of the States are all well and good, but it was the Transcontinental Railroad that made all the difference to the West. California and the Oregon Territory had laid vast stretched of railroad tracks to make local travel quicker and easier. Meanwhile, railroads from the east began to spread further and further west to and across the Mississippi. It was inevitable that these two separate systems run by separate companies would come together to cut the US down to size.

The First Transcontinental Railroad was a joint venture between the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad. It was such an important project that the Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 that authorized the construction and made it physically and fiscally possible were passed during the Civil War. Construction was begun in 1863 and finished in 1869. The two rail lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah with the famous driving of the golden spike on May 10, 1869.I could write a thousand blog posts about the experience of constructing the First Transcontinental Railroad – the factors that went in to mapping the route, the Irish and Chinese immigrants who constructed the track from both sides, the technological triumphs and the tragic setbacks – but I’ll leave you with a few things to chew on instead.

It took the Lewis and Clark Expedition from May of 1804 to November of 1805 to travel from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. That’s about 19 months. The average trip across the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri to California took 4-6 months. When the First Transcontinental Railroad was first completed, it took roughly two weeks to make the journey. According to the itinerary on Amtrak, it takes about 3 days to take the train from Philadelphia to Seattle.

When the Oregon Trail opened around 1843, moving west meant leaving everything you knew behind with the strong possibility that you would never see it or be able to communicate with it again. Twenty-five years later the journey was theoretically possible several times over and lines of communication were opened. And that is the power of the railroad. That’s why it gets my vote for the most important invention of the 19th century. And that’s why I think trains are awesome!

Western Wednesday – Stagecoaches

Aug8

The Oregon Trail opened the way west for intrepid settlers and enterprising miners. Once it was well established and the roads were cleared and expanded, once towns had grown up along the route and locations in the Rockies and further west were settled, it was only natural that a new method of transportation would take over: stagecoaches.

The technology behind stagecoaches wasn’t new. Carriages were the primary form of mass transportation in the pre-locomotive age. What made stagecoaches different from regular carriages were their size and the way they were supported on the wheel frame. Rather than relying on springs, which jostled a rider up and down, stagecoaches made use of thoroughbraces, leather straps that supported the body of the stagecoach and gave it more of a rocking motion.Stagecoaches could generally fit nine passengers inside and six outside. Inside, as you can probably guess, meant that passengers traveled inside the body of the coach. They would ride on three benches, two facing forward and the foremost one facing backwards, three riders to a bench. As you can imagine, it was a tight squeeze. Passengers in the first two benches would often have to wedge their knees between one another to make room. They would carry their baggage and often have mail under their feet. But if that wasn’t bad enough, the six passengers riding outside of the carriage would be just as cramped and exposed to the elements.

But what passengers lost in comfort, they made up for in speed. The most common type of stagecoach was the Concord stagecoach, manufactured in Concord, New Hampshire. These stagecoaches rarely broke down. They were drawn by a team of six horses and could cut through the new roadways of the west much faster than any wagon train ever could.

This is part of the reason that almost all stagecoaches carried mail as well as passengers. More than just mail, in fact. It was common for stagecoaches to carry gold and cash being transported on behalf of one bank or another. This, of course, meant that there was a real danger of robberies along the road.

The first major stagecoach robbery in California took place in 1852 when Reelfoot Williams and his gang robbed a Nevada City coach. The gang had set up a network of informants to monitor when stages were coming and what money and passengers they were carrying. They carried off the heist, setting a precedent that many would follow. For that reason, and because of the very real threat of attacks by Native Americans, passengers were advised to carry guns and knives with them and drivers were well armed.

So, you might ask yourself. Who was in charge of all these stagecoaches? You probably already know the answer without knowing it. There were several stagecoach companies in the east that had been in operation even before the 19th century. But one of the biggest and most successful companies developed in the 1830s as a service to deliver packages between Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Adams & Company gradually moved west as steamships replaced overland routes for fast transportation between the major eastern cities.

Adams & Company did well in California after the gold rush, until mismanagement and the emergence of a serious competitor changed everything. That competitor was a little company started by two men, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo. The company that Wells and Fargo started offered more than just stagecoach service. It offered banking and mail services as well. In fact, by the time the 1850s rolled around, Wells Fargo was widely known to be faster and more reliable about delivering the mail than the U.S. Postal service.

Then came the Panic of 1855. The California banking system, puffed up on speculation of continued profits from the Gold Rush, collapsed. Many businesses, including Adams & Company, folded. But Wells Fargo managed to hold on. Not only did it hold on, it emerged as one of the only viable options in stagecoach transportation.

Since Wells Fargo pretty much had a monopoly on stagecoach transportation in the west after 1855, they could make the rules. And some of those rules were:

Abstinence from liquor is requested, but if you must drink share the bottle. To do otherwise makes you appear selfish and unneighborly.

If ladies are present, gentlemen are urged to forego smoking cigars and pipes as the odor of same is repugnant to the gentler sex. Chewing tobacco is permitted, but spit with the wind, not against it.

Gentlemen must refrain from the use of rough language in the presence of ladies and children.

Buffalo robes are provided for your comfort in cold weather. Hogging robes will not be tolerated and the offender will be made to ride with the driver.

Don’t snore loudly while sleeping or use your fellow passenger’s shoulder for a pillow; he or she may not understand and friction may result.

Firearms may be kept on your person for use in emergencies. Do not fire them for pleasure or shoot at wild animals as the sound riles the horses.

In the event of runaway horses remain calm. Leaping from the coach in panic will leave you injured, at the mercy of the elements, hostile Indians and hungry coyotes.

Forbidden topics of conversation are: stagecoach robberies and Indian uprisings.

Gents guilty of unchivalrous behavior toward lady passengers will be put off the stage. It’s a long walk back. A word to the wise is sufficient.*

So there you have it. Stagecoach transportation in the Old West. Traveling by stagecoach was the only way to go in those days … until the railroad came along and changed everything….

* http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/82fall/wells.htm

Merry Farmer

An Historical Romance