Authors wage a constant battle—besides the one going on with the characters living in their minds: the battle of balance. Keeping life in balance while making a living and getting those pages written.

This struggle isn’t exclusive to writers. We all fight the same thing: the family needs more time today, but your schedule is already full; or the baby is sick and the only time the doctor can work you in is 3:05pm, but you have a critical meeting at 3pm; or you haven’t written a word for two weeks, you’ve taken a day off to write, and your boss needs you to cover an out of town presentation. You get the idea.

Writing fiction is my job and I love it. I get to make things up for a living – how great is that?! But my neighbors still have a hard time understanding that I can’t take a two-hour drive just to try a new place for lunch. I really am working up here.

I just returned from a weekend trip that combined a writing conference with visiting friends. While I had a lot of fun, and made some great contacts and new friends, I lost four writing days. And I can’t just turn off the world for the next couple of weeks to get caught up. So I end up spinning my creative wheels and beating myself about the head and shoulders for not getting more done, which doesn’t help my productivity OR make me feel any better. lol

The toughest challenge for me, as a fulltime, self-employed writer, is keeping my priorities in what I consider proper order – family, then self, then work. (That second one is always the toughest one!)

There are days when the order of priority changes. Sometimes work has to take the lead, and putting myself first on occasion saves my sanity. But for the most part, I try to remember what’s really important.

I’m learning to set my daily goals and expectations so I can keep things in perspective. And I try to remember that it’s okay to be selfish sometimes – it helps keep me ‘on the level.’

How about you? Are you successful in keeping a balance between work, play and family? What do you do to take care of yourself?

Hello Darlings,

Got plans for Saturday?

The Fillies do. Miss Donna Alward is coming to call on us here at the Junction!

Miss Donna’s looking forward to talking romance and cowboys with us. Yippee! She won’t have to ask me twice. Ah do like to jaw about the handsome devils and what it might take to catch one!

Miss Donna has a new book out called HER LONE COWBOY. It looks like a doozy. And one the best parts is, she’ll be giving one away to one lucky person.

Don’t lollygag around now. Hitch up that buggy and get a move on!

We’ll be looking for you.

The pub date for my next Love Inspired Historical, Kansas Courtship,  is Tuesday, March 16th. That’s just around the corner.  This is a milestone book for me.  When I sold to Harlequin in February 2002, I never dreamed I’d someday have 10 books to my name.  Well, Kansas Courtship is No. 10! It’s also the book I most enjoyed writing.

Here’s why . . .

Kansas Courtship is book No. 3 in a three-book continuity series called “After the Storm: The Founding Years.”  That means I received the characters and  basic plot from the editors at Steeple Hill.  Two other LIH authors, Valerie Hansen and Renee Ryan, wrote the first two books, High Plains Bride and Heartland Wedding. (You’ve  met Renee here at Wildflower Junction.)  All three books are set in 1860 in a Kansas town that’s been devastated by a tornado.  As authors, we had to coordinate certain elements, which meant being in constant contact via email. 

I can’t say enough about these two women.  I loved working with both of them. Early on, I ran into a plot problem with the timeline for my heroine’s arrival in High Plains. Renee came up with the perfect solution. Not only did she solve the problem, she made the whole book more believable. Val had done a continuity before, and she knew how to keep us all on track.  I loved checking email and finding notes from these two wonderful writers.

The other thing I loved about doing this book was the research. My hero, Zeb Garrison, is one of the town founders and he owns a mill.  I knew zilch about mills when I started this story, buy my husband came to my rescue.  We were living in northern Virginia when I wrote this story, and he knew about Colvin Mill.  Colvin Mill is a fully restored 19th century mill that turned out to be a 30 minute drive from our house.  We had a great day watching the mill in full operation.

So far I’ve gotten several comments on the realism of the mill scenes.  I owe that accuracy to my husband and the docents at Colvin Mill.  We were there for a good two hours, watching and especially listening.  You can look at pictures online and in books, but you can’t usually hear what something sounds like.  I’ll never forget the music of the mill, and I used it in the book.  

Readers also seem  to be noticing the medical research.  My heroine, Dr. Nora Mitchell, is one of the first female physicians in America.  I wrote about a lady doctor for Harlequin Historicals, but that book was set in 1899, not 1860. Fashion changed in those 40 years, and so did medicine. I had to start from square one when it came to Dr. Nora’s training. 

I also had to educate myself on a particular kind of injury.  I was fortunate to be working for a modern day lady doctor at the time, and she set me straight on a few things. No spoilers (though I’m itching to say what happens!) but she saved from embarrassing inaccuracies. It’s not smart to kill off a main character by accident!  

Since I’m celebrating, I want to give away three more copies of Kansas Courtship.  We’ll do it like we did it last month.  Anyone who comments will be eligible for the drawing.  Good luck!

To order now or right after the drawing, here’s the link to Amazon:  Kansas Courtship.

As you know, I go along, researching for my books and sometimes I’ll read something and right away, our beloved readers on Petticoats and Pistols come to  mind. And then, me being me, I look at what I’ve found and become inexplicably sarcastic.

I’m not sure why I do this. Personally, I blame my father. The man just had something funny to say about everything. I believe I got in the habit of trying to top him. So, in summation, it’s NOT MY FAULT. (I blame THAT reaction on my little brother).

So I found these rock paintings and/or petroglyphs. At first you see them and there is a reverence. They are very ancient, like messages passed down in stone from a people who didn’t write words, but could still tell their stories.

Others lower their voices, speak in hushed, respectful tones. I think, “Wow, graffiti is nuthin’ new. You darned kids, get offa my lawn. Put down that can of spray paint! I’m calling your mother!”

What do you suppose prompted ancient people to carve in stone seemingly useless things? I mean if you’re going to the trouble of getting  your chisel out, you’d think you’d use your time wisely. (Aside: Did ancient people have chisels?) Of course that one … thing … looks kind of like a man (left), with horns and a tail. Okay I can only think of one guy like that and it is a very…shall we say…fire and brimstone connection.

So yeah, if they see him, sure I get that they might need a painting. But why carve a herd of goats when one runs by the cave entrance every fifteen minutes? It’ll take hours, just wait at the door and point.

Did they worship the goat? Could the goat defeat He-Who-Has-Horns-And-A-Tail in a battle? Were they marking the cave as their territory during a war? Was it a symbol of relationship? “Marry me darling and as God as my witness, you’ll never be hungry again. I could go shoot a goat to prove it but let me carve one in stone instead.”

These are all questions asked by scientists, better known as He-Who-Has-Too-Much-Spare-Time. They spend decades trying to decipher the painting of the goat.

This one on the left is found in the Grand Canyon. The most confusing part of this is…that looks a lot like an alligator to me. An alligator and carrots?? Carrots? Okay, sure they could’ve had carrots. But alligators in the Grand Canyon? Hello? No swamp to be found anywhere. Or no, wait, not an alligator. A man. A man with a tail, dancing. Doing the Hokey Pokey, I’d say. Put your tail in, put your tail out, put your tail in and shake it all about. Wow, it’s a wedding dance.

That’s lovely. But get a load of the swastikas. I’ve always heard that the swastika is a really ancient symbol that was perverted by the Nazis (they did one heck of a good job with that, didn’t they?) What else is interesting is how much the Not-swastika looks like the alligator man.  Really look at it a while. It’s not really a swastika, it’s a double swastika. Two arms, two legs, even a head. I find that fascinating. One arm up, one leg kicking. It’s not a MAN, it’s a cheerleader. This is right before the big game and someone’s written the Paleozoic version of Go Team Go on the wall. (Go Gators Go?) So maybe Swastika’s aren’t even anything important, just team spirit captured for a lifetime.

(seriously people you ought to see what I can do with a Rorschach Inkblog Test, it’s not pretty) 

Which leads me to this one. All I see when I look at this are fingerprints on my wall. I’ve got this image of an ancient mother, chasing after her forty kids with a bottle of pre-historic windex and a sponge.

That’s right, it’s not meaningful and important. It’s untidy, just a MESS. What we now research and revere was probably gossiped about back then.

Over the stone picket fence, two old crones whispering, “Did you SEE Ork’s walls? She’s  a terrible housekeeper. If she can’t keep things neat they shouldn’t have had so many children. Why just the other day, her son knocked over my favorite swastika picture with his tail.”

Here are some quotes I found about petroglyphs and pictographs:

Scientists can tell how old the pictographs are, but not the petroglyphs. Native Americans used rock painting as a way to record their beliefs and observations of the world.  (Mary: Translation…meaningful, reverent, important…no mention of graffiti)

Rock art sites inspire visitors to wonder about the people who made the images and the messages they may have been trying to communicate. (Mary: Or get the windex, whatever)

Painting and Petroglyphs in the Grand Canyon. Seemingly random doodles (Mary: STOP! NO! Resist the urge to further analyze. You’ve got it right!)  These glyphs have played a prominent role in attempts to understand forager religious iconography. (Mary: But no, of course they couldn’t resist)

They were possibly intended to supernaturally increase success in the hunt. The mountain sheep drawings bolstered the “hunting magic” hypothesis. (no one’s talking about the horned dude. Nooooooooo it’s alllllllll about the goats. I find that strange)

You may be surprised to find out I’m NOT invited to be a visiting lecturer at a university near me to talk about my petroglyph research. But I’m sure they’ve just lost my phone number. If I had it to do over again, I’d've carved it on their wall.                 The end.

Mary’s Website

So has anyone ever seen petroglyphs? There’s a much written upon stony wall in a bluff near our home. Most of it is just kids but the rumor is that Louis and Clark wrote on that wall, marking their trail.

Graffiti, for a good cause.

Okay, so I write down all the names and have a drawing.  And the winner of the book today is Virginia C.  Congratulations to Virginia C.  Virginia, please email me privately at karenkay.author@earthlink.net and give me your snail mail address so that I can send the book to you.

Again, congratulations!  I wish you could all be winners.  But keep trying.  I am giving away a free book nowadays with many of my posts.  And thanks to all for coming in and leaving a message.

Good morning or afternoon or evening!

As I sit here looking through my many books, I am struck by the beauty of the American Indian style of dress.  But before I begin, I’d like to let you know that once again, I’ll be giving out a free book to some lucky blogger.  Please note that this offer is for those in the greater 50 United States or Canada and void where prohibited.

Okay, all that aside, I thought I’d start with Plains Indian dress, since this is probably what we are the most familiar with.  I might also call this post, a tour of George Catlin and Karl Bodner’s paintings.  The time period in which they worked was in the 1830’s — mostly around 1834.  Off to the left is a painting by George Catlin.  Note that the dress does not hide the natural curve of the animal that it is made from.  Notice too the intricate painting and or beading/quill work on the dress.  All tribes were different, which made it a little easier for the men of the tribe to read trails (they could tell by the mere indentation of a moccasin what tribe had passed that way.)

Note in all of these painting the robe or shawl that encircles the woman.  Both men and women favored the robe.  Most were again intricately beaded or painted or decorated.  To this day, the shawl still survives in women’s dress.  When one goes to a pow-wow and wishes to dance, one wraps a shawl around oneself before entering into the circle.

Many Plains women favored the two-skin dress.  Originally, the skirt with a poncho made of skin was the favored dress.  But by the time the white man arrived in Indian country, the two-skin dress was popular.  Later, still, a three skin dress became popular.  Depending on the tribe, the yoke of the dress was either decorated with beads, quills or with many rows of elk’s teeth.  The bottom of the ankle-length dress could be left in the same shape as the animal, although sometimes the hem was fringed.

Women also traditionally wore knee-length leggings that were laced at the front or the inside.  These were often painted and designed with quill work.   Off to the side here are two Blackfeet men.  Note the fringe on their sleeves.  Not also the robe (or cape) around their shoulders.  This man on the left has his face painted black and there are many, many feathers attached to his head.  This man was a chief and the “buttons” on his shirt are brass and the designs are made of blue glass.   This painting is one of Karl Bodner’s.

The picture off to the right is of a Blackfeet Indian on horseback.  Notice the fringed shirt and fringed saddle, as well as the feather tied to the horse’s mane.  Notice, too, the painted designs on his leggings.  The Blackfeet man’s basic dress was breechcloth, shirt, leggings, moccasins and the ever present robe.  This man’s shirt comes almost to his knees as he is sitting.  And note that the hemline keeps the same shape of the animal that the clothes were made from.  This is a beautiful drawing and shows the richness of a people who, while owning no money, had all the comforts and necessities of life.

I’m showing these two pictures together because both come from the Mandan tribe.  The Mandans were a tribe that traded goods from both southern and northern and western tribes.  They had permanent villages.  The painting on the left is of a man named Flying War Eagle, who was one of their best warriors.  Note the hair-bows on each side of his face, the feathers, the necklace, the earrings.  I would like to point out that those earrings are not feminine at all.  Now around his neck are bear claws.  This means that he had killed a bear.  Note also the wolf tails that are attached to his moccasins.  On the right is the same warrior, but with another man, the one in the foreground, who was an Indian artist.  Note the robe thrown around their shoulders.  They lived in a cold climate.

This next picture is of a Hidasta Indian — the Hidasta were another tribe that had settled in permanent villages, right along the Missouri River.  This man’s name was Black Raven.  Note the elaborate peace pipe, the bear necklace, the hair-bow and single feather.  Note also the beautiful designs on his leggings and moccasins.  This is another Karl Bodner painting.  I have these picture in a larger book at home — that’s how I’m able to see much of the detail.

And here off to the left is my favorite.  The man is Assiniboine, which is a tribe that is related to the Lakota or Sioux.  Note the two hair beads that hang from locks in front.  Note also the hair that is made to come down directly on his nose.  Note that his costume has again kept the shape of the animal at the hemline.  This man’s robe looks very much like a cape.  On his shield is attached his medicine bundle.  Many a warrior would not go to war without that medicine bundle.  I have studied this painting long and often and in great detail.   This is a handsome man in anybody’s culture.  Tall, firm of limb, proud bearing, yet gentle spirit.  Ah…

The painting below is one that I found on the Republic of Lakotah website.  I was particularly taken with it.  While it doesn’t show the manner of dress necessarily, it does show the strength of spirit of not only the man, but the eagle.  It’s a magnificent painting.

Where this painting takes place I don’t know.  Perhaps in the woodlands of the Dakota people — it’s only that I know of very few places in the West where there are strands of dicidious trees as is shown here.  The title of this picture is “Red Road.”

Well, I didn’t get very far today in discussing dress.  Mostly I’m afraid I got engrossed in the handsome pictures of these very beautiful people.  Now off to the left here is the cover of BLACK EAGLE, my latest novel that is still in the bookstores.  Off to the right is the cover of SENECA SURRENDER, which is due to be released next month — April.  If you’d like to read an excerpt of SENECA SURRENDER, or of BLACK EAGLE, please visit my website at either www.novels-by-KarenKay.com or www.novels-by-GenBailey.com

Well, that’s all for today’s post.  Hope you’ve enjoyed these pictures as much as I do.  So please come on in and leave a comment.  What do you think?  Are these clothes as pretty as the English clothes of the same period?  Remember that at this time period, one’s “betters” dressed differently than the common folk (which was not true in Native America).  Come on in and leave a message.

Hello everyone.  I’m coming off of a hectic week.  My local writer’s group, the NOLA STARs, held their annual conference this past weekend (had a great time!), and since I was co-chair of the event I’ve been head’s-down busy for the past several days.  (Side note – fellow filly Tracy Garrett was there so we had fun catching up with each other). 

Anyway, I’m using this as an excuse to cheat a little.  Rather than drafting something original, I’m going to give you an excerpt form a 1902 cookbook titled Crumbs From Everybody’s Table.  This cookbook was compiled by Mrs. R.L.Porter and Mrs. H.S.Ball for the ladies of St. Paul’s Guild of Salinas, CA.

The dedication of this book is one I particularly love:  DEDICATED To those plucky Housekeepers who master their own work instead of letting it master them.

The excerpt I want to give you is not recipes but is instead taken from a section of household hints titled Things Well Worth Knowing.

• To keep celery two weeks, roll it in a brown bag, then in a towel, and store n a cool place.  Before serving, place celery in a pan of ice-cool water for one hour
• To restore curdled mayonnaise, place a tablespoon of butter in a round-bottomed pan and gradually work in the mayonnaise.
• To prevent cracking and chipping of new enameled cooking utensils, keep the insides greased with butter.
• To clean bottles, decanters, and glass jugs, cut a lemon into small pieces, put into the glass container with a little water, and shake vigorously.   A slice of potato may be substituted for the lemon.
• To prevent glass from breaking when pouring hot water into glassware, first put in a silver spoon or fork, and then pour the liquid.  Allow the silver to remain in the glassware for a few minutes.
• To ensure the best textured baked potato, leave the skin on and cut off a small piece at the end before placing in the oven.  When done, take the potato out with a cloth and pres all the sides well with hands
• To prevent scalded milk form curdling, add a pinch of soda before cooking
• To get rid of a fish bone stuck in the throat, immediately swallow a raw egg
• To remove wine stains, pour boiling water on the splotch before it has time to dry, and then let it remain in boiling water for a few minutes.
• To clean zinc, use a piece of soft flannel moistened with kerosene.  To clean badly tarnished brass, rub it  with salt and vinegar, or oxalic acid.  Wash with soap and water and then polish brass vigorously.
• To freshen the air in a room, place half an ounce of spirits of lavender and a lump of salt of ammonia in a wide-mouthed jar and leave uncovered
• To fix the colors in cotton goods, use salt.  Dissolve a pint of salt in 4 gallons of water and soak the garments for an hour.  The water must be kept cold.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into the ingenuity of the housekeeper of yesteryear.

            Many times I’m asked which genre I like the best–historical or contemporary suspense. Actually I like them both. Each genre is challenging, exciting, and full of possibilities to create a unique story.

            I started thinking about historical suspense and how I enjoy incorporating hold-your-breath anticipation into my stories. Yep, partner, I’ve been writing historical suspense all along. Victims are dumped on doorsteps. The innocent are in fear of their lives. Outlaws prey on the unsuspecting. Range wars. Railroad tycoons who are hungry for more land. Tornadoes. Disease. Fires. All those stories need strong heroes and heroines who must choose between taking a courageous stand and risking danger or allowing tragedy and chaos to continue.

            Sounds a whole lot like a western.

            Except a western is limited to a setting in the western United States and the time period from after the Civil War to the turn of the twentieth century. Conflicts are generated from problems among Native Americans and settlers, ruthless outlaws, and rich landowners who want to take what belongs to hardworking people. Most westerns use an unlikely hero to save the day. We read about handsome, slow-talking, cowboys, a few who tell the girl goodbye and kiss their horses. J Of course there are objections to any story line.

            Westerns reach out and lasso a snippet of the past that entertains us. These stories can be suspenseful, but not all historical suspense novels are westerns.

            Historical suspense novels are bubbling over with action. They tug on the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental forces of our characters. They take any portion of the past and add enough detail to make the story real. Diligent writers sprinkle in plenty of creativity to keep us glued to the page and on the edge of our seats.

            Facts are a requirement. Readers will despise you if you break that rule. Libraries and state historical societies are dynamic resources to assist the reader. I much prefer visiting the area and snapping many pictures. Many times local or state-published books about the setting and its people give us rich tidbits of information.

            Strong characters and unpredictable plot twists are essential in every suspense novel. The advantage of treating your readers to a historical suspense is the journey back in time to a slower pace of life when men and women lived by their wits, and hard work meant the toil of your hands. The romance of your favorite era combined with a suspenseful story will keep your readers craving another adventure!

DiAnn Mills

www.diannmills.com

A Woman Called Sage, Zondervan April 2010

St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching and I can already smell the corn-beef and cabbage–a St.Patrick’s Day must in our house. My hubby is half Irish, though with his fair skin and orange beard, he looks more like a giant leprechaun (he really hates it when I call him that *g*). I have always found it interesting that the four-leaf clover is a symbol synonymous for this Irish holiday.  While the four-leaf clover is certainly a universal symbol for good luck, the true Irish clover, aka, the Shamrock, is a THREE-leaf clover. St. Patrick himself chose the shamrock specifically because of the three leaves, using the clover as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. I came across a Celtic gift site that had a some great facts on both shamrocks and four-leaf clovers.

The Shamrock: a 3-Leaf Clover, is Ireland’s most recognized National Symbol.

• In the 5th century when St. Patrick came to convert the Irish information on Christianity could only be spread across the realm from one storyteller, or seanchaí, pronounced shan-a-key to the other.
• In mind of this St. Patrick used to the Shamrock to explain the concept of the holy trinity – that God was composed of three entities – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – yet each entity was part of the other just like the shamrock has three leaves but a single stem.
• As St. Patrick continued to use the Shamrock in his conversion of the irish it grew, through story telling to be seen as a holy plant, just as he was seen as a holy man.
• It is for this reason that the Shamrock is worn on the St. Patrick’s day and all other special occasions to celebrate his work and to bring ‘a bit o’luck’ to the Irish and all their children wherever they may be.
• Before the arrival of the Christians to Ireland the plant was sacred to the Irish Druids because the three leaves formed a triad.
• The word shamrock comes from the Irish word seamróg or seamair óg, meaning “little clover”.
• The tradition of wearing Shamrock on Saint Patrick’s Day can be traced back to the early 1700s.
• For good luck, it’s usually included in the bouquet of an Irish bride, and also in the boutonniere of the groom.
• In the 19th century it became a symbol of rebellion and began to be strongly associated with Irish identity. Apparently anyone wearing it risked death by hanging. People even ate the shamrock in times of famine.

4-Leaf Clover and Luck:

• Druids held the 4 leaf clover in high esteem and considered them a sign of luck. In 1620, Sir John Melton wrote: “If a man walking in the fields find any four-leaved grass, he shall in a small while after find some good thing.
• According to Irish folklore, finding a stem of clover with 4 leaves will bring you good luck, but finding a clover stem with more than 4 leaves will not bring you even more luck.
• The mystique of the four leaf clover continues today, since finding a real four leaf clover is still a rare occurrence and omen of good luck.
• One leaf is for HOPE… The second for FAITH…The third for LOVE… And the fourth for LUCK!

As I kid, I spent a ton of time searching those clover patches in the grass for the elusive four-leaf clover. Being a person who believes you can’t have too much good luck, those lucky 3-leaf clovers can come in real handy!

So how about the rest of y’all? Ever found a four-leaf clover in those three-leaf clover patches? Any special St. Patrick’s Day traditions in your house?

Hello Darlings,

Saturday’s a coming and it’s bringing Miss DiAnn Mills back. Woo-Hoo!

Miss DiAnn sets great store by writing books that grip a reader’s heart. It’s fair to say she has immense talent. The dear lady’s stories are chockfull of hope, faith, and love. She does know a thing or two about spinning a good yarn or my name’s not Felicia Filly.

We’re inviting all of you to join us on Saturday and help welcome Miss DiAnn back to the Junction. She’ll tell us about the joys of writing historical suspense.

So don’t trust that rooster to crow and wake you up. Set your alarms and get a move on.

We’ll have lots of chatting to do!