Think about it.  When was the last time you saw  a romance hero with a beard?  Even in western historicals, set mostly in the late 1800’s when facial hair was in fashion, our heroes tend to be clean shaven.   Hmmm.  It’s got me wondering.

In America, prior to the mid-nineteenth century, beards and moustaches were rare.  Except for frontier types, certain religious groups and a few nonconformists, men shaved away their whiskers to look presentable.  Then, around the time of the Civil War, the fashion changed.  Men all over the country took to a garden variety of moustaches, long sideburns and full beards.  What did the women think of that?  I’m guessing nobody asked them.  

In the late 1800’s heyday of the Old West, the rage was moustaches.  Big ones.  Look at old photos of, say, Wyatt Earp and his cohorts.  They all sported drooping, handlebar moustaches.  Even so, books set in this period, including mine, tend to feature clean shaven heroes.

Facial hair went out of fashion at the beginning of World War I.  Soldiers needed clean shaven faces so their gas masks would seal tightly.  Also, excessive hair on face or head posed a risk for head lice and worse.  Recruits were shaved and shorn, and the style clicked.  With the invention of the safety razor about this time, clean cut remained the style for decades.  Beards didn’t show up again until the 1960’s and 70’s when beatniks and hippies brought them back.  These days a well trimmed beard or moustache is perfectly acceptable.  But when was the last time you saw one on a romance cover?

Long hair—now that’s another thing.  Long haired heroes have their own brand of sizzle.  Remember Fabio with his leonine mane and million dollar face?  But aside from mountain men and Native Americans you don’t see many photos of long-haired men in the Old West—chin length for want of cutting maybe, but not really long.  Wild Bill Hickock and Buffalo Bill were notable exceptions, but for most western men, I’m guessing long hair would have been hot and hard to keep clean, as well as unfashionable.

Which brings us to the other kind of hair.  Body hair was never a fashion issue.  But women tend to love it or hate it.  And I have yet to see a really hairy romance hero (except for Sam here, who inspired this blog). 

So what about future heroes?  Speaking for myself, after wiping the drool off my TV screen at the end of “Dancing With the Stars,”  I’m ready for (ta daaa) the Hairless Hero! 

What do you think?  Do you like hairy heroes?  Would you buy a book with a bearded hero on the cover?  How about the man in your own life?

Hi darlings, I have some announcements. First off, the Fillies are still trying to get back to normal after that ice cream social we had Sunday. My word, that pack of sexy cowboys sure got us hot and bothered! You should’ve seen how furiously we were fanning ourselves. While we’re cooling down, we’re getting ready for Miss Kate Bridges. She’ll be riding into town Saturday and talking about her new book, Klondike Fever. The dear lady will be giving away two copies of that book in addition to two copies of her Western Weddings. You don’t want to miss a chance at those books so mark your calendar and come join us. We’ll have fun. I promise.

But, I’m not done yet. No, ma’am. Also up for Saturday is an author who comes all the way across the pond from Australia. Miss Heather Garside will put in an appearance to talk about those hunky Australian cowboys in her Australian Outback novels, The Hidden Legacy and The Cornstalk. Make your plans to head over.

Miss Kate and Miss Heather will be kicking off our big Spring Author Round-Up week. The Fillies are taking a vacation. Yippee and hallelujah! For seven days we’ll have a line-up of guest authors and prizes the like of which you’ve never seen. I’ll announce the full list again on Sunday in case you missed it last week. For now, get your bonnet set for Miss Kate Bridges and Miss Heather Garside. 

Before I go, I want to remind you to register for our Stetsons and Spurs Contest. The Fillies are giving away a whole pantry full of goodies to one lucky person! Get your rears over there and put your name in the pot. This is a chance too good to miss.

Good Morning!

Wireless Com in the 1700-1800′s?  Am I crazy?   Now, while it’s true that I’m under a terrific deadline right now (75 more pages or thereabouts to write in a week), but hopefully I’m not crazy yet.  The above statement is true, however, if a little bit overstated.  Long ago, American Indians had a very efficient and wireless manner in which to communicate.  Would you like to have a look at how it was done?  Hopefully by the time you read this post, you’ll be able to “talk” in the same way.

Long ago the American Indian needed a way in which to communicate at long distances.  Alerts needed to be sent, messages about where was the game, enemies seen, etc.  These all needed to be communicated in an efficient manner.   How was it done?  Let’s have a look.  The most common methods in use were with blanket signals, smoke and mirrors.  There was also an entire system in use called marking a trail so that others who knew the signals could follow your trail.  You could also tell where the game was, or where the enemy was, how many there were, where they were located, as well as where you had gone and when and many, many other thing.  In the woods this was done by marking trees.  On the prairie it was done with piling up stones into certain images.

A blanket rolled up tightly or clothing rolled up was used when people were within sight of you.  If you stand with the arms outstretched so as to form the letter “T”, that is a danger signal.  If the person so signaling runs back and forth, it is the sign that the danger is approaching and if in addition to this the blanket is thrown horizontally, it means a rescue must be done.  If game has been sighted, the scout runs back and forth — and means it’s a small herd.  If the scout runs around in a circle, thowing his blanket in the air, it means it is a large herd.  If a scout were to run to and fro with the blanket trailing behind him, it meant bad news coming.  If the blanket were held over the head, it meant something important was coming from a distance.

Anyone who’s watched old Westerns knows about smoke signals.  These carried over very long distances and the codes varied depending on the tribe.  (You wouldn’t want your enemy knowing your own special code.)  These were often used by war parties, announcing their news, giving their news — how many scalps or horses taken, etc.  A drum was another devise used within the community.  And when the white man came, the mirror became a tool for long distance communication.  One long flash is the signal for attention, and as soon as you receive an answer back, you then transmit your message.  One short flash means that game is in sight.  Two short flashese means the enemy is in sight.  Two short flashes followed by one long one is a call for rescue.  Two short flashes and one long followed by two more short flashes means the danger is over.  Four short flashes means a metting with a stranger or new from a distance.

But what about meeting another tribe.   Don’t you love this picture?  There were so many different languages in use in America, how did the tribes communicate with each other?   This is where we come into one of my favorite subjects.  In fact, in my very first book, LAKOTA SURRENDER, both heroine and hero communicate with the language of gestures.  Okay, so how was it done?  First a few rules:  Adjectives follow nouns, conjunctions and prepositions are omitted, and verbs are used in the present tense only.  Intricate communicates were carried on in this fashion, but here’s a few to get you started.

Attention or Question:  Hold right hand, palm outward, fingers and thumb separated, well out in front of boddy at height of shoulder.  Some tribes rotated the hand.  This is used to begin conversations.

I understand:  Throw right forearm out in front of body with fingers closed, except index finger, which is curved and drawn back.  This indicates that you grasp and draw something toward you, and is used occasionally while another is talking.  If you don’t understand, use the Question sign.

I:  Touch breast with index finger of right hand.

You:  Point to whomever you are talking to.

Glad:  (Sunshine in heart).  Place compressed right hand, fingers slightly curved, over region of heart; bring left hand, palm downward, in sweeping curve to left of body, at the same time turning it palm upward, as if turning up or unfolding something.  The expression of the face should correspond.

Love:  Corss both arms over bosom.

Good:  (Level with heart.)  Hold extended right hand, back up, close to region of heart; move briskly forward and to right.

Bad:  (Throw away.)  Hold one of both hands, closed, in front of body, backs upward; open with a snap at the same time moving them outward and downward.

Sad:  Place the closed fist against the heart.  Appropriate facial expression.

Surprised:  Cover mouth with palm of right hand, open eyes widely, and move head slightly backward.

Angry:  (Mind twisted.)  Place closed right fist against forehead and twist from right to left.

House: Interlock fingers of both hands, holding them at right angles.

Sleep:  Incline head to right and rest cheek on right palm.  For going into camp, or to indicate the length of a journey, make sign for Sleep and hold up as many fingers as nights were spent on the way.

Woman:  (Long hair.)  Bring both palms down sides of head, shoulders, and bosom, with sweeping gesture.

Man:  Hold right hand closed except for the index finger.  Hold index finger up about stomach level with an upward sweep.  (I’ll let you determine what this one means.)  : )

Beautiful:  Hold palms up like mirror in front of face; make sign for Good.

Liar:  (Forked tongue.)  Bring separated first and second fingers of right hand close to lips.

It is finished:  Bring closed hands in front of body, thumbs up, second joints touching; then separate.  This sign ends a speech or conversation.

 Okay, are you ready?  Make the sign for “I love you.”  Got it?  Okay.  Now make the sign for “I am sleepy.”  And how about “You are beautiful.”  Or how about “I love my man.”  or “I love my woman.”  Can you make the sign for “I’m sleepy?”  Or how about “It’s in the house.”  Alright, here’s an easy one.  Make the sign for good, and at the same time say either “Waste’” (Lakota for good) or Soka-pii (Blackfeet for good).  Or how about “You have surprised me.”

Like I said, long intricate conversations could be carried on in this manner and often the hand signals would be so fast and so appreviated, that only he or she fully trained in the use of them could follow.

Again this is a favorite subject of mine.  Now let me take a moment to remind you again that my latest book, THE LAST WARRIOR, is one the shelves.  Please, if you don’t already have a copy, go out and pick up a copy of the book today.  So come on into the forum section (just click on comments) and let me know what you think of the Native American Wireless Communication.   See you again in a couple of weeks!

NOTE: I used Charles A. Eastman’s book INDIAN SCOUT CRAFT AND LORE for this information.

Holy sheep shanks.  How the heck do I follow a cowboy contest like that?  No matter what I blog about today, it’s bound to be a letdown.  Guess I’ll have to try my best.

Today I’m going to blog about the wild, wild west and the weather.

For those of you who live in the Southwest, can you imagine what it was like to live in the BAC ages?  (That’s before air conditioning.)

I’m thinking about the weather because it’s springtime in Texas, so a girl’s thoughts naturally turn to…tornados.  (That’s not what you expected me to say, is it?)

We had tornados in town a couple days ago.  The sirens went off.  The dh took me and the dog to the bathroom beneath the stairs.  The hail pounded.  No freight train this time.  Thank goodness.   

I’ve lived through two tornados in my life.  The first one was the big Wichita Falls tornado in 1979 that killed over 50 people.  Half a block down from my house, everything was leveled.  I’d lived there all my life and not a single landmark remained–I honestly didn’t know where I was when I drove down the street.  The second tornado hit downtown Ft. Worth a few years ago.  Technology was more advanced.  The TV announcer said what time the tornado was hitting each part of the city. 

I grabbed my kids–I had little ones then–and went to an interior closet.  We were prepared–until lightning struck the house and the fire alarm went off.  On the radio, the guy was saying the tornado was headed right for me.  Above me, I could hear crackling and I smelled smoke.  My decision was…do I stay in the closet and burn up or head outside and blow away?

Not the easiest decision I’d ever made.  We went to the coat closet beside the front door.  The tornado took off roofs at the end of my block, but missed us.  The fire was contained in the attic.   Exciting times.

I can’t help but wonder how people in Tornado Alley dealt with storms back before doplar radar and weather radio.  It scares me to death when I know what’s going on.  Imagine what it must have been like to see or hear a tornado come roaring down the prairie.  It gives me the shivers just to think about.  (Speaking of shivers….)

I’ve used tornados in books a number of times.  The H&H in my third book, TEMPTING MORALITY, had to deal with a tornado.  My May title, THE LONER, has a nifty tornado scene.  Like they say…write what you know.

 A good blogger would include the photo of a real wicked tornado right here to illustrate the point.  But since I’m following that cowboy contest…

There are torndos…but then there’s Mother Nature….

Darlings, the time is drawing closer and we have a full list of authors for our Spring Author Round-Up that runs from April 28th to May 2nd. Hallelujah! I can hardly wait. The list is quite impressive and ah know you’ll not want to get left behind in the wagon tracks. Besides, the authors are very generous. We have more prizes than you can shake a stick at. I have a list of them below. They’re still coming in and I’ve run out of places to stack ‘em!

Saturday, April 26th — Kate Bridges 

Monday, April 28th — Debra Clopton and Linda Ford

Tuesday, April 29th — Geralyn Dawson and Charlotte Hubbard

Wednesday, April 30th — Susan May Warren, Janette Kenny, and Carol Ann Didier

Thursday, May 1st — Beth Ciotta and Tanya Hanson

Friday, May 2nd — Kathryn Albright and Joyce Henderson

Saturday, May 3rd — Vicki Bylin

* * * * * *

Prizes:

Kate Bridges — 2 copies of “Klondike Fever” and 2 copies of “Western Weddings” 

Beth Ciotta — “Lasso The Moon,” “Romancing the West,” and a customized Wild West messenger bag (Wow!)

Susan May Warren — a $50 gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret (another wow!)

Tanya Hanson — “Midnight Bride” and a pair of cowboy hat earrings, and a Starbucks or Coffee Bean gift card

Linda Ford — “The Road to Love”

Vicki Bylin — two copies of “The Bounty Hunter’s Bride”

Debbie Clopton — “Her Baby Dreams”

Charlotte Hubbard — choice of two copies of “Gabriel’s Lady” or “A Patchwork Family”

Kathryn Albright — “The Angel and the Outlaw” and a fancy note card

Joyce Henderson — “Walks in Shadow”

Janette Kenny — “One Real Man”

Carol Annn Didier — “Apache Warrior”

Geralyn Dawson — a set of the Bad Luck Brides trilogy

* * * * * *

So there you have it. Romance is in the air here at Wildflower Junction. Mark your calendars. All you have to do is show up. We won’t even ask you to wash any windows!

P&P Cowboy King “Dylan” is calling our Ice Cream Social Prize Winners ~ “CONGRATULATIONS!”

Colleen – 5 Harlequin Western Romances

Wendy – Hardback copy of “Give Me a Texan”

Rebekah – “Maverick Wild” and gunslinger bookmark

Andrea W. – Book from Charlene Sands’s backlist and P&P hand fan

Zaharoula (Za) – “Petticoat Ranch” and P&P hand fan

Janet R. – Book from Elizabeth Lane’s backlist

Melissa D. – Choice of one of Patricia Potter’s westerns

Virginia H. - P&P Hand Fan

Marlene - P&P Hand Fan

Lizzie Starr - P&P Hand Fan

Estella - P&P Hand Fan

Susan Pertierra - P&P Hand Fan

***Please email your mailing address to stacey@staceykayne.com and I’ll forward it to the appropriate Filly!

THANK YOU to all of our Ice Cream  Social attendees!  We hope you enjoyed the tasty treats 

             12 Votes

          7 Votes

        4 Votes

      5 Votes

     6 Votes

             7 Votes

Complete Prize list:

5 Harlequin Western Romances to one lucky person

Hardback copy of “Give Me a Texan”

“Maverick Wild” and gunslinger beaded bookmark

Book from Charlene Sands’s backlist and P&P hand fan

“Petticoat Ranch” and P&P hand fan

Book from Elizabeth Lane’s backlist

Choice of one of Patricia Potter’s westerns

5 Petticoats and Pistols Hand Fans

WINNERS WILL BE DRAWN AT 7:00 EASTERN STANDARD TIME!!!

All right ladies, get you come chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry ice cream. Pull up a chair and be social. Only don’t get too close to these sexy men or they’ll melt your ice cream quicker than cellophane under a heat lamp! We’ve sure got us a passel of lookers and that’s no joke. We want you to vote on your pick for best cowboy. Take your time. One thing about it, you don’t want to get in a rush and get all flustered. Hee-hee. Don’t rightly know when I’ve seen such a bunch of handsome men in one place. I will say I guarantee you’ll probably leave here all hot and bothered. This ice cream won’t cool you for long. Might oughta have a second helping.

The cowboys are below. Cast your vote to get your name entered in the drawing. The prizes include a hardback copy of “Give Me a Texan,” a bundle of Harlequin western romances, a copy of “Maverick Wild” with a gunslinger beaded bookmark, and some hand fans that feature a handsome devil on the front.

So, go on now. Go vote. Do us Fillies proud.

DYLAN

CONNOR

Reminding everyone about Wildflower Junction’s Ice Cream Social here tomorrow. What’s better than indulging in a sweet confection, socializing, and voting on the sexiest cowboy? Nothing’s better, that’s what. Felicia’s not so old she minds looking at a pretty face and lots of muscles. Shoot, I’m a fair judge of these things! I know handsome when I see it.  And I do love creamy luscious chocolate ice cream. Come by and join the Fillies for a little social occasion. It’s gonna be the place where things are happening. We just have one hard and fast rule – if you drool all over the place you have to clean it up!

New Prize List: 5 Harlequin western romances to one lucky winner; a hardback copy of “Give Me a Texan;” a copy of “Maverick Wild” and a gunslinger beaded bookmark; a copy of “Petticoat Ranch” and a P&P handfan; your choice of a book from Charlene Sands’s backlist and a P&P handfan; and 5 winners will get P&P hand fans with a luscious cowboy on the front.

And there may be more prizes added at the last minute so come and check out these cowboy hunks. Their boots are polished, their muscles are flexed, and the glint in their eye is just for you! Lord have mercy on a poor woman!