Yippee! The names were shuffled and we have a winner!

Congratulations to…….

Anon1001

Please contact Phyliss at phylissmiranda@aol.com . Give her your mailing address and she’ll get the set of anthologies right to you.

Thanks to all who came and made Phyliss’s weekend one to be remembered. We had lots of fun.

In 1852, celebrated Chicago hero and former Deputy Sheriff, Allan Pinkerton, founded the first detective agency in the United States. Hated and feared by criminals, the Pinkerton Agency eventually became known as the “Pinks,” enjoying a colorful history, which included averting a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln on the way to his inauguration.

During the Civil War, Pinkerton had a flourishing career as head of the American Secret Service. Adamantly opposed to slavery, he worked for the Union Army to trap southern spies. With his law enforcement agency, he garnered great success. His slogan “We Never Sleep” was painted on his door, along with a huge, black and white eye, resulting in the origin of the term “private eye”.

Said to have a third sense, Allan Pinkerton had an uncanny ability to identify guilty parties long before police investigators came up with a suspect. Although some thought he had mystic powers, he proclaimed it nothing but experience because he researched the habits and practices of not only specific criminals on the lam, but of the criminal mind in general.

By the late 1860’s his sons, William and Robert, joined him and opened branch offices in several cities. Predecessors to the modern day FBI, the agency focused on swindlers, confidence men, and other no-gooders plaguing the big cities and little towns of America. Their field agents clipped newspaper articles and pictures, organizing them in categories. By the 1870’s, they had the largest collection of mug shots in the world and became a data base of criminal activity, leading to the FBI identification system used today.

As the New Frontier spread west, so did the “Pinks”, chasing outlaws like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and “Black Jack” Ketcham, but it was the infamous outlaw Jesse James who, for a short time, created scandal and bad publicity for Pinkerton.

Until 1875, the agency held a stellar reputation that even some outlaws admired. But not the James brothers; Jesse, in particular, had an intense dislike for Allan Pinkerton. For years, the renegade managed to outwit the lawman. “Old Man Allan” knew if he continued widening his network of men hunting Jesse and kept pressure on him, the cocky, wanted man would eventually panic and do something stupid.

On January 5th, two members of the James family were innocently attacked by a Pinkerton-led posse. Believing Jesse was hiding inside, the men surrounded a cabin near Kearney, Missouri. When he didn’t surrender, an iron torch was tossed inside. Jesse James’ mother was maimed and his handicapped stepbrother killed.

At this point, fact and fiction collide. Some scholars believe this sparked Jesse James’ path of retaliation, taking him to Chicago for only one reason…to kill Allan Pinkerton. As the story goes, for weeks the outlaw roamed the city’s streets with a loaded gun. Inside was a bullet with the name “Pinkerton” on it. But the famous detective never knew James was in town. Being frustrated and unable to get Pinkerton at the right time and right place, James returned home. This tale has never been substantiated.

For certain, the incident involving James’ family strengthened the outlaw’s position of being viewed by some as a modern-day Robin Hood fighting the wealthy Yankee bankers and rail men tooth and toenail. Well into the 1870’s many Missourians were still riled that, in their opinion, the North had won the war. The “Pinks” were considered the tools of the tycoons. The atrocities against the gang’s family only fueled support for them. Allan Pinkerton staunchly denied that one of his agents tossed the torch and patiently waited his turn to take Jesse into custody.

As history would have it, the gang eventually got overconfident, made mistakes, and lead by Jesse ventured from their beloved south to hold up a bank in Northfield, Minnesota. They found a less sympathetic public, meeting with savage resistance. Because the Pinkertons had sent information in advance that the James Gang, which by then included three of the renegade Younger brothers, was heading north, the town’s citizens were prepared. Caught in a hellish barrage of bullets, the outlaw band withered. Several of the gang were captured. Wounded and bloody, Jesse and Frank escaped, but it was the beginning of the end for them.

On April 3, 1882, after another robbery and with a bounty on his head, one of Jesse’s own gang shot him. Two years, after writing eighteen books, Allan Pinkerton died in his Chicago mansion.

I’ve been asked why I decided my hero in “Ropin’ the Wind” would be a Pinkerton Agent. I wanted a different kind of law enforcer. When you read a western historical romance you are pretty much guaranteed there will be somewhere a mystical, reputable Texas Ranger or a tough-as-leather-strop sheriff. You expect one, just like horses and sagebrush. I wanted someone unique; thus, out of my imagination and research surfaced a citified, undercover Pinkerton Agent with a Texas background. It was so much fun to once again partner with one of the founding fillies of Petticoats and Pistols, Linda Broday, along with Jodi Thomas and DeWanna Pace to write an all new anthology, “Give Me a Cowboy.”

This is an ad that Kensington put into the latest issue of Romantic Times magazine for both anthologies.

I have to admit a Texas Ranger turns my head, even a modern day one. That’s why I cast my “Pink’s” Achilles ‘ heel a rebel-rousing, retired Texas Ranger. There’s just something about a fearless Ranger that ladies love, but I was sure happy how different my hero, Morgan Payne, turned out in “Give Me a Cowboy”.

What kind of cowboy turns your head and wiggles into your heart?

I’ll be giving away an autographed set of our anthologies, “Give Me A Texan” and “Give Me A Cowboy” to a winner drawn from all the comments, so please come on in and join us!   

To learn more about Phyliss, visit her website:  www.PhylissMiranda.com

Order from Amazon!   

The lovely and talented Miss Phyliss Miranda will be our honored guest this weekend.

The Fillies are proud as all get-out to have her return to the Junction. We certainly enjoyed her last visit and still remember the stubborn mules the dear lady brought with her. Glad she’s left them at home this time.

Miss Phyliss will entertain us with tales of the Pinkerton Detective Agency and the outlaw Jesse James. Ah know you won’t want to miss it. Ah’m lookin’ forward to it myself. We’ll have a grand time.

She’s also come toting a set of the anthologies for one lucky person. I’ll bet my hat you want that to be you.

Be here Saturday. Sit down and stay a spell. Enjoy a cup of my special punch. Hee-hee!

I just finished the final proof edits on my very first novella COURTED BY THE COWBOY- to celebrate I bought a book!  Lately I haven’t gotten to do much reading outside of my own work and massive amounts of research books and while in the drugstore this week I snagged a copy of Elizabeth Lowell’s latest romantic suspense SHADOW AND SILK.  In light of this stupendous occasion, I thought it would be fun to do a “What are you reading?” check in. 

So, what are you reading?  If you have the book handy, crack it open and share a line, the first line that grabs your eye!   Here’s a snippet from SHADOW AND SILK:

Forgetting time, forgetting herself, forgetting everything but the knowledge massed in the room, Dani wandered among the bookcases.

She sounds like a kindred spirit 

I’m a huge Lowell fan, she sucked me in with her ONLY series and though she’s no longer writing westerns (serious pout), her RS books don’t disappoint when it comes to hot, rugged heroes and savvy heroines – lots of action and grit—so much so that this one had me peeking through one eye in a few parts *g*, but all in all, a great read.

Where do you keep books-in-progress: desk, coffee table, countertop, nightstand?  I’m an all-at-once kind of reader—I have no patience—so while I just started this book, I also just finished it. It either goes from my hands to the keeper shelf or my hands to my mom.  I might have to occasionally tuck said book under my arm to prepare a meal or run an errand, but generally, I’m clutching the spine until it’s finished. Likely why I don’t often get to read for pure pleasure. My mom is a huge romance reader, as a stroll around her house would prove.  She will have three or four books going at once. One on the coffee table, one on her nightstand, one in the kitchen and one in her purse!  She ALWAYS has a book handy

What book don’t you have that you’d like to be reading? I’m anxiously awaiting our own Linda Broday’s next book (February!) and I have yet to buy Dorothy Garlock’s new western, Leaving Whiskey Bend –she’s one of my original favorite western authors—Sins of Summer  being my all-time favorite of hers. I was thrilled to see she had a new western out.  Another that keeps eluding my cart is CL Wilson’s King of Sword and Sky (Tairen Soul) – I loved the first two books in her fantasy Series.

Wishing you hours of uninterrupted reading and a Happy National Pie Day!  Books and pie, what could be better?!

Now here’s a holiday I can sink my teeth into!

Pies have been around at least since the ancient Egyptians. They filled their pies with things like honey, fruit and nuts. The ancient Greeks enjoyed pie in Egypt and took the recipes home with them, then surrendered the recipes to the Romans, who thought so much of pie as to make offerings of pie to their deities.

Pie was destined to catch on, but it sure hasn’t always been the coconut cream, cinnamon apple or French silk we know and love today.

Originally, pies were simply cooking and serving container fashioned from dough for holding ingredients, like all types of meat and fowl, and their juices. Without a top crust they were called coffins, and those with no crust were traps. Large short-sided pies are tarts and small pies are tartlets. When someone made a pie of some type of bird, he or she would leave the legs of the bird outside the edge of the pie and then used the legs for handles.

Those crusts were often too hard to be eaten and some of the recipes called for making ’bulletproof’ dough. These pies were often much larger than we imagine and used for entertainment purposes as well as eating.

Remember the nursery song “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie” and “When the pie was opened the birds began to sing?” That is literally what they did—placed live birds, frogs and other small creatures, even dwarves and sometimes a small orchestra—inside the pie. Of course the top and bottom crusts were baked or “petrified” separately, the ingredients placed inside and then the top ‘soldered’ on, so they weren’t actually baking the live ingredients. During the meal, the pie was served and the entertainment emerged to enliven royal feasts. Wild, huh?

Pies made their way to England and later America. The colonial settlers came up with cottage and shepherds pie. From the American natives, the pilgrims learned about fruits and berries. Women at that time conserved their rations by making round pies and shallow pies. During the1700s, pies gained popularity in many homes, picnics and fairs.

Pies have been adapted to fit into every culture. Today we have chicken potpies, fruit and nut pies, mince pies, pumpkin and squash pies, as well as cream pies and ingredients like custards and creams and meringues. Most families enjoy pie traditions and pass down recipes. There is hardly a home or restaurant in the US that doesn’t serve pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

Why all this talk about pie? Well, tomorrow, January 23^rd is National Pie Day, and I didn’t want you to be caught off guard. You might have the ingredients on hand, but if not, pick up something to whip together your favorite pie. I doubt you’ll serve a blackbird or a frog tomorrow, but what is your family’s favorite pie?

The Fillies would be plum grateful if you shared your favorite pie recipes with us!

Here’s an idea to get you started:

Nothing Better Than Pie

Crust:
1/4 cup butter, melted
15 to 18 Keebler Pecan Shortbread Sandies cookies, finely crushed

Stir butter into finely crushed cookies with fork. Press into a 9-inch pie pan; freeze to firm.

First layer:

2 cups Cool Whip
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon sugar

With electric mixer, beat all ingredients together until blended; spread onto crust and return to freezer.

Second layer:

2 cups Cool Whip
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter

Beat Cool Whip, sugar and cream cheese together until blended. Mix in peanut butter and spread on top of pie; return to freezer.

Third layer:

2 cups Cool Whip, plus extra for topping.
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 ounces German sweet chocolate baking squares, melted

Beat Cool Whip, sugar and cream cheese together until blended. Beat in melted chocolate. Spread on top of pie and return to freezer.

Before serving, top with more Cool Whip.

The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy

Hello Darlings,

Miss Phyliss Miranda will step off the stage here in Wildflower Junction on Saturday.

She’s been here before and it’s always a joy to have her visit. Miss Phyliss is going to share tidbits about the Pinkerton Detective Agency and the outlaw Jesse James. I’m going to grab a front row seat because I’m hankering to know more about this interestin’ subject.

Miss Phyliss is also raring to talk about her brand new anthology Give Me a Cowboy! I sure wish to heaven that someone would give me one. I’d durn sure take him! The hot cowboy on this cover would be just fine. He sure has a nice lookin’ back! Makes it plumb  hard for me to catch my breath. Lord have mercy!

If you want a chance to win a set of the anthologies, just shake your bustle. Be here Saturday. We’ll be lookin’ for you, you hear!

Writing a book is hard work.  It’s stressful for a whole wagonload of reasons.  It’s time-consuming and scary.   And it may–or may not–be particularly profitable.  Throughout the whole months-long process, we writers will bang our heads, chew our nails and agonize over every character, plot point and word choice until at last!  We type “The End” and send the whole thing to our editor.

But it’s all worth it when we get our covers.

Most of the time.

Covers are the icing on the cake for us.  They’re the final step in the process–the one thing that makes our book a real BOOK.   They’re the reason why many of us write in the first place–beyond telling the stories we’re compelled to tell–seeing our name in bold, colorful print and knowing the rest of the world will see our name, too. 

But waiting for that first glimpse often takes several months.  Sometimes we have input, sometimes we don’t.   Sometimes we’re blessed with great art departments–or not.  Sometimes the models on the cover are just who we picture how our characters should look, and sometimes—-well, you get the idea.

Despite all this, getting the cover is THE most exciting thing about the book for me.  I get my covers in jpg format, and when I find that email in my Inbox, my heart beats a little faster, and my finger hovers over the mouse for a sweetly agonizing moment while my brain worries … will I like it, or won’t I?

Covers are often hotly debated, sometimes collected, autographed and always promoted.  They usually have a story or two behind them.  Here’s a few of mine:

I just had to include  my very first cover in today’s blog.  It’s so darn special for that very reason.  My first four books were released by Dorchester Publishing and their Leisure books line.  We must not have had jpg’s back then, because the Production Assistant was kind enough to print me a color copy and mail it to me.  I still remember standing in my kitchen with my jaw hanging down to the floor.  I didn’t know that’s what the envelope held, and the surprise–and awe–at seeing my precious first cover will always stay with me.  I didn’t put that paper down for 3 days.

I’ve always loved the model.  He’s so-o hunky and more mature than most.  The look is romantic, and the heroine is realistic and beautifully coy.  My one complaint?  Her gown looks like a negligee–and not a dress a woman at the time would’ve worn.

My third book with Leisure was HANNAH’S VOW.  The same production assistant from above was a huge Titanic fan.  When someone from the Art Department happened to stroll through her office, she noticed a photo of Jack and Rose tacked on the assistant’s bulletin board.  She pointed to the picture and said–”I want a cover just like that for a book I have coming up.”

Here’s what I got.  Cool, eh?

Now, for those of you who think that every author’s book gets oodles of special attention, or that an entire department slaves away for untold hours making each cover just perfect, well, think again. In an ideal world, I suppose, but the reality is that some covers get–ahem–recycled.

In this age of computer graphics, it’s easy to do, and it saves the publisher piles of money. For the author, however, it’s a bit disconcerting to see that a cover she sees and loves as her own has been used for another book.

Case in point:

My Spring Brides anthology came out in June, 2005.   You can’t see it well here, but there’s a horse and buggy parked next to the church.  And of course, the chair with the hat and wedding dress in front.

This was inside the front cover.  Same church, but no horse and buggy, and of course, the chair was gone, too.  I really liked the black and white shot of the bride walking toward the church.  It fit well with the whole book.

When the book came out in the United Kingdom in May, 2006, they used the inside cover from the first book, but in color.  Note that the sky is lighter than the North American version, and so is the grass, but the church is distinctively the same.

Imagine my surprise in February, 2008, when I found Jillian Hart’s cover was an exact match.  Hers was the second book to launch the Love Inspired Historical line, and she got tons of promo.  I suspect the cover will be laid to rest for awhile.

Below is the front and back of THE MERCENARY’S KISS, my very first book with Harlequin Historicals.  I call it my infamous sausage pizza cover, and I’ll let you figure out why, but I’m told the model on the front was hugely popular with the readers, even voted Number One on eharlequin the year before the book came out.  

I did find it strange that on the back of the cover they used a different model.  Perhaps a cost-saving measure.  Note that they’re both wearing the same shirt and vest, but the one on the back is older and more rugged.  One of my favorites.

He’s such a cutie, I’m glad they gave him his own cover on my UK and Italian versions.

Now this one had me scratching my head bigtime.  This is the cover to HER LONE PROTECTOR.  I fell in love with this guy from the get-go, and so did virtually all my readers.

This is UNTAMED COWBOY.

When HER LONE PROTECTOR came out in the UK, this is the cover they gave me:

They put the cover for UNTAMED COWBOY on HER LONE PROTECTOR.  Why they didn’t use my gorgeous cowboy from the North American version of HER LONE PROTECTOR is beyond me.  I was um, dismayed, because not only were the covers switched, the cover had absolutely nothing to do with the story.  Nothing, nothing.  I was sure someone goofed since I’ve always been given my North American covers on foreign editions, but when my agent inquired, she was assured the cover chosen was a calculated decision to give the book a western look and feel. 

Now, on to the Grand Unveiling . . . drum roll, please!

My next book will be out in May, and I’m so-o ready.  I just received the cover art for THE CATTLEMAN’S UNSUITABLE WIFE.  Yee-Haw!  My editor and I are both very pleased.   The model is a little older, not quite so clean-cut.  Even better, THE CATTLEMAN’S UNSUITABLE WIFE will be Harlequin Historical’s spotlight western for Harlequin’s 60th Anniversary.  Stay tuned for more!

You like?

THE CATTLEMAN’S UNSUITABLE WIFE is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Let’s talk covers, my friends.  Those of you who are pubbed, have any cover stories to share?

Does cover mistakes bother you?  Do you even notice?  Or care?

Have you noticed any recycled covers lately?

History is being made today. Our country has elected the first black president and he takes office on this memorable day.

Barack Obama will become our 44th president of the United States. His name will forever be set in history books.

Over the course of time, there have been quite a few presidential firsts. Here are just a few:

• The very first inauguration was George Washington’s and was held on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City.  
• 1st to be sworn in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. was Thomas Jefferson  
• 1st president to march down Pennsylvania Avenue following inauguration – T. Jefferson 
• 1st inauguration to be photographed – James Buchanan
• 1st to be recorded with a motion picture camera – William McKinley 
• 1st to be broadcast nationally by radio – Calvin Coolidge 
• 1st to be televised – Harry Truman 
• 1st and only president to be sworn in aboard Air Force One – Lyndon Johnson
• 1st to be broadcast live on the Internet – Bill Clinton

The shortest speech (a mere 135 words) was delivered by George Washington at his second inauguration.

The longest speech (at 8,445 words) was by William Harrison in 1841. It lasted 2 hours and was given in freezing weather. Harrison wore no coat, hat, or gloves. He took ill shortly after with pneumonia and died a month later. His was the shortest presidency on record, by the way.

Ulysses S. Grant’s 1873 inaugural was the coldest on record when inauguration was held in March instead of January. The morning temperature was 4 degrees F. with a wind chill of -30 degrees F. The wind blew at 40 mph and froze band instruments. The temperature stands to this day as being the coldest on record for Washington D.C.

Ronald Reagan holds the distinction of being both the coldest for January and also the warmest. His 1981 inauguration was warmest at 55 degrees F. His 1985 inauguration was the coldest for January 20th at 7 degrees with a wind chill of -20 degrees F. It was so cold his public swearing in ceremony had to be moved indoors to the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol and there was no customary march down Pennsylvania Avenue.

At George W. Bush’s 2001 inauguration, he asked to use the Masonic Bible that George Washington used. The Bible was transported under guard from New York to Washington D.C. but the rainy cold weather prevented him from using it. A family Bible was substituted instead.

Following the tradition of several other presidents, Barack Obama rode into Washington D.C. on a train. It’s said that he’s requested Abraham Lincoln’s Bible for the swearing-in ceremony. In fact, there have many comparisons to that great president. I think Obama does indeed share the humble spirit of Lincoln. The days ahead will show if he has the wisdom.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to be a part of this very historical occasion. I’m very proud of our country for stepping beyond the stigmas and racial discrimination that has long held us back. Since its creation, the country as a whole has grown by leaps and bounds. Years from now, I can look back and say that I witnessed this bit of history.

I do think this is one of our finest moments as a nation and a people.

The United States faces grim challenges and it’ll take an awfully strong president to get us on the right track. I put my faith and trust in President Obama. Each of us need to rally behind him because it’s going to take us all working together to fix the problems. I know we can do it. We can do anything we have to. All we have to do is roll up our sleeves and get to work on our little corner of the world. When we all pull together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish. Unity is the key. Put aside our differences and help row this country across the rough water.

Not only is he our hope for a promising future, but I feel he’s the world’s hope as well.

What about you? Are you hopeful for changes that will improve this country? Or are you cynical and pessimistic?

<<–Click to order from Amazon

When I blogged a month ago about mining camps, I included a paragraph about life in a mining town. Fairplay, I reported, was typical of the towns in that it included a handful of rough hewn log cabins, a hotel, three newspapers and twelve whorehouses.

Operating a newspaper wasn’t much easier in the early west than it is now. Even in areas already settled, the pioneer Western editor had to be an optimist. He needed a press that had to be shipped thousands of miles. There’s one story of a press being transported across the Isthmus of Panama en route to California. The press sank in the Chagres River when the Indian canoe carrying it capsized. After righting the canoe, the Indian paddlers tried but failed to recover the 1,870 pound machine. (I can’t figure how it went any distance at all in a canoe). According to the story, the owner, a man named Judge Judson Ames, dived into the crocodile-infested waters and, singlehanded, heaved the huge press back aboard. According to the Time Life account, that improbable though the tale may seem, the fact remains that Judge Ames’ press arrived dampened but undamaged in Panama City. That very machine printed papers in San Diego and San Bernardino. Later it was carted over the Sierra to Aurora in the Nevada mining country and back again to turn out a weekly in Independence California.

Another press, this time in Harrisburg, Texas, was dumped in 1836 into a bayou by Mexican General Santa Anna. In 1862, a hand pres in Sioux Falls, City in the Dakota Territory, was pitched into the Big Sioux River by a war party of the Santee Sioux. Other presses were lost in Lawrence, Kansas when the town was raided by Quantrill, and still another was washed away by a flash flood in Denver’s Cherry Creek. There were many other tales of lost presses.l

Editors, too, faced hazards.. They were shot, kidnapped, clapped into jail by cattle barons, and tarred and feathered. In Medicine Bow unhappy citizens wanted to tar and feather its editors. Failing to find any tar, they coated the editor with sorghum molasses and sandburs before riding him out of town on the rail.

Income was iffy, too. Newspapers were bought once and passed around. They were read and reread until they disintegrated. Money was in acute shortage and editors often had to take a proportion of their bills in trade. Another problem, especially in mining towns, was the boom and bust nature of strikes. A transit population could vanish overnight.

One city editor in Oregon commented: “I uses to rustle ads for a four-page paper, but it was worse than painful dentistry, and when I tried to collect bills, I invited getting shot. So I joined the army and went scouting through three Indian wars, thus getting into the safety zone.”

But despite the dangers and hardships, the Old West was flooded with editors. One scholar has calculated that in the last two thirds of the 19^th Century, a staggering total of 10,000 weekly and daily journals were published in 17 Western states.

And women in journalism? They existed, too, but mostly they were wives who continued to publish family newspapers when they were widowed or, as sometimes happened, while their husbands were disabled by an unhappy reader. But one determined woman started a paper on her own. Caroline Romney published the Durango Record which once announced, “The rumor that the editor of this paper is about to be married is without foundation. In fact, we can’t afford to support a husband yet.”

So all those old movies where the heroine is the local newspaper editor is based in reality.

Ladies, we have a winner for the autographed copy of The Rancher’s Runaway Princess.

It’s…….

Laurie G

Congratulations, Laurie! I’ll contact you for your mailing info that I’ll forward on to Donna.

Thanks everyone for hanging out with Donna this weekend. We enjoyed it. Or at least I did.

Pat Potter is blogging tomorrow so check back to find out what her topic is. And I’m blogging Tuesday on Inaugural Day.