Good Morning!

I hope you’ll bear with me as I take another excursion from my usual posts about Native America.  I’m under a horrific deadline right now — only 8 more days till due date and so, as my attention is on this very important fact right now, I thought I’d take a few moments to talk about deadlines.

Some authors don’t have deadlines.  I knew an author once who simply wrote the books and turned them in to her publisher and they were published.  No deadlines.  I thought, Wow!  Then I know authors who wait until the last minute (like me unfortunately) and then scramble to write that book.  Once I even heard a composer say that he hadn’t written the music to the movie he was contracted to write until the week before it was due.  I remember thinking, oh, gee, that’s leaving it a bit too long.  Now, I sometimes wonder if Jane Austin worked under deadlines.  Do any of you Jane Austin fans know?

I know one author who was so late on a deadline (2 years overdue) that I thought surely her publishers would end her contact.  But no, it was the exact opposite.  They offered her practically the world.  Then there was another author who was so sick while she was under deadline that her husband (who was a vet) had to prop her up with things he knew that would keep her going.

Then there are authors who become so obcessed with writing and deadlines and writer’s block, that they turn to alcohol or some other sort of stimulant to help them to think.  Personally, I don’t take drugs or drink to excess and so this isn’t an option for me.  What I do find that works, however, in order to get that book written, are believe it or not, deadlines.  Without them, it might take me years to write a book.

And then there are those distractions that keep us from writing as fast as we might — this one is very real to me.  I have cats and often, they demand more attention than I can easily give them (when I’m under deadline).  Someone once asked me how long it takes me to write a book.  I said, it all depends on how long I have to write it per my contract.  If they want a year, it will probably take me that long to write it.  If they want it in three months, I’ll figure out a way to get it done.

All right.  So for all of you who work under deadline (or don’t) come on in and tell me your thoughts on this.   Bear with me if I take a while to respond.  After all, I’m under deadline.

And don’t forget.  If you don’t already have your copy of my latest book, BLACK EAGLE, written under the pen name of Gen Bailey, please go and get your copy today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It started as a publicity stunt. Crash two locomotives together and sell tickets. It had been done in Ohio to the cheers of delighted spectators.

 

William G. Crush, agent for The Missouri-Kansas-Texas “Katy” (MKT) Railroad knew that the public was fascinated by train wrecks. People would travel from miles away just to get a look at the twisted metal and destruction, the victims scalded by the explosion of the engine’s steam boiler.

[This is Mr. Crush as sketched for the Galveston Daily News on September 16, 1896.]

So, William pitched an idea to Katy Railroad officials: intentionally crash two trains in full view of spectators. It had been done successfully a few months earlier in Ohio, to the delight of spectators.

Needless to say, his superiors loved the idea.

The town of Crush, Texas, complete with a depot, was constructed just for the event. A special branch line of tracks was laid about 4 miles outside of the town of West, Texas. Wells were dug, water was run, food and drinks were available for purchase, and a huge tent was borrowed from Barnum & Bailey Circus to serve as a grandstand and protect the elite guests from the weather and the common spectators.

Rather than charge admission to the event, the railroad decided to make the event free—and charge $2 round-trip for a ride to site of the crash.

Everything was ready when dawn came on September 15, 1896. The train engines, #999 and #1001 were painted bright green and bright red, respectively. Both had been stripped down to ensure nothing went wrong. Six cars were attached to each engine to enhance the crash.

The organizers expected around 20,000 spectators to show up and planned accordingly. By the time the event started, more than twice that number jammed the small valley. Every inch of ground was jammed with people waiting to see two trains smash each other into scrap metal. A carnival atmosphere prevailed, complete with medicine shows, game booths and souvenir stands.

The men, women and children were given until late afternoon to listen to speeches and spend their money.

At 5pm, the two trains nosed together as if shaking hands and posed for pictures. They then backed up the low hills to opposite ends of the four mile track, and at ten minutes after 5pm, as Mr. Crush sat on horseback and waved a white hat as a signal, the engineers opened the steam to the predetermined setting and put the trains into motion before jumping off.

I’ll let the reporter for The Dallas Morning News describe what happened:

“The rumble of the two trains, faint and far off at first, but growing nearer and more distinct with each fleeting second, was like the gathering force of a cyclone. Nearer and nearer they came, the whistles of each blowing repeatedly and the torpedoes which had been placed on the track exploding in almost a continuous round like the rattle of musketry. … They rolled down at a frightful rate of speed to within a quarter of a mile of each other. Nearer and nearer as they approached the fatal meeting place the rumbling increased, the roaring grew louder …

“Now they were within ten feet of each other, the bright red and green paint on the engines and the gaudy advertisements on the cars showing clear and distinct in the glaring sun.

“A crash, a sound of timbers rent and torn, and then a shower of splinters.

“There was just a swift instance of silence, and then as if controlled by a single impulse both boilers exploded simultaneously and the air was filled with flying missiles of iron and steel varying in size from a postage stamp to half of a driving wheel …

“All that remained of the two engines and twelve cars was a smoking mass of fractured metal and kindling wood, except one car on the rear of each train, which had been left untouched. The engines had both been completely telescoped, and contrary to experience in such cases, instead of rising in the air from the force of the blow, were just flattened out. There was nothing about the cars big enough to save except pieces of wood, which were eagerly seized upon and carried home as souvenirs.”

The plan was for the trains to reach approximately 10mph by the time they met in the middle. Instead, they were traveling closer to 45mph. The impact sent shrapnel flying more than 100 feet into the air—and into the crowd. Miraculously, considering the size of the crowd only three people were killed.

William Crush was fired the evening of the crash, but Katy Railroad officials rehired him the very next day, and he worked for the company until he retired.

The “Crash at Crush” was immortalized by famed Texas ragtime composer Scott Joplin in his march, “The Great Crush Collision March.” Click here to listen to the music  – complete with crash and scream: 

http://www.perfessorbill.com/covers/crush.htm

It was a publicity stunt that will never be attempted again – but the stories remain, told over and over by those who were there for the Crash at Crush.

Click on the cover to purchase Tracy’s latest release

Now for the drawing….

I put the names in the hat and shook them up real good.

JODY F

and

EMMA

Congratulations, Ladies! To claim your prize, send your mailing addresses to lindabroday@live.com  I’ll forward the information on to Janet and Debra and they’ll get the books in the mail to you.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by this weekend. We couldn’t do this without you!

Yippee! We have two winners.

ArkansasCyndi gets The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas

and

Kelly Fitzpatrick has won Caitlyn’s Prize

Congratulations, ArkansasCyndi and Kelly Fitzpatrick!! Please send your mailing info to Linda Warren at LW1508@aol.com and she’ll get the books to you pronto.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by today and left a comment. It tickled Linda Warren to death to have such a turnout. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow. Janet Tronstad and Debra Clopton will be here. They’ll have some books to give away also.

 Thank you, ladies, for having me back. I’m always excited to blog at Petticoats and Pistols. As everyone knows, I love westerns.  And I’m holding a drawing for two books so leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for one of them:A copy of Caitlyn’s Prize and The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas

 I’ve written a lot of modern day cowboy books, but I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to write about cowgirls. When I was growing up in Texas, my parents raised cotton, corn and cattle. My dad was also the constable in our community and he drilled water wells so he was busy. My mom took care of the cattle. She knew every cow, calf and bull on the property. She knew when to cull the herd, when to sell calves and when to change pastures. So, yes, I thought I can write about cowgirls. A woman can do anything a man can, right? Maybe even better.

I came up with The Belles of Texas for Harlequin Super Romance, a trilogy about three sisters trying to save a rundown ranch. The sisters have the same father, but different mothers. Caitlyn’s mother died in childbirth so she was raised on the ranch. Madison and Skylar spend summers and Christmas on the High Five ranch with their father and Caitlyn. Even though they weren’t raised together, the sisters have a close bond.

Caitlyn, the responsible one, better known as Bossy, takes over running the ranch when their father becomes ill. The middle sister, Madison, sees the good in everyone and her sisters call her Betty Crocker Sweet. Skylar, the youngest, is known for speaking her mind. With a hair-trigger temper to match her personality, Sklyar’s nickname is Bitchy.

When their father passes away, Caitlyn finds his enormous gambling debts have left the High Five ranch in dire straits. And to make matters worse, there’s a codicil to the will that states if the ranch is not showing a profit in six months it has to be sold to Judd Calhoun, a neighboring rancher and the man Caitlyn jilted fourteen years earlier.

Caitlyn is fighting mad. She calls her sisters home to inform them of the situation and to ask for their help to save High Five from Judd Calhoun. Since her sisters weren’t raised on the ranch, they don’t share her point of view. It’s the fight of Caitlyn’s life. She sets out to prove that she can run High Five as effectively as any man.

If you want to find out what happens, pick up Caitlyn’s Prize in July. It’s also part of Cowboy Country month for Super Romance.

The second book, Madison’s Children, comes out in October and the third, Skylar’s Outlaw, in January 2010. A lot of the scenes in the books I took from my childhood. So if you need a good cowgirl read this summer, saddle up and head for Texas. The Belle sisters are waiting to entertain you.

So what’s your opinion? Can a woman do anything a man can?

Linda
http://www.lindawarren.net/
2009 RITA® Finalist TEXAS HEIRCaitlyn’s Prize – July ‘09
Madison’s Children – Oct ‘09
Skylar’s Outlaw – Jan ‘10

Click to purchase from Amazon

And don’t forget to leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for Caitlyn’s Prize and The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas.

Jennie M

Congrats!  Please contact me at charlenesands@hotmail.com with your snail mail address and your choice of book from my backlist.  If available.

Thanks to all who stopped by today and shared Quirky Pet Stories!!

This blog was originally going to be about The Leonis Adobe, a historical site almost right in my backyard – which is one of my favorite places in the world.  But two things happened – one I couldn’t snare the photos from Leonis Adobe from their website and you know what they say about one picture being worth a thousand words.

And two, my cat Skittles had me laughing so hard the other day, that I had to share this with my friends.

For those of you with quirky animals, you’ll relate!

Now, let me explain, Skittles is my love, my companion and my sidekick.  She’s always with me. For years, when I had the older style computer, when I sat at my desk and wrote, she’d sit atop the computer and sleep or hang her leg down the screen and paw at it.  Nowadays, I have a flat screen 22-inch monitor and I’m sure she’s cursing in Cat Lingo about losing her favorite spot. She still glances up there, to see if she can fit. Smartly, she hasn’t tried the jump, because no way would it hold her. She settles for sitting on the desk, which totally obstructs the screen until I can coax her to lie down or jump off.

At any rate my tuxedo cat Skittles or as I call her, Skitties or Skits is also known by family and friends as the Devil Cat. She really likes only three people in the world, with a few exceptions.  Me, my dear hubby and my daughter.  Somehow, she forgot my son, whom she used to sleep with and now has decided he’s good for an exorcist-type hiss and attack by claws.  (I’m not exaggerating!)

Skittles will never win a Miss Congeniality contest.

We can never figure out why she runs away from some people and hides under the bed until they leave, or decides for some strange reason, the visitor is worth that said exorcist-type hiss and strike at, from her vantage point under the dining room table. My sister and her entire family are afraid of her.  In fact, once when I was out of town, I coerced my sister to come feed her. Oh, she didn’t want to do it, but she REALLY owed me a big favor.  Her twenty-year old son came with her, armed with a giant squirt bottle and their stories of dashing from room to room, locking themselves into my laundry room until the coast was clear, had my hubby and I in stitches of laughter. 

Their fear of the Devil Cat is real!

Now, mind you, my Skittles is so sweet and loving to me, that it took me quite some time to believe these stories. I’ve decided that she’s a Heckal and Hyde Cat too. Do cats have dual personalities?  In my case, YES.

Skittles is spoiled. I’ll admit it. But my hubby is just as guilty as I am. When she was a kitten, he’d bend down to pet her as she ate her kitten kibbles.  Now, she runs into the kitchen and cries, meows and nips at our legs until we acknowledge that she’s eating – and darn it, we’d better pet her. Her purrs of joy tell us we’re good Cat Parents.

She’s the only cat I know who loves to drink coffee … no I don’t feed it to her, but Lo and Behold, if I walk away from my coffee cup, I’ll find her there, lapping it up as if it were a pint of milk. (I drink my coffee black and so, apparently does she). 

Skittles’ latest antics really surprised me! Since I’ve been exercising regularly, doing aerobics, weights and Pilates, if I’m on the ground, she’ll meow like there’s no tomorrow. “I don’t know what you want,” I’d say to her.  It’s almost as if I’m on her level– ground level and she feels excited to have me there. For whatever the reason, she won’t leave me alone when I exercise. The other day, after many meows and a few leg nips, (btw-I do reprimand her for those) I thought I’d show her a thing or two.  I put down my weights and picked her up instead. I dipped up and down doing my lunges, side sweeps and deep knee bends, thinking she’d hate this and leave me alone.

Well, I was mistaken.

She loved it!  Her purrs came loud and clear. She stayed in my arms during the whole routine. I couldn’t believe it. The Devil Cat turned into the Exercise Kitty.  And at 13 pounds, she certainly weighs more than the weights I’d been lifting. A win, win situation for both of us.  

To that, my husband said, “Now, she’s going to expect it every time.”  Like I can’t just put her outside if I wanted. <Big grin here>   

So, my question to all of you is, do you have pets? And what eccentric antics have they exhibited?  I know they have them. I’ve decided animals are much like people – and you know how quirky humans can be!

Check out my new Desire Cover! I really like it. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon now, but in bookstores in September. It’s part of the Texas Cattleman’s Club continuity!

And to one commenter today, I’ll be giving away a book of your choice from my backlist!  Thanks for blogging with me. I’ll announce the winner later in the day!

 www.charlenesands.com

When my first few books were released, I traveled near and far to promote them and meet the booksellers. Of course back then we had many independent stores and local distributors, and meeting them was valuable. Nowadays it seems as though most of the chain stores couldn’t care less who the local authors are unless they’re huge names. I went into a new Books-a-million in my neighborhood, and they couldn’t even look up my book on a computer or order it if they wanted to. I found it bizarre that the salespeople there have nothing to do with ordering or hand selling.

Once Upon a Romance reviewer, Robyn, and site host, Connie

Most recently Mary Connealy and I traveled to Independence, Missouri, a Kansas City suburb, where we signed at Dog-eared Books, a lovely new and used bookstore, owned by Tina.

Tina’s cohort Connie works at the store and hosts a reader website Once Upon a Romance, where you will find reviews and recipes and news about authors. Connie always bakes cookies for the authors, and we weren’t disappointed this time. How she gets them uniform and prettily perfect is beyond me. Yummy, too.

standing: Connie, Tina and Dorothy - sitting: Victoria Alexander and Cheryl St.John

Traveling with Mary and I from Nebraska was Robyn Roberts, who reviews at Once Upon a Romance, along with Connie’s sister, Trudy. Robyn and I have made the trip to Missouri more than once—more than twice—we kind of like those gals and their readers.

Signing with us was the always delightful Bobbi Smith, Queen of the Western Romance, who has of course been a guest here in the past. Her newest book is called Runaway. And joining us, another Nebraska gal, Julie Miller, who signed copies of her new Intrigue, Pulling the Trigger. Julie had her 2009 Romantic Times Career Achievement Award there for us to admire.

back l to r: Connie and Tina - front l to r: Julie Miller, Mary Connealy, Cheryl St.John, Bobbi Smith

I thought you’d enjoy seeing a few pics of years past as well.

When I learn about a romance author coming to my city, I usually make it to the bookstore to support them. I’ve been to those of Susan Wiggs, Susan Crandall and Linda Lael Miller to name a few.

When LLM was here, Pam Crooks and I went to see her and booked her for a blog here. I’m sure you’ll remember that one.

Sometimes readers are too shy to approach the author, but will come back later and pick up a signed book. Have you been to many author signings? If you went, did you enjoy talking to the author?

 ORDER  THE PREACHERS WIFE

Pam Crooks, Linda Lael Miller, Cheryl St.John

Hello you little darlin’s,

A whole slew of guests are coming to the Junction this weekend! Yippee!

Linda Warren will be here on Saturday. She’s going to talk about her new book, CAITLYN’S PRIZE among other things.  She loves to write about cowboys and the cowgirls who lasso the sexy devils. My kind of woman!

Janet Tronstad and Debra Clopton have teamed up for an anthology called SMALL TOWN BRIDES and will gallop into Wildflower Junction on Sunday. The book looks like a humdinger! Janet and Debra will share tidbits about weddings. Maybe I’ll learn all about how to rope myself one of these cowboys. Got my lariat ready!

Ah know you’ll want to shake the wrinkles out of your bustles and head over here to chat with these dear talented ladies.

You don’t want us to start without you!

Did ah mention we’ll have prizes?