Good Morning!

A good friend of mine — Janet Elaine Smith — was telling me about her awesome experience this past weekend — she visited an older folks home and spent some wonderful time with the folks there.  She had a blast, and we talked a bit about how we both believed that where possible, one’s elders should remain with the family instead of being sent to a home.  While we both realize it’s not always possible, I started thinking about this in terms of Native America.

In Native American cultures, one’s elders held a special place within the tribe. This picture by the way is Grandfather George.  George is a Native American actor who lives with my husband and myself.  He’s not really related to either of us, although we have adopted him into the family.  At dinner time he regales us with stories of old and keeps us entertained with his knowledge.  He also is an excellent gardener by trade — and he took on the responsibility of own lawn and keeping it pretty without either of us saying a word.

Elders in Native American culture are revered.  Their counsel is listened to with close attention and they hold a special place in the hearts of everyone in the tribe.

Before we had the advent of public education — where children are around other children their own age for much of the day — children were taught at home.  Mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers had the responsibility for seeing to the education of the young ones. The wonderful part of this is that one’s elders became the role models for the children — instead of other children becoming the role models (sort of like the blind leading the blind) — thus the children had the experience of a life’s worth of living to draw upon.  In Native American one’s elders were held in such esteem that sometimes a youngster would seldom speak.  And like storytellers of old, an elder was always welcome into the circle.

This is a picture, by the way of my husband and myself with my mother-in-law, Joyce.

Here’s another picture of Grandfather George.  Now, most people grow up with elders all around them.  Grandparents, church officials, etc., can make up that community.  When I was growing up, my one grandparent on my father’s side had already passed away and my grandmother on that side was soon sent to an old folk’s home and so I didn’t know them.  My grandparents on the other side of my family also had one death long before I came around in the family — but they lived so far away that I didn’t know them. However, I soon found that is was wonderful to befriend the neighbors.  I think I spent most of my summers in the front yard of my neighbor directly across the street from me (me and every single kid in the block) — he was like the grandfather that I never had — Hurbert was his name.  And then there was Mr. May, who lived next door to us.  I especially got to know him and his wife well because there was a fire in their house and so they lived with my family while their house was being fixed.  Remember those old days when neighbors helped each other just for the fun of it?

From Mr. May came the name that sticks with me to this very day — “Cookie” — cause I loved and still do love cookies.  Every day when I’d come home from school, he’d have a package of cookies waiting for me.  Even when the May’s eventually moved out of our house, Mr. May still brought me cookies often.

I think that children should have many different ages to observe and come to know well when they are growing up, and I think the value of our elders is beyond compare.  Wisdom, experience, stories, helpfulness — their willingness to help the young can’t be overstated.  When my children were growing up, they didn’t have the wealth of a great deal of grandparents around them.  On my own side of the family, there were no grandparents who were still alive, and on my ex’s side of the family, his parents tended to distance themselves from the children to a greater or lesser degree.

So tell me what do you think?  Have we lost some of the best that we have in sacrifice to our modern technological age?  Personally, I’d be willing to have a little less technology and a little more of the human relationships.  Do any of you remember the age when television hadn’t yet taken hold of the American public — when people still visited each other and went to their houses to talk and visit instead of turn on the TV?  I remember it well — and perhaps that’s the gift of our elderly.  Reminding us of our history — sharing with us their wisdom in situations in life –  their experience.  There is no substitute.  As we all know, history can be rewritten and often is — but if one has a grandparent and pays attention, one can know what really happened.

So tell me — who have you loved (who is elderly) the most in your life?  And would you be willing to give up a little technology for the gift of more nurturing relationships?

Come on in and let’s have a chat.  : )

Remember, too, that Black Eagle is still on sale at bookstores everywhere.  Pick up your copy today.

Okay, I have a lot of them, but in the spring, summer and fall, my passion is our gardens. I have worked less in the yard this year than any time previous. I feel like I spent the whole summer working, and my body has been telling me about it. I never realized how much I rely on getting out there and moving dirt and pulling weeds for a good workout.

My husband does all the mowing, and we have a lawn service for the treatments, seeding, aerating and all that, so my only task is keeping the flowerbeds pretty.

I have realized that I arrange the flowerbeds like I decorate my house—in vignettes. An area here, all perfected, and a section there, and this whole side strip with a theme, etc.. And each year the gardens change and transition, because things need divided or something is added or removed. When you keep your soil nice and loose with constant attention, it’s easy to move or divide plants.

Anyone wondering about the secret of beautiful flowers, the key is the soil. I keep a compost pile in a wooden bed, but it’s not kitchen waste. Oh, occasionally I toss in something to decompose, but it’s mostly a mixture of good soil, peat and compost.

Several of the areas have been designed to attract butterflies. From my living room window I can watch butterflies on the bushes and plants and perching on the butterfly bath. Okay, occasionally a bird sits there, but birds are mainly attracted to the backyard. We get flocks of gold and purple finches. 

It took me three years to get a trumpet vine established to attract hummingbirds, but I’ve created a monster. A beautiful monster.

I love fall, but I’m always sad to see the flowers fall away and turn brown. I compensate by creating a fall display of some sort—pumpkins and cornstalks and a hale bale or two. We spent the entire weekend freshening mulch and dirt and moving a few plants. Mulch is the other key: Keep loose mulch around all of your plants, bushes and trees. It holds in the moisture and protects them during the hottest of the summer days. By turning some of that into the soil the nest year, you’re constantly keeping your soil loose and workable.

I often go outdoors with my camera in the morning. It’s the best light for photos and a good time for spotting butterflies, though they don’t mind the midday heat as much as I do.

And now…back to work.

Lyn Cote talks on researching Texas History for Her Inheritance Forever, 2^nd book in Texas Star of Destiny series:

Thanks for having me as a guest again. I’ve been doing more of what I love—doffing into history.

The more I researched Texas history for my “Texas Star of Destiny” series the more fascinating it became. In 1836 when my book takes place, Texas was a state of Mexico. The last time I guested here, I wrote about the different Native tribes that lived in Texas in the 19^th century. This time I want to relate the two different types of settlers who were of European descent.

The first group is one that I had never known as a distinct group. I’m talking about the “Tejano” (the “j” is pronounced as an “h”) community in Texas. The Tejanos were the descendants of the Spanish colonial settlers in Texas. The Tejanos then were and are Texans of Spanish descent. My heroine Alandra Sandoval is a Tejano, not a Mexican as I had thought before I did enough research.

The second group was the Americans who had immigrated to Texas while it was still in the hands of the Mexican government. They called themselves “Texians.” These two groups had very different experience in law and governing.

I was also unaware of the Mexican Constitution of 1824, which was a very liberal constitution very much like our own. Most Tejanos and Texians were very willing to live under this constitution.

Unfortunately, the Constitution of 1824 did not really touch the people of Texas or the rest of Mexico in any real way. Spanish colonial laws and practice had kept the Mexican people from learning how to govern themselves. It was a very top down kind of government. This type of government didn’t go over very well with the Anglo settlers who were used to governing themselves.

By the constitution of 1824, the people of Mexico were granted the right to vote for a president. But with little experience of self government and after years of political turmoil in Mexico City, Santa Anna deposed the elected president and took over as dictator. This set the stage for the Texas Revolution.

Americans have never cared for dictators. The Anglo Texians and many Tejanos resisted this power grab. A Tejano Lorenzo de Zavala served as the first vice president of the first Texian government. Another Tejano that fought for freedom was Jose Navarre of San Antonio.

My latest book Her Inheritance Forever takes place during the Texas Revolution when the Texians and many Tejanos stood up to General Santa Anna and defeated him. I had always misunderstood the Battle for the Alamo and had never heard of the Goliad Massacre which actually took more lives. When General Santa Anna ordered the slaughter of the men defending the Alamo, he was despised. And rightly so. He also ordered the slaughter of around 300 Americans who had surrendered to General Urrea at Goliad a few weeks after the Alamo. This is in direct violation of the rules of war at that time.

Santa Anna’s slaughtering of free men brought hundreds of Americans in from the surrounding states to fight and defeat him. With an army a tenth the size of Santa Anna’s, Sam Houston accomplished that at the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836.  

The fire for freedom goes on today all around the world. I am proud of the Texians, Tejanos and Americans who fought tyranny and won. I think that any American will thrill to the battle for freedom in this book and how it changes everyday people—even my heroine Alandra Sandoval and Scully Falconer into heroes and heroines.

I am giving away one copy of my latest book each week in August. Drop by my blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com and make a comment to be eligible.

Also drop by my website http://www.LynCote.net to purchase a copy of Her Inheritance Forever.

 <——– ORDER A COPY FROM AMAZON

Roberta Hartwell!!

Yay, Roberta.  Just send me an email with your snail mail addy to charlenesands@hotmail.com and I’ll send your prizes out to you!

Thanks to all for commenting today! It was fun to reminisce about our old favorites and the new ones too!!

There are more than a dozen forms of country music.  Who knew?   When researching this, because I LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC, I was amazed to learn it’s origin and how it has progressed through the decades.   Founded in the southern states, country music has its origins in the Appalachian Mountains and has roots in gospel, Celtic music, traditional folk music and old-time music.

Because “hillbilly music” was deemed too degrading, the name was changed to “country and western music” in the 1940’s.   Even the term “country and western” has been changed to simply “country” now.                                                

Think Elvis and Garth Brooks and you’ve landed on the two top selling artists OF ALL TIME.  Elvis was known as the “Hillbilly Cat” and was on the radio show Louisiana Hayride. Elvis, as you know went on to become a defining figure in rock and roll, while Garth Brooks continues to be the top-selling solo artist in US History. 

Early in music history, the Irish fiddle, German dulcimer, Italian mandolin, Spanish guitar and African banjo were the most common musical instruments. The interaction among different ethnic groups in the U.S. brought about string bands using primarily the banjo, fiddle and guitar.  

The first commercial recording of Country Music called “Sallie Gooden” by fiddler A.C. Robertson was made in 1922 for Victor Records and in 1924 Columbia Records began issuing records of “hillbilly” music.

The Grand Ole Opry aired on radio in Nashville in 1925 and continues to be a driving force today.  Their early stars were Uncle Dave Macon, Roy Acuff and Deford Bailey. 

Singing cowboys made their mark during the 1930s and 1940s and Hollywood films popularized their songs.  Gene Autry, Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers were the most famous of the singing cowboys. Roy was my personal favorite. Who could forget the ending song on the Roy Rogers Show?

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we’re together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, ’till we meet again.

Oh that brings back good memories.

By the 1950’s and 1960s a blend of western swing, honky tonk and country boogie were played across the country, but “rockabilly” soon took over with Elvis’ Heartbreak Hotel, Johnny Cash’s, I Walk the Line and Carl Perkins’, Blue Suede Shoes. 

The 1970’s saw stars like Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich emerge in a pop culture that morphed into Countrypolitan aimed for more mainstream audiences.

Ray Charles turned his attention to country music with the release of his song, “I Can’t Stop Loving You.

Country Rock was established after the British Invasion with a desire for some to return to the old values of rock and roll.  Contributors to this form of music were the Byrds and the The Flying Burrito Brothers (? I don’t remember them) The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers and The Eagles. I love The Eagles!  Also, believe it or not, but the Rolling Stones got into the act with their songs “Honky Tonk Woman” and “Dead Flowers”

Some other forms of country music that emerged during the years are Outlaw Country (think Willie Nelson and Waylan Jennings), Country Pop (Glen Campbell, John Denver, Marie Osmond), Neocountry disco music (think Urban Cowboy), Alternative Country, Truck Driving Country and Bluegrass. 

Wow! Like I said before, who knew there were so many forms of country music?  I was never into the twang, I have to admit and I loved Elvis Presley.  But today my tastes are more for the pop culture of country with stars like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Brooks and Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Martina McBride and George Strait.  BTW- George won the 2009 Artist of the Decade Award by the Academy of Country Music.  Yay George!

I find country music reaches deep into my soul.  It tells a story, most often a romance and the ballads can be heartbreakingly sincere and the upbeat tunes, just plain ole fun.  It’s just about all I listen to on the radio. 

So, what form of music do you like?  Were you an Elvis the Pelvis fan like me?  Did you like the singing cowboys?  Who are your favorites today? 

My book, not released yet in stores, has been an Eharlequin Top 10 Bestseller for the first three weeks in August!   To celebrate, one commenter today will win an autographed copy and a beautiful Brighton key chain, from my heart to yours.

 www.charlenesands.com for more contests and fun stuff!

Well, bless my soul! Look who’s coming around the bend.

Lyn Cote needs no introduction. She’s been here before and I do say we’re right proud to have the dear lady back.

Miss Lyn has gussied up and packed her bags and will arrive on Saturday. She’s has in mind to tell us a thing or two about Texas history–a few things that make the great state what it is today.

Also, you won’t have to twist her arm to get her to tell us about her brand new book that’s out. Sure looks like something ah’m gonna have to have.  Ah do love a good story!

Join us right here on Saturday for a rip-roaring good time!

Our special guest today is a reader and reviewer who shares our passion for westerns–and I mean she’s passionate about them in a big way.  Kristie Jenner has made it one of her personal missions to interest readers in the genre; in fact, she came up with the idea for the Great Western Challenge this week, and the Fillies here at P&P were delighted to jump on the cowboy train with her.

Kristie says that while she loves a good historical set in England, she thinks many readers may be ready for a change from dukes and earls and other various and assorted titles. And she believes that if readers are getting a wee bit tired of vampires and shift changers and other otherworldly worlds, a good western is just the thing.

Cheryl: First off, we all thank you for providing the cowboy eye candy today! Please explain The Great Western Drive challenge to those who may not have heard about it.

Kristie: The long answer: I recently put up a poll on my blog for readers to pick their favourite genre.  While I love all genres, my special fave is westerns even though I started out reading English set historicals.  When I saw how low westerns scored, I realized that probably many readers just haven’t tried the right ones.  So I rounded up my posse – Sybil and Wendy, who are just as passionate about this genre as I am and set about getting readers to at least try them – hoping that the stories capture their imaginations as much as they have me.  If I, once a dyed-in-the-wool English historical fan, can love a western, I think many a romance reader can too.

The short answer – I thought Little Joe was Hawt when I was young and just noticing the other side of the gender!

Cheryl: I confess I was a Little Joe junkie, too. So Kristie, tell us why you are such a big fan of westerns.

Kristie: I’ve always been more a fan of blue-collar type heroes then the white-collar type. I just love a hero who works with his hands and isn’t afraid to work up a bit of sweat now and then. I love a hero who is willing to labour for everything he has rather than just inheriting it. And no one works harder than many a western hero, whether it’s being a marshal, a cowboy, a gambler, a gunslinger or even a reformed outlaw.

And a western heroine is one I can identify with so much more easily.  I don’t know if it’s my age or ’cause I’m more average myself, but while the girly girl in me likes reading about all the fabulous balls and dresses and things in historicals set in Europe, I very much prefer the realness of the conflicts a western heroine goes through. 

Another feature the western has going for it is that you won’t find one of those annoying fake rakes in a western. I find the heroes in just about every western as real as it gets, again because they are real. They don’t play games. They are what they are, whatever their profession.

And while I’ve read a few with Pinkerton agents, westerns don’t have the overabundance of spies of many English historicals.

And I’ve found that many more westerns have that certain poignancy that I find more majorly appealing than any other genre as a whole.

Cheryl: Certainly none of us can understand it, but why do you suppose some readers are averse to trying a western?

Kristie:  One of the reasons I’ve heard for not trying westerns is because readers don’t find the setting attractive.  I think differently.  I find it very attractive to read a book based on our own history.  Ok — so maybe I’m making myself an honorary American for this one, but what can be better then reading about a setting that’s exciting and lawless and new?  An English historical can’t offer readers that.  And if you like a bit of down and dirty, well the Western has that too!

Another feature I find more often in a Western is the heroine saving the hero. Think about it; a bounty hunter, wounded, needing care makes it to the steps of the heroine who has control of life or death over the hero – yummers! Now that, I find sexy.

And there are none of the class distinctions that get tiresome. It doesn’t matter where the character started in life; it’s a more level playing field in a western. We aren’t pulled out of a story because the heroine is acting too friendly with the staff. We aren’t pulled out wondering if all the too-handsome dukes and earls and viscounts will ever run out. There simply couldn’t have been the abundance of them that fill up the pages of English historicals.

Cheryl: So, it’s the cowboys that hold a place in your heart, isn’t it?

Kristie: Western heroes seem to me to be more manly man type heroes.  I think if you are a fan of the alpha hero, there would be many more alpha heroes to choose from in the Old West than there would be in other locations.  I think if you are a fan of the lone wolf hero, then the Western is your genre.  I imagine after spending that much time in the saddle, they would be looking for a little female companionship.  And who can resist a wounded outlaw type hero?

Seriously, all of you western/Lost fans, can’t you just picture Sawyer in that role, and let’s see–me as Etta Place.  And if you go for the more law abiding type hero, who better than a marshal?  No, no, get Matt Dillon out of your heads–he’s not a good example *shudder*.  He kept Miss Kitty dangling way too long!  And he just wasn’t handsome.  But Jack maybe?  With Sayiid as the mysterious bounty hunter?  Yeah, I like that.

Cheryl: There are a few favorites I’d surely love to see in a cowboy hat, too.  David Boreanaz for one.  Oh my goodness.  But back to books . . . will you share a few of your all-time favorite western romances with us?

Kristie: Well first off – Joe’s Wife – no really!  I love this book.  Sweet Lullaby by Lorraine Heath is another one that comes oh so close to making me cry.  The only reason I didn’t mention it is because I know it’s very hard to find – I’m always seeking out copies at UBSs without luck, and I wanted to feature books that were readily available on either Amazon or UBSs or even better – still in print.  Outlaw Heats by Rosanne Bittner is another favourite.  It really has an epic flavour to it and much to Wendy’s amazement – since it is a large book, I’ve read it a number of times.

Cheryl: I was tickled pink that Jill Marie Landis is writing westerns again. She was always one of my favorites, ever since her first book, Sunflower. And Margaret Brownley has tossed her hat back into the ring. I can’t wait until her new western comes out. She’ll be blogging about it with us here at P&P. Is there an author who has turned to another genre that you would just flip over to have them write a western again?

Kristie:  We’ve lost so many Western authors over the years, haven’t we?  Jill Marie Landis is one of my choices too!  I loved that whole series.  I love her westerns.  I’d love to see Patricia Potter out with the number she used to write.  Susan Kay Law and Alexis Harrington are authors whose westerns I miss!  And if Lorraine Heath were to return to her western roots, I’d be dancing in the street.

Cheryl: I am so there with you on Pat Potter, Alexis Harrington and Lorraine Heath. I would also add Catherine Anderson to my wish list. Coming Up Roses is an all-time favorite of mine.  And I’m still in mourning over Maggie Osborne’s retirement.

If you could pick one recently released western and send one to 500 new readers to introduce them to the genre, which one would it be?

Kristie:  Yikes!!  That’s a tough one!  My reading is down – though my buying is up *gulp* and there aren’t quite the selection there used to be, but one I read this year that I very much enjoyed is Rachel and the Hired Gun by Elaine Levine.  And one we are all looking forward to with GREAT anticipation is Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman.

Cheryl: Now that is a glowing endorsement! Hope Elaine and Jo drop by this week—they will if they have their google alerts set.

We have just celebrated two extremely successful years of blogging and promoting all things western here at P&P, so that tells us there is an interest in westerns.  Is there anything you’d like to say to the authors who’ve continued to write westerns and those just breaking in?

Kristie:  We are doing our best to spread the word.  Sybil has more of an ear to the industry and I think she has some interesting news coming up later this week.  I know it’s tough to write something that is harder to sell, and romance goes in cycles.  If a couple authors take off big time, I think publishers will be willing to go there again.  They just need something like a JR Ward of the western.  In the meantime, there still are many readers who love them, and as a spokesperson for those readers for today – thanks to all the writers who are still writing a genre we love.

Cheryl: Thank you for being our guest today at Petticoats and Pistols. We appreciate your dedication to the western romance and wish you a successful Great Western Drive!

You can visit Kristie at her blog, Ramblings on Romance

Read more about the challenge at The Good the Bad and the Unread and at Wendy the Super Librarian’s blog.

So, how about you, blogger friends? Are there other reasons you love romance? Is there a celebrity you’d like to see in a cowboy hat? Which author would you like to have write a western?

And…most importantly, since you’re already western lovers, will you accept the challenge and give a friend a western romance novel this week?

 Well, there is something downright romantic about darling little birds flying in to California from Argentina on the same March day year after year to build their nests in the eaves of a jewel-like California mission. In the 1940’s, the hit song “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano” delighted radio listeners around the world. 

Truth is, the swallows have barely been seen at the San Juan Capistrano mission for years. Maybe it was all exaggeration. Or maybe the tiny birds got ticked off when work to preserve the mission started up ten years ago. Or…maybe their absence is just the tragic dearth of birdlife all over my fair state—the unhappy result of excessive building of houses and strip malls as far as one can see. Today, swallows are more likely to be seen building their mud nests on freeway overpasses even though mission-keepers try everything to lure them back to the grounds with ceramic nests and recorded bird songs.  

But there is definitely something romantic going on in San Juan Capistrano as you’ll soon see, after I enlighten (bore?) you with a few facts about the mission itself. 

The founder of California’s mission system, Junipero Serra instructed Father Fermin Lasuen to found a mission between San Diego and San Gabriel, and Fermin did so in 1775. He named it for St. John of Capistrano, Italy. The local Indians, the Juaneno, were friendly and helped construct the buildings, church, and belltower. In its heyday, 1811, the mission grew 500,000 pounds of wheat, 303,000 pounds of corn, and had 14,000 cattle, as many sheep, and some 800 horses.

However, an earthquake in December 1812 destroyed the church and killed 40 natives; Pirate Hippolyte de Bouchard provided further destruction in 1818 when he raided the California coast. 

(To be honest, I didn’t even know a blackguard buccaneer had raided my beloved home coast! Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Sounds like future blog material?)

In 1834, after Mexico won independence from Spain, the Mexican government ended the mission system and sold the land. Don Juan Forster became the owner of the mission in 1845, and the Forster family lived there for years.

When President Abraham Lincoln returned mission lands to the Catholic church in 1863, Mission San Juan Capistrano was in ruins, and Frank A. Forster, Don Juan’s grandson, lived in a small home on the site. In 1910, he decided to build an elegant mansion for his family.  And a good thing he did, for the Forster Mansion was the gorgeous site of our daughter’s wedding just eleven days ago.  

The Forster Mansion was the first stucco-covered home in an area of adobe homes, and a historic wall of the mission still defines the property.The wall is the focal point against which a flower-bedecked arch is positioned during  wedding ceremonies. 

At a cost of about $10,000, Frank constructed a mansion of 6,000 square feet that soon became the hub of high society. Sadly, by 1983, the mansion was considered nothing more than a “tear down” until foresighted buyers restored it to its original elegance, making it one of the premiere event sites in this south Orange County area. And the mansion even has a ghost! Owners swear to cigar smoke, inter-changed portrait on walls…and the stub of  one of “George’s” cigars is enshrined under a glass dome in the parlor. Georg has been seen in moustache and khaki clothing and the bedroom upstairs credited to him has a “crack” in the wood door so he can keep an eye on things. 

Today the mansion is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Properties.   

I couldn’t have been happier with Christi’s choice of wedding venue, lover of history that I am. The fountain directly across from the historic wall is the starting point for processionals, including a ringbearer who did the job great even though he refused to wear his tux jacket. His shiny shoes, however, did make the cut. 

 To the artful music of a string quartet playing the same Bach air I marched up to 35 Augusts ago, my hubby escorted his daugher in a misty, poignant moment. With her cousins, her sisters-in-law, her brother, and her sorority sisters waiting for her at the altar, it was a family moment ever etched in my  heart.

 The bride wore her godmother’s garter and the sixpence from my wedding shoe.

 Later, the yellow Livestrong theme garnished with lemons graced the event.  

And with beloved friends and family surrounding us,  a special pastor blessing us all, I know the newlyweds will have a HEA even better than anything I could pen.

Truly, a day to remember. History. Romance. Love. Family. Friendship. 

Now, how about you? Have you ever visited a California mission? How about a historic church or cathedral, a shrine or otherwise sacred ground? To me, battlefields and cemeteries count! Let’s hear from ya today!

To order my latest release, click on the cover. Many thanks!

Wow, what a great day I’ve had!

Thank you all for coming to hang out with me. That was nice.

I had such a huge response that I’ve decided to give away six books instead of just one.

And the Winners are…..

Minna

Julie Robinson

Jane Squires

Cheryl C.

Stephanie

Karen Witemeyer

Ladies if you’ll drop me a note at and give me your mailing addresses I’ll get your copy in the mail to you.

Thanks again for making my day!

History is full to the brim with strong courageous women who helped settle this country and none is more colorful or more endearing than Jane Long.

Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long was born in July 1798 in Maryland. She was the tenth child of Capt. William and Anne Wilkinson. Her father died the following year and her mother thirteen years later, leaving Jane an orphan at 14. An older sister who lived near Natchez, Mississippi took her in.

It was in Natchez that Jane met the love of her life, Dr. James Long. He was a physician who had served as a surgeon under Gen. Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. After a whirlwind courtship, they married. Jane was a mere 16 years old. A year later they welcomed a daughter.

James Long purchased a plantation near Vicksburg but he became restless. Talk swirled that Texas was eager to declare its independence from Spain. James was chosen to lead an expedition to Nacogdoches, Texas. Jane was expecting another child so was left behind. Twelve days after giving birth, she set out to join her husband with her two daughters and a young black maid.

Jane was the first of many white women to brave the Texas frontier. But two months after arriving in Nacogdoches, she was forced to flee when Spanish troops from San Antonio marched for the frontier outpost. She, her children and her maid returned to Natchez until it was safe again to rejoin her husband. While there, her baby daughter died and was buried in Mississippi.

When she again returned to Texas, it was to Fort Las Casas on Bolivar Point, a peninsula opposite Galveston Island. It’s said she and James dined with the pirate, Jean Laffite. In later years she talked much about it.

James Long left on an excursion that was to have only taken a month. Pregnant again, Jane stubbornly waited for her husband even when all the other people in the fort left. She resisted all pleas for her to leave with the last of the fort’s occupants saying that her husband left her there and there she’d stay until he returned. She had no way of knowing that the Spanish had captured James and taken him to Mexico where he was killed.

So all alone in an ice-covered tent with only her five year old daughter and young maid, Jane gave birth to her third daughter. This child was the first Anglo-American known to have been born on Texas soil. Folks from all over the country referred to Jane as the Mother of Texas and the title stuck.

That winter was extremely bitter. The food supply dwindled. Jane and her small band survived by chopping fish and ducks out of Galveston Bay. To keep away the cannibalistic Karankawa Indian’s in the area, she fired an old cannon daily and flew her red petticoat on the flagpole to make it appear that troops still occupied the fort. The ruse worked, for they left her alone.

It was mid-summer before Jane learned of her husband’s fate. The long wait was over. Jane was a widow at 24 years old. She finally abandoned the fort when a friend of James’s came to deliver the news. Desperate for more information and seek justice for his death, she rode a horse alone to San Antonio to speak with Governor Jose Felix Trespalacios. But after ten months with no satisfaction, she gave up the quest. Eight months later, the baby who had earned Jane the title of Mother of Texas died.

Jane received a league and a labor of land as one of Stephen F. Austin’s colonists and settled down to farming. Finding it difficult to make a living on the farm, she opened up a boarding house near the town of Brazoria in 1832 and ran it for several years.

In 1837 the widow who was 39 years old secured a tract of land two miles from Richmond, Texas. With one black man to work the farm until it began to pay, she operated a hotel in town. Jane bought and sold land, raised cattle, and grew tobacco and cotton. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Jane had one of the most valuable plantations in Texas. She was intensely loyal to the Southern cause and refused to wear any clothing not made in the South. Her own dresses were made of cotton that had been grown, spun, woven, and dyed on her own plantation. And in her spare time, she made garments for the Confederate soldiers.

Somewhere along the line, she developed a fondness for smoking, filling a pipe with home-grown tobacco. In later years, she enjoyed rocking in her favorite chair, puffing on that pipe, and reflecting on her past with friends and family.

Jane Long was fiercely independent. Throughout her long and active life, she was courted by some of Texas’ leading men such as Ben Milam, William Travis, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, and Mirabeau Lamar. She turned them all down. She’d had but one love in her life and everyone else paled in comparison.

On December 30, 1880, Jane passed away at the age of 82 at her plantation. She lies buried in a little cemetery in Richmond, Texas. On her tombstone is the inscription “Mrs. Jane H. Long, The Mother of Texas.”

Doesn’t Jane sound like a heroine in one of today’s romance novels? She’s certainly an embodiment of the frontier spirit.

I’m giving away a copy of The Cowboy Who Came Calling to one commenter.