Archives for “Wild West Research”
The American frontier, or the Old West, as it came to be known, drew adventurers from all over the world. They came hoping to find a new life, whether that meant staking out a homestead, mining for gold, finding a husband, or starting a business. Whether it was families, single men or women, miners, gamblers, [...]
Alamo survivor? Could that be right? I thought everyone died at the Alamo. Isn’t that what made it famous? Well, all the fighting men who made their stand at the mission, did, in fact, die. But there were others present–women, children, slaves–who didn’t perish during that fateful battle in 1836. Susanna Dickinson was one such [...]
In my first book, Touch of Texas, the heroine’s defense weapon of choice was a double-barrel shotgun. In the interests of research–and because I wanted to shoot one — we added a double-barrel shotgun to our Cowboy Action Shooting collection. Shotguns come in all barrel lengths. The Stoeger side-by-side we shoot is modeled after the [...]
Well–I did it. Or, I should say, we did it. My husband and I joined The Single Action Shooting Society, or SASS. It is an organization full of folks who love the Old West and want to relive just a little of it while making and enjoying new friends. Last Saturday was our first “shoot.” [...]
You’re flustered and in a rush. Stop. Take a sip of your favorite Starbucks drink and imagine it’s 1850. You are comfortable in your home in Boston. Women are protected. You have your women friends, sisters, mothers, aunts around you. Life is good. And then Harry, your husband, comes home from the store [...]
Wagons Ho! Those two simple words won the west. Thousands of Americans traveled across country to find their fortunes in gold. Grueling days under the penetrating sun, inhaling dust, facing dangers beyond what we can imagine today, didn’t dampen their spirits. Gold! A fever to find that elusive fortune brought miners to California by [...]
The road to redemption is never smooth. Nor is it boring. With that in mind, I’ve tried to avoid using clichéd characters in my books, especially in my Charity House series. Although I’ve had the requisite lawmen and schoolmarms, I’ve also highlighted a rebel preacher, a Shakespearean stage actress, a frontier doctor, an opera singer, [...]
Arguably the most famous of revolvers is the Colt Single Action Army Model 1873 – the Peacemaker. Once the Rollan White patent giving Smith & Wesson the exclusive right to manufacture a bored-through cylinder which allowed cartridges to be loaded from the rear ran out, Colt cialis online no prescription set its designers loose creating a weapon [...]
Few things made such a huge difference in an 1800’s woman’s life than the sewing machine. But the price in the beginning put it out of reach of most. Hand sewing has been around for over 20,000 years, probably since Adam and Eve’s day when they had to make clothes out of leaves [...]
Miss Prinsella Primm, of Culdesac Corners, California, and Lifestyle Editor of the Courant, is visiting Wildflower Junction today to present her interview with outlaw Jack Ransom, hero of Tanya Hanson’s latest release, Christmas for Ransom. One commenter today will receive a copy of the novella either PDF or Kindle version, so y’all, don’t be strangers. November 30, 1880 MISS [...]
Stagecoaches figure prominently in the current book I’m working on so I thought it would be fun to look at some of my research. In 1827 two wheelwrights, JS Abbott and Lewis Downing, formed the Abbott Downing Company in Concord, New Hampshire. They manufactured 40 different kinds of carriages and wagons but the most [...]
Good morning! Once again, I find myself caught up researching an interesting topic for my latest release, THE OUTLAW’S REDEMPTION (July 2013). This time, I’ve had to delve into prisons and prison life in the 1880’s. Not the best of times to be convicted of a crime, or to be a lawman for that matter. [...]
The Springfield 1873 Trapdoor Rifle is one we’ve probably seen in photographs and in Hollywood movies, but I doubt many of us realized the impact this rifle had on warfare of the period. A redesign of an earlier trapdoor system, the Springfield 1873 was the first standard-issue breech-loading rifle adopted by the US Army. It [...]
Mary Preston Slosson isn’t one of the more well known women of the Old West, but to the prisoners in the Wyoming Territitorial Prison in Laramie, Mary was a rock star–and not for the reasons you might assume. She wasn’t the cook or a nurse. She didn’t help anyone escape–at least not in a physical [...]
A couple weeks ago, I posted a bit about the history surrounded Abilene, TX – the city where I live. As I started overturning research rocks, I ran across a gem that sparked excitemenet in my western-loving soul. A real-life shootout. As with many railroad towns, the population boom outpaced the town’s ability to organize necessary [...]
The Mississippi River dominated Blanche Douglass Leathers’ life. Although we don’t know exactly where she was born in 1860, it was probably along the river basin. She married the son of famous steamboat captain T.P. Leathers. Captain Leathers commanded the Natchez in its historic race with the Robert E. Lee. The Lee won the race, [...]
There are an awful lot of modern conveniences I wouldn’t want to do without. Showers come to mind. Coffee pots. Washing machines. I can’t even fathom a day in the kitchen without electricity. Most of us have heard of the Ben Franklin stove, but it wasn’t really what we think of as [...]
In 1856, a New Orleans doctor, Jean LeMat designed and created a truly unique weapon: a pistol that was both revolver and buckshot weapon in one. The original LeMat revolver was 13¼” long with a 6 ¾” barrel, weighed 3 pounds-8 ounces, and sported a .44 caliber nine-shot revolver. Other calibers were later produced, primarily [...]
I recently turned in my fifth manuscript, and in this latest story, my heroine’s father is a reformed outlaw. His colorful past made for some great dialogue and a couple crazy scenes. So when I was browsing the web and came across the account of an actual reformed outlaw named Texas Jack, I just had to learn [...]
Hello – Sylvia McDaniel here. I’ll be doing a giveaway today, but first I want to tell you about some interesting bits of history I discovered recently. While doing research for my series The Burnett Brides, I read a book called HELLS HALF ACRE by Richard F. Selcer. This book gives details about a half [...]
Today we’re going to do something a little different here at Petticoats & Pistols. Since we all love (or love to hate) research, we thought we’d share some of our favorite research resources. And you’re invited to share yours, too. Tracy Garrett ~ One of my favorite research sites is the Texas State Historical Association’s [...]
First of all, the four frenetic days of the Romance Writers American National convention were fabulous, and having lunch with the fillies was the best moment of all. Now it’s back to the trenches, unpacking, catching up on lost sleep….and finishing the wip an editor asked to see. The story is set in Holcomb Valley, [...]
And now a word from our sponsor… Those particular words didn’t come into play until the radio, but advertising has been around since the beginning of mankind. Cavemen painted billboards on rock walls and the ancient Romans printed advertisements for gladiatorial games on papyrus. After the invention of the printing press, advertisements [...]
While most of us associate bonnets with the 19th century and earlier, I remember my mother wearing them in the 1950′s when she had to work outside which was a lot because she picked a lot of cotton back in those days to help the family out. Her bonnet was a slat variety [...]
My country ‘tis of thee…sweet land of liberty… Our recent historical trip around the East Coast reinforced why I love my country. And today is her birthday. You rock, America. You might have wounds and warts, but all that is fixable. All I know is, I don’t wanna live anyplace else. Thinking about what to [...]
