Quiz time!

What was the leading industry in Texas at the turn of the 20th century?

Oil? – No, that came later.

Cattle? Cotton?

The answer: Lumber.

Lumber? Are you kidding? I live in Texas. There are no trees. Oh, we’ve got some scrubby little mesquite and an occasional oak, but nothing that this California native would call a tree. So how in the world did the lumber industry out-perform cattle and cotton, two Texas staples?

A virgin stand of longleaf pine in the East Texas Piney Woods region, 1908.

Well, as anyone who has ever driven across this great state can tell you, Texas is a big place. Yes we have desert regions and prairie and grassland and hill country, but over in the southeast is a lovely section called the Piney Woods. And as the railroad worked it’s way west in the 1870′s and 1880′s, lumber men from Pennsylvania like Henry Lutcher and G. Bedell Moore saw the virgin forests of east Texas as a gold mine. Local boys like John Henry Kirby got in on the action, too, buying up and consolidating individual sawmills into complete lumber manufacturing plants. Kirby rose to success so quickly, he became known as the “Prince of the Pines,” having become the largest lumber manufacturer in the state by combining 14 sawmills into the Kirby Lumber Company in 1901.

Not only did the railroad boom make travel to the Texas woods easier, it was also one of the biggest  sources of demand for timber. Railroads needed lumber to construct rail cars, stations, fences, and cross ties in addition to the massive amounts of wood they burned for fuel. Each year railroads needed some 73 million ties for the construction of new rail lines and the maintenance of old ones, estimated by the magazine Scientific American in 1890. From the 1870s to 1900, railroads used as much as a fourth of national timber production.

This combination of supply and demand fueled a “bonanza era” for the Texas lumber industry that lasted 50 years, from 1880 until the Great Depression. During this time, Texas became the third largest lumber-producing state in the nation.

Northern investors swooped in to buy up land, sometimes even taking advantage of “use and possession laws” to seize property from families who had owned it for generations. Corruption abounded as logging companies controlled their workers, paying them only in vouchers for the company store despite the incredibly hazardous working conditions. These “cut and get out” operations left acres of land decimated.

This is the climate in which my next book, Short-Straw Bride, is set. Travis Archer and his brothers own a prime piece of forested land that also happens to be the key to connecting investor Roy Mitchell’s holdings to the railroad. Mitchell wants the ranch and is willing to get it any way he can. But the woman he’s been courting (to get his hands on her inheritance, which just happens to be more piney woods land) overhears him plotting to take the Archers out. Meredith Hayes has secretly carried a torch for Travis since he rescued her when she was a girl of ten. When she hears the threat, she knows she has to warn Travis. Unfortunately, her good deed goes awry and she ends up with more trouble than she bargained for. She ends up a short-straw bride.

Short-Straw Bride releases June 1st. If you’d like to read the first two chapters, click here.

A big thank you to everyone who stopped by P&P to talk about books, western romance and ereaders.  The winner of Brides of the West is . . .

Rebecca Miller

Congratulations, Rebecca.  Send your mailing address to Victoria.Bylin@gmail.com, and I’ll get the book in the mail. I hope you enjoy the stories!

Hello Darlin’s,

The Fillies will welcome Miss Kat Martin back on Saturday, April 28th.

Miss Kat always knows how to show her readers a good time. She’s a dear talented lady full of interesting information. This time she’s here to tell us about the re-release of an earlier suspense. Midnight Sun is the title. If you missed it when it came out before you’ll have another chance to read it.

My mama used to say that old books never die, they’re just recycled. And Lord if that ain’t the truth.

So hightail it over to the Junction on Saturday. You won’t regret it.

You may even have a chance to win an paperback copy.

I’m smack in the middle of a deadline race, so this blog is going to be on the short side. And it’s going to be about what we all love–books, reading and romance. Leave a comment, and I’ll add your name to the hat for a drawing for a copy of “Brides of the West,” the April “spring wedding” anthology from Love Inspired Historicals. I’m in it with Janet Dean and Pamela Nissen.

Let’s get started:

Question: What are you reading right now? I just finished this month’s selection for the Flippin’ Pages Book Club. It’s called “Beaded Hope” and is about a group of women who travel to Africa on a mission trip to assist women with AIDS.  Thoroughly enjoyed the story. It’s women’s fiction rather than romance, but the story tugged at every heartstring.  It’s easy to take life for granted until you read about people coping with serious illness.

I also just finished a Kindle freebie about the Titanic:  Lifeboat 8: The Untold Story.  The tale of that great ship is always compelling. Hubris and heroism are an interesting mix. 

What about you? What’s are you reading at the moment?

Question: Kindle / Nook Time. What’s the last book you bought or downloaded?  I recently cleaned up on Filly freebies. I downloaded books by Margaret Brownley and Mary Connealy / Mary Nealy.  When I finish the current ms, guess what I’m going to do for two solid weeks?  I’m going to read nonstop. A blanket on the grass in the sun sounds really nice after months cooped up in the office.

What about you? What’s the latest book you purchased or downloaded?

Question:  What’s your all time favorite western romance?  It’s funny how a particular book will stay with you forever. For me, it’s The Outsider  by Penelope Williamson. I read it when it first came out, 1997 or so, and I still think back to the story and how it inspired me.  After all this time, it’s still my No. 1 favorite.

What about you? What’s your favorite western romance?

Leave a comment and I’ll add your name to the hat for the drawing. Now back to it . . . I’m on the very last chapter of the new ms. This is my favorite part of the whole process. Can’t wait to type “The End!”

Brides of the West . . . Available now at Amazon!

Have you ever tried to write a dream sequence or a flashback in your novels?  What did you think of it when you were finished?  Were you happy with the end result, or did it leave you feeling a little flat when you read back over it? 

The school of thought on dreams and flashbacks is divided.  Some believe that the use of these devices exhibit the writer’s immature efforts at crafting backstory and plugging it in, resulting in an amateurish debut into the literary world. 

If not done well, this could prove true. 

But why pick on flashbacks and dreams?  Even plain storytelling without the use of these literary devices can sometimes result in what dissolves into, at best, a “freshman effort.”  It’s not necessarily due to using these tools, though some critics may call upon this as their “rule of thumb” to judge by. 

Another argument against flashbacks and dreams is that they lead the reader out of the actual moment of the story, and may somehow “confuse the reader.” 

 Oh, come on.

 The only bit of confusion that might occur is not the result of the dream or flashback itself; rather, the inability of the writer to make his meaning clear–again, resulting in an immature presentation.

 Yes, flashbacks and dreams are sometimes tough to transition to and from, and make that transition “work.”  But they can be invaluable tools in creating your backstory.

 What are the advantages of dream sequences?  They can foreshadow events to come, or provide information about events that the dreamer witnessed.

 In my book, Fire Eyes, U.S. Marshal Kaed Turner is being tortured by a band of renegades, so he isn’t paying attention to some of the details of events and conversation that is taking place around him at the time.  But later, when he’s safely recovering, he dreams about what happened to him.  This dream does two things for the reader:

1.)  It lets us know what, exactly, was being done to Kaed through the conversation and actions of the participants.  We see and hear what is happening, as if we are there, in the moment, without Kaed having to re-tell it to someone.

2.)  It allows Kaed (and the reader) to seize upon a very important piece of information that’s pertinent to the plot.

He was not aware of it consciously, but his subconscious thoughts had picked it up, and it was revealed in the dream.

If you are writing a story with psychic or paranormal happenings, dreams could be a shared link between characters.  This device is used often in novels that include time travel, as well.

 One thing to consider when writing a dream sequence is the way your character sees life, and what his or her culture is.  Make your dreams and flashbacks reflect this appropriately.  In Native American culture, an owl is a symbol of impending death–not wisdom.  It might mean different things to people from other cultures.  Yet, a raven will probably hold much the same symbolism for everyone.

 Your characters can solve problems in their dreams.  This happens in reality–it can happen in fiction.

 Remember, like the presentation of a gourmet meal, a seamless story is in the telling, or the writing.  Backstory is sometimes essential, as are clues to the story that might not be able to be presented any other way.  Make your transitions to the past, or in and out of the dream state, as flawless as possible.

 If you do this, your readers won’t be confused, and you’ll hold them spellbound as they see the story unfold along with your characters.

 Do you use dreams and flashbacks in your writing?  I’d love to hear your comments and thoughts on this. I personally love both dreams and flashbacks, and use both quite frequently in my writing.  Let me hear from you!

FIRE EYES will be re-released through WESTERN TRAIL BLAZER publishing this summer with a brand new cover and some changes to the story that were left out of the original version.

Good Evening!

We had quite a turn out today on the blog, and I want to thank each and every one of you for coming here today and sharing your own stories with me — it’s been a very uplifting day.  To pick the winners, I write each name on a sheet of paper and draw the names at random.

Well, we have 3 winners today — and they are…  Nichole, Laurie G. and Monica.  In order to get these books to you, I’ll need you each one to email me privately so that we can figure out this ebook thing — or we might go with one of the mass market books.  We’ll see.  My email address is:  karenkay(dot)author(at)earthlink(dot)net.  Put a . in the place where it says (dot) and and @ in the place where it says (at).

My sincere thanks again to each one of you who came here today!  Have a beautiful and blessed night.

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening!

Thanks for joining me here today.  Let me say upfront that I will be giving away a free book today — I’m experimenting with giving away ebooks — so far I haven’t figured it out, so I might still be giving away mass market books — but I will be giving away another book to some blogger today — so come on in and please leave a comment in order to enter the contest.

I thought I’d tell you a bit about the writing of the book, PROUD WOLF’S WOMAN today.  This book has only recently been issued as an ebook — and this cover is probably my favorite cover of all of these ebooks.  I love them all (the covers), but this one particularly touches my heart.

PROUD WOLF’S WOMAN was a book that was written at a time in my life when things weren’t going too well.  I’ve already blogged about the writing of GRAY HAWK’S LADY and how that book was written as I met and fell deeply in love with my husband, Paul.  Unfortunately PROUD WOLF’S WOMAN’s story isn’t quite so bright, I fear.  At this time in my life, I’d recently gone through a divorce and had returned to California where I hopped straight into a relationship that was anything but a good one.  However, I didn’t realize that at the time, and so stayed in the relationship prehaps beyond what I should have.

Believe it or not it was the writing of this book that opened my eyes to what my heart and mind were refusing to see.  (This is the book that I had written before I met and married my husband, Paul, whom I love so very much.)

Off to the left here is a picture that was taken just a little bit later than this time period in my life — I’m the one sitting down on the far right in the white jacket.  Anyway, back to my story.  I was in the middle of writing PROUD WOLF’S WOMAN and it wasn’t going very well due to many different elements in my life that just weren’t right.  But it was a scene near the beginning of the book that opened my eyes to what was going on around me.  I know that sounds funny, but I guess sometimes we don’t always really realize things until it hits us square in the face.  In this very telling and important scene the heroine, Julia, is talking with her husband, Ken, in flashback, I believe.  In this scene Ken is saying some horrible things to Julia.  Really horrible — and all those words came directly out of the mouth of this man who was in my life at that time.  Actually I had to go back and revise that scene because what was really said was doubly worse than what was written.  I edited it because I thought that it would probably seem unreal to others that someone could say such horrible things to another human being.

Over to the right is another picture that was taken about that time (I don’t have many pictures that were taken at this period in my life).  And this picture was taken almost a year later.  Anyway, back to my story.  It was the writing of that scene and the fact that my hero in the book, Neeheeowee, a friend of Julia’s, was going to save her and bring love to her.  Not her husband, Ken — a terrible man — but rather Julia’s friend from the past, Neeheeowee.  It was this realization and a few other incidents that happened around that time that decided me.  This relationship broke up very, very shortly after the writing of that scene. 

Off to the left here is a picture taken about 2 years after the incidents that I am describing above — this was taken at an RWA convention in Florida way back when — and I’m here with friend, Catherine Snodgrass.

Now you may wonder — if this time period produced such a terrible example of mankind — who did I pattern the hero after?  Here I was fresh out of a divorce, and having jumped into a soul-destroying relationship. 

Well, similar to the heroine in the story, I had a friend at this time who was never unkind to me, who liked me and never judged me, and who always took my side in most everything.  Although never romanctically involved, the hero in the story took on many of the different characteristics of my friend.  Also at this time period in my life, my friend needed a friend, and I became that to him.

In the story of PROUD WOLF’S WOMAN, both the hero, Neeheeowee (Proud Wolf — translated literally “Wolf on the Hill”) and the heroine, Julia, bring a better life to each other through happenstance, through love and through commitment to their friendship, which in the story, itself, becomes a deep, lasting love.  When I first saw this ebook cover of PROUD WOLF’S WOMAN, I was so struck by how this cover brought this story to life.  For me this cover says more than mere words what is felt between these two courageous people in this story. 

It’s sometimes said that truth is stranger than fiction — and for me this was really true in the writing of this book.  I was certain no one would ever believe the terrible words that were thrown at Julia in the story — and although I wrote them word-for-word originally, I went back after I’d finished writing the book, and edited them so that another might actually believe that a man might say such things.

This was a major book for me — a book that completely helped to open my eyes.  It was also a book that aided me in envisioning a true love — if only because in this book, both the hero and heroine discover a love that had always been there, but had gone unnoticed because of their different cultures.

Well, that’s all for today.  I really hope that you’ve enjoyed the blog today, sad though it is.  But perhaps it’s not so sad, since it was the writing of this book that opened my heart to the fact that there could be so much more to life and to love.  Please don’t forget that I do have about 7 new to ebooks on sale at the moment — and here is the link to go and see all these beautiful and wonderful new covers that Samhain Publishing has done.  They are works of art.  http://store.samhainpublishing.com/karen-kay-pa-1676.html

Please do come on in an leave a comment.

Hi! Winnie Griggs here.

A little over a week ago we marked the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.   It got me to thinking about its most famous tie to the American west, the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”.

The only things I knew about her were fuzzily remembered scenes from the movie so I figured I’d do a little quick research to find out more.

I learned she was born in Hannibal,Missouri on July 18, 1867 and christened Margaret Tobin.  Her father was an Irish immigrant employed as a ditch-digger and the family was on the very low end of the social and financial spectrum.

As a teenager she followed one of her brothers to Leadville, Colorado where he hoped to make his fortune in the silver mines there.  She served as cook for her brother and found work as a seamstress in a local store.

Eventually she met J.J.Brown, a mining superintendent and the two were soon an item.  Of the courtship, one source credits Margaret as saying

“I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired old man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were, and had no better chance in life. I struggled hard with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I’d be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown.”  

They were wed in 1886.  They had a son, Lawrence, in 1887 and their daughter Catherine  made her appearance two years later. 

In the early years, Margaret and J.J. struggled financially.  But J.J.’s instrumental involvement in a silver strike in his employer’s mine changed all of that and the Browns became very wealthy indeed.  The family eventually moved to Denver where Margaret, in a nod to the societal conventions, familiarized herself with the arts and became fluent in several foreign languages.

Alas, their love match did not last forever.  In 1909, after 23 years of marriage, J.J. and Margaret separated, though they never divorced and it appears they remained amicable for the remainder of their days.   As part of the separation agreement, Margaret received a very generous settlement and allowance, which allowed her to continue her travels and social work.

Which brings us to her being aboard the ill-fated Titanic.  Margaret was one of the lucky ones who made it aboard a lifeboat.  It is said she helped in the evacuation and that she took up an oar herself to help row the boat away from the wreckage.  She also strongly urged the crewman in charge of the lifeboat to go back to try to see if more people could be saved.  Her exhortations were met with strong opposition due to fears that the boat would be swamped by desperate swimmers.  Reports vary as to whether they did in fact eventually go back and whether or not anyone was rescued.

What’s not in doubt, however, is that when the survivors were rescued by the crew of the Carpathia, she worked tirelessly to help provide physical and emotional comfort to the other survivors.  By the time the ship reached New York, Margaret had established the Survivor’s Committee and raised nearly $10,000 for those survivors who lost everything.  She helped erect the Titanic Memorial in Washington D.C but to her annoyance found that as a woman she was barred from participation in the Titanic hearings.

Margaret was also a philanthropist and activist in other areas.  Some of her more notable contributions:

• Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
• She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
• Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
• Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
• Worked with a  judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court – this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
• She twice ran for the U.S Senate
• During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France,  helping to establish a relief station for soldiers.  She was later awarded the French Legion Of  Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned – during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

All this talk and hullabaloo about weddings makes me want to get married. But, guess I’ll have to rope myself a cowboy first. Hee-Hee!

I put all the names in a jug and drew two of them.

CINDY WOOLARD gets “Brides of the West”

SHERRY ALLMAN wins “Wanted: A Family”

Congratulations, ladies! No need for you do anything. Someone will contact you for your mailing particulars. I know you’re both tickled to death to get these books.

That’s it for now. See you around the bend.

Today, we welcome author Robert Randisi. He writes western novels and detective thrillers. His publishing list is quite long. He’s graciously let us interview him. We hope you enjoy what he has to say.

How did you start your writing career?

I started reading in earnest when I was 10. Decided to write my own stuff when I was 15. Went to the movies and saw HARPER. Read all the credits, discovered the movie was based on Ross Macdonald’s book THE MOVING TARGET. I went out and started reading Ross Mac, and all other private eye fiction. That year I decided I wanted to write private eye fiction, and I wanted to write for a living by the time I turned 30-and I did.

What was your first sale as an author?

I sold a story called “Murder Among Witches” to Mike Shayne’s Mystery Magazine when I was 22.

How did you come to write Westerns?

I backed into writing The Gunsmith series and-as a result-also backed into writing westerns. I had written my first novel, THE DISAPPEARANXCE OF PENNY, a private eye novel, for Charter Books.  It was my hope-and the hope of my editor, Michael Seidman-that I’d be writing for books in the “Henry Po” series, but one day I got a call from Michael who asked me, “Can you write westerns?” At that point I had never even read many westerns, but I naturally said, “Yes.” (This was 1981. Back then I always said yes.)  He told me to come up with a proposal for a series.

I went to a used bookstore and bought about 40 westerns, representative of at least one book in every existing series. I read them so that I would not repeat anyone’s character. I then came up with a proposal for The Gunsmith series.  The working name for the character was “Tom Sideman.”  I submitted the proposal about a traveling gunsmith who was actually a fast gun legend AS WELL as a true gunsmith.   Michael liked it and gave me a contract for two books. When I submitted the first book he said it was good, but that he was going to have to break me of my “hardboiled” style. I told him that in a western it was called “hardcase.”

Before long I got a call and Michael said they wanted to give me a contract for a third book, as well.  I said that was fine.  Within weeks he asked me if I could write a book a month. I didn’t know if I could, but I said, “YES.” They then gave me a contract for 9 more books, which made it an even dozen I was contracted for. And so, I began . . .

Oh, one morning  about 8:30 am – I had just gotten in from my real job with the NYPD and had only gone to bed at 8:00 am – Michael called me and said they had just had an editorial meeting and decided to call the character “Adam Steele.”  I told them that was fine with me, but that they should check with George Gilman, who already had a 22 book series about Adam Steele. (Really, who was doing their market research?)  He said he’d call me back.  Later that day he called and said they’d decided to name him “Clint Adams.”  I said they could call him Sue if they wanted, as long as they paid me. The first book was published January 1982, the same month I quit my job and became a full time writer.

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?

I write every day, day and night. How long depends on whether or not I have to go out and run errands that day. Two day shifts, broken up by dinner. Two night shifts, broken up by a nap.  The longest stretch is usually midnight to 4. Usually, I’m working ion two books at one time-a mystery and a western.

What books have most influenced your life?

Private eye novels, meaning Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Ross Macdonald.  An occasional favorite novel like NINE PRINCES IN AMBER by Roger Zelazney, REPLAY by Ken Grimwood, HEIRO’S JOURNEY by Sterling Lanier, DINOSAUR BEACH by Keith Laumer.

What do you think makes a good story?

Anything that shows an application of serious imagination.

Who is your favorite author?

I don’t have one-and by that I mean I don’t have ONLY one.  But the books I mentioned above comprise a good list-Chandler, Hammett, Macdonald, Zelazney, Laumer, lesser known authors to the general public like Thomas B. Dewey, Ralph Dennis, modern authors like Pete Robinson, Wallace Stroby and Max Allan Collins.

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

The time to write all the ones I have in my head. I generally do about 16 books a year. These are mostly books I HAVE to write to make a living. That doesn;t leave much time to write the books I WANT to write.

What are your pet peeves as a writer? As a reader?

My pet peeve used to be self published authors who thought they should be eligible for professional awards. If you put on a play in your basement should you be eligible for a Tony? But “self-published” has come to mean something totally different these days. But I still don’t approve of it as a short cut to a career. Having the disposable income to publish your own books doesn’t make you as writer. As a reader? Hmm, writers who have nothing new to say.

Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they?

The business has changed a lot, but my advice has not. Write every day. Don’t look for short cuts. Pay your dues.

Where are your fans most likely to find you hanging out?

Casinos, race tracks, book stores mostly. And sitting behind my desk. A lot!

Who are your books published with?

The Gunsmith series has been published for 30 years by Berkley. My Rat Pack books were published by St. Martins Press, but have been moved to Severn House.  I’ve had some books published recently by Perfect Crime Books, Vantage Point.  I had 24 books published with Dorchester over the past 15 years until they went under. My Adult Westerns are being reprinted by Speaking Volumes LLC.

Visit me at: www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/randisi_r.html

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001698781430&sk=photos