I am Margaret Tanner, an award winning, bestselling, Australian author with nearly two hundred books published on Amazon. I now concentrate on writing sweet Western Historical Romance, although in the past I used to write Contemporary and Australian Historical Romance.
I like to think my stories will tug at your heartstrings and evoke strong emotions.
My heroes hide behind a rough exterior. They are tough men who are prepared to face danger and overwhelming odds for the women they love. My heroines are brave, resourceful women willing to endure hardship and danger in an untamed land, if it means they can win their heart’s desire.
I have had many jobs over the years including being an Army Reservist, an Army Major’s secretary and a Medical Audio typist. My most memorable job, for all the wrong reasons, was as a postal delivery person. Surprisingly, I am scared of dogs, and I have to say I was accosted many times by dogs who were/or were not, intent on doing me harm.
I sadly lost my husband at the end of Covid. I have three grown-up sons, and two lovely granddaughters.
Outside of my family and friends, writing is my passion.
FRONTIER LIFE – AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA
Life on the American and Australian frontiers have a strikingly similar history, so it was fairly easy for me to make the transition from writing Australian to American western historical stories.
For example, take the Australian Act of Selection.
America: The original Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20th, 1862. It gave applicants freehold title to up to 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River. The law required only three steps from the applicant – filing an application, improving the land, then filing for a deed of title.
Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. government, including freed slaves, could file a claim on the provisions that they were over the age of twenty-one and had lived on the land for five years.
The Homestead Act’s lenient terms proved to be ill-fated for many settlers. Claimants didn’t have to own farming implements or even to have had any farming experience. The allocated tracts of land may have been adequate in humid regions but were not large enough to support plains settlers where lack of water reduced yields.
Speculators often gained control of homestead land by hiring phony claimants or buying up abandoned farms.
Homesteaders could often build a log cabin in a matter of days, using only an axe and auger. No nails were required for the task.
The first step in construction was to build a stone or rock foundation, to keep the logs off the ground and prevent rot. Once the foundation was laid, settlers would cut down trees and square off the logs. These logs were then “notched” in the top and bottom of each end then stacked to form walls. The notched logs fitted snugly together at the corners of the cabin and held the walls in place. After the logs were stacked, gaps remained in the walls. Settlers had to jam sticks and wood chips into the gaps, then they filled in the remaining gaps with cement made from earth, sand, and water.
Fireplaces were built of stone and often had stick-and-mud chimneys.
Most cabins had dirt or gravel floors, which had to be raked daily to preserve their evenness.
Australia: The 1860 Land Act allowed free selection of crown land. This included land already occupied by the squatters, (wealthy landowners) who had managed to circumvent the law for years and keep land that they did not legally own.
The Act allowed selectors access to the squatters’ land, and they could purchase between 40 and 320 acres of crown land, but after that, the authorities left them to fend for themselves. Not an easy task against the wealthy, often ruthless squatters who were incensed at what they thought was theft of their land.
The Act of Selection was intended to encourage closer settlement, based on intensive agriculture. Selectors often came into conflict with squatters, who already occupied land and were prepared to fight to keep it.
The bitterness ran deep for many years, sometimes erupting into violence.
The first permanent homesteads on the Australian frontier were constructed using posts and split timber slabs. The posts were set into the ground, about three feet apart, according to the desired layout. Slabs of timber were then dropped into the slots. A sapling or similar, straight piece of timber ran across the top of the posts, which allowed them to be tied together so they could support the roof.
Clay was often plugged in between the joins and splits of the cladding to stop droughts. The internal walls were sometimes plastered with clay and straw, lined with hessian/calico, whitewashed or simply left as split timber.
Roofs were pitched using saplings straight from the bush and often clad with bark. Early settlers learnt from the aborigines that large sheets of bark could be cut and peeled off a variety of trees and used as sheets to clad the roof.
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I’m so proud of my Gun For Hire book – Dustin.
Please visit the series page HERE.
My latest release was on the 2nd of April – Callum’s Bride.
Blurb:
Sebastian thought he was irredeemable. Will Carly’s love set him free?
Bounty hunter Sebastian Callum is ambushed and seriously wounded by the McSweeney gang.
He finds his way to Carly’s house and she and her young son give him sanctuary. But danger is an ever-present threat. And why does the littler boy think Sebastian is Jesus?
While nursing him back to health, Carly gives Sebastian her heart, even though he thinks he is an unworthy recipient. Will he accept this special gift from her?
If so, how far will a woman from his past go to keep them apart?
Readers can contact me via my FB author group. I would love to see you there. Or private message me on FB.
To find out more about my books please check out my Amazon link.
GIVEAWAY
One reader who leaves a comment, will win a $5 Amazon Gift Card. Have you ever been inside a log cabin?
What do you think would be the biggest challenge of making a home on the frontier?
I have been inside a log cabin. My grandpa built a rough one for fox hunting gatherings–not an English style of hunt.
Getting your claim in and just surviving day-to-day.
Hi Denise, I stayed the night in a log cabin once, it was a little too primitive for me. It was in one of those holiday parks, but good fun..
Good morning! My grandparents had a log smoke house/grib on their property. But, I have seen some in the Smoky Mountains. I can’t imagine having a dirt floor. I guess if you were born to it, you wouldn’t know the difference. But what a joy some small conveniences of a good wooden floor or good cook stove would have made some homesteader happy.
I’ve enjoyed your books in the past and am finishing up the Substitute Brides series. I really enjoyed them. I’m on the last book of the series. After reading Dustin, I started reading some of your other books. Dustin and Honey were a sweet couple. Her “first love” returned and helped her. They never forgot each other. Very sweet story in a rugged harsh environment.
Thank you for the history on American and Aussie homestead acts.
Best wishes to you!
Hi Tracy,
Thank you for the compliment, glad you enjoy my books. Yes, the dirt floor would be a put off for me too, although you wouldn’t have to wash it.
I don’t remember if I have been in a log cabin or not, but if I have been it would’ve been as a tourist. I think one of the biggest challenges would be keeping the land in your possession.
Hi Karijean,
I think you are right, trying to keep the land would be one of the hardest parts, especially if it was near a creek. That was the way of it in Australia. Families feuded for years over land, even on to the next generation.
Yes, I’ve been in several log cabins. In fact, my great aunt and uncle lived in one near my home in NC. They did not have a bathroom in the house. They even had a dirt floor for a long time.
My late husband and I stayed in a log cabin in the VA mountains for a week. It was in the middle of the woods. It was nice, but we didn’t enjoy the mice!
We also went in several on the parkway in NC/VA.
LOVE learning about history!
Hi Susan, sounds like you have had plenty of experience with log cabins. I have only stayed in one once, but have seen a lot, especially in the mountains. Here in Australia the cooking was sometimes done outside, or the kitchen separate.
haven’t been, too remote
Hi bn100, you sound a lot like me, now I am older I need my creature comforts.
I visited some log cabins, some old and some new.
I think making a home on the frontier would be difficult, but many people done it. I would not like having a dirt floor, always dirty and cold. A lot of them probably didn’t have glass windows to see out of, but I guess they had a opening that could be shuttered and opened up. I would think that most of the cabins would be on the small side so not too much room to move around in or to store things. I would like having a fireplace for warmth, but most cooking was done in it too, always danger of catching your clothes on fire or a child getting hurt around it.
Yes, Connie, they would have been quite dangerous, with open fires and wood burning stoves, and of course the women wore log dresses too, which would be a hazard.
I have been inside a log cabin before. 🙂 I don’t know what the biggest challenge would be. It seems like it would all be a bit challenging.
It would be challenging all right. There again, I suppose if we had to do it, we probably could. My ancestors were very early settlers in Australia so I do have pioneering blood, but it is very diluted now.
I’ve been inside several log cabins. I think one of the biggest challenges of making a home on the frontier would be having to provide for all of your needs without help. You couldn’t run to the grocery store to pick something up, or run to the hardware store for materials. Most people didn’t have close neighbors either. They had to do everything on their own.
Yes indeed you are right Kim. A trip to the grocery store might take hours, and then you would have to have the money to pay as well. These brave frontier people would have to be very self sufficient and would have to grow or make everything but the most essential of items.
I knew someone that had an old log cabin on their property, they did a great job at fixing it up! I’d love to have one day, but I know I couldn’t live in it, I’m too used to modern conveniences!
A log cabin would be good Sabrina, but I would have to have all the modern conveniences in it.
I haven’ visited a log cabin but would be extremely interested in touring one since history fascinates me greatly. The difficulty would be warmth through the winter and cooking meals.
They are interesting. Often in Australia the roofs were made of bark. We have a tree here called a string bark gum, and it sheds bark in very large pieces, so it was used a lot.
In a museum. Storing food and isolation from others during the winter months.
I think the isolation would be the worst thing for the women, Kim. No neighbors for miles around.
I don’t know about you Kim, but I think the isolation would be the worst thing for the women. Imagine having no neighbors for miles around.
Yes, I have been inside several cabins at historic sites. My first thought, particularly after reading the story of the original family, was that she managed to raise 8 children in that tiny structure (which most were).
I know Catherine. They had such large families in those days. I have heard of families with 10 or 12 children living in these conditions. A testament to the strength of these women.
What surprises me of the ones I have seen is how small they are. I would suffer claustrophobia
I have been inside the original Zane Grey cabin in Payson, AZ It has since burned and now has a replica of it
They certainly were small, sometimes as the family grew, they might add a room or two on to the original structure Joye. Zane Grey was a favorite writer of mine. It was through his books that I got to love Westerns, not only to read but write.
Yes I have visited parks that have log cabins. I would say the dirt floors and the small spaces would be a hardship
Yes, Linda, I think that would be the hardest part.
Have you ever been inside a log cabin? Yes I have. In Wisconsin, they have an outdoor museum, where people can walk around what a small village would have been like. There were people dressed in the time and even workers, such as a cobbler, a baker, etc.
What do you think would be the biggest challenge of making a home on the frontier? For me I would guess it would be keeping it clean and free of insects/rodents.
That would have been interesting Lori. I love those outdoor museums. We have one a couple of hours away from where I live, but it is set up as a gold mining town.
Fancy meeting you here!! I have been in a log cabin before. I’d hate to be without my A/C, but if you aren’t used to something, you really don’t know to miss it. I think one of the biggest things would being away from your family.
Small world Trudy. You would be surprised where I sometimes pop up. I am thinking that, you don’t miss what you have never had. I am guessing they would leave the doors and windows open to let in fresh air in the summer, because it would get very hot.
I am a history buff and have been in quite a few log cabins. Thankfully, the North Carolina mountains, as well as some other places, have preserved a number of them. I think one of the hardest things about living on the early frontier was all the hard, intensive physical labor required.
Hi Janice, yes the hard physical labor would get me every time. When my late hubby and I stayed overnight at a cabin similar to what we are speaking about, there was electricity but we had to light a fire. Hubby couldn’t do it, so I surprised myself by getting a nice fire started. Didn’t have to chop the wood thank goodness, another necessary chore in those days.
No, I haven’t been in a long cabin but always wanted to live in one.
I wouldn’t mind living in one Barb, but only if I had all my modern conveniences. My pioneer blood is just too diluted to put up with the hardships of our forebears.
I haven’t been in a log cabin, but some of the more modern ones I’ve seen from the outside look beautiful.
Back in the day, I imagine a couple challenges would have been to have trees available to cut and big strong men to cut the trees.
Thanks for the interesting post and pictures!!!
A pleasure Lynn. What always surprises me is how similar American and Australian pioneer history is.
I think it would have been hard to personalize a log cabin for your home. I think the people of that era had few belongings. I would have wanted to have cute little curtains, vases of flowers and such to personalize and make homey. I think thise people had far greater things on their minds.
Hi Jackie, I am sure they did have few belongings – it would be a matter of survival for them. If there were wild flowers available, I am thinking they would have picked them and brought them inside to cheer the place up a bit.
Margaret, thank you so much for coming. I have been in quite a few log cabins with a dirt floor and I was simply astounded by how small they were. It wasn’t uncommon for them to have twelve kids or more. I don’t know how they managed. I really don’t. Amazing. The biggest challenge for me would’ve been the space. I hope you enjoy your visit! Wishing you much success with Dustin.
Hi Linda, thanks for inviting me over here. It was a pleasure to drop by. I think most of the early cabins would have had dirt floors, probably because it saved wood and labor by not having to make them.
When I attended college in Northern Arizona, the city had preserved the log cabin mansion of one of the founding families. I belive that attacks from wild animals would be the most challenging thing about homesteading.
OOh Becky, I forgot about the wild animals. In Australia we have native dogs called dingoes and they have been known to carry off babies or small children and there were lots of deadly snakes too.
Once when I was younger, we went to visit family in Mexico and they had a log cabin, very rustic and made me more appreciative of what I had
I don’t think we realize how lucky we are Laura.
I’ve been in a log cabib home and a log schoolhouse. The schoolhouse is in the center of the town I grew up in AND there are 2 more out in farmers fields that look in bad shape. The one in town is a museum now.
I think the hardest thing would be getting the logs where you want to build the cabin. Many were build in fields and surrounded by farming crops. Then making sure water was near by. I think this kind of life would have been very difficult.
It would have been difficult for sure Carrie. In most parts of Australia, except for the desert regions, there were plenty of trees, so it would not be too much of a problem getting the wood. Chopping the trees down would have been hard, because they probably would have only had an axe.
Good afternoon, nice to have you here Margaret , Welcome! Your book sounds like a great read and I love your book cover. Thank you for sharing the Blurb. I already follow you on FB and am in your FB Author Group. I have been in Log Cabins, I love cabins. I think the hardest thing would be probably to keep the cabin warm in the winter , and hopefully having water close by. Have a great weekend.
Thanks for the welcome Alicia. Yes, it is a nice cover, no credit to me of course, I couldn’t draw two straight liens on a piece of paper. Keeping it warm in winter would be hard, but I think keeping it cool in summer would be even worse.
I can’t say if I have been in a log cabin, thank you for the giveaway.
A pleasure Bridgette.
I’ve never been in a log cabin, but there is one in one of the developments near where I live, it looks quite large from the outside.
I’d think the biggest challenge would be the lack of storage space to keep a lot of supplies, and cooking meals.
Hi Melanie. Cooking the meals would have been a challenge for sure.
I have never been in a log cabin. I imagine from what I have read that frontier life was really hard. The things we take for granted these days were not available in those days. Daily chores must have been exhausting.
Hi Cherie, yes the daily chores would have been grueling and most times the men would be away working so the woman and perhaps older kids would have to shoulder the burden.
Great piece, Margaret! Really enjoyed it. Over the years I have crawled through a number of primitive and abandoned dwelling made of various materials and must say I truly appreciate the “modcons”!
Hi Elissa, nice to catch up. Yes, in your hubby’s line of work you would have been in many of these types of houses. I am a modcons type of person now. I might have been able to rough it a bit when I was young, but too old now. I need comfort.
I have been in multiple log cabins. Our town, the oldest in the state, has an historic log cabin they moved to a lot on downtown Main Street. It is one of the earliest in the area. We have two local State Parks that have.had log cabins. One had a reconstructed farmstead and cabin, but it was all washed away by the flood from Hurricane Helene. The other is a reconstructed pre-Revolutionary War fort with log cabins inside.
I think the hardest part of building a homestead on the frontier would be getting the material needed to build some sort of shelter. Many areas did not have enough trees to build a house or even frame a soddie. Making sure you had a good supply of water to work construction as well as supply enough to live on would be paramount.
Thank you for an interesting post. I look forward to reading your book, Dustin, in the Gun For Hire series.
Thank you Patricia. That is interesting that you live in the oldest town in your state. I am guessing you would have many historical properties of different eras.
The first place my daughters got their eye glasses from was a long cabin with a wooden swing out front.
What wouldn’t be hard about living in the frontier.
Hi Joannie, I would need indoor plumbing and electricity at the very least. I do have pioneering blood running through my veins but it is very diluted so I need my creature comforts.
Others have mentioned most of the disadvantages that came to my mind (isolation, hard physical labor, etc.). I wonder how on earth those women managed to clothe their families not to mention doing laundry. We knit/crochet/sew as hobbies; for them that was how they kept their families in clothing and linens.
Hi Mary, I truly don’t know how they did cope. It would have been a case of necessity, but I am not sure I would have been up to it.
I have never been inside a log cabin but have been on the outside of one.
Good morning. I have seen plenty form the outside, and I have been inside too. Some were more primitive than others, but it would have been a hard life, especially living in the ones with a dirt floor.
I have been inside one. Keeping it clean would be the biggest challenge I think.
Good morning. For sure, the cleaning would be never ending.
Being from Missouri, we have lots of history on the 1800’s. I have been in a log cabin from that time period, I love it. But the small space with no privacy would be hard, especially in the winter.
Good morning Shonda, yes the lack of space would have been a real problem. I didn’t think about the lack of privacy, that certainly would have been a worry to me. And they had such big families too.