Kathryn Albright

Kathryn Albright started writing the day she realized she married into a clan where Sundays in Autumn meant football – LOTS of football. She writes sweet historical romance and is both traditionally and self-published. Her stories have won several industry awards which you can learn more about on her website. When not caught up in a fascinating story, she enjoys road trips with her husband. She lives with her family in the rural Midwest. Visit her at http://www.kathrynalbright.com.

Lest We Forget

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American flags on gravesites commemorate Memorial Day at at United States national cemetery.
American flags on gravesites commemorate Memorial Day at at United States national cemetery.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
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This quote from Mark Twain makes me chuckle. He sure was a man full of sass and attitude. I chose to share it today because it is Memorial Day—a special day set aside to remember and honor those who gave their life in active military service to our country. Here in the USA we call them heroes.

At Petticoats and Pistols we write stories of the west with all types of heroes. The brash, the reluctant, the foolish, the wounded and what we call…the alpha. In romance, we write it with a Happily Ever After Ending and the hero is alive at the end. (YAY!) Although sometimes it is bittersweet and they have lost a lot to get to their HEA.

Merriam-Webster Hero Definition:

  • a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
  • rodeo queens & flagsan illustrious warrior
  • a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities
  • one who shows great courage
  • the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work
  • the central figure in an event, period, or movement

No offense to Merriam-Webster’ definition but my heroes and heroines start out a bit more ordinary. It is only when they are caught up in extraordinary circumstances (a range war, a famine, a stampede, a robbery) that they must—through grit, intelligence, and determination—prevail.

Thinking about heroes and Memorial Day it comes to me that the men and women who have given their lives in service to their country are just that. They are you and me—ordinary men and women caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Which makes their actions under duress – that much more noble. (Plus the fact some of them actually chose to race into danger!)

                                             ~A few of my favorite quotes on heroes~

Liberty & JusticeCourage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.
Billy Graham

It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.    Norman Schwarzkopf

A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
Author Unknown

  Courage is being scared to death ~ and saddling up anyway.
John Wayne

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Don’t forget to take a moment today to remember and honor our fallen heroes!

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What are your thoughts on heroes and Memorial Day?

Pint. R&LThe Rebel and the Lady, has my favorite kind of hero. For one lucky commenter I will rush a print copy to your doorstep. Make sure to check back tomorrow to see if you won!

Here is the back blurb ~

Victoria Ruiz is on the run. Fleeing Santa Anna’s army, which is invading Texas. But Victoria is a lady of aristocratic descent. And this is no place for a lady.

Jake Dumont is a rebel. A loner. And a crack shot. He’s never stayed in one place for long. Never let anyone close enough to break through his guarded heart. Until now…

When Jake lays eyes on stunning Victoria, he’s rocked to the core. Here is a woman who will lay her life on the line for what she believes. Finally he’s found something worth fight for. The lady has stolen his heart. But can a rebel gunslinger claim an aristocrat as his bride?

Inspiration for a story comes from…my readers!

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Pt. Loma Lighthouse

Often my inspiration to write a story comes from a setting. For instance, the very first book I ever wrote grew out of my fascination with the Old Pt. Loma Lighthouse on the peninsula in San Diego Harbor. The peninsula is windswept with tide pools and cliffs on the ocean side and a sloping hill on the harbor side. That book is The Angel and the Outlaw. That lighthouse is featured again in my latest book, The Gunslinger and the Heiress. However, rather than having the setting inspire me this time, the main reason I felt compelled to write this story came from readers. They asked (repeatedly) for a story about the little girl, six-year-old Hannah from The Angel and the Outlaw. Many wondered what had happened to her.US_Boundary_Survey_1850

Hannah, grows up living the life of a princess with her grandfather in San Francisco. He owns a shipping business with a fleet of ships. Life for Hannah has been one of adults, tutors, and boardrooms. She is a princess in an ivory tower—smart, beautiful, and lonely. And one more thing…Hannah is mute.

Caleb, her childhood friend from the peninsula, has not been so fortunate to be born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Caleb had to fend for himself and learn life lessons the hard way. At a young age, he joined the army at Fort Rosecrans in San Diego. While looking out for his friend in an out-of-the-way saloon on the Mexican/American border, he was drugged and the next day found himself aboard a steamer heading for Alaska and the gold fields—shanghaied.

Crazy as it may sound, they never forgot each other. Hannah thrilled at the letters Caleb would write to her that were full of adventures and excitement in worlds she would never know. And Caleb liked hearing from her. Her letters gave him a “home” when everything else felt tossed and twisted in his life. They remained good friends up until Hannah’s sixteenth birthday. That is the day that everything changed, a day that Hannah chose to exclude him from her life.The Gunslinger and the Heiress

Five years later Hannah is on his doorstep. She needs his help to keep her family’s shipping empire. She has no right to ask him for help. She was callous and cruel before, driving him away, but he is the only one she can turn to now. And he is the only one that can help her step down from her ivory tower.

It’s been said there is a thin line between love and hate. Is it possible that he will help her…even though he might never forgive her? Would he do such a thing? And could she trust him if he did accept? She knows that if she were offered the same situation again from all those years ago…she would not choose any differently.  Where does that leave their friendship? How can she have the slightest hope that Caleb will help her…let alone forgive her?

She finds her answer only as they both work through old prejudices. She must come to realize that no matter the trappings and rules society places on her, it is up to her to find and grasp her own happiness. Can she be as strong as he needs her to be?

I loved writing Caleb and Hannah’s story. I have a soft spot in my heart for each of them. I guess in a way they are my “children.” For an excerpt click here.

I have one copy of The Gunslinger and the Heiress for someone who comments today. I would love for it to be YOU! Last month when I offered a book, I was unable to connect with the winner through their email, so I must ask that if you post in the hopes of winning a free book, please check back the next day to see if you won. Should your name be drawn, I will need to know if you want a print copy or an ebook and where to send it!

Introduction and a Giveaway!

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Thank you for the wonderful welcome to Petticoats and Pistols ~Wildflower Junction! It is a thrill to be here among such gifted story-tellers. I look forward to getting to know all the fillies better and talking about books, stories, and the wild and crazy West.

I thought for9780373298150 this first post, I’d give readers here a small insight into my life. Don’t worry– I’ll keep it whip-stitch short and lollipop sweet.

I live in the Midwest with my husband. My three sons have grown and are off on their own, but thankfully come home often. I do need those great bear hugs! Not a one is a real cowboy…however my youngest seems to have the cowboy spirit of independence, ingenuity, and love of adventure in the wild.

My stories are often set in southern California where I grew up. I was surprised to see my first story – The Angel and the Outlaw – published as a western because it actually takes place at the lighthouse on the peninsula in San Diego harbor. It is set in the 1870s and has a western “feel” with Spanish flavor. I drew inspiration from that lighthouse and the whaling station at its base. Of course…it did have an outlaw and guns…    My next two books take place in Texas, the result of a family trip to the Alamo. I had goosebumps walking through there and discovering the history.  My latest book is The Gunslinger and the Heiress which again is set in early San Diego.

In January I left my day job so that I could write more. I have so many storiesHotel Del Old Soft inside that are wrestling to get out. It’s a fun, exciting new page in my life and I’m so excited that Petticoats and Pistols will be part of it. Besides writing, I hope to get back to some of the things I haven’t had time for–things like quilting, gardening, traveling, and always–my FAMILY.

I’d love to have you introduce yourself and tell me where you hang your hat (I know there are some here from Australia!) and what you like to see here at Wildflower Junction. I will send a copy of The Gunslinger and the Heiress to one lucky commenter. (Name will be pulled from my Stetson.)

Cheers!

Kathryn