Linda Broday

Here in the Texas Panhandle, we do love our cowboys. There's just something about a man in a Stetson and jeans that makes my heart beat faster. I'm not much of a cook but I love to do genealogy and I'm a bit of a rock hound. I'm also a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of historical western romance. You can contact me through my website and I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. HAPPY READING!
https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules/

Wearing of the Green

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Linda Broday here. Hey, are you wearing green? Do you know why you’re supposed to? I grew up totally ignorant of the reason. I just knew I didn’t want to be pinched by the boys at school. I did know the holiday originated in Ireland and the Irish immigrants brought it to America but little else.

How about you?

Here’s the scoop. We celebrate to honor Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick who brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century.

But back up a minute. Patrick was abducted at the age of sixteen and brought to the Emerald Isle as a slave. He escaped and later returned to convert the Irish to Christianity. He used the three leaves of a shamrock, which grows wild in Ireland, to represent the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost with the stem uniting all three.

That’s something I did not know.

But the Irish got on board with him and turned from paganism, which was a good thing.

Still, why is green worn?

Seems the custom is due to political origins that go back to the Great Irish Rebellion in 1641.This uprising was due to the Catholic leaders opposing the English crown and they adopted a green flag with a harp on it. Green also reappeared during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

Yet, I wondered why it’s customary to pinch someone failing to wear green. The answer is folklore. Green is supposed to make you invisible to leprechauns. They can see those wearing different colors so the mischievous little things pinch them. It’s a lighthearted belief to inspire us to wear green. Boys especially love to pinch.

Today, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a global celebration. There are parades and other festivities meant to highlight Irish culture and nurture community spirit and pride. And to eliminate discrimination, which is always a good thing.

We celebrate with green beer, various clothing and hats, and the Chicago River is dyed green, among other ways we celebrate.

But in Ireland, it’s still a religious holiday and continue to pay tribute to St. Patrick. By the way, he established many, many monasteries, churches, and schools before he died on March 17, 461.

In all my 50+ published books, I’ve never written any around St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe I should remedy that. Who knows what will inspire me?

Do you do anything to celebrate? Maybe eat the traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage or wear green? I’ll give away a $10 Amazon gift card in a drawing from the commenters.

Cowgirls in the Kitchen With Linda Broday

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Hi everyone, I’m Linda Broday and welcome to my little kitchen. I am not the best cook and I have to confess I don’t even really like to cook. My mama, God bless her heart, sure did try to instill some of her love for cooking in me but it just wouldn’t take. She was one of the best cooks and everyone loved to go to her house and it wasn’t for the candy she hid under the sofa. LOL My mama sure did love her sweets, and unfortunately, that got passed on to me. I’ve made these cookies so you know they aren’t very difficult. I did get some a little bit brown. Ha!!! Typical.

POTATO CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup (133 g.) light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup (65 g.) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups (180 g.) all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 3/4 cups (145 g.) crushed kettle-style potato chips, divided

Directions

Step 1 In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat brown sugar, butter, granulated sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

Beat in egg, vanilla, and baking soda until combined, then reduce speed to low and beat in flour just until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and 2 cups potato chips. Cover bowl and refrigerate 1 hour.

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 3/4 cup potato chips in a small flat dish.

Scoop dough into balls about 3 tablespoons (2 ounces) each. Roll in potato chips, gently pressing to adhere. Arrange on prepared sheets, spacing about 1″ apart. With a clean palm, flatten balls into pucks about 2 1/2″ in diameter.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets top to bottom and back to front after 7 minutes, until puffed and golden brown around the edges, 11 to 14 minutes.

Let sit 2 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Enjoy!

These will store in an airtight container for 3 weeks. I tell you they are so tasty. But don’t expect a soft cookie. These are crunchy sweet goodness.

What are your cookie favorites? Have you ever made any unusual kind?

Linda Broday Has WINNERS!

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Oh my goodness! Thank you all for coming to read my post! I’ve decided to give four books away–two each of the mentioned books!

The two Winners of Summer’s Heart are:

CRYSTAL STEWART

LOIS IMEL

The two Winners of Saving the Mail Order Bride are:

SARAH GUNTER

SONDRA WEAVER

Congratulations, Ladies!! Yippee. I’ll be contacting you all so watch for the email.

Handcuffs and Criminals

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As an author of historical western romance, I’ve written a lot about criminals and bad men. Even jails on occasion but lots of lawmen. The fact is, I like writing about them.

If you think handcuffs originated in the 18th Century, think again. The earliest metal handcuffs were used during the Bronze and Iron ages with new improvements as the centuries have passed. Maybe you already knew this but I did not. It never occurred to me that metal ones existed before the 18th Century. I assumed they used rope or leather bindings, not metal.

Inventor John J. Tower patented a pair of cuffs in 1865 that were widely used in America. They were ratcheted and therefore adjustable to the size of the criminals’ wrists which was a remarkable adaptation. They allowed a lawman to carry only one pair of cuffs whereas he used to have to carry multiples in various sizes.

The picture below is of Tower’s design and is the courtesy of The Science Museum.

John Tower’s Adjustable Handcuffs

Here is a set of Old West handcuffs that were widely used. Again, courtesy of The Science Museum.

Old West Handcuffs

As I said above, I’ve written about a lot of outlaws and criminals. One of my favorite stories was Saving the Mail Order Bride. It was 2nd book in my Outlaw Mail Order Bride series. Outlaw Jack Bowdre finds himself handcuffed to a lawman on a stagecoach on the way to jail when the stage overturns and kills the lawman. There’s one passenger on board, a woman named Nora, who panics and tosses the key to the handcuffs out the window. Jack would like to have wrung Nora’s neck. He’s never able to find the key. This story has so much humor and I just loved writing it. This is not a sweet romance though since it has love scenes.

 

What makes a book truly memorable? If you’d like to get your name in the drawing for one copy of Saving the Mail Order Bride, let me know in the comments. I’m also giving away one copy of Summer’s Heart which is my latest sweet romance.

Summer’s Heart, Book 2 The McIntyres, came out in January.

Texas, 1882. A suffocating blizzard locks Summer McIntyre inside a small town just as her world blows apart. A strange woman emerges from the storm carrying a baby and a damning accusation—Sheriff Dan Bodine fathered her child. The man Summer meant to marry suddenly seems like a stranger.

While the town is paralyzed under snow and suspicion, Summer receives even more staggering news: her missing little brother is alive, but being held by a deranged woman somewhere in the frozen wilderness. Summer and Dan want nothing more than to ride out and save him, but the storm has sealed every trail and turned the hills into a death trap.

With time running out and trust shattered, Summer must decide whether Dan is the ally she needs—or the heartbreak she can’t outrun.

Linda Has Winners!

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Thank you all who came to my blog today. I really appreciated it. I wish I could give you all a book.

But, since I can’t, I’ll just post the two winners.

And they are:

PATTI WHITAKER

JACKIE WISHERD

Congratulations, ladies. I’ll email you tomorrow so watch for it.

 

Insanity in the Old West

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“On an unforgiving 1880s frontier, where secrets cut as sharp as winter winds, love must decide whether to freeze—or fight its way through the storm.”

When I began to write SUMMER’S HEART, I had no plans to include a woman who was off her rocker. It wasn’t until I decided Summer and Dan were too comfortable in their relationship. So, like authors do, I had to shake the couple up. Enter Elsie Finch with wild claims that Dan fathered her child.

Boy, did the fireworks light things up! Doubts and questions rose. I won’t give the story away but it took a while for Summer and Dan to kiss and make up. Here’s something fun for you.

 

Insanity treatments in the 19th century left a lot to be desired. Our own Mary Connealy has blogged about this several times so you might find more there. Here is the link to one: https://petticoatsandpistols.com/2022/04/21/insane-asylums-in-history/

In the east, they had plenty of asylums where they locked people with mental illness away. But husbands with wives they didn’t want soon saw how easy it was to label their excess baggage as insane and lock them up with no questions asked.

A few of the crazy reasons they gave was:

  • Imaginary Female Trouble
  • Political Excitement
  • Asthma
  • Brain Fever
  • Jealousy
  • Religious Enthusiasm
  • Reading too many novels (WHAT!!)

I kid you not. Reading novels had to be one of the lamest excuses!

Anyway, that was mostly back east. In the old West, mental asylums were not prevalent. Mostly, families tried to deal with their crazy relatives themselves. Another alternative was putting them in prisons but those conditions were horrible.

In Texas, the first institution was the Texas State Lunatic Asylum. Doctors there tried a softer approach—until it became overcrowded. A second one, the North Texas Lunatic Asylum was built in Terrell but it was pretty bad. Lobotomies, cold water immersion, beatings, and things like that. Few doctors knew how to treat them.

In my new story, I never go into what kind of asylum the one in Austin was. It wasn’t discussed and I had to get the characters onto the rescue of her little brother which proved quite challenging. I’m sure it was about the same as the others. Horrible places.

Not only did Elsie Finch provide a lot of comic relief, which the story needed to offset the darkness, it also taught Summer to trust Dan with all her heart and see that he truly loved only her.

In this snowbound 1882 Texas romance filled with frontier mystery, unexpected betrayal, and heart-pounding suspense, nurse Summer McIntyre’s world is upended when a stranger arrives through the blizzard carrying a newborn and claiming the sheriff, the man she’s set to marry is the father. As the storm seals the town under ice, Summer discovers her missing little brother is alive—and in the hands of a dangerous madwoman in the frozen hills. With rescue impossible and trust between her and Sheriff Dan Bodine shattered, Summer must uncover the truth before the storm takes everyone she loves.

Let’s chat. Do you like reading books in the season in which they’re written? A snowy blizzard in this one might be best in winter. But then reading it in summer when it’s hot might be a refreshing break from the heat. Or maybe it doesn’t matter. I’m giving away a copy (winner’s choice of ebook or print) to two commenters so be sure to leave a comment. 

Toast the Holidays with Linda Broday

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Classic Shirley Temple Mocktail

My drink is so simple and easy to make and is really versatile. It’s a great way to celebrate the New Year without the alcohol and kids can drink it too as well as pregnant women. It’s delicious.

Recipe

1 cup of Ginger Ale or any lemon-lime soda diet or regular

1 teaspoon Grenadine (can use pomegranate juice instead)

1 squeeze of a fresh lime

Maraschino cherries to garnish. And you also can put an orange slice on the rim.

Directions

Pour the Ginger Ale and Grenadine into a glass. Squeeze in some lime, stir and add the cherries. Also lots of ice.

This would be a good drink for New Year’s celebrations. Or just anytime you want something different. You can also rim the glass with sanding sugar that you find in Walmart.

Most grocery stores shelve Grenadine by the Club soda and Ginger Ale. That way you wouldn’t have to go to a liquor store which I hate. But I think the pomegranate juice would be a great substitute. Any health food store should carry it because it is very healthy.

Anyway, I hope you try this and find it delightful!

 

Christmas Frontier Style

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No place was lonelier for settlers than the frontier. Having left family and friends back East, a lot felt cutoff from the world. The wind howled, temperatures were freezing, and they were hard put just to stay alive. The days were long and filled with hard work. There was little enjoyment to be had.

Christmas was the worst time for depression to set in. In addition to missing their loved ones, there were few trees over a lot of the high plains so they had to make do with whatever they could find. Some mothers, desperate for Christmas cheer, collected a tumbleweed (which were very plentiful throughout the central plains) and decorated it in bright colors. Candles were not allowed near due to the combustible nature of the dry bush.

Others chopped down other trees like scrub oak, juniper, or blackjack and used those. These settlers were very resourceful. To make it appear it had snowed on it, they wrapped the limbs and twigs with cotton. Other decorations were popcorn and cranberries they strung on twine and strings of paper hearts.

The children could also use the foil that separated layers of cigars and make icicles to hang on the tree. That is if their fathers smoked cigars and they could persuade him to save them. I’m sure there were many other things they made decorations out of. Possibilities were endless, including bird nests, colorful ribbon and empty spools of thread strung together. The first ornaments were hand-blown and didn’t come along until the late 1800s and early 1900. And electric lights appeared after the turn of the century.

School age children usually had a Christmas program of some kind, and they got a chance to sing or perform in a play. Those were fun occasions for kids and parents alike.

Food was an important part of the Christmas celebration and sugar was saved for months so there would be enough for the cakes and pies. Oranges were a real treat and kids only got one at the holiday. Fathers usually went hunting for a turkey, a duck, or whatever game they ran across.

Gifts were handmade unless the family was very wealthy. Fathers carved toys, mothers made dolls and knitted scarves, hats, and gloves. Everything was simple with the emphasis on the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Personally, I wish we could go back to these days without all the commercialization.

Tell me about a Christmas of yours that stands out and what made it really special.

Mine was the year my dad suffered third degree burns over much of his body in an explosion at his job on a construction site. I think I was probably seven or eight. He was in the hospital for months and we didn’t know when he’d get out. Back then, kids weren’t allowed beyond the waiting room so Jan and I couldn’t see him. My mom usually sat with him at night and our older sister came and stayed with us while she was gone, so our door would be locked. I was so afraid that Santa couldn’t get in and we wouldn’t get any presents. My older sister assured me he could come through the keyhole and not to worry. The next morning, sure enough, we had a few gifts even though we had no tree. And Mama had brought Daddy home from the hospital. That was the best Christmas I can remember because we were all together again and everything seemed right in my sheltered little world.

Also, I have a new book up for preorder! SUMMER’S HEART #2 The McIntyres. Release date 1/12/2026. AMAZON

In a storm of secrets, even love can freeze—or fight its way through the cold.

A mysterious woman, a newborn baby, and a claim that shatters Summer McIntyre’s secure world. As a deadly Texas blizzard seals the town in ice, Summer reels from betrayal—only to learn her long-lost little brother is alive and trapped with a madwoman in the treacherous hills. Every trail is buried under snow, every rescue impossible, and Summer must face the storm inside her heart as well as the one raging outside. Can love survive when trust is broken and time is running out?

Wishing you all a joyous Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever you say!

Linda

Linda Broday Has Winners!

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Huge thanks to all of you who commented on my post about the Montana Vigilantes. Such a mystery.

Winners of LOVE COMES TO CHRISTMAS are:

BRIDGETTE SHIPPY

RUTH KIZZAH

Congratulations, Ladies! I’ll contact you so watch your email.

Justice on the Frontier

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Seems like each state has a storied law enforcement agency. Here we have the Texas Rangers and in Arizona it’s the Arizona Rangers. In early Montana Territory it was a group called the Vigilantes. I recently ran across an interesting story about the Montana Vigilantes that was formed December 23, 1863.

But before you judge, here’s a glimpse of what decent people faced in 1863. Because there was no one to enforce the law, outlaws, robbers and murderers flocked to Montana Territory in droves. What courts that existed had very limited power, especially in remote mining camps. Mostly justice (if any could be had) came about through what was called miners’ courts and was weak and ineffective, unable to enforce the rulings. Basically, there was little law to be had in these rich gold fields. Gold being the accepted form of currency at the time. But transporting it was a huge risk and over time a million dollars in gold was stolen. Gangs, the most brutal of which was the Plummer Gang, was run by the Bannock, Montana sheriff, Henry Plummer. They preyed on all who traveled the roads and over a hundred travelers were murdered in the fall of 1863 alone. Something had to be done.

A group of men from Montana’s major cities held a clandestine meeting in John Lott’s store in Virginia City and formed this secret organization. In two years’ time, their members numbered over two thousand men. The Vigilantes’ main goal was to make the territory safe for families and rid it of crime. To that end, they dispensed harsh justice to undesirables. The organization spread across Montana and into parts of Idaho.

In the first two months of 1864, they hung 24 men. That was the beginning. It seemed quite a deterrent to criminals. There was no safe haven other than the Black Hills of South Dakota where most went.

THE WARNING

Seems the Vigilantes would paint the numbers 3-7-77 on homes, fences, tents and other things as a threat. If the person didn’t leave, they dealt with them violently and swiftly. No one ever got a second threat.

The meaning of the numbers is a mystery. Some say they represented the exact time period that the Vigilantes gave their targets to get out of town – 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 77 seconds. Another interpretation is that the numbers were a grave’s dimensions: 3 feet, by 7 feet, by 77 inches.

Still another school of thought is that it was a code used by the Freemasons.

Whatever the numbers represented, they struck terror in a man’s heart, and he quickly heeded the warning or risked death. These numbers became a potent symbol of law and order. The Montana Highway Patrol still uses the numbers today. The patch on each lawman’s shoulder sports 3-7-77. The department also paints it on the side panel of each patrol car.

To the lawmen of today it represents “Serve and Protect.”

While there’s no justification at all for vigilantes now in the 21st century, neither could a man stand by and let lawless gangs take over without doing something. There has to be law and order so people can thrive. These men simply wanted a safe place for their wives and children and keep rustlers from stealing their cattle.

Montana became the 41st state to be admitted to the union on November 8, 1889. The Montana Vigilantes disbanded around 1870 when the Stockman’s Association was formed.

Do you like a good mystery? While the true meaning of the numbers 3-7-77 has gotten lost, what is your best guess? Is it referencing a grave dimensions, referring to the time they allowed to leave the territory, or something else? I’m going to give two commenters an ebook copy of Love Comes to Christmas so join the chat.

AMAZON

Someone wants Gillian Everly to believe her beloved Christmas shop, the dream she built from nothing, is haunted. Strange events unsettle her, but she refuses to believe in ghosts. With her Christmas Eve piano performance approaching, she can’t afford distractions.

Enter Brett Love, a rugged local rancher who’s as intrigued by Gillian as he is determined to protect her. When he lends her one of his dogs for safety, it seems like the perfect fix, until the nightmare turns real.

A violent confrontation leaves Gillian’s hand maimed, her music performance in jeopardy, and Brett questioning the solitary life he’s always known. This Christmas, it will take more than faith to keep their dreams, and hearts, alive.

Petticoats & Pistols