Pink Pistol Sisterhood

An Archetype for a Hero by Pam Crooks

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Whenever I start a new book, I need some serious inspiration.  A roadmap, so to speak.  I get out my favorite writer handbooks, start thumbing through the pages, and wait for inspiration to hit.

One of those handbooks is “The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes & Heroines – Sixteen Master Archetypes” by Tami Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders. Originally published in 2000, the archetypes are described as they have been written in fiction through the ages, helping writers develop characters that are well-motivated, believable, and are remembered long after “The End.”

The book divides the archetypes into two groups of eight – heroes and heroines – and then describes archetype interactions to bring characters to an even deeper level.

For the purpose of this blog, I’ll concentrate on Hero Archetypes, because we all love our heroes, right?

Here they are:

  • The Chief
  • The Bad Boy
  • The Best Friend
  • The Charmer
  • The Lost Soul
  • The Professor
  • The Swashbuckler
  • The Warrior

TRACE, Book 1 of the Bachelors & Babies sweet romance series

Trace McQuade fits the “The Lost Soul” archetype since he has lost everything he is closest to – his ranch and his younger brother, only to have his losses cut deeper when he accidentally shoots the woman he intended to marry (Emma) after she betrayed him and joined an outlaw gang.

He learns later that Emma gave birth to an outlaw’s baby. After Emma’s death, that little girl named Harriett ended up on his doorstep (literally) with Emma’s plea that Trace take care of her.

Trace struggles with trusting women since Emma had lied about her love for him.  He sees the baby as everything he’s failed at – not seeing through Emma’s lies and not having a child with her, like he’d wanted. He also fails at capturing the man who killed his brother.

Of course, Trace works through his losses and turns them into new goals for himself.  Can you see how being a Lost Soul really builds layers of conflict for Trace’s character and makes him stronger?

Connected with . . . HARRIETT, Book 1 of the Cupids and Cowboys sweet romance series

Cord Brennan is the “Warrior” archetype, my favorite of the eight. As a US Deputy Marshal, he was an easy fit for the archetype, as are most lawmen, soldier, bounty hunter, etc., occupations.

Years later, Cord must escort the same outlaw in TRACE from Texas to the McQuade ranch in Kansas.  The outlaw is deathly ill, and due to some blood research being done by a doctor who needs Harriett’s blood, Cord bears the responsibility to keep the outlaw safely incarcerated until Harriett is convinced to cooperate. Of course, a run-in with the outlaw’s old gang who breaks him out of jail forces Cord to not only protect the outlaw in his charge, but also the doctor and Harriett, too, along with her family.  Failure to do so will destroy all his careful plans to return to Texas, get a new and perfect job with the US Marshal’s office, and to care for his handicapped father, most of all.

Naturally, this responsibility and the outlaw’s shenanigans war with Cord’s goals, and falling in love with Harriett, sympathy for her predicament, and the eventual dread of returning to Texas without her gives plenty of conflict and layers to his Warrior archetype.

Connected with . . . ARMED & MARVELOUS, Book 8 of the Pink Pistol sweet romance series

Since this book is set in 1955, a time period I’d never written before, Roan Bertoletti proved to be a character I loved as the Charmer archetype. A former movie-star heartthrob who suffers through a scandal invented by his former actress co-star, Roan escapes Los Angeles to the Brennan ranch in Kansas where he finds new happiness and a simpler life as a cowboy.

Harriett and Cord are the heroine’s grandparents in this story, and they hope Roan will someday take over the ranch alongside Rexanna, their only grandchild, who has no intention of settling down in Kansas. Roan is well-liked in the community, and when the Los Angeles scandal follows him back to the ranch, he fears he will lose the happiness he’d worked hard to earn. Throw in a troubled relationship with his father and the dread of Rexanna’s impending departure from the ranch, and Roan turns into a Charmer with layers of conflict.

Which of these archetypes would be your favorite kind of hero and why? 

Do you prefer a more alpha type of hero like the Warrior or the Chief? 

Or more of a mild-mannered, down-to-earth guy like the Professor or the Best Friend?

TRACE, HARRIETT, and ARMED & MARVELOUS are now in Audiobook!

TRACE on Amazon 

HARRIETT on Amazon

ARMED & MARVELOUS on Amazon

(Note: Amazon has reduced the prices of my virtual voice audiobooks to $1.99 with the purchase of TRACE and HARRIETT ebooks, a 60% savings.  My ARMED & MARVELOUS audiobook (human narrator) is reduced to $4.82, a savings of 68% with purchase.)

 

THE TEXAN–AND A GIVEAWAY! by Cheryl Pierson

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I have become totally obsessed with an old TV series, THE TEXAN starring Rory Calhoun. I never knew this series existed until we switched cable companies not long ago and were so fortunate to be able to add GRIT TV to our lineup—and it’s about all we watch anymore.

THE TEXAN was a black and white series (yes, that’s how old it is, almost older than I am, but not quite!). It aired on CBS from 1958-1960, and as with so many of these older shows, I love to see so many roles by early “unknowns” who later became famous in their own right.

But the premise of THE TEXAN is really different, and heartbreaking all at once.

The Texan is Bill Longley, who was a captain in the Confederacy during the Civil War. When he comes back to his privileged life at his family’s southern plantation, he finds his young wife has died of a fever, and the plantation lies in ruins. He puts a grave marker up beside his wife’s that says Bill Longley died on this day, with the date below it—the date he returned home and found that his love was dead.

He goes to Texas and becomes a drifter, building a reputation as a fast gun, but he is not for hire. He just takes a hand when he sees wrongdoing and tries to right it, whatever it might be, when he can. I have, by no means, seen the entire series yet—we usually watch a couple of the 30-minute episodes while we eat dinner. Yes, some of them feel rather “rushed” because they are only 30 minutes long and the commercials have been moved around to accommodate today’s programming. But all in all, it’s really a good series, and I LOVE being able to study his character as the shows progress and we get to know more about him.

I truly admire the realism in this show. I didn’t realize it until recently, but there were so many westerns of that era that had the lawmen and the “good guys” always shooting to wound someone. The Lone Ranger even says at the beginning of that series that he will never kill, only shoot to wound, and then, only if necessary.

CREDIT FOR PICTURE: By Desilu Sales Inc., Hollywood – eBay (front & back), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113095488

Well, let me tell y’all, Bill Longley has been through war and he is as tough as they come. Even though his past has been harsh (at least, it was once he joined the Confederacy and went to war), he still retains his sense of fairness. But make no mistake—he will shoot to kill, and he is fast. I don’t know how fast he was in actuality, but I did read something interesting the other day, as an aside—actor Glenn Ford was said to be the fastest gun in Hollywood, with a draw time of .04 seconds! WOW!

This character, THE TEXAN, is in many ways how I envision my heroes in my own books. My heroes, so far, don’t have his genteel upbringing—but I think if they all knew each other they’d be friends, because they’d see things the same way. Though they are fast with a gun, they don’t use it indiscriminately, and they are not ever ones to believe that “might makes right”.

You know, I have seen only one of Rory Calhoun’s movies, but in it, he plays the same kind of character as he played in THE TEXAN. A loner. A fast gun. Someone who makes tough decisions and takes up the slack when others don’t or won’t.

Now that I’ve started following him, I remember my mom saying something once about a movie she was wanting to see. I must have been about 8 or 9—all I remember was her saying, “It has Rory Calhoun in it!” and giving a little smile. I should have paid attention about 55 years sooner…

If you get a chance to watch THE TEXAN, you will not be sorry. This fictional Bill Longley is like so many of the western heroes we writers try to create, and the ones that readers love to read. It’s odd that they decided to call him Bill Longley, since there really WAS a Bill Longley, an outlaw who was nothing at all like the fictional portrayal. The real Bill Longley died at the age of 27 and was known for his hot temper, rages, and bloody murders he committed. Shudder. I love the fictional Bill Longley much better!

I’ve created many “loner” type heroes in my stories. Many of them resemble the characteristics of Bill Longley in THE TEXAN. Just thinking back on them, I’d say the two that stick in my mind as being most like The Texan are Johnny Houston from LOVE UNDER FIRE and Jaxson McCall from A MARSHAL FOR CALLIE–but it was a hard decision to narrow it down!

Who is your favorite television or big screen movie western star and why? And I’d love to know your favorite western tv series or movie that character played in. I’m giving away a digital copy of LOVE UNDER FIRE or A MARSHAL FOR CALLIE  to one commenter today (reader’s choice)! Don’t forget to leave contact details in your comment!

Here’s a short excerpt from A MARSHAL FOR CALLIE. A ruthless gang of cutthroats from Jaxson McCall’s past have re-surfaced and are holding Callie and Jaxson’s brother, Jeremy, and a young boy, Carlos, hostage. Jaxson is recovering from a poison-tipped arrow, but he and his other brother, Brendan, are there to save the hostages. Here’s the confrontation:

“Turn her loose,” Jax ordered in a low tone.

“Or what, Marshal? You’ll kill me?” Blocker taunted.

But Callie could hear the muted strain in his voice. I must have hit him, she thought, surprised.

“Take me, Blocker,” Jax murmured. Deliberately, he tossed the Winchester to the ground and held his hands out. “You don’t want her—not really. What you want is to finish what you started thirteen years ago. I wonder…” He took a step forward, his silhouette illuminated by the fire behind him in the growing darkness.

Blocker licked his lips nervously. “Wonder what, McCall?”

“Are you man enough to take me? We never finished what we started back in Fort Smith. But you can have it either way, Blocker. A fight, or…not. I’ll—go with you. Just let her go.”

“I don’t think so,” Blocker replied smugly.

“Why not?”

“Because you want it too much, McCall.” Blocker put the tip of the knife under Callie’s chin. “You agree to give yourself up to me, knowing what I’ll do to you?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Girl must mean an awful lot to you. I wonder why.”

“She’s worth money to me,” Jax said quietly. His heart lurched at the hollow, dead look in Blocker’s eyes.

“You’re both worth money to me,” Blocker responded.

Callie could feel the big man’s grip on her easing somewhat. He didn’t realize it, she knew.

“C’mon, Blocker,” Jax murmured. “Let’s fight it out. Just you and me.”

Blocker’s grip slipped a little more, and Callie felt an oozing warmth at her back.

His blood.

Blocker shook his head. “Shorty shoveled out three graves over there. I ain’t gonna fill one of ’em.”

Suddenly, Callie dug her elbows backward with all her might. She heard Blocker’s grunt of pain as he dropped the knife, and she squirmed away from him. He lunged at Jax with a snarl, and both men grappled together, then went to the ground, pummeling one another.

Callie watched in horror, thinking of how Jax had looked just this morning when she’d left him asleep in their bed. The fever, the wound, his fitful rest and lack of food would all surely take their toll. He was in no shape to fight.

“Callie!”

She turned, just as a strong arm encircled her waist, pulling her to the safety of the trees and underbrush along the creek bank.

The man urged her to the ground beside Carlos, then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared.

As Callie lifted her head to peer through the undergrowth, she saw him step out into the ring of firelight. He dropped to one knee, his gun ready, but Jax and Blocker fought too closely together to take a chance on a shot.

 

 

CHERYL’S AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE:  https://tinyurl.com/2k7xeddt

 

Order your copy of LOVE UNDER FIRE today!

 

A MARSHAL FOR CALLIE–KINDLE LINK: https://tinyurl.com/yn85vnkk

A MARSHAL FOR CALLIE–PAPERBACK LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mryt2fwf

 

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to leave your contact info along with your comment in case you win!

The Making of an Audiobook ~ by Pam Crooks

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Even with my long career as a published writer, I’ve never had an audio made of my books.

In my own defense, though, audiobooks were never much of a thing until the last few years.  Amazon and their Audible program is much to credit for that, and writers are constantly looking for ways to market their books.  With electronics such a major part of our lives, it was inevitable that readers would grab their ear buds to ‘read’ a book instead of holding one in their hand.

So after being inspired by Linda Broday, who just launched her own audiobooks for the first time, I took the plunge with ARMED & MARVELOUS.

I had no clue what to do, but Linda was always there to answer my questions.  Once I opened an account in ACX, the Audible website for authors, I fumbled my way around to learn the site and get the ball rolling.

Step number one. Submit a few pages to be read by a narrator.  In my case, I split the pages with points of view of both the hero and the heroine since I wanted to hear how the narrator read both the male and female voice.

Second, decide how much to offer a narrator.  There were three tiers, and I chose the lowest because I had no idea what to expect.  (Trust me, it’s hard to shell out money when you’re standing on the edge of a black hole with no idea how your investment is going to pay off.)

Immediately, I got 4 narrators, all female, who were interested.  The first one did a great job, but she had a strong southern accent, which I didn’t think was a good fit for my Kansas heroine.  The second one spoke clearly and slowly.  The third only read half of my submission – the female part and none of the male.  When she mispronounced a common word, that was a definite ‘no’ for me.  And finally, the fourth one just offered to read for me if I didn’t have a narrator chosen yet, which was also a quick ‘no’ because she wasn’t even willing to put in the work for an audition.

So that left Narrator #2 whose name was Virginia Nelson.  After a brief communication where I told her I’d like the narration done before a Facebook party I had coming up, she was willing to try.  I offered her the top of the tier, and she accepted the offer.  I sent her a test chapter, she narrated it, I approved it, and the rest of the book followed.  We were off and running.

Once all the chapters were narrated, she uploaded the files for me to approve.  With Linda’s great advice, I followed along in my book to make sure nothing was missed.  It was the perfect way to relive my book through my narrator’s voice.  It took about four hours or so, but it was great fun.  I especially loved Virginia’s baying howl when she read my heroine’s dog in the story.

As I followed along, when I found an error – maybe words were transposed or the inflection wasn’t quite right – I noted it as well as the exact time on the file.  It wasn’t logical to expect no mistakes.  There was a lot of reading and a lot of hours of talking.  Heck, sometimes I can’t even speak a sentence without getting something mixed up!

Once through the book, I sent my notations as a message in ACX.  Virginia was a dream to communicate with, and she started on the edits right away, then resent the corrected files to me.  Once again, I went through the entire book, and the edits she made were absolutely seamless.  I was blown away.  No one would know the parts that were a re-do.

While we didn’t make my tight deadline, Virginia had done her best and worked loyally for me.  By the end of our project, I felt completely comfortable asking her to do a brief interview for this blog.  She was a quick ‘yes.’

1. Where is your studio located?  Do you rent space or have your studio in your home?

I’ve made a makeshift, tiny sound booth in my basement laundry area, using insulation as a soundproofing material. It isn’t fancy by any means, but it works quite well. With a small desk in there, it’s more comfortable than trying to find a space in a closet, which I know many people have to do.

2. Are your hours your own?

Absolutely! I only audition and accept projects when I know I have time to do them. Since I share my house with my 2 kids and husband, and it’s impossible to record with noisy kids in the house, I have to plan around when they are in school. My husband and I also run a lodging business, so recording is very part-time for me.

3. Are you considered self-employed, or are you employed by ACX?

Yes, self-employed. I’m in charge of reporting all income on my taxes.

4. How many hours did it take you to narrate ARMED & MARVELOUS?

I didn’t calculate exactly how many hours A&M took, but I have kept track on a few other projects, so I know it takes me approximately 3 hours of recording and editing per finished hour. So I think A&M came out to a little over 4 hours, therefore likely in the 12+ hour range.

5. How many books do you record in a week?

Because of my other job, I only would ever accept one project a week. That usually leaves a little time to audition for other projects, while working on the current one, so that I hopefully have something lined up for the future. 

6. Can you give a quick description of how you do edits?

Because I have limited time without other people making noise in the house, I tend to record as much as I can, then use a dog clicker when I make a mistake so it makes a mark on the audio map, then repeat the sentence. After recording, I go back and delete all the messed up parts. Some narrators fix mistakes as they go so when they finish recording a chapter, say, they have a fully edited file already.

It’s a bit harder for the mistakes that the author sends and wants fixed after the file is finished. For that process, I’d go back to the raw file, re-record the full sentence that the mistake is in, then cut and paste it where it goes. It typically requires more tweaking with volume since the mic might be in a different place, or recording the mistake again and again until I get my tone, pacing, etc. to match the audio around it. I have pre-set effects that help with noise reduction, mouth clicks, etc., and I’m able to apply those to the new segments, which really helps keep a consistent sound since they are the same every time.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

There you have it.  My first experience with a narrator and an audiobook!

AUDIO BOOK ON AMAZON

One last thing I learned.  ACX offers codes for the author to distribute free copies of the audiobook to readers to help build reviews.  I’m giving away some of those codes today.  It’s taking a bit for ACX to show the codes have been redeemed, so I will update throughout the day.  I have more, as well as separate codes for UK readers. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

All the codes have been redeemed!  If you’d like one, please message me!

If you take a code and listen to ARMED & MARVELOUS, I’d greatly appreciate a ranking or review on Amazon afterward.  Thank you, friends.

How do you feel about audiobooks?  Do you listen to them?  What do you think are pros and cons of an audiobook?

Cleaning Grandma’s Way ~ by Pam Crooks

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As some of you may know, my latest release, ARMED & MARVELOUS, is set in 1955, an era of my birth and growing-up years. It truly was a different time than what we live in today. Families are smaller, more women are working outside the home, and attitudes have changed. In some ways, life has gotten harder since the simpler times of mid-century. In others, it has gotten easier. There are fewer stay-at-home moms and housewives, which inevitably leads to more hectic lives and more ways to simplify them.

My grandmother and mother were both practical housewives. I was, too, until I returned to the workforce for 17 years to pay tuition to our daughters’ private schools. But my stay-at-home housewife years were a happy time for me, and now that I’m retired, I’ve reverted to simplicity whenever I can.

Of course, I’m grateful for the machines that make our lives easier today. Labor-saving washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, hand vacs, air fryers, Instant Pots…the list goes on and on, and never mind the sanitary wipes, paper towels, spray cleaners, and all those disposables that we use.

But there are some skills that our grandmothers used that should not be discarded. They are still simple, effective, and cost-saving, and I can’t help but think Rexanna, the heroine in ARMED & MARVELOUS, who gave up her wild game hunting career to be a ranch wife, would have used these same skills. Ditto with her beloved grandmother, the heroine of HARRIETT.

I don’t ever remember my grandmother having a messy house. She was a hard worker, devoted to her home and family, and it showed. Like my mother, she grew a large garden and canned the produce. Also like my mother, she kept life on a routine. No surprises on the clock, and in my opinion, families thrive on routine.

ARMED & MARVELOUS – Book #8 Pink Pistol Sweet Romance Series – Buy on Amazon

HARRIETT – Book #1 – Cupids & Cowboys Sweet Romance Series – Buy on Amazon

Here are a few tips to keep a clean house:

Housekeep Every Day

Make the beds, put things away where they belong, wash those straggly dishes you don’t put in the dishwasher throughout the day. A tidy house and clean kitchen is a huge mood-lifter. Something else – we have a Golden Retriever, and we vacuum floors and steps every single day. If we didn’t keep up on it, we’d be drowning in dog hair–and that’s just gross.

Make a Laundry Day

I have always done this. Monday is my day to do laundry, and my hamper is empty when I’m done. Very gratifying. I also use a clothesline – can’t beat that fresh air smell – and it saves electricity, too. Plus, if you can’t get to the dryer’s laundry to fold right away, you avoid a wrinkly heap letting the laundry hang. The ironing can wait for another day.

Vinegar is your friend.

Environmentally friendly, economical, and non-toxic. Make your own cleaning solution–just mix equal parts of vinegar and water and put in a spray bottle. I also use a mix of Pine-Sol and water (about 1/4 cup for a 32 oz spray bottle of multi-purpose cleaner like Lysol or Simple Green). Cheap, cheap.

Wash Dishes While you Cook–and Afterward, too!

My husband does this. He always has a sink of soapy water to wash the cutting boards, knives, bowls, and skillets we use as we cook. Since I’m a little fussy about what I put in my dishwasher, it’s so nice not having a mountain of dishes to wash after dinner. This way, clean-up is minimal.

The sun is your friend, too.

See above. Use the sun to dry linens, dish towels, comforters, etc. One recommendation – spray the bulky items with a vinegar and water solution to freshen and sanitize, then hang on the line for several hours. Sun kills bacteria. I remember hanging diapers on the line hundreds, maybe thousands of times, over the course of four babies. Disposable diapers were just coming onto the scene with our fourth daughter, but I stuck to the cloth diapers and saved a ton of money. Even better, they were always visibly whiter and sanitized afterward.

Don’t get overwhelmed!  Make a schedule.

You’ll only have to think of that one task on one day.  Remember those embroidered dish towels with chores for every day of the week? There’s wisdom in those towels. Hold yourself accountable! Here’s an example. Adjust as needed.

Monday – Laundry, change bedding
Tuesday – Clean bathrooms. Wash mirrors/handprints, doggie slobber, etc. off door glass. Newspapers work great and leave the glass sparkling. No newspapers anymore? Flour sack towels work great. No lint and easy to wash.
Wednesday – Mop/Vacuum floors
Thursday – Dust furniture/blinds. Use a micro-fiber cloth. They’re amazing for collecting the dust.
Friday – Wipe down kitchen appliances.
Weekends – Meal planning, grocery-shopping, lawn work

Have Children?

Give them their own chores. Fifteen minutes a day to help mom out will teach them to be responsible adults/employees later. Trust me on this. I’ve seen it with my own children and grandchildren. And like I said, a routine is comforting. Same time for meals, wake-up and bedtimes. It works!

Take time to Relax and Have Fun!

A clean house leads to a happier family. Evenings are for relaxing. Make a date night happen or movie night with the kids. Just be sure to pick up the popcorn bowls later! There are few things worse than waking up to a messy kitchen or TV room!

Note: There are lots of housekeeping sites online, but one of my favorites is the Flylady method. http://www.flylady.net. 

Another is http://www.retrohousewifegoesgreen.com

Do you have a favorite cleaning tip from your grandmother or mother? 

Do you have a favorite housekeeping hack to share? 

What is your favorite housekeeping chore?

Quilting Superstitions

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Since my oldest son recently married, I intended to write a post on wedding traditions but as what happens, my plans went awry. The more I wrote, the more it sounded like a high school Home Ec report.

My son and I before his wedding

However, when researching wedding traditions, I discovered single women in the 1800s stressed over whether they would marry. To cope, they relied on parlor games or predictions such as tossing cats into new quilts. That sent me down a rabbit hole to discover how traumatizing poor cats in a quilt could predict a woman wouldn’t be an old maid or reveal her true love. That led me to an article on quilt superstitions and a topic change.

Here are some superstitions I discovered. My comment (because I couldn’t post these without saying something. 🙂 ) follow each superstition.

 

 

Luck:

  • Never make a quilt with 13 blocks
    • I assume it’s because 13 is unlucky. Okay, now I’m wondering how and why 13 was labeled as unlucky. But I’ll save that for another day.
  • If a thread breaks, it will bring misfortune.
    • There should be a warning label on thread because who hasn’t broken a thread while sewing a quilt? And does it bring major misfortune such as a car accident or a minor one like losing a shoe? Come on, be specific about how bad this will be.
  • Stitching a spider web design into a quilt will bring good luck. Because a spider web is so easy to work into every quilt design.
    • First, a four-leaf clover or horseshoe, for luck I could see. But a spider web? Second, I never remember seeing one in anything but Halloween quilts. The solution to that is to sew a small one in somewhere, but I’m not that talented. ? I guess whoever I give future quilts will have to add one or do without the extra good luck until I figure out how to sew one. Either that or I have apologies to make.
  • It’s bad luck to give away your first quilt.
    • This would’ve been nice to know before I gave my first quilt to my son. However, since that quilt stayed in my stayed in my house, maybe I didn’t get too much bad luck for that.
The first quilt I made which I gave to my oldest son.

Marriage:

  • When a new quilt is finished, the first woman it is thrown over will marry first. Wrapping her in it will ensure she marries within a year.
    • I’m wondering if throwing the quilt over is different than wrapping her up in it, or if one superstition is simply more specific.
  • Wedding quilts should have borders of continuous vines or ribbon patterns because a broken border means the marriage will be broken too.
    • I must be an awful person because my first thought here was, if someone didn’t like who their child was marrying, they could give the couple a quilt with a broken border.
  • If a single female puts the last stitch in a quilt, she will become an old maid.
    • This superstition was easy to avoid when quilting bees or circles were prevalent, but what’s a gal to do now, call a married friend or relative to put in the last stitch?
  • After taking a quilt off the frame, wrapping it around an unmarried woman will give her luck to find a husband. Throwing it at the first single man she sees, will “charmed” him into a relationship. If a young lady shakes a new quilt out the door, the first man who comes through the door will be her future husband.
    • From the little research I did, I discovered there was a lot of quilt shaking and throwing them at folks in the past, making me wonder if there are other superstitions to uncover. But apparently they had to be newly completed quilts. Which spurns me to wonder why they had to be new…

 

My bff made this beautiful quilt for me.

Miscellaneous:

  • If you sew on a Sunday, you will have to pull out those stitches with your nose when you get to heaven.
    • First, with the way heaven is described in the Bible, I find it hard to believe God would punish a quilter this way upon arrival. Second, how would I pull out stitches with my nose?! Guess I’ll learn that should I be blessed enough to get to the Pearly Gates.
  • Quilts started on Friday will never be finished.
    • Again, why would this be worse than starting on any other day, except Sunday of course. ?

And finally, Cats and quilts and the answer to the question that started this.

  • If women stand in a circle and “shake up a cat” in new quilt, the one the feline runs toward will be the first to marry.

Giveaway:

To be entered in my random drawing for an ebook version of my Pink Pistol Sisterhood novel, Aiming for His Heart, leave a comment about quilting, superstitions, or whatever’s on your mind.

 

Bears are BIG, Strong, & Scary! by Pam Crooks

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One of the perks of being an author is connecting with readers who not only love our books but enjoy interacting with us, as if we’ve been friends for a long time.  Thanks to venues like Facebook Messenger and Facebook groups with all the parties they enable, readers often share with us personal glimpses into their lives, their worries, or even their knowledge.

Jeffrey Ward is one of those readers.  (Yep, he’s a guy who loves and reads romances voraciously.)  I first ‘met’ him when I was doing the Love Train series, and he wrote me a lovely review for my book, CHRISTIANA.  I even used a quote from him in my marketing.  I’m pleased to say he joined right in with the Pink Pistol series, too.  Loyal and intelligent, an avid patriot, a loving husband . . . I could keep gushing, but you get my point, right?

So after reading ARMED & MARVELOUS, in which the Prologue opens with a bear-hunting excursion, Jeff sent this article to me about the grizzly bears Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, along with their men, encountered on their famous expedition across the wilds of our country.

I found it fascinating.  Both Lewis and Clark kept meticulous records, and thankfully for us and the pages of history, they did.  With Jeff’s permission, I’m sharing a few snippets of their encounters with wild bear.

(You’ll note that the spelling and verbage was as written at the time and was not corrected for modern reading.)

On 7 October 1804, at the Moreau River, about 15 river-miles below present Mobridge, South Dakota, the men noticed the first evidence of the presence of a grizzly. Clark wrote:

Early woodcut illustration with the inscription: 'An American having struck a Bear but not killed him, escapes into a Tree.'

“… at the mouth of this river we Saw the Tracks of White bear which was verry large.”

Between this point and their last encounter with a grizzly on 6 August 1806, near today’s Williston, North Dakota, the total number sighted cannot be known. Forty-three were definitely killed, and an unknown number were wounded.

PAM: 43 bears?  Yikes!

On 13 April 1805, at the Little Missouri River, Lewis wrote:

“the Indians give a very formidable account of the strength and ferocity of this anamal, which they never dare to attack but in parties of six, eight or ten persons; and are even then frequently defeated with the loss of one or more of their party. the Indians attack this anamal with their bows and arrows and the indifferent guns with which the traders furnish them, with these they shoot with such uncertainty and at so short a distance . . . that they frequently mis their aim & fall a sacrefice to the bear. . . . this anamall is said more frequently to attack a man on meeting with him, than to flee from him. When the Indians are about to go in quest of the white bear, previous to their departure, they paint themselves and perform all those supersticious rights commonly observed when they are about to make war uppon a neighbouring nation.”

PAM: I found this fascinating, too, since the Indians were true warriors and TOUGH.  I admire their attempts to defend and kill a grizzly when they had the most elementary of weapons.

On 5 May 1805, in the vicinity of Wolf Point, Montana, Lewis wrote:

“Capt. Clark & Drewyer killed the largest brown bear this evening which we have yet seen. it was a most tremendious looking anamal, and extreemly hard to kill notwithstanding he had five balls through his lungs and five others in various parts he swam more than half the distance across the river to a sandbar & it was at least twenty minutes before he died; he did not attempt to attact, but fled and made the most tremendous roaring from the moment he was shot.”

Lewis took measurements:

“We had no means of weighing this monster; Capt. Clark thought he would weigh 500 lbs. for my own part I think the estimate to small by 100 lbs. He measured 8 Feet 7-1/2 Inches from nose to extremity of the hind feet; 5 F. 10-1/2 Inch arround the breast, 1 F. 11 I[nches]. arround the middle of the arm, & 3 F. 11 I. arround the neck; his tallons which were five in number on each foot were 4-3/8 Inches in length.”

PAM: These measurements are shocking for their size! It’s almost inconceivable that a bear could survive being shot 10 times and still manage to flee across the river, and even then survive another twenty minutes.

On 11 May 1805, a few miles upstream from the mouth of the Milk River, one member of the party had a hairbreadth escape from death. Lewis recorded the details:

Private William Bratton, who was not among their best hunters:

“. . . had shot a brown bear which immediately turned on him and pursued him a considerable distance but he had wounded it so badly that it could not overtake him; I immediately turned out with seven of the party in quest of this monster, we at length found his trale and persued him about a mile by the blood through very thick brush of rosbushes and the large leafed willow; we finally found him concealed in some very thick brush and shot him through the skull with two balls. . . . we proceeded dress him as soon as possible, . . . we now found that Bratton had shot him through the center of the lungs, notwithstanding which he had pursued him near half a mile and had returned more than double that distance and with his tallons had prepared himself a bed in the earth of about 2 feet deep and five long and was perfectly alive when we found him which could not have been less than 2 hours after he received the wound”

PAM: Amazing that the bear’s instincts were to dig itself a hole that large, which would have taken a formidable amount of strength after having been mortally wounded!

Certainly, their interludes with grizzly bears didn’t end there and were a constant threat during their expedition.  It’s a wonder the explorers weren’t killed, but perhaps survived only by their wits, their weapons, and the safety of their limited numbers.

If you’d like to read more, here is a link to the page:  https://tinyurl.com/2p8ruc74

I am the biggest wimp.  I avoid stray dogs and bugs and anything else that crawls.  I could not imagine defending myself against a massive bear!!!

Have you encountered a scary animal?  What living thing freaks you out?

Chat with me, and I’ll give away a copy of ARMED & MARVELOUS, Book #8 in the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series, your choice of ebook or paperback.

After a terrible tragedy, wild game hunter Rexanna Brennan returns home to her family’s ranch to heal. She never expects to learn her crazy aunt has left her a pink pistol with an even crazier legend. But more unsettling, a Hollywood cowboy has moved onto the ranch, stealing her family’s hearts and maybe her legacy, too.

False accusations throw Roan Bertoletti into scandal and yank him out of his movie star life. His reputation shredded, he grasps at the second chance the Brennan family gives him. With his roots firmly planted, he’s living his dream to be a cowboy again, and he has no plans to leave the ranch anytime soon.
But Rexanna’s grief pulls at him. So does her insistence she can’t stay. Can he convince the beautiful heiress to claim what has always been hers? Time is running out, and so are his options.

Except for the pink pistol . . .

AMAZON

 

The Pink Pistol Sisterhood Finale!

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Usually I share a farm story here in my monthly blog, and I have a bunch of those I’d love to tell, but my Pink Pistol Sisterhood book, Pistol Perfect, is releasing in just FOUR days (on 7/10). I’m so excited about it and I wanted to share a little about it with you!

This is book #1 in my first Sweet Water series – the book that started it all!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with my books, I write a lot of books set in North Dakota. Originally I thought about setting my books there because there just don’t seem to be too many cowboy romances that take place there. But, the more I researched North Dakota, the land, the people, the history, the weather, the weather, the WEATHER, lol, the more I just absolutely fell in love with it.

That’s kinda funny since I’ve never been there. Truly.

I suppose when you love something (or someone, for that matter) you want to find out all you can about it, right? I guess I did that with North Dakota. I love talking to natives, reading books written by people who have lived there and following YouTube and TikTok channels of folks who make their home in that state.

This is book #1 in my second Sweet Water series. My daughter, Julia Gussman, made this cover and it’s my all-time favorite cover ever.

I created the fictional town of Sweet Water, North Dakota (not to be confused with the REAL town of Sweetwater, ND) and populated it with lots of fun and quirky characters, including The Piece Makers, who are matchmakers disguised as a quilting group, lots of cowboys with integrity and character, big families who work and play together, horses (of course!), cows, including Sweet Water’s own matchmaking Highland steer and some special needs pets.

There are always festivals going on, plus competitions, farm work, and farm fun! I suppose Sweet Water’s theme could be “When you’re here, you’re family!”

This is book #1 in my third Sweet Water, North Dakota series. That last book in this 13 book series will release July 21st.

There’s a diner, of course, which is famous for its menu item “Marry Me Chicken.” (I can’t take credit for that. My narrator, the incredible Jay Dyess, came up with that, since he comes up with all the menu items in Sweet Water. He also makes them on his YouTube channel, and you can find the instructions for the Sweet Water diner’s Marry Me Chicken here: https://youtu.be/OGxJvl2x-IY)

It’s in this world that my book, Pistol Perfect is set. Pistol Perfect is a stand-alone book, starring Mable LeFrak, whose sister, Gladys got her own happily ever after in one of my Sweet Water series. Mable wasn’t ready for hers then, because she wanted to become a veterinarian and that takes some time. But she had a man of character who watched her grow up and waited for her to fulfill her dreams, and as Pistol Perfect opens, he’s ready to step in and sweep her off her feet with a little help from Billy, the match-making steer, and from the Pink Pistol.

This is the eleventh and final book in the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series. I’ve had so much fun talking and dreaming about this series with the other Petticoats and Pistols authors and I can’t believe that not only is my book almost here, the series is almost over! Have any of you read all ten of the books that are already out? I’d love to hear what you thought or which ones you’ve read in the comments!

I’m super excited to send my contribution to the series out in the world and introduce you all to my favorite fictional town, Sweet Water, North Dakota!

I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Aiming for His Heart Excerpt

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It’s been wonderful and difficult being book ten in the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series. Good because I’ve had wonderful books to read that have come before mine, but hard because I’ve had to wait so long to wait for my story to be released. But Jade and Dalton’s day finally arrived Friday!

As we’re all recovering from the long Fourth of July weekend, I decided to do something simple and share an excerpt of Aiming for His Heart with you today. I’m so excited to hear what you readers think of Jade and Dalton’s journey to happily ever after.

 

When they reached the airport exit, sliding glass doors whooshed open. The surprisingly brisk Texas wind swirled under Jade’s coat and up her skirt, chilling her. As she followed Dalton outside, she tucked her coordinating brown-and-camel plaid scarf around her neck and pulled on her leather gloves.

As they crossed the street between the terminal and the parking garage, she tried to lengthen her stride to keep up, but her skirt refused to allow anything but dainty feminine steps, forcing her to take three to his one. When she stepped onto the sidewalk, her heel caught in a crack. She tried to tug it free, but it wouldn’t budge. “Dalton, hold up.”

He glanced over his shoulder, shook his head, and returned.

She peered up at him. “I can’t free it.”

“I hope you packed decent shoes in your monster suitcase.”

“Of course, I brought casual shoes. I’d have changed into slacks and low heels, but I went straight from work to the airport,” Jade said as he tugged her shoe free—minus the heel.

She stared at her now-destroyed favorite black Jimmy Choo heel that he handed her. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Wear it until you can change into one of the store’s worth I’m guessing you’ve got in there from the weight,” he said, nodding to her suitcase.

“If my bag is too heavy, maybe you should add strength training to your workout,” she tossed out in frustration as she slipped on the heelless shoe and penguin-walked behind him.

She almost laughed. No one would believe strength training could improve on the perfection good old hard work had done.

The deep, rich, vibrant sound of Dalton’s laughter teased her ears, sending little tremors radiating through her. “Now, that’s funny. I think you’re lucky they let you on the plane with this anchor.”

“In my defense, it’s winter. Sweaters are bulkier and winter shoes are heavier. Plus, I packed for a month.”

“We have things called washers and dryers here, you know,” Dalton said and then chuckled again.

When they reached his truck, she stared at it for a second. Sure, he’d mentioned his truck, but she hadn’t envisioned one almost big enough to qualify for a monster truck rally.

Dalton opened the passenger door and held it for her. She leaned forward and placed the Ferragamo work bag she’d snagged on sale for almost half price online inside.

How would she get on the seat wearing a Zoey-original sleek pencil skirt made of barely stretching fabric? Noting to discuss the fabric choice with her friend, Jade lifted her leg to step on the silver board thing running along the truck. When her skirt tightened enough she worried it could rip, she returned her foot to the ground.

“Need help?” Dalton asked, amusement in his voice.

What could he do? Lift her into the truck? No way. She shook her head and scrambled to find an excuse. She pulled off her shoes and tossed them into the truck beside her bag. “I got this. I just couldn’t get decent footing.”

“Whatever you say.” Dalton grabbed her suitcase.

When he turned to place her bag in the truck bed, Jade grabbed the armrest with her right hand, her skirt with her left, hiking it up to mid-thigh, and started pulling herself up. The tailgate clanged shut, insisting she’d run out of time. She glanced over her shoulder, finding Dalton—feet apart and braced—staring at her with an intensity that sent happy hormones dancing through her. A slow, sexy smile spilled A slow, sexy smile spilled across his face as his gaze moved downward. “Nice legs.”

I hope you enjoyed this short excerpt Aiming for His Heart.  Click here to buy the book and read the rest of Jade and Dalton’s story.

Lucky Shot & 1972

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If you are keeping up with the releases of the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series, book 9 is now ready for your reading pleasure.

I hope you’ll check out Lucky Shot! I shared last month about what a joy and blessing it was for me to write this book, but I thought it might be fun to share a little about the research I did for the story, since I was a toddler when it takes place, in 1972. I also had some excellent brainstorming help from the fillies here on Petticoats and Pistols. Thank you, my Pink Pistol Sisters for all the great ideas!

My grandma’s old 1960s era cookbook provided great ideas for recipes my characters might be eating.

I remember my mom having the butcher block top portable dishwasher before we moved into a new house in 1975. You can see more of the visual inspiration that helped when I was writing the story in my Lucky Shot Pinterest board.

Our very own Cheryl Pierson sent me an amazing list of songs from the summer of 1972. I think you’ll see some tunes on the list you probably recognize!

Thanks to the wonders of eBay and fast delivery, I also had this June 1972 copy of Woman’s Day magazine. I grew up with a mother and grandmother who loved magazines. It was a much-anticipated event when a new one would arrive in the mailbox (which is probably why I still love magazines). Anyway, this one took me right back to the days of my youth with all the articles, colorful and clever advertisements, and articles.

Look at the summer fashions of the day!

One of my mom’s favorite parts of the magazine was The Collector’s Cook Book. She always pulled them out and saved them. I wonder what ever happened to all of them.

Just for fun, here is a recipe from this South Pacific themed collection of recipes.

Tropical Pear Bars

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 can pear halves, drained and diced

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup flaked coconut

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

Combine 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup brown sugar and cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Pat firmly into buttered 9″ square pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat eggs until light. Gradually add remaining brown sugar. Mix together remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into egg mixture. Fold in remaining ingredients and spread over warm baked mixture. Put back in oven and bake 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool and cut into bars.

If you want to take a stroll down memory lane, or dive into some “retro” fun, check out Lucky Shot, available now on Amazon. You can get it in eBook, through Kindle Unlimited, in paperback, or hardback!

What’s a girl to do when her aim is true?

As a registered nurse at the Boise VA Hospital, Grace Marshall is devoted to her patients, but some wounds require more than medical care. A patient too stubborn and angry to accept the help he needs storms out of her exam room, ruffling her feathers. Yet, when the man returns to apologize, something about him tugs at her heart.

Levi Gibson left for war young and idealistic but returned from Vietnam with physical scars and a haunted soul. He tries to banish the darkness brewing inside him with hard work on his family’s potato farm, but it’s a young nurse’s kindness that brings unexpected light and joy into his life. If Levi can open up to Grace and let her see his pain, could she be the key that unlocks a future full of hope instead of mere survival?

After her father sends Grace a legendary pistol, target practice provides an excuse to spend time with Levi during the summer of 1972. As his shadows overwhelm him, it will take far more than a lucky shot for Grace to hit love’s mark.

If you could travel back in time,

what year would you visit and

what one food would you look forward to enjoying?

Post your answer then pop over to this link for a chance to win a big

Lucky Shot prize pack that includes an autographed hardback!

 

Hollywood Fixer–Hollywood’s Problem-Solver by Pam Crooks

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Armed & Marvelous Releases Saturday!

I can hardly believe the day is almost here. Preliminary reviews have been 5-stars and complimentary. We’re so thrilled the Pink Pistol Sisterhood is such a hit!

My book is set in 1955, and among other things, it is then that the big Hollywood era was winding down from its heyday. The years before then made for some fascinating research, for sure.

The father of my hero, Roan Bertoletti, is a big-shot Hollywood producer who raises Roan as a teen-ager, thrusting him from his mother’s ranch into the high profile world of movie stars. It’s inevitable Roan ventures into acting, and he manages to do a decent job of it, earning his share of fans. That is, until one day scandal erupts and changes his life forever.

The scandal was not of his own making, and his father steps in with the help of a ‘fixer’ named Mannix, who was a true figure at the time. I don’t go into much detail about the fixer, but he played a crucial part in the movie stars’ lives, too.

At the time, the immorality among actors and actresses was shocking. Too shocking to let the American public know. It was all about the studios and the money they made. Huge amounts of it. The studios had to keep the actors and actresses working and the public paying to see them. They owned the local police and newspapers, even doctors who wanted a little cash on the side. Heck, they owned the actors and actresses themselves. Once the seven-year contracts were signed, the actors and actresses were stuck and helpless.

In the late 1920s, Hollywood was little more than a small town out in the country surrounded by mountains and scrubby fields. Its citizens were church-going people, and they disliked the influx of actors, actresses, producers, cameramen, film technicians, cutters, and so on invading their town.

But, like it or not, the studios provided a variety of employment opportunities, and the movies were there to stay. Even California’s pleasant weather and beautiful scenery was ideal for the Westerns that were gaining in popularity.

Film crews did expand into Los Angeles in the early days, settling in small one room offices, some with only a table and a few chairs, which, of course, changed when the money began to roll in.

As the movie studios prospered, so did the power and clout of fixers like Eddie Mannix. Mannix grew up in New Jersey, had a tough childhood with mobsters as his closest friends. He cultivated friends in the government and the underworld. He wasn’t afraid to be ruthless. Laws didn’t matter. Only his solutions did.

Here are a few of his “solutions”:

  • If an actress got pregnant illegitimately or inconveniently, Mannix made sure she got an abortion.
  • If an actor spent way too much time in gay bars, Mannix made sure their coming-and-going was kept out of the newspapers, or the actor was prevented altogether, banished to some place private.
  • If an actress died from a cocaine overdose, the death certificate listed the death as “tuberculosis” or something else entirely.
  • If an acting couple had an affair, the studio forced divorces and quick marriages.
  • If addictions weakened an actor’s ability to meet their film commitments, they were sent away to a sanitarium to get better, all without the public’s knowledge.
  • In Judy Garland’s case, it was the studio who made sure she got plenty of drugs to keep her working during the day, then more drugs to help her sleep at night. She was a working maniac – in five years, she starred in more than a dozen films, made 100 radio appearances, recorded 40 albums, attended 500 benefits and bond drives. She was hugely popular, made tons of money for the studio, and in the end, she died much too young from her addictions. Such a waste of that talent.

These are only a few of the scenarios. Hundreds more happened, but most were kept secret. The scenarios were fascinating and sad, but rest assured, my book isn’t quite as dark or depressing. Ha!

I’ll be celebrating the release of ARMED & MARVELOUS on Saturday in the Pink Pistol Sisterhood Facebook Reader Group at 11 am CT. Please join me for lots of prizes and fun.

Could you live the glamorous lifestyle like the Golden Age of Hollywood?  Has it ever been your dream to be someone famous?  Are you comfortable in the spotlight – or do you prefer to be on the sidelines?

 

After a terrible tragedy, wild game hunter Rexanna Brennan returns home to her family’s ranch to heal. She never expects to learn her crazy aunt has left her a pink pistol with an even crazier legend.  But more unsettling, a Hollywood cowboy has moved onto the ranch, stealing her family’s hearts and maybe her legacy, too.

False accusations throw Roan Bertoletti into scandal and yank him out of his movie star life. His reputation shredded, he grasps at the second chance the Brennan family gives him. With his roots firmly planted, he’s living his dream to be a cowboy again, and he has no plans to leave the ranch anytime soon.

But Rexanna’s grief pulls at him. So does her insistence she can’t stay. Can he convince the beautiful heiress to claim what has always been hers?  Time is running out, and so are his options.

Except for the pink pistol . . .

AMAZON