A Western Christmas Homecoming

COWBOYS & MISTLETOE ~ Day 3

by

November 26 – 29

Kathryn Albright

CHRISTMAS WITH THE OUTLAW  by KATHRYN ALBRIGHT

in A WESTERN CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING Anthology

A Western Christmas Homecoming

 

Abigail White reports the news for the Oak Grove Gazette – clearly, concisely and…rather critically, until the day outlaw Russ Carter stumbles through her back door, injured and seeking a place to hide.
** ** **
Russ never expected to see Abigail again. She’s all grown up now – sharp, smart and fascinating. Compassion is not her strength, but in this season of giving, a few elves are hard at work, and Abigail’s own heart might just be the cost.

 

Also included in this anthology ~ 

Christmas Day Wedding Bells by Lynna Banning
   Buttoned-up librarian Alice, is swept away by US marshal Rand Logan on a new adventure.

Snowbound in Big Springs by Lauri Robinson
      Welles must confront Sophie and their undeclared feelings.

HARLEQUIN | AMAZON |  BARNES & NOBLE  | 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

For some holiday spirit, I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card!

***Scroll down to the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this page. Click the BOOKBUB link to my author page and FOLLOW ME, then note on the form that you followed. If you want to mention it here, too, feel free!***


Have a very merry Christmas and thanks for visiting us throughout the year here at Petticoats & Pistols!

 

Cheryl Pierson

 

KIDNAPPING KALLI by CHERYL PIERSON

Texas Ranger Shiloh Barrett loses his hotheaded older brother to a gunfight over a hand of cards. Now the “winner”—a wealthy landowner who’s coveted the Barrett homestead—finally has what he wants. But could there be something Seamus O’Connor desires more than the Barretts’ land?

O’Connor has not seen his beautiful daughter, Kalli, for thirteen years. He knows that she’s living with her mother’s Cherokee people in northeastern Indian Territory. Determined to have her kidnapped and brought to him, Seamus uses the deed he holds to the Barrett homestead to get what he wants. Even though it goes against everything Shiloh Barrett believes is right, O’Connor’s blackmail cannot be ignored.

But beautiful Kalliroe White Dove O’Connor has some tricks up her sleeve as the handsome ex-ranger spirits her away into the nearby San Bois Mountains. The tables turn when Shiloh is bitten by a rattlesnake their first day on the trail. Though Kalli tells herself she has no other choice but to stay with Shiloh—and she does want to reunite with her father—deep down, she knows there is another reason she can’t leave the handsome lawman. Could it be she’s falling in love with him?

In a final showdown with a cutthroat outlaw gang, Shiloh heads straight into the pit of vipers to buy some time for the man he despises—Kalli’s father. No matter how this all plays out, KIDNAPPING KALLI has been the best thing Shiloh Barrett’s ever done—if he only lives to see it through…

KIDNAPPING KALLI IS AVAILABLE AT AMAZON FOR ONLY .99!

http://amzn.to/2CZjvnI

 

THE DEVIL AND MISS JULIA JACKSON by CHERYL PIERSON

A woman with no home…

Beautiful Southern belle Julia Jackson has just been informed she and her niece must find a new home immediately—or else. With no family to turn to in Georgia, Julia takes a mighty gamble and answers an advertisement for a nursemaid in wild Indian Territory—for the child of a man she knows nothing about. Together, she and five-year-old Lauralee waste no time as they flee to the safety of the new position Julia has accepted. She can only hope this move will be the start of a bright future for them away from Lauralee’s dangerous much older half-brother.

A rancher with no heart…
The death of Devlin Campbell’s young daughter has ripped the light from his life. Though the birth of his son, little Jamie, should have been a source of happiness, the subsequent loss of his wife forces Dev to ignore his emotions and trudge through life’s joyless responsibilities. But all that changes with the arrival of Miss Julia Jackson from Atlanta! Not at all what Dev is expecting in response to his ad, his resentment boils over at her failure to mention her tag-along niece—a painful reminder of the loss of his own little girl just two years earlier. Yet, how can he deny the sunshine Julie brings into his drab existence with her very presence?

Can love find a way?

In the depths of Dev’s boundless sorrow and his accompanying anger, is there room in his life for anyone else as Christmas approaches? Can Julie convince him that love is the cure for a broken heart, and hope is the only recipe for a new beginning between THE DEVIL AND MISS JULIA JACKSON…

THE DEVIL AND MISS JULIA JACKSON IS AVAILABLE AT AMAZON FOR ONLY $2.99!

http://amzn.to/2P5tG1e

 

Who’s in the Christmas spirit? I’m giving away a $10 AMAZON GIFT CARD to help you get ready for the holidays!

HERE’S HOW TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN! 

***Scroll down to the form below. Click on the Petticoats & Pistols link, then COMMENT about your favorite homemade Christmas treat! (Mine is fudge–and I could eat a barrel of it!)***

Thank you for stopping by!

 

 

Trish Milburn

 

A Merry Mountain Christmas by Trish Milburn

Heidi Forrester has it all–a new promotion, great friends, and plans to purchase an awesome condo in downtown Chicago. But when her Christmas plans don’t pan out, she instead vacations solo in Merry, Montana–a picturesque mountain village where it’s Christmas year-round. Charmed, she jumps at the chance to join the festivities by assisting the incredibly handsome but understaffed owner of A World of Christmas, a two-story wonderland of Christmas decor, and finds more holiday spirit and fun than she ever did at glamorous resorts.

Ben McNamara can’t believe his luck when the beautiful visitor to his store offers to fill his seasonal help vacancy. Even more fortuitous, she’s a marketing genius who can help him make A World of Christmas more attractive to potential buyers. But as the date draws close for him to hand off his family’s legacy, Ben realizes that maybe it wasn’t the ever-present Christmas atmosphere that had bothered him, but rather the fact that he’d never had anyone to share it with.

Can Heidi convince Ben there’s so much more to love on Yule Mountain than just Christmas?

 

A Merry Mountain Christmas is available at the following retailers:

Amazon * iBooks * Kobo

 

I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one winner who answers the question, what would be your favorite Christmas vacation destination?

***Scroll down to the form below. Click the PETTICOATS & PISTOLS link to comment.***

Ruth Logan Herne

I love novellas… I love quick reads! From the time I was a child and read serials in McCalls magazine… and then Redbook… oh mylanta, I loved the anticipation of waiting for that next magazine to arrive! With binge watching and instant access we’ve removed some of the fun anticipation that we all enjoy at holiday time so here, today, I’m showing you two novella collections that will help bide the time between shopping, baking, church and Hallmark movies! First, lose yourself in Christmas of yesteryear with this beautiful edition of three pioneer Christmas novellas… All by yours truly! Glimpse the grace of the past through the eyes of the present as you join three strong women in their quest to survive the rugged, wild west in “Christmas on the Frontier”… AVAILABLE HERE!

 

And for those who love contemporary novellas, I was so excited to be part of this wonderful Western duo with the marvelous RITA-AWARD-WINNING Linda Goodnight for “A Cowboy Christmas” through Love Inspired! Join Linda and me as our characters face modern-day Western trials during a season of faith, hope and love… and the greatest of these 1s1.is love! 🙂

A COWBOY CHRISTMAS is AVAILABLE HERE!

 

 

 

 

To kick off the holiday fun, I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card!

1. Scroll down to the form below. Click the BOOKBUB link to my author page and FOLLOW ME, then note on the form that you followed. If you want to mention it here, too, I’d love to hear from you.

2. Or Click the NEWSLETTER link to sign up for my newsletter.

3. Or Click the PETTICOATS & PISTOLS LINK to leave a comment below…

4. OR do all three and get three chances in the cowboy hat!

Wishing you all a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

Winners will be verified and announced on Sunday, December 2nd.

Be sure to check back to see if you won!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kathryn’s Winner!

by

Congratulations!

 

Thank you to all who stopped by my post yesterday and joined in the conversation!

The name drawn for the giveaway and a copy of A Western Christmas Homecoming is

 

Hebby Roman! 

 

Hebby ~ contact me at kathryn at kathryn albright dot com (no spaces)
and let me know if you would like print or ebook!

 

Researching the 1880’s Newspaper Office

by

 

Composing sticks, tympans, and friskets…Oh My! What do these all have in common? 

They are all parts that make up an Old West newspaper office. 

When I decided to write Abigail White’s story as the last addition to The Oak Grove Series, my research into the early newspaper office of the 1880’s took me back to my local “living history village” where I was able to glean information on American small-town newspapers from our local historian and docent. As you can see — it was a foggy, damp, day in early March.

For a town like Oak Grove, situated on the Kansas plains, paper was ordered and arrived on large rolls by wagon or by train. Once delivered, it was cut to the desired size.

                                                

Type was made of a composite of cast iron and steel. The most common were Wisconsin type and Hamilton type. Type was stored in type-cases – large drawers with many different sized compartments. The higher or upper case held capital letters. The lower case held… you got it…lower-case type.

The composer stick was the width of the column that would be used in the paper. The one at Midway Village was manufactured in Chicago by the H.B. Rouse Company which was a common national supplier of these devices in the U.S. The type would first be arranged in this and then transferred to a large frame. 

The compositor or typesetter (or in my story – Abigail or her brother, Teddy White) – removes a piece of type from one of the compartments of the type case and places it in the composing stick. Not so difficult until you realize this had to be done working from left to right and bottom to top, placing the letters upside-down! Can you tell what this type says? (Answer at bottom of post.)

Composing Stick ~ Photo by Wilhei [CC BY 3.0] from Wikimedia Commons

The composer stick was the width of the column that would be used in the paper. The one at Midway Village was manufactured in Chicago by the H.B. Rouse Company which was a common national supplier of these devices in the U.S. The type would first be arranged in this and then transferred to a large frame. 

For pictures, the newspaper office would purchase a few etchings from a factory, and then used them in numerous ways. For example – an etching of pine trees to be used at Christmastime or a fancy United States Flag etching to be used on National Holidays such as the Fourth of July. Local companies that used the newspaper for sale announcements would have their own etchings made and supply them to the newspapers to be used frequently over the years.

Printer’s ink was oil-based, thick and tarry. It won’t spill if turned upside down. On cold days, the ink didn’t flow well and would become so thick that it would create a blob on the letters and thus on the paper if used. A blade would be used to scoop it up and spread it on a flat plate. Here you can see the round, disk-like flat plate.

Oak Grove Gazette Printing Press

With the linotypes of the 1870s and 1880s, “printer’s disease” was a danger.  It was contracted by working with lead in the linotype. The workers would absorb the lead through their skin and get lead poisoning. These types of printers were in the larger cities and so I didn’t make mention of it in Christmas With the Outlaw. The plate would be pressed against the letters and then against a piece of paper. A rhythm would start up, and if not very careful, the plate could easily smash fingers. For newspapermen, it was the middle two fingers that most often were smashed or severed.

A “galley proof” or test copy was always made before any further papers were printed. This was to ensure that the type had been set accurately. A piece of type could accidentally be stored in the wrong case and as rapidly as the apprentice had to work, it could end up being placed back into a composing stick. The metal type, being comparably soft, could also become damaged or worn.

A cylinder printing press

Once the galley proof was checked and last-minute corrections were incorporated, the type would be fixed in the frame to ready it for printing.

A rope stretched across the length of the newspaper office so that once printed, pages could be placed over the rope for drying. Once the ink was dry on the “front,” the back side of the paper could then be printed upon.

It was a dirty job and as you’ve read…could be dangerous. The large paper cutters could easily cut off fingers that got in the way! Newspaper men had ink-stained fingers and they often worked overnight to get the paper out in the morning.

In Christmas With the Outlaw (in A Western Christmas Homecoming Anthology,) siblings Teddy and Abigail put out a weekly paper along with flyers for town events. They inherited their printing press from their parents and transported it by wagon to Oak Grove, looking for a fresh start in a growing new town. Abigail is also the town reporter and takes her job seriously.

Oh yes! And the answer to the above type in the composing stick is:  

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog and feels
as if he were in the seventh heaven of typography. 

Leave a comment for your name to be entered into the drawing for an autographed copy of my just out ~

 A Western Christmas Homecoming!

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