Welcome Guest Author Misty M. Beller and a Give Away!

I’m so excited to visit with my Petticoats and Pistols family again!

My latest book, Guarding the Mountain Man’s Secret, released this week! In it, our heroine and her uncle are working with a group of surveyors to map out potential routes for the coming railroad.

One of the things I love about writing historical romance is the detail I get to research for each book. So much of my research doesn’t make it into the story, but I still love to learn it!

Surveying back then was no walk in the park. These brave folks had to trek through some seriously rough terrain, lugging around heavy equipment like compasses, levels, and surveyor’s chains (called Gunter’s chain). The chains were a whopping 66 feet long, with 100 links! Surveyors would stretch them out to measure distances, and let me tell you, it was no easy feat.

Gunter’s Chain & Surveyor’s Compass. Courtesy of the New Hampshire Historical Society

One of the surveyor’s secret weapons was triangulation. By measuring angles between distant points and doing some fancy math, they could figure out exactly where landmarks were and create a grid of reference points across the land. This technique was a game-changer, allowing for more accurate maps that covered bigger areas.

In my story, the surveying was done for the railroad. But history tells us that later in 1879, the U.S. Geological Survey stepped onto the scene with a larger mission: to create detailed maps of the entire country, including the wild, wild West. Surveyors working for this agency had their work cut out for them. They battled through dense forests, climbed steep mountains, and crossed dangerous rivers, all to gather the data needed for these maps.

So the next time you look at a map of the American West, give a nod to those early surveyors. These hardworking folks played a huge role in shaping the frontier, giving settlers the information they needed to build new lives and communities. Without their dedication and skill, the West might have remained a mystery forever!

To celebrate, I’m excited to give away a signed copy of the previous book in this series, Pretending to be the Mountain Man’s Wife! To be entered for the giveaway, I’d love to hear some of the interesting jobs you’ve seen women perform in historical fiction novels. Leave a comment below to share. 

I pray you enjoy Miles and Clara’s story in Guarding the Mountain Man’s Secret!

In the wild mountains of the Montana Territory, the Coulter ranch is a place of family, second
chances…and a hidden fortune.
Miles is the youngest of six brothers, and he’s spent most of his life helping guard the family’s
secret: a sapphire mine hidden deep within the Montana mountains. With threats from a past
enemy looming, a survey team’s arrival stirs suspicion—until he meets Clara Pendleton, whose
presence captivates him.

Clara Pendleton joins her uncle on a survey team tasked with mapping the coming railroad's
path, only to find herself entangled with the enigmatic Coulter family. When her uncle’s accident
leads them to find refuge in the Coulter home, Clara is irresistibly drawn to Miles Coulter and his quiet strength. This feels like the haven she craves…until a series of mysterious attacks endanger
everyone on the ranch.

As Christmas approaches, a sleigh ride through a snowy wonderland fans the growing spark
between Clara and Miles into a flame, but a broken runner leads Clara to discover the family's
secret. Now she’s faced with an impossible choice: betray the man she’s coming to love or risk
the lives of his entire family—and her own uncle.

From a USA Today bestselling author comes a mountain saga filled with high-stakes adventure,
forced proximity, a Christmas surprise, and love that heals wounded hearts.

Amazon   Barnes and Noble     Google Play   Books 2 Read

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author with over 1 million books old. She writes romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love. Raised on a farm and surrounded by family, Misty developed her love for horses, history, and adventure. These days, her husband and children provide fresh adventure every day, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

Misty’s passion is to create inspiring Christian fiction infused with the grandeur of the mountains, writing historical romance that displays God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters. Sharing her stories with readers is a dream come true for Misty. She writes from her country
home in South Carolina and escapes to the mountains any chance she gets.

Author Page   Amazon   Facebook   Instagram   BookBub   Good Reads

 

Regional Words and a Give Away

I grew up in the rural west, and like most regions of the country I grew up with words specific to the area that might sound strange to people from other places. Jockey box comes to mind. Currently, a jockey box is a cooler used to cool tap beverages in temporary locations. Those of us from north Idaho, though, know that a jockey box is a glove compartment found in vehicles. The term comes from stage coaches. The driver sat on a bench which held a storage compartment beneath it and was thus called a jockey box. I’ve trained myself to say glove compartment, but I know in my heart that its a jockey box.

I do recall one of my college boyfriends from New York making fun of the word “rig” being used for any vehicle. I grew up getting into the rig. He grew up getting into a car.

Here are a few other words specific to the areas that I sometimes have to explain to my editors:

Leppie–an orphan animal, usually a calf. It’s from the Spanish word lepe meaning a stunted calf.

Buckaroo–this is a serious term denoting cowboys and cowgirls from the Great Basin area. It’s from the Spanish word vaquero. I could say a lot about buckaroos, because they have an amazing culture. Buckaroo is both a noun and a verb. “He’s off buckarooing for the Anderson outfit.”

Outfit–a ranch operation.

Gut line–a braided rawhide rope. These take a long time to make and are highly valued.

Line out–to explain to someone their duties of the day. The boss will line out his employees.

Cayuse–a horse

Those are just a few words from my area. Give me a word or phrase that is unique to your area for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card!

 

 

 

 

Welcome Lynn Landes!

What inspired my books? I’m often asked what inspires a book? Where do your ideas come from? The truth is they come from many places. Past experiences, dreams, bible verses, music… life. I think from now on I’ll answer with that one word- Life.

I’ve recently joined with Magnolia Blossom Publishing and my first series, “The Women’s Work Exchange,” is about a group of young women who join together to help middle class women support themselves.

“Saving Taylor,” is about a young singer named, Taylor Allen. Trained as a child to use the gift of her voice for the Lord, she is unprepared for the reality of her father’s gambling debts. Taylor’s voice is a magnet that draws in crowds, but not even her talent can save her when Thomas Whitt calls in her father’s debt.

Thomas realizes what he has when the crowds come to hear her sing and he isn’t about to let her go without a fight. After a brutal attack, Taylor runs for her life.

This prequel shows how the Women’s Work Exchange comes to life when Taylor finds help in an unusual place. She learns that the Lord has guided every step of her life and if she trusts in the power of his perfect Love everything will work together for his good.

The Women’s Work Exchange was inspired by the “New York Exchange for Women’s Works.” In 1878, two women decided to help middle-class war widows support their families. Instead of being forced into workhouses or working as soiled doves, they suggested that women could make items at home, and sell them.

“The Exchange sold handmade luxury goods that women could make at home and gave the women a percentage of every item sold. Thus allowing middle class widows to earn a living while still maintaining their reputations.” https://wams.nyhistory.org/a-nation-divided/reconstruction/ny-exchange-for-womens-work/

I was inspired by these women and thought it would make a great story. My characters aren’t war widows, but they are enterprising women who want to care for themselves in spite of their circumstances. They are single mothers, divorced, widowed, and some, like Taylor, are just in a bad situation. Saving Taylor is the beginning of how the Women’s Work Exchange comes to be and the special women who fight for more, and the men who come to love them.

Giveaway!

I love to discover unique facts about history that I learn through my research. Did you know that a man could divorce his wife simply by having a divorce announcement in the newspaper? It didn’t even have to be printed in the state they lived in! You can bet I used that in an upcoming book. Do you have a unique fact to share? Comment and I’ll send a free e-copy of Saving Taylor to one lucky commenter!  

Saving Taylor

Can she convince him to trust her?

She is a woman on the run…

Taylor Allen is an eyewitness to a double murder. Raised in the church, she only sang for the Lord until her father sold her to pay off his gambling debts to the local Opera House. Taylor’s voice is a magnet that draws in crowds but not even her talent can save her from a murderer. After a brutal attack she runs for her life.

He’s taken hostage by a desperate young woman…

John Fielding Jr is on the way home from a business trip. How did a beautiful killer end up in his private sleeping car with a gun pointed at him?

Time is running short as they search the train to New York, seeking the woman that robbed and set fire to a saloon. They say she killed the owner and burned down several buildings in the process. John Fielding Jr. is determined to help prove her innocence and claim her heart in the process.

Lynn Landes
BESTSELLING AUTHOR – Illumination Award Winner
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Camp Cooking and a Give Away!

First I’d like to thank everyone for stopping by today. I hope you are all staying safe during these difficult times!

If you are like me, you’re cooking more than usual, and probably being more careful with ingredients. I have to admit that over the years (as in since college and the early days of my marriage when money was sooo tight) I’ve become more wasteful. If the lettuce is rusting, chances were that I’d toss the rest of the head and buy a new one rather than salvaging what could be salvaged. Leftovers often disappeared in the fridge, only to be found when it was “too late”.

But you know what? I know better. And I’ve done better.

This is camp during the summer. The big strip is the landing strip. If you look to the middle left, you’ll see the trailers the crew lived in and the larger building which was my domain–the cookhouse.

Before I started college, I helped cook in a remote Alaska mining camp. It was in the Arctic, 250 air miles north of Fairbanks during the pipeline construction days. I actually spent three summers at camp, but only cooked during one of those summers. I was the bull cook, known in politer circles as the sous chef. I  helped the head cook, who just happened to be my mom.

As you can imagine, fresh ingredients were rare. We got them when the grocery order came in by air. Sometimes my mom and dad would travel to Fairbanks and buy the groceries, but often we’d put in an order and the grocer would send the stuff on a plane heading our way. Sometimes, believe it or not, we got the worst produce they had to offer. We weren’t exactly in a position to complain, so I learned a lot about salvaging ingredients.

We only got salads right after the plane came, and after weeks of canned and skillet fried food, salads were pretty darned tasty. If I could save half or even a quarter of a going-bad tomato, I did. Lettuce was often peeled back to less than half its original size.

Potatoes and onions usually came in better condition and kept longer, but there was still a lot of salvaging going on. Anything was better than eating only canned food. Speaking of cans, the pantry was left intact when we left for the winter months and of course the cans froze solid. What does canned food look like after a good solid Arctic freeze? Well, creamed corn looks pretty scary. When my folks were in Fairbanks and I was in charge of feeding the crew, one of the crew members and I dyed the cream corn purple using food coloring to distract from its grayish-yellow appearance.  The crew was definitely distracted. (We did practice safety measures with the canned goods and only used those that had an intact seal and showed no signs of damage from freezing.)

Milk was a challenge. We froze it, but it separated upon thawing. It was still fine for cooking, but not so much for drinking. I discovered the reconstituted evaporated milk was far superior to dried milk for drinking. In fact, I kind of developed a taste for it.

I’ve been thinking about my Alaska days as I’m working my way through my pantry and putting my camp cooking skills to work. If it can be salvaged, I’m eating it. Leftovers will not be pushed to the back of the fridge. Milk in cartons will be savored and when it’s gone, I’ll break out the evaporated. My prima dona food ways are going by the wayside and I’m interested in hearing about your kitchen experiences.

If you would like to win one of two $10 Amazon gift cards, please tell me a quick tip you’ve used when ingredients were scarce or missing. Winners will be announced on Friday, April 3.

Stay safe everyone! Sending love and blessings,

Jeannie