The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love from Guest Tina Radcliffe

Helps us give Tina Radcliffe a big, warm welcome today!

Hello, Fillies and Friends!

I’m Tina Radcliffe and I’m delighted to be here today.

It’s a bittersweet finale for me as my Love Inspired Lazy M Ranch series comes to an end. I’m grateful for support of readers as they read, reviewed and shared The Baby Inheritance, The Cowboy Bargain, The Cowboy’s Secret Past and my newest release, The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love.

I’m honored to share that three of these releases hit the Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list for mass market paperbacks. And one, The Cowboy Bargain, finaled in the 2024 Carole Awards.

The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love is Luc Morgan’s story. He’s the last of the four Morgan brothers. While it delivers the same humor you can expect from my books, it also shares a message of gratitude and trust.

Book 4 is a Cinderella themed book with a twist.

Here’s a sneak peek into Luc Morgan’s predicament.

Sam started laughing.

Lucas tucked the phone in his pocket and glared at Sam.

“What’s so funny?”

“It just hit me that this is exactly like the prince searching for his princess, getting women to try on glass slippers.” His brother grinned. “You know. Cinderella.”

“You’re comparing my life to a fairy tale? That’s not funny at all.”

“Come on, Luc. You hit your head, lost your memory, found an engagement ring in your gym bag. You have no idea who your intended is, and you’re launching a business without your knowledge.” Sam nodded. “Oh yeah. It is kind of funny, and it could only happen to you.”

Lucas cringed at the words. His brother was right. It could only happen to him.

In addition to ending the series, The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love provides a long-awaited recipe link.

Housekeeper and cook, Bess Lowder has teased us for two years with her delicious cinnamon rolls. Here’s a “taste” from The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love.

Lucas examined the pastries and chose a plump roll thick with cream cheese frosting dripping down the sides over ribbons of buttery cinnamon filling. The Lazy M Ranch housekeeper had a secret recipe for cinnamon rolls that brought grown men to their knees. That included him.

Finally, in Book 4, readers are privy to that secret recipe and a few more. Find them here: Recipes from The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love

I’m a big fan of making the recipes found in novels. What about you? If you do end up trying these cinnamon rolls, drop me a line on social media and let me know.

In the meantime, I’ve brought some goodies to share.

One reader will take home this fun ‘Hay Girl, Hay’ pouch and a print copy of The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love (US).

A second reader will take home an e-copy of The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love (US or International).

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite morning pastry

and let me know if you’d like to be entered to take home these giveaways.

 

If you’d like to find out more about me and keep up with my book news, consider signing up for my newsletter at https://www.tinaradcliffe.com/

Oh, and you can pick up your copy of The Cowboy’s Forgotten Love on Amazon or at Harlequin.

Tina Radcliffe is a Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers Honor Roll member, and a five-time ACFW Carol Award finalist. Her Harlequin novels have won the ACFW Carol Award, the Holt Medallion and appeared on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller list. A US Army Veteran, a former registered nurse, and library cataloger, Tina resides in Arizona, where she writes fun, heartwarming romance and cozy mysteries.

The Line Shack with Guest Kaitlene Dee

Let’s give a big, warm Filly welcome to Kaitlene Dee!

Hi everyone! I’m always glad to have time with you all.

I’ll jump right into today’s blog post. In my upcoming novel-length story, Augusta, (due out next summer) Augusta served time for a crime she didn’t commit but was framed for, and now discovers she’s in danger. Her presence also poses a danger to both her sister and to the newly found family of friends she’s made. The outlaw gang she briefly ran with is now hunting her down. She has no other choice but to leave the creature-comforts now familiar to her and hide while she bides time.

Her hiding place? A marriage of convenience to a man who is bent on defying his father while still working for him. His father sends him to work the winter in the shabby line shack the man built himself. He had cut corners when he built it, and now he’s the one having to live in the mess he created. Unknown to his father, he’s taken a wife, one who is an ex-con and who, strangely, wants to accompany him to the line shack for the winter.

A line shack was a temporary shelter located in a strategic remote place on the far boundaries of a ranch. Cowboys, or line riders, used the cabins when they were charged with patrolling the boundary lines of the ranch. They kept cattle from straying beyond the ranch property before ranches were fenced. The cowhand’s job was to bring the strays back to the ranch, no matter the weather. As barbed wire fencing started being used, the cowboy would ride the line to make fence repairs, as well as checking on any cattle grazing or stranded far from the rest of the herd, especially checking on them in severe weather. There was little time for rest or relaxation.

The shacks were simple, usually a single room. There were a few that were constructed of raised tents on wooden platforms, or of three-walled tents attached to a single wooden wall. Other types of line shacks were built into the side of a hill with a single wood framed wall, a door, and perhaps a window. You can see one similar to this on Pinterest by typing in the app’s search bar: Line Shack.

The shack had enough room for basic activities such as eating, sleeping, and storing horse gear, medical supplies, and water.

Some shacks were stocked just before winter with supplies for bread or biscuits, for dried meats, and for grains.

Sources of heat were a fireplace and/or a small wood pipe stove. While fireplaces could provide more lighting, they were not as efficient of a heat source as the flat top wood stoves one could cook on. In winter, one needed to have a good stockpile of split wood built up.

In Augusta, she and her husband of convenience need to learn to live together as she’s a no-nonsense gal; and he’s quite full of nonsense, that is, until danger comes knocking at their door. Then he, for the first time in his life, must weigh what’s really important to him.

I thought I would have Augusta done and ready for release by now, but this past year has been full of adventure with major life changes such as retiring, moving several times, buying a new home, and having some struggles with my mom’s health—she’s a feisty fighter, but thank you for keeping her in prayer.

With all that being said, I’m asking that you join me on my newsletter to find out when the first story in the series is re-released and goes on sale; and when this second story, Augusta, is on pre-order for a special price (I’m rewriting Josina, the first story right now). As a subscriber, you’ll get updates on all of the series pre-orders and releases for this Old West brides series (the Brides of Willow Creek).

Just for fun, please share your favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

Mine is my mom’s rustic cornbread dressing. Oh my, it is so tasty, it’ll knock your socks off! I’ll post the recipe in my newsletter next week (another reason to join!).

One of the side dish commenters for this blog post will be chosen to win a Thanksgiving platter from Amazon!

I’m not sharing a picture of a specific platter since this is the season when their in-stock items change so quickly.

 

Thank you all for joining me today! I always enjoy my time with Petticoats & Pistols readers. I’ve made my covered wagon story, Emma, free today and tomorrow. Please visit my historical pen name Kaitlene Dee’s Amazon page here to get Emma free for a limited time

Hello November from Guest LeAnne Bristow

A big, warm welcome today to our guest LeAnne Bristow!

Hello and Happy November! November is my favorite month because it hosts two of my favorite things, Thanksgiving and Fall. Yes, I know that fall technically started at the end of September, and since my birthday is in October, that should be my favorite month. But I live in southeastern Arizona and it really doesn’t feel like fall into November. Sometimes not until mid-November.

If I get an overwhelming urge to see fall colors before then, we pack up the truck, hook onto the camp trailer and make the 4 hour drive to the “Alps of Arizona.” Alpine is a small town nestled in the White Mountains and is one of my favorite places in the world. At an elevation of over 8000, it provides an escape from the heat during the summer, a haven for hunters in the fall and spring and a place for desert rats to experience snowboarding and skiing in the winter.

Photo by Chris English

The series I write for Harlequin Heartwarming is inspired by Alpine. Coronado is a fictional town, but in it, you will see why I love Alpine and the White Mountains so much. The latest book in the series takes place in the fall. While I was hoping that the book release would be closer to Thanksgiving, I was still pretty excited to write anything fall related.

When Randon Farr returns to Coronado, in Her Hometown Soldier’s Return, all he wants to do is fix up his family cabin, sell it and get far away from the town that looked down on him and the woman he let down. Millie Gibson has loved her brother’s best friend since she was eight years old. When he joined the military, he promised he would come back for her. Now he’s back, but he’s too broken to keep that promise.

The nurturing instinct that makes Millie a great nurse won’t let her abandon Randon, whether he wants her to or not. She promises to help him learn to deal with his PTSD symptoms, even if it means enabling him to leave Coronado for good.

In true western hospitality, Randon is never left alone for too long, whether it’s Millie, or the Ladie’s Auxiliary who insists on making sure his refrigerator is always full, men from the local church who want to help him with the repairs on his cabin, or some troubled boys from the nearby trailer park who see Randon as their mentor.

There are so many things I loved in this story, but getting to add my favorite sights, sounds and smells of fall made this book extra special.

I would love to share this story with you.

AMAZON

I’m giving away a copy of Her Hometown Soldier’s Return to one lucky commenter.

To be entered, tell me your favorite things about fall!

LeAnne Bristow writes sweet and inspirational romance set in small towns. When she isn’t arguing with characters in her head, she enjoys hunting, camping and fishing with her family. Her day job is a reading specialist, but her most important job is teaching her grandkids how to catch lizards and love the Arizona desert as much as she does.

Recipe for a Delectable Western Romance Novel by Valerie Comer

Welcome to guest blogger Valerie Comer today, sharing her recipe for a Delectable Western Romance Novel.

If I were going to treat this post as though it were from any reputable food blogger, this is where my life story would go, along with all the reasons this recipe is absolutely guaranteed to tickle your tastebuds and be your new forever favorite. 

 Hmm. Don’t we all hate that part? So let’s pretend there’s a “skip to recipe” button and get right to the details! 

 Delectable Western Romance Novel 

Flavor: “A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy 

 Stir together the following tropes: 

  • 2 parts “sudden dad”  
  • 2 parts “nanny” 
  • 1 part “marriage of convenience”  
  • 1 part “fish out of water”  
  • 1 part “newfound family” 
  • 1 part “family drama” 

 Then mix in: 

  • 1 reluctant cowboy 
  • 1 good-girl bank teller turned nanny 
  • 1 20-month-old orphaned toddler 
  • 4 opinionated, interfering parents 
  • 1 sharp, workaholic, billionaire octogenarian 
  • Assorted brothers and cousins 
  • 1 road trip 
  • 1 small town 
  • 1 ranch resort (may substitute a dude ranch or guest ranch, as the flavor is very similar) 

 Fold in: 

  • 4 parts love 
  • 2 generous sprinkles of faith 
  • 2 doses of patience 
  • A blend of understanding and misunderstanding 
  • A sprinkle of wit, wisdom, and laughter 
  • Many, many prayers 

 Stir steadily and methodically, a bit every day for several months, until well-blended and the mixture has expanded to about 60,000 words with a life of its own. Ladle into a heart-shaped pan, smooth out, and apply the heat of beta readers, editors, proofreaders, and advance readers. Tweak ingredients as required. 

 When the story has set, decorate with: 

  • A charming cover 
  • A provocative description 
  • A sprinkle of fairy dust! 

 Servings: There is no limit to the number of readers who can be served. 

 There you have it: the recipe I used to create A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy, the first title in my new Sweet River Ranch Romance series. Here’s a bit about the story: 

Everything hit all at once. Tate Sullivan became the guardian of his young nephew after his brother’s death, and now Grandfather has bought a failing guest ranch in Montana. Tate’s used to handling their hotel empire, but moving halfway across the country and learning an entirely new, rural business model is a challenge, especially with a toddler in tow. 

 Nice girls finish last… or that’s what it seems like to Stephanie Simpson when her ex-boyfriend, a pastor, proposes to a former bad girl. It’s not that Stephanie wants her ex to rethink his life choices, but would it be so wrong to move on as swiftly as he has? A quick wedding to that cute wannabe cowboy with the adorable toddler might get her what she wants. After all, it’s clear Tate needs a helping hand. 

 He’s a Christian, just like she is. What could possibly go wrong? 

 GIVEAWAY! 

Valerie is giving away 2 e-book copies of A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy, anywhere in the world!

To enter, share a comment about your favorite contemporary western romance tropes and flavors!  

Valerie Comer is known for writing engaging characters, strong communities, and deep faith into her green clean romances. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, sharing farm life in western Canada with her husband, adult children, and adorable grandkids. Valerie is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner.

Please find her at https://valeriecomer.com. 

 

Struck with Inspriration by Tina Susedik

I have always loved the west. The history. The lives of those who settled there and what they endured. The ruggedness. Whenever my husband and I plan a trip, we always head west. Now, while I love history and the west, I’d only written one historical romance, The Trail to Love, set on the Oregon trail. 

Several years ago, a new book event came up – Wild Deadwood Reads. It had been a long time since I’d been to Deadwood, but I recall it being steeped in history. So, I thought, why not? I can combine selling books with staying in such an historical town. 

Several events were planned. One was a ride on an 1880s train. The train trip ended in Keystone, another historic town. As our bus drove down the street, I saw a sign which read “The Balcony Girl.” 

Boom, a story idea came to me. It would be set in Deadwood during the early years. Now, I didn’t know that much about Deadwood’s history, so I had to do what authors love to do – RESEARCH. I bought books (and read them all) on Deadwood. Books on the characters who lived there. I delved through pictures and got lost on the internet. 

Finally, I was ready to start writing, but what year to start it in? I chose 1879 – the year a fire nearly destroyed the town. But what about a conflict? Brothels had what they called their “Balcony Girls.” They would stand on the establishment’s upper balcony in their scantily clad bodies, and call the men in. 

Now prostitutes, or soiled doves, then as now, were held in the lowest esteem. Anyone, other than men, who associated with them was considered to be one of them. A “proper” woman would never acknowledge a prostitute without being scorned by society. 

So, in June of 1879, Julia and Suzanne Lindstrom arrived in Deadwood from a farm in Minnesota. Suzanne was to be the new school marm. Julia came along to be with and take care of her sister. Can you imagine their thoughts when they first saw Deadwood, with its haphazard buildings, muddy streets, animals running wild, and rough men in the streets? 

Julia is a seamstress, but how would she make a living in Deadwood where most of the population were men who wore their clothes until they were rags. She ends up doing what a “proper woman” would never do. She befriends a brothel madam and sews clothes for the women who work in the brothel. Of course, she has to keep what she is doing a secret – even from her sister. Not an easy task. And when a prospective suitor finds out . . . Well, you can imagine what happens. 

The Balcony Girl is the first book in my “Darlings of Deadwood” series. I couldn’t stop with one book. Her sister, Suzanne, needed her own story. Then there was the sister of Suzanne’s suitor and owner of a hotel. Let’s not forget the nasty wife of one of the town’s bankers. My next one will be a female blacksmith. All strong women trying to find their way in the male-dominated west – and surviving. 

When the sisters arrived, the town was still booming, but becoming more settled. Roads were still muddy, animals still roamed and Main Street divided into the ‘good side’ and the “Badlands” where the saloons and brothels were located. How would they survive? 

Oh, by the way, that sign I thought said, ‘The Balcony Girl,’ actually read ‘The Balcony Grill.’ 

Order The Balcony Girl on Amazon.

 

I would love to give away one copy of “The Balcony Girl.”

To be considered to win a copy,

tell me an unusual job you’d like to see a woman in another “Darlings of Deadwood” would have. 

Tina Susedik is the author of forty books and anthologies including romance, history, military, and children’s books.She is an award-winning, Amazon best-selling author, and the host of “Cover to Cover with Tina.”Find her online at: http://www.tina-susedik.com

The School Mistress – by Tess Thompson

Hi to all you Petticoats and Pistols readers! I’m thrilled to be guest blogging today. I thought I’d share a little about me and my books and do a giveaway of a paperback of The School Mistress.

I write mostly small-town romances/family sagas, some contemporary and some historical. Almost always, they’re set in the Pacific Northwest. (I’m from Oregon originally and have lived in Seattle for thirty years.) As a writer and readers, my true love are historical novels but I wasn’t sure my contemporary audience would agree. I’d had a lot of success with two small town series set in Oregon and northern California. However, that all changed two years ago with the release of my first Emerson Pass Historical, THE SCHOOL MISTRESS. It and the others in the series have been in the top twenty American historical romances on Amazon for almost two years. I’m delighted, of course! Mostly because that means I get to write more of them.

 

Often readers ask me what inspired a certain book or series. I’m never totally sure how to answer because once the creative process starts, it is easy to forget how you came up with the idea in the first place. However, the origin of Emerson Pass I remember well. One morning about three years ago, I woke up from a dream in which the Barnes family were the main characters. I grabbed my notebook, kept at the side of my bed for this very reason, and wrote down the names, ages, and descriptions of the children as well as Quinn and Alexander. The scene I’d dreamt was of a young woman arriving in a frontier town on the train with snow falling all around her. This is the first scene in the book.

I was in the middle of writing my Cliffside Bay Series, thus I had to set aside the Barnes family for about a year. Finally, in December of 2019, I gave myself a present. I would write THE SCHOOL MISTRESS as a Christmas gift to myself. I didn’t think it would sell well or be a hit at all, but it was something to fill my creative well. It was a book I would like to read!

I was wrong about the hit factor. Readers loved the tale of my courageous schoolteacher and the widower with five children. It was so popular that I committed to writing a story for each of the children. Then, Quinn had two babies, so that made their stories necessary too. At the same time, I decided the descendants of the first characters should have some stories too, thus the contemporary Emerson Pass were born!

I’m about to begin writing the eighth and final book of the series. The seventh comes out September 20th. I feel a little blue saying goodbye to this family I’ve known so well. However, another historical series will release next year with a new family and new love stories.

If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, the whole series is in there, so you can read them for free!

GIVEAWAY

I’m also giving a paperback copy of THE SCHOOL MISTRESS to one lucky winner. 

Just tell me what your earliest memory of school is.

To enter to win, head to my website and subscribe to my newsletter and then comment to let me know you did it.

You get a free novella just for signing up!

PURCHASE THE SCHOOL MISTRESS HERE

 

Texas Ranching History – by Debra Holt

“Other states are carved or born;

Texas grew from hide and horn.”

                                            — Bertha Hart Nance, 1932

 

Texas ranching has a long and storied history. Its roots go back to 1493 when Christopher Columbus made his second visit to Hispaniola. He brought with him several head of cattle, who were the ancestors of the Texas Longhorns bred throughout the state today.

The 16th and 17th centuries saw cattle ranching advance through Mexico and into modern-day Texas. The first cattle ranch was found in the El Paso region, where several thousand cattle were raised. These early ranches were formed by Spanish missionaries; private ranches would arise in the mid-18th century.

The Mexican War of Independence destroyed the Spanish missionary ranches. The Austin colony was formed at the end of the war, attracting Anglos to come stake a claim on the land and the cattle on it. They brought their eastern cattle to breed with the Spanish cattle, and the result was the Texas Longhorn.

The U.S. annexed Texas in 1845, and it spread out land for railways and new settlements. There was plenty of land to go around, and the demand grew high for beef. The cowboy system we’ve come to hold so dear began around this time.

It wasn’t just men who worked on the ranches; women were important to ranch operations, too. One woman, a former slave named Julia Blanks, helped with roundups, planted crops, raised up animals, and helped with the cooking during roundups on the Adams Ranch.

Her daughters followed in her footsteps — “My oldest girl used to take the place of a cowboy, and put her hair up in her hat. And ride! My goodness, she loved to ride.”

The first woman who led a cattle drive was Margaret Borland. After her husband passed, she became the sole owner of the Victoria ranch and 8,000 longhorns. Six years later, she had 10,000 cattle in her care. In 1873, she became the first female trail boss, leading 2,500 longhorns, her three children, and several cowboys up the Chisholm Trail into Kansas.

In recent years, ranches have had to adopt newer ways of bringing income, as the cost of cattle and maintaining the land has risen. The historic YO Ranch let its land for hunting and outdoor recreation. The Matador Ranch soon followed suit.

This past spring, the last ‘grande dame’ of the Texas ranching world was laid to rest. And last month, one of the few remaining ranching ‘empires’ went on the chopping block.

I call it a chopping block because here in Texas, far too many of our great and historic ranches have been sold to the highest bidder (usually someone residing outside the country, let alone the state) and chopped up into smaller pieces, the land and its resources plumbed until nothing worth anything remains, and a vital chapter of our Texas heritage and history has been wiped clean.

This sad fate of a place I consider to be a bit of Texas heaven inspired this story and this series — the Texas Heritage series.

In the first book, The Texas Cowboy’s Proposal, we meet the two granddaughters of Sarah McNamara Burkitt…Laurel Annabella and Samantha Josefina. The heroine of this first book will be Samantha, aka Sammi Jo. She has just been handed a hard blow when her older sister shares the finer points of their grandmother’s will.

GIVEAWAY

Stop a minute and comment about a piece of your heritage that still impacts your life today.

One lucky commenter will receive a free copy of The Texas Cowboy’s Proposal!

Purchase The Texas Cowboy’s Proposal here

Find Debra online at her website here

The Origins of the Secret Service – by Kristy McCaffrey

Counterfeiting was a serious issue at the end of the Civil War. Nearly one-third of all currency in circulation was fake. In 1865 the Secret Service was established to deal with this issue, acting as a bureau in the Treasury Department to stabilize America’s financial system. They were the first domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency in the United States.


During this time, America’s monetary system was very disorganized. Individual banks could legally generate their own currency, but with so much variation in circulation it was easy to counterfeit money.

The first agency chief was William Wood, who was widely known for his heroism in the Civil War. During his first year in charge, he was successful in closing more than 200 counterfeiting plants.

In addition to investigating paper money forgeries, the agency also monitored groups committing fraud, which included the Ku Klux Klan, mail robbers, smugglers, and bootleggers. The United States Marshals Service didn’t have the manpower to investigate all crimes under federal jurisdiction, so the Secret Service also handled bank robberies, illegal gambling, and murders.

President Abraham Lincoln established the Secret Service on April 14, 1865, the same day he was assassinated, after which Congress considered adding presidential protection to the duties of the Secret Service. But it would be another 36 years before the Secret Service was officially put in charge of protecting the president. In 1894, they began informally protecting President Grover Cleveland. In 1901, the agency took over full-time protection of the president after the assassination of President William McKinley. In 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was created and took over intelligence responsibilities from the Secret Service.

In my new release, THE STARLING, Pinkerton Detective Henry Maguire is investigating a possible counterfeiting scheme in the household of wealthy entrepreneur Arthur Wingate. Partnering with new agent Kate Ryan and posing as a married couple, they uncover more than Henry planned when information regarding his deceased father, Hugh Maguire, a Secret Service agent, comes to light.

Colorado 1899

Kate Ryan has always had a streak of justice in her. When she decides to apply to the Pinkerton Detective Agency, nothing will stand in her way. Initially hired in a clerical position, she quickly works her way up to field agent with the help of her mentor, Louise Foster. When Louise is injured, Kate gets her first assignment and the opportunity of a lifetime.

Henry Maguire has been undercover in the household of wealthy entrepreneur Arthur Wingate. Employed as a ghostwriter to pen the man’s memoir, Henry is also searching for clues to a lucrative counterfeiting scheme. When Henry’s “wife” shows up, he’s taken aback by the attractive woman who isn’t Louise. Now he must work with a female agent he doesn’t know and doesn’t necessarily trust. And because he has another reason for coming into Wingate’s world, Kate Ryan is unavoidably in his way.

Kate Ryan is the daughter of Matt and Molly from THE WREN, and THE STARLING is the first of five novels featuring the second generation of Ryans in the Wings of the West series.

The Starling is now available in eBook and paperback. Find buy links and read Chapter One here: https://kmccaffrey.com/the-starling/

 

GIVEAWAY

I’m giving away an eBook from my backlist—winner’s choice. To be entered, leave a comment and let me know what great show(s) you’ve been watching lately (any good western series?). I’m always looking for new stuff to view.

See all my books here: https://kmccaffrey.com/books/

Kristy McCaffrey writes contemporary adventure stories packed with smoldering romance and spine-tingling suspense, as well as award-winning historical western romances brimming with grit and emotion. Her work is filled with compelling heroes, determined heroines, and her trademark mysticism. She likes sleeping-in, eating Mexican food, and doing yoga at home in her pajamas. An Arizona native, she resides in the desert north of Phoenix with her husband and their rescue Bulldog, Jeb. Sign up for Kristy’s newsletter at http://kmccaffrey.com/subscribe/
to receive her latest book news as well as subscriber-only content.

Connect with Kristy
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History of Bicycles with Charlene Raddon

Everyone grew up riding bicycles, right? Wrong. At least not successfully. I was a terrible rider, so nervous I kept falling into parked cars. At least, that was better than falling into the street and being run over by a car.

In my latest book, Gage (Ridge), Cupids & Cowboys Book 7, my heroine rides a bicycle in 1900 Montana. As it turned out, she didn’t do so well either. My hero, Marshal Ridge Givens (one of the triplets born in Barclay, Bachelors & Babies Book 1) went to the train station to pick her up. Instead of stepping down from a rail car as would be expected, she drove an automobile off a flatcar with a bicycle strapped to the back and wearing bloomers. No one in Cutthroat, Montana, had seen a motor car until then. She became the talk of the town.

Honora Keane came to Montana to fetch her orphaned niece, but being a dime novelist, she also hoped to get some first-hand experience in the ways of the quickly disappearing west. Of particular interest was the elder Gage Givens, Ridge’s uncle, though she soon decided Ridge would make a good hero too.

When the bank was robbed, and Ridge and Uncle Gage went after the gang, Honora begged to go along. Ridge said no. Well, being a modern woman and a suffragist, Honora ignored his decree. Not having a horse or knowing how to ride one, she did the perfectly logical thing—she rode her bicycle to follow the men into the mountains. Her experiences on that trip proved pretty hilarious.

Naturally, all this required research. I learned that several men claimed to have invented bicycles (called running machines or Draisines) as early as 1500, but Baron Karl von Drais, a German civil servant, created the first verifiable model in 1817. Being constructed almost entirely of wood, the draisine had no foot pedals, which required the rider to push it along with his feet (hence running machine).

New names came into use with later models, such as “pedestrian curricle” and “velocipede.” However, the public preferred “hobby-horse,” after the children’s toy or, worse still, “dandyhorse,” after the foppish men who often rode them. In the summer of 1819, the hobby horse became the craze in London. John Keats referred to it as “the nothing” of the day. A French metalworker, around 1863, added rotary cranks and pedals to the front-wheel hub to create the first pedal-operated “bicycle.”

From 1820 to 1850, tricycles and quadricycles appeared on the streets in a variety of designs, using pedals, treadles, and hand-cranks. Most suffered from high weight and high rolling resistance until Willard Sawyer of Dover built a range of treadle-operated 4-wheel vehicles and exported them worldwide in the 1850s.

The first mechanically propelled two-wheel vehicle is believed to have been built by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith, in 1839. A nephew later claimed that his uncle developed a rear-wheel-drive design using mid-mounted treadles connected by rods to a rear crank, similar to the transmission of a steam locomotive. The first bicycle with pedals was invented in 1853.

 

Developed around 1863, a French design sparked a brief fashionable craze during 1868–70. It used rotary cranks and pedals mounted to the front wheel hub. Pedaling made it easier for riders to propel the machine at speed, but this design’s rotational speed limitation made it unstable and uncomfortable, leading to the large front wheel of the “penny-farthing.” It wasn’t easy to pedal the wheel used for steering. The use of metal frames reduced the weight and provided sleeker, more elegant designs and mass-production. Different braking mechanisms were used depending on the manufacturer. In England, the velocipede earned the name of “bone-shaker” because of its rigid frame and iron-banded wheels that resulted in a “bone-shaking experience.” Later improvements included solid rubber tires and ball bearings.

The bicycle’s popularity grew on both sides of the Atlantic, and by 1868–69, the craze was going strong in rural areas. Velocipede rinks became popular, and riding schools opened in many cities. Essentially, the velocipede proved a stepping stone, creating a market for bicycles that led to the development of more advanced and efficient machines. By 1870, the bicycle remained in favor only in the UK.

The high-bicycle was the logical extension of the boneshaker, the front wheel enlarging to enable higher speeds (limited by the inside leg measurement of the rider), the rear wheel shrinking, and the frame being made lighter. Frenchman Eugène Meyer is now regarded as the father of the high bicycle. Meyer invented the wire-spoke tension wheel in 1869 and produced a classic high bicycle design until the 1880s.

A later invention called the “ordinary bicycle” replaced this type of bicycle, eventually being nicknamed “penny-farthing” in England (a penny representing the front wheel, and a coin smaller in size and value, the farthing, meaning the rear). They were fast but unsafe. The rider sat high up in the air and traveled at great speed. If he hit a bad bit of road, he could be thrown over the front wheel and seriously injured (two broken wrists were common, in attempts to break a fall) or even killed. “Taking a header” (also known as “coming a cropper”) was not at all uncommon.

The rider’s legs could be caught under the handlebars, making it impossible to fall free of the machine. The danger limited cycling to adventurous young men. Older men preferred the more stable tricycles or quadracycles. Women’s fashion of the day made the “ordinary” bicycle inaccessible.

My neighbor owns a high bicycle, and it’s interesting to watch him climb onto it and ride off down the street. I wonder how many of you ride bikes today? They don’t seem to be as popular as when I was a kid (back in the stone age).

And to read more about Ridge and Honora, order their book today!

For a chance to win an e-book copy of Vella

or an e-book copy of Gage,

post your answer to these questions :

Did you ride a bike as a child? Do you still ride one?
Did you have any wild adventures while riding your bicycle?

 

Bestselling author Charlene Raddon began writing in 1980 after waking up from a dream she knew had to appear in a book. She dragged out a portable typewriter and began writing. That book took nine years to write, as she learned her craft at the same time. A time travel, it has not yet been published. Next, she wrote Tender Touch (Brianna), entered it into the Colorado Gold contest, historical division, and won. That victory prompted her to enter the RWA Golden Heart Contest and Tender Touch became a finalist. She acquired an agent and a year and a half later, signed a three-book contract with Zebra Books, an imprint of Kensington Books.

In 1999, when the historical market plummeted and western romance became almost impossible to sell, she took a hiatus from writing, but her imagination wouldn’t leave her alone. Eventually, she got back into the game. In 2011, she won back her rights to her books and had them released as eBooks by Tirgearr Publishing. In 2012 Tirgearr released two of her books in print, Taming Jenna and Tender Touch.

In 2011, Charlene’s artistic nature prompted her to try a different path and she began designing book covers. Today, she has a long list of clients and her own cover site, silversagebookcovers.com where she specializes in historical romance covers, primarily western.

Her writing and graphic arts business keeps her mightily busy and happy. But she always has time for family, travel, and helping other authors. Connect with Charlene on her website: https://charleneraddon.com/

Gunslinging, Mary Connealy, and The Red Ribbon

Please give a warm welcome to Pepper Basham, our guest today!

~*~

I think it was Mary Connealy who once said, “If things in a story start getting slow, bring out a man with a gun.”

Well, I haven’t written a whole lot of ‘gunslinging’ stories. Sinking ocean liners, trench mustard gas, or the Spanish Flu, maybe, but not a whole lot of gunslinging. Until now.

And I’m kind of surprised it’s taken me so long, because, evidently, I come from a long line (and a community) where there was gun slinging aplenty. Appalachia. Known for its horse thievery, moonshinin’, and Revolutionary War snipers. Oh, and it’s awesome accent and Andy Griffith 😉

So, when I had the opportunity to write a book about a courthouse shootout in my hometown, I thought I’d give it a try…after all, I could just channel my inner Mary Connealy, right?

Not as easy as it may seem, though Mary is incredibly inspirational, because the “shootout” wasn’t fictional, and a century later people still had strong feelings about which side of the Hillsville Courthouse Massacre was right and which was wrong (and those sides didn’t always agree).

The opportunity to write about my own hometown’s shootout came in The Red Ribbon, a historical suspense novel based on the Virginia Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912. This tragedy made national headlines—including a nationwide manhunt—from March 14th to April 12th, when it was overshadowed by the sinking of the Titanic.

Writing about a hot topic that still resonates with the community you grew up in is a tricky business. People still take sides, and many folks don’t want to talk about what happened (even a century later). What’s even more difficult is taking a story that has VERY little hope in it and turning it into a book that brings hope.

I don’t know about you, but maybe those stories with gunslingers and outlaws and suffering and tragedy…are the ones that need hope the most. This one sure felt like it.  And it was a great reminder of how God uses difficulties and situations that leave us asking “why”, to draw us closer to Him and create in us character (Romans 5).

Visiting the historic courthouse that still stands in my hometown and running my fingers over the bullet holes still carved in the walls brought this history to life and (I hope) infused this story with setting. (You can see some of the videos from the courthouse here http://www.truecolorscrime.com/red-ribbon.html)

By the way, the coolest part of this REAL story was that the shootout all started over a KISS!!! (I really don’t know a better way to start a gunslinging, family feud-like story, do you?) So thanks, Mary. I brought in a few guys with guns, some dirty cops, a really smart granny, and an awesome dog. Some of the characters were real folks and some emerged from my imagination, but all contributed to making of The Red Ribbon.

Does your hometown have any significant, interesting,

odd, or exciting history?

Post your answer below for a chance to win a digital or paperback copy of

The Red Ribbon.

~*~

I wrote my first story when I was a nine-year-old, freckled-faced tomboy in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains (my earlier writings wouldn’t have been considered “books”, more like short stories). Coming from a long line of oral storytellers, weaving a good yarn seemed a typical part of my life.  It wasn’t until I finished college, had two children, and a full-time job before I began to study the ‘craft’ of writing (you know when I had plenty of time).

My music-director turned pastor husband took his first senior pastor position eight years ago, moved the 6 of us to Tennessee, where we added our fifth and final kid to the Basham crew. And now hubby is a music minister in Asheville, NC. Yep, we love the Blue Ridge Mountains.

So…now I’m an older, freckled-faced mommy enjoying life, learning to write, and laughing often.  My mom says that I must have a small bit of insanity because I don’t realize how stressed I ought to be.

I’m also a speech-language pathologist who spends her time hanging out with kids who have social communication and language difficulties! It’s a challenge and a blessing – and constantly teaches me about the importance of thinking outside the box!

You can get to know me on FacebookInstagramPinterest, or Twitter.