Hot Texas Summer Hello and Book Release

Hi! Hope y'all are having a good week. I know, I know, it's only Tuesday, but I hope for the best. My week is going well, I think. The book I just finished is with my editor and readers, so I will get it published this month. The timing is later than I'd hoped, but, as it turns out, the release will coordinate with the event the story is centered around. My husband says, "Even a blind hog finds a acorn." Now, you know I got a might touchy at his bluntness, but truth is truth, no matter how you slice it.

For those who've read my books, you know, in addition to family, I build my stories around actual weather events that happened in the book's time period. If you didn't notice, that's okay, it didn't register with me either until a good friend pointed it out. The hero and heroine have to deal with floods, blizzards, tornadoes, and hurricanes. You know, it gives them something to do in case they get bored.

Inspiration for Faith and Joe's house in Galveston, Texas

The book I'm talking about is, FAITH AND THE TEXAS LAWYER, A Brides of Texas Code Series Novella, Book 4. Faith Daniels and Joe Benning, unfortunately, have very little time to get bored since this is a time-travel. The story is set in Galveston, Texas, and centered around a house they both own, except Faith is from 2016, and Joe is from 1900. The obvious weather event is the devastating Hurricane of 1900, or Isaac's Storm, that occurred on September 8.

Blurb:

Faith Daniels has had a hard time fitting in all her life, from the time she was left on the steps of a firehouse to her recent divorce. The only time she feels connected is when she rehabs old houses. Often she wishes she could have experienced life in a simpler time. Her current project, a 1900 Galveston mansion, is all she ever wished for and more. When some mysterious force transports her from 2016 to 1900, just prior to the most devastating natural disaster on record, will Faith give up all she has attained in her present life to stay in the past with the sexy turn-of-the- century lawyer?

Joseph Benning has serious trust issues. He is still recovering from the jolt of being dumped by his fiancé shortly before their wedding. In order to prove to himself he can manage on his own without a woman in his life, he decides to reach outside of his routine and buy a house. Suddenly, a strange woman shows up inside his house telling fantastic stories of disaster and destruction. Will Joe be able to make the right decision and let her go, when it comes time to save her life?

Follow me on Amazon to find out the release date!

School starts soon, an i know you'll be busy with all the end of summer stuff. Be careful and stay cool if you can.

Hugs,

Carra

Galveston, Texas: A City with a History

There are so many cities and towns in Texas that own a piece of my heart. Galveston is but one of them. My first trip to the island was in 1965 when I was a junior at Sam Houston High School. I was a member of Vocational Industrial Training of America, and our class went there to participate at the State Conference.

Galveston Arial View

You can imagine the fun we had with our first major trip away from home. I think there were eight of us along with our teacher, Mr. Kenneth Pickett, one other teacher I think, and my mother as chaperone. If memory serves, I think my younger brother tagged along, too. We stayed on Seawall Boulevard just across the street from the Gulf of Mexico and the beach.

Galveston Beach

Galveston Beach

The Flagship Hotel

A main attraction for many years was the Flagship Hotel which was built out on a pier into the Gulf. We stayed there once when our kids were small. Unfortunately, it didn't survive Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Pleasure Pier Present Day

Now they've built a Pleasure Pier with rides and games for tourists.

I'm currently writing another book set in Galveston And I've discovered there were earlier places on the beach for fun and games called The Pavilion, Murdoch's Pavilion, Bath Houses, many of which were destroyed either by fire or hurricanes.

The Electric Pavilion 1883

Before the 1900 Hurricane, Galveston was so lush and plush, it was thought of as the Wall Street of the South. Galvestonians liked to call their city the Coney Island of the South. The devastating Hurricane changed all that.

Over six thousand souls were lost on September 8th and 9th, 1900. The island was lost. In order to prevent this devastation from happening again, the people of Galveston built a seawall. Construction began in 1902 and the initial segment completed in 1904. From 1904 to 1963 the wall was extended from 3.3 miles to over 10 miles long. 

After Hurricane Alicia in 1983, the Corp of Engineers estimated that  $100 million in damage was avoided because of the Seawall.

My characters, Faith and Joe, are not the first that I've put through the trials and tribulations of severe storms. Joe's father and step-mother, Ian and Matelyn O'Donnell Benning struggled to survive during the 1875 Galveston Hurricane, in my book, Matelyn and the Texas Ranger. Joe and Faith will have to deal with the aftermath of the 1900 Hurricane, sometimes referred to as Isaac's Storm, and we'll see how they do.

I have an e-book of Matelyn and the Texas Ranger for one commenter, so if you'd like to read about Joe's family before his book comes out this summer, talk to me. Don't leave me lonely down here all by myself.  =D

Thanks for stopping by,

Carra

 Amazon Author Page 

HANDBAGS: A HISTORY

Handbag fetish or addiction, no matter what you call it, I have it. Yes, I admit it and it's worse than my shoe addiction. Yikes! Geez, this may be worse than I originally thought. But hey, I can't be the only one, right???

Anyway, that's what sprung this idea for our talk today. Purses have shown up throughout time in many shapes and forms. From the earliest of time, both men and women carried pouches to carry sundry bits of importance, like seeds, items of religious significance and medicines. They were made of bits of animal skins, later cloth, and knitted string to look like net. Each might be decorated to personal tastes with shells, feathers and the like.




















Traditional wallets began as early as the 16th century, as small leather pouches with a drawstring with which to tie to a belt loop. Women carried sweet bags that held lavender or other scents to freshen their clothing and handkerchiefs. It was around this time pockets were introduced into clothing to carry small personal belongings.

Women also carried bags tied around their waists and worn under their skirts, as seen above.

The mid-1800s showed a variety of handbags from the beaded and embroidered drawstring to a flat style that could be either square or circular in design.
.

 

Patterns for these were offered in popular ladies magazines of the day.











Early 20th century saw another change in the style of handbag carried by the modern woman. Two purses I'll share with you belonged to my grandmother, Faith, and her sister, Stella.

They are circa 1910-1915 and I framed them to showcase and preserve them.

 During World War II, shoulder bags became popular and have evolved to include over the arm, clutch, crossbody and tote. Some men briefly carried a messenger or casual bag in the 70's and even today they might be seen carrying one, but purses or handbags are largely used by women. I know I usually carry the kitchen sink. I want to have anything for any situation, a hold over from my mom days, I suppose.

This past weekend, Mother's Day, my som graciously bought me a shiney new handbag that caught my eye at the leather store at Grapevine Mills Mall. It's turquoise with silver hardware. I obviously needed it, and it's prreeetttty. Don't you agree?

Well that's what I have to say today. Chime in and let me know what you think. Do you get as ga-ga as I do over a purse or is there something else that trips your trigger?

I'd like to wish all a happy belated Mother's Day!

Hugs to all,
Carra
xoxoxoxo

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Carra Copelin Website, Carra's Blog , Carra's FB page , Carra's Twitter Page

WOMEN IN TEXAS HISTORY

Whether they get mentioned or not, women have always played a part in Texas History. A lot of times, as used to be typical, a woman was the wind beneath a man's wings. I'm not particularly fond of that, but it is what it is. In truth, women played a prominent role in Texas history and here a few.  

Sarah Cockrell

Sarah Cockrell (1819-1892), a business woman who built the first iron bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas in 1872. She thought big and invested wisely and set up her own corporations. When she died in 1892, her properties were so extensive that her will had to be published in pamphlet form.


Molly Goodnight (1839-1926) established the first ranch household in the Texas Panhandle in 1877. She rescued orphaned buffaloes, had her own cattle brand, the Flying T and helped establish the Goodnight College in 1898.

Mollie Goodnight

Elizabet Ney

Elizabet Ney (1833-1907) was a renowned sculptor from Bavaria. She
moved to Texas with her husband in 1872. She secured a commission to create statues of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston for the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. She became the outspoken advocate of the teaching of fine arts in the state's schools and was instrumental in the founding of the Texas Fine Arts Association.

Minnie Fisher Cunningham

Minnie Fisher Cunningham (1882-1964) was President of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association from 1915 to 1920 and became the first executive secretary of the National League of Women Voters. She was an important leader in the campaign for votes for women on the state and national levels. Graduating in 1901, she was one of the first women in Texas to receive a pharmacy degree from the University of Texas medical school. She ran for but lost races for the U.S. Senate in 1928 and for governor in 1944.

Bessie Coleman, one of the first licensed female pilots and the world's first black female aviator and barnstormer, had a spectacular but brief career in air shows. She was born in Atlanta, Texas, the twelfth of 13 children. Her mother, an illiterate former slave, borrowed books so Bessie could learn to read.

Coleman became interested in the air war in Europe, and decided she wanted to become a pilot. but could find no flight school to accept her. The editor of the Chicago Weekly Defender gave her advice and financial assistance, and she enrolled in an aviation school in France. She earned her pilot's license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in 1921.

She encouraged young blacks to become involved in aviation, and once refused to perform in Waxahachie, where she had grown up, until blacks were allowed to use the same entrance as whites to the exhibition.

In 1926, Coleman died during a test flight in Florida. Black aviators memorialized her by naming their flying clubs and their magazine after her. In 1990, a street to Chicago's O'Hare Airport was named Bessie Coleman Drive, and, in 1995, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in her honor. 

Sarah T. Hughes

Sarah T. Hughes was an attorney, legislator, women's rights activist, United Nations supporter, and Texas' first female state and federal judge. A member of a Dallas law firm from 1923 to 1935. she was elected to her first term in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat on 1930 and voted "Most Valuable Member" her second term. In 1935, she became Texas' first female district judge and was reelected seven times. She was Dallas County co-chair of the Kennedy-Johnson campaign in 1960, and in the following year, President John F. Kennedy appointed her Texas' first female federal judge. After Kennedy's assassination in 1963, she administered the Presidential oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson.


These are but a few of the many women who have influenced me and I hope by reading about these women, you'll be inspired to read more about them or look up other influential women in our state of Texas and other states in our great nation.

Thank you for stopping by today. I love seeing y'all here on Sweethearts of the West.

Hugs, Carra

  Carra Copelin Website 
   

Jobs for the Time-Traveling Heroine

I want to talk a little bit about choosing a profession or line of work for our characters. A while back I mentioned the topic of women's work and how up until the late 1800's women, as a whole, worked inside the home.


The crazy notion during the late 1800's was that to clean the home women were achieving their highest calling. Women's popular literature of the time was full of advice about and encouragement for proper housekeeping. Thank goodness that notion changed in the early twentieth century!






The job selections for the heroine can be varied or somewhat limited depending on the era in which the story takes place. A woman living in the early twentieth century or before could be a housewife, a seamstress, washer-woman, or possibly a stenographer.

Nowadays, there are a plethora (love this word and wanted to use it) of choices. A woman today, as we know, can pretty much choose any career path she wishes to follow.

My next book, yes, I’m finally going to write that Time-Travel that’s been rolling about in my head for many years, is set in Dallas (Present day) and Galveston (1900).

Most of the time, whether the characters go back in time or come forward, we portray them as a fish out of water. Since I’d used that premise with my last book, Laurel: Bride of Arkansas, where a mail order bride from Philadelphia society married a widower living on an Arkansas farm. While anyone most certainly would fir this description, I didn’t want to use it as the whole plot point.

My heroine, Faith Daniels, needs to have a career she loves in the twenty-first century that she can draw on when she travels back in time.

Inspiration for Faith - 1900

Inspiration for Faith Daniels

Lately I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the home remodeling and do-it-yourself shows on certain channels. One in particular holds me captive each week, where the star of the show rehabs old homes to their former/original glory. Sooooooo, one day the “lightbulb” came on over my head and stirred the what-ifs. Aha! By jiminy, that’s it. 

Faith is a modern-day house rehabber living in Dallas. Her friend, Stella, travels with her to Galveston to see and work on the turn-of-the-century house she’s bought in a blind auction.

Inspiration for Faith's house.

Now, if you know me, you know that isn’t all Faith is going to go through. It seems to me there was a little storm passed through Galveston in 1900. She’s going to meet a special, tortured gentleman, Joe Benning, and I wonder if they’ll get together. Will she stay in the twentieth century or will she come back home to Dallas? The working title for this time-travel is, The Texan’s Redeeming Faith.

I’ll keep you posted on all the goings on just in case you’re interested. Do you like time-travel stories? Let me know.

Carra

Carra's Amazon Author Page