Little Known Facts About Horses...

by Amber Leigh Williams

 

I’ve learned many things since I began writing western romance. I love learning through my work. One of the things fundamental to my western romance research has been facts about horses. Most things people already generally know these…like the word for the horse family (“equus”) comes from the Greeks. A horse’s height is measured by a “hand”…a very small hand like mine of four inches in height. When my husband and his family were rescuing the wild horse last month, I learned that a horse’s age is determined by its teeth. A female horse is known as a “mare;” a baby horse is a “foal;” a young female horse is a “filly;” the father of a horse is a “sire;” and the mother of a horse is known as a “dam.”

Here is a list of more horse facts you might not have known if you’re new to horses like me….

Equinophobia, is the fear of the horses.

 

An average horse's head weighs 11.84 pounds.

A horse's heart weighs an amazing 10 pounds.

 

A horse’s moods can be determined with the help of their nostrils, eyes and ears.

 

Horses spend more energy lying down.

 

The 1st of January is when all racehorses in the US celebrate their birthday.

 

Most foals are born at night, away from danger and prying eyes.

 

A horse’s mood mimics its owner’s emotions.

 

Horses have two blind spots; one directly in front of them, the other directly behind.

 

"Old Billy," was the oldest recorded horse; he lived to be 62.

 

I found all these great horse tidbits and more at Buzzle.com. Visit the site to learn more about horses and all their amazing traits….

*For those who are curious about the rescue horse I posted about last month, next month's blog post on the 4th will include an update on her progress. Stay tuned!

A Modern-Day Horse Story

by Amber Leigh Williams

It’s been some time since I’ve posted here at Sweethearts of the West. I apologize to my fellow Sweethearts and our readers for being away so long. I have a great horse story I hope will make up for my absence!

In the Corral

 My husband and I took a road trip with his brother and sister-in-law and two of their children a couple of weekends ago. It was a rescue mission. They are horse owners. Before our trip, they had three horses and room for one more. When they heard of a wild, abandoned horse on a large property outside Mobile, they decided to help.

The story of the horse unfortunately has a lot to do with the economic downturn. A family built a beautiful mansion in the woods outside Mobile. It’s removed from the city and sits on several acres. The family, however, couldn’t afford the house and were forced to give it up to foreclosure. Instead of finding their horses loving and caring homes, they left them to roam wild on the land that now belongs to the bank. It’s rumored that one of the horses died because by the time my brother- and sister-in-law got wind of it, there was only one horse on the property. The upside to this tragic story is that the bank was concerned for the remaining horse’s welfare, so much so that they offered it free of charge to whoever could catch it.

Several people tried and failed. One Saturday, my brother- and sister-in-law traveled with a horse trailer to Mobile to see if they could rescue the poor animal. They spent the better part of the day trying but couldn’t quite get the horse corralled. That night my brother-in-law called my husband, asking for his help. My husband agreed and the next day I tagged along for the ride.

Brother-in-law & Hubby in the Corral with the Horse

When we pulled through the gate onto the property, we spotted the horse lingering around the house. She shied at our approach even when my sister-in-law got out of the truck and tried walking to her with a bucket of feed. We parked the truck and horse trailer. While their youngest child and I watched from the house, the horse ran into the woods and the others did their best to catch her. It was a hot day, as most are on the Gulf Coast in July. Thankfully, the bank had left the back door to the house open so we could take advantage of the air conditioning and restrooms if we needed to. My niece and I watched as the horse ran from the woods and into the fenced-in pasture where it was once stabled. The others hurried to build a corral with portable fencing we had brought in the truck at the entrance to the pasture. It took them less than an hour after building the corral for them to corner her inside. The four of them were already exhausted from running across the large property, but now that they had the horse in the corral they were so close to their end goal of getting her safely into the horse trailer that they couldn’t stop.

It was now clear to everyone that the horse hadn’t had any human contact for some time. Her diet was poor and she was dirty. The fact that she was small took everyone by surprise. My sister-in-law managed to get a look at her teeth when the horse took a treat from her hand. They were so tiny, she couldn’t have been older than two years. Still, she didn’t make it easy for my husband and his brother to get her into the horse trailer. By the time they finally did so, their clothes were soaked clean through and everyone was in desperate need of some cold beverages.

Meeting her new family....

The ride back to our side of the bay was a long one, but we made it safely out of Mobile and soon brought the horse to her new, loving, caring home. It’s been a few weeks since she arrived at my brother- and sister-in-law’s house and she seems to be doing well on a healthy diet and in the shade of their front pasture. When my husband and I visited a few days ago, she even let me pet her face.

Thank goodness for people like my brother- and sister-in-law who are willing to go out of their way to help horses like this one. I thought it was an important story to tell because I know there are others horses out there who might have been abandoned or suffer from poor care. I personally don’t have much experience with horses, but I do know there has to be better options for those whose owners can no longer care for them. I also think it’s important to recognize everyday heroes like my brother- and sister-in-law, their children, and my husband who take action when an animal is in need.

Researching Western Slang/Lingo

by Amber Leigh Williams

While researching my current western romance trilogy, I learned more about cattle ranching than I had the previous time around. I came across some slang and lingo once essential to cattle ranching operations. Today I thought I’d share some of these terms with the Sweethearts and our readers. Enjoy!

Buckaroo: Derived from the Spanish "vaquero,” a cowboy from the Great Basin country of northern Nevada, southern Idaho, northeast California and southeastern Oregon.  Often they wear flat hats, chinks, and ride A-fork saddles with post horns and bucking rolls. Traditionally their gear displays lots of silver and is fancier than some other areas of the country.

Charro: Gentleman rider of Mexico. Charros often exhibit a very flashy style of riding and use ornate dress and gear. Jalisco and Guerrero are the main states in Mexico where the charro tradition originated.

Charreada: A gathering of charros combining skilled riding, roping, and bull tailing, somewhat similar to a rodeo in the United States.

Big Circle Riders: Cowboys start at a point designated by the cow boss, ride widely-separated, gather the cattle, and push them to the holding or rodear grounds where the cattle will be worked.

Cocinero: Spanish term for male cook or chuck wagon cook.

Chuck Wagon Cook: On the old time cattle drives, the cook was sometimes an aging cowboy hired for his ability to drive a wagon more than his cooking skills. He was in charge of the wagon and everything related to it. The cook was paid more than the other hands because the success of the camp and the drive depended greatly on him. A cowhand earned about a dollar a day and the cook made twice that. Ranch cooks today still command a great deal of respect and many expect a certain strict etiquette in their vicinity.

Hoodlum (or Little Mary): Cooks helper-chops wood, peels potatoes, does dishes, and other chores around the chuckwagon.

Cow Boss: In charge of the cattle operation on a ranch. They choose where the cowboys will ride, hire and fire cowboys, and answer to the general manager.

Cowman: A ranch owner who makes a living raising cattle. Cow-Puncher: Also called “Buckaroo,” “Cow Poke,” “Waddie,” “Cowboy,” and in Spanish a "Vaquero". Terms for cowboy vary with the region. The term cow puncher or "puncher" is more commonly used in the southwest.

Drover: Term commonly used in the 1870s and 80s for a working cowboy engaged in trailing longhorns to market or a new range.

Escaramuza: Women participating in a charraeada as a drill team riding sidesaddle.

Gunsel: A person with limited knowledge of livestock and cowboy ways. Usually used as a derogatory term.

Gyp: A female dog - term used especially in the south.

Jigger: Second in command to the buckaroo boss. Often ropes the buckaroos' horses for the day. Lead Riders: Two cowboys that ride on each side of the 'lead steers' in a trail herd. They push the cattle in the general direction they want the herd to move. Drag Rider: Cowboy following the herd pushing the stragglers. Night Hawk : Cowboy that constantly rides around the cattle herd at night.

Night Wrangler: A cowboy that herds and cares for the saddle horses during the night.

Peeler: A horse breaker

Point Rider: Cowboy who rides in front of a herd and provides something for the animals to follow.

Flank Rider: Cowboys riding along the sides of the herd keeping it bunched.

Forked: Adjective applied to a Cowboy that can really ride a bronc well. Pronounced fork-ed – like the name “Ed.”

Pogonip: Paiute word for “cloud,” referring to a dense winter fog containing frozen particles, formed in valleys in the western United States. Also called “white cloud,” “white death” or “death fog.” Formed when humidity is 100% and temperature falls below freezing(32° F.) The ice crystals will then settle onto surfaces, forming beautiful ice crystal sculptures. Beautiful but dangerous. Range Boss: Manager of a cow outfit out on the range.

Ranahan: Top cowhand, sometimes shortened to "ranny."

Rep: A representative. In the old days, neighboring ranches would pasture in ranges without fences as we know them today. During roundup time, representatives from neighboring ranches would attend the roundup. A rep with his own string of horses would trail to the range and ride and work with the roundup crew. When the cattle were gathered, those with his ranch's brand would be cut out and the rep would trail them home along with his saddle and pack horses.

Rosin Jaw: Hired man that does the mechanical, irrigating, and feeding chores on a ranch—all the non-horseback work. He is one of the "ranch crew." Rustler: A horse or cattle thief.

Shaded-Up: Can be applied to cowboys, cattle, or horses when they are pulled into a shady spot to rest. Shadow Riding: A cowboy that rides along, admiring his own gear and his own shadow. Swing Riders: Cowboys that keep the main body of the trail herd together and keep them moving. Tail Riders: Cowboys that follow the trail herd and keep the cows and young calves moving. They are also referred to as “drag riders.” Tally-Man: A cowboy who stands beside the branding-fire at a round-up and makes a tally mark for each animal branded, ear-marked, and vaccinated, showing to whom it belongs. A tally-man can also count animals out of a gate and keep track of them. Tie-Man: A cowboy roper that ties the end of his rope to his saddle horn while roping horses or cattle. This is a roping technique used mainly in Texas. Twister: A horse breaker. Vaquero: Spanish term for a man who takes care of cattle. A Mexican cowboy. Vaquero is derived from the Spanish word "vacca" (cow). Waddie: Another term for cowboy, or a hired man, in the western United States who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback. The term “waddy” is an old term that no one seems to be able to actually put their finger on the exact origin. It is more common in the Midwest and Southwest. Wagon: A chuck and a bedroll wagon goes out with the cowboys when they work cattle on the range for several months at a time, especially in the spring and fall. Candy wagon: A vehicle that hauls the grub and supplies to line camps. Wrangler: A livestock herder, especially of saddle horses.

Source: www.cowboyshowcase.com

Nancy Ward, Cherokee Woman, Advocate & Patriot

by Amber Leigh Williams

Since it’s Women’s History Month, I thought I would write about an influential woman of the American West who undoubtedly changed the way of life for her fellow Native Americans and who was a pioneer of women of her time. No one in the Cherokee Nation was more of an advocate for women’s rights, peace, and a better quality of life for her people than the Cherokee woman Nanyehi, also known as Nancy Ward. Nanyehi was born in 1738 as a member of the Wolf Clan in Chota, a historic Cherokee site in Monroe County, Tennessee. Perhaps her desire for peace between the Cherokee and their European-Americans neighbors was passed down from her parents. Her mother was a Native American woman and her father a white man who had ingratiated himself into the Cherokee Nation and lived among her mother’s people. Nanyehi eventually married a Cherokee man named Kingfisher. By the time she was seventeen, they had two children, a girl – Catherine – and a boy – Littlefellow Fivekiller.

Like several Native American women, Nanyehi was a warrior who fought alongside the men of her tribe. During the Battle of Taliwa, she and Kingfisher fought together against the Creeks in 1755. Unfortunately, both he and her father were killed. To avenge their deaths, she famously took up her husband’s rifle and led her tribe to victory. This act brought her much respect from her fellow Cherokee. It was then that she became a Ghigau at the age of eighteen. For those who don’t know, Ghigau was a title meaning “Beloved Woman” in the Cherokee Nation. It gave Nanyehi the power to sit in councils and extend pardons to captives.

At this time, Nanyehi chose to become more widely known as Nancy Ward when she married for a second time to Bryant Ward of South Carolina. Bryant was a colonist and Indian trader with whom she had a daughter, her third child, named Elizabeth (who later became the wife of General Joseph Martin). Around this time, the Revolutionary War was in full swing. Nancy gained praise again, this time from the white colonists, by warning them of her Cherokee cousin’s plan to attack their settlement. The colonists rewarded her by naming her a Patriot for the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

 In 1776, Nancy chose to use her powers as a Ghigau to give a captive by the name of Lydia Bean pardon. Lydia became a captive of Nancy’s tribe after suffering injuries during the Cherokee attack on Fort Watauga. After taking Lydia into her home and treating her battle injuries, the two became close friends. It was under the influence of Lydia Bean that Nancy began to improve the everyday life of Cherokee woman. By first teaching Nancy a different loom-weaving technique, the garments the Cherokees wore saw improvement and no longer had to be bought from traders but made from their own homes. Not to mention, this new technique kept Cherokee women out of the fields. Before they began weaving, a woman’s job was traditionally to do the planting. In this way, both Lydia and Nancy revolutionized the role of Cherokee women. In addition, Lydia and Nancy began to shift the Cherokee way of life toward the better. Lydia gave to Nancy two dairy cows and taught her to raise cattle. By eating dairy products, the Cherokee could sustain themselves during a poor hunting season. Through these new ways of life both for Cherokee men and women, their society as a whole began to mirror that of the European-American settlements. This new way of life called for more labor, however, and many of them began to use chattel slaves. In fact, Nancy was one of the first Cherokee people to purchase slaves.

When the Cherokee territory began to shrink, Nancy decided to use her established position as a Ghigau and Patriot for the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution to fight against the sale of her tribe’s lands. By doing so, she became known as a de facto ambassador for her people. She led the Women’s Council against the sale of Cherokee land in 1808 and 1817. Despite their best efforts, the land was lost to the whites’ growing demand for new settlements.

In 1781, she traveled with the Cherokee to use her position as an ambassador when they met an American delegation led by a man named John Sevier. While Sevier scorned the fact that the Cherokee had brought a woman along to act as an important diplomat, Nancy argued that the American delegation should have invited at least one woman to act as their negotiator, making a moving speech that impressed the delegation and lives on in history:

"You know that women are always looked upon as nothing; but we are your mothers; you are our sons. Our cry is all for peace; let it continue. This peace must last forever. Let your women's sons be ours; our sons be yours. Let your women hear our words."

Not until modern times was a Native American woman’s speech more noteworthy for its advocacy of women’s rights. Nancy’s is most touching because it shows that she believed in the rights of women of both races.

As Nancy Ward grew older, she settled down in southeastern Tennessee. On what was then called the Ocowee River, she opened an inn, which she ran alongside her son until she passed away in 1822 or 1824. It’s probably a good thing she did not live to see the Trail of Tears, which removed the Cherokee people from the lands she fought so hard to preserve for them. Her son, Fivekiller, was later buried with her on a hilltop site just south of what is now known as Benton, Tennessee. A statue of Nancy stood for seventy years in a Grainger County cemetery until it was stolen in the 1980’s. In 1923, the Daughter of the American Revolution posthumously awarded Nancy Ward with her own chapter based in Chattanooga. The chapter decided to place a memorial marker at Nancy’s gravesite and is now raising money for a Nancy Ward Museum. Until the time that the museum is built, the Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society will maintain a Nancy Ward Room in their genealogy library. Nancy Ward was also the last woman to be bestowed with the title of Beloved Woman of the Cherokee Nation until the 1980’s. The city of Vonore, Tennessee celebrates her life achievements each year with Nancy Ward Cherokee Heritage Days.

The Four Sacred Peaks of the Dinetah

by Amber Leigh Williams

The Navaho Reservation, better known as Navaho Nation, located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah is the largest Indian Reservation in the United States. To the Navaho themselves, this homeland is called the Dinetah and once encompassed much of the American West, from northeastern Arizona to southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, and northwestern Mexico. Four sacred mountain peaks mark the Dinetah and the territory the Navaho people once dominated. These peaks became entrenched in Navaho geography with one peak representing one of the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. The mountains also became entrenched in Navaho mythology and, to this day, are considered sacred. The Navaho believed that these four sacred mountains were modeled after mountains of the Fourth World and built by First Man from the soil of that world.

The mountain of the north, Mount Hesperus, is located in the La Plata Mountains of Colorado. A dark, prominent peak, it is the highest summit in the La Plata Mountains at 13,232 feet. Because it is said to be home to the gemstone, jet, and is associated with the color black, it has also been called Obsidian Mountain. To the Navaho, it is Dibé Nitsaa, or “Big Mountain Sheep.”

The Sacred Mountain of the East, Mount Blanca, can be found in San Luis Valley, Colorado, near Alamosa. It is the highest peak of the Sierra Blanca Massif of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the eighth highest peak in the United States and the fourth highest in the Rocky Mountains. Like Mount Hesperus, it is a prominent peak that reaches up to 14,345 feet. Mount Blanca is made up of pre-Cambrian granite, which is 1.8 billion years old. The Navaho call it Tsisnaasjini', or “Dawn or White Shell Mountain” because it is associated with the color white. The first recorded summit of Mount Blanca took place in 1874, but when the climbers reached the top they discovered a structure believed to be built by the Ute.

To the south of the Dinetah, you’ll find Mount Taylor, located in northwest New Mexico, the highest point of the San Mateo Mountains as well as the Cibola National Forest. Mount Taylor crests far above the New Mexican desert and is cloaked mostly in forest. It once provided timber for local pueblos and, though currently named for President Zachary Taylor, was known by the Spanish as Cebolleta. However, to the Navaho, it is Tsoodzil, “Blue Bead” or “Turquoise Mountain” because of its blue hue and cone-like shape. According to mythology, Black God, Turquoise Boy, and Turquoise Girl live on Mount Taylor. A popular, religious site for Native American people, it is also worshipped by the Acoma, the Laguna, and the Zuni. Evidence shows that Mount Taylor was once anywhere from 16,000 to 25,000 feet high, but due to volcanic eruptions from 3.3 to 1.5 million years ago similar to Mount Saint Helens, it has dwindled down to a mere 11,305 feet and has been mined for its copious amounts of uranium-vanadium. The mining of Mount Taylor slowed considerably in 2008 when the Navaho, Acoma, Laguna, Zuni and Hopi people cried out in protest. Since, it has been added to the list of America’s Most Endangered Places and is protected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Finally, the western boundary of the Dinetah is the San Francisco Peaks in the Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona. The highest summit of the San Francisco Peaks is Humphreys Peak at 12,633 feet, the tallest site in the state of Arizona. It is popular for skiers due to the location of the Arizona Snowbowl on Humphreys’ western slope, a subject of controversy amongst Native Americans and environmentalists. Like Mount Taylor, it was once an active volcano site – an eroded stratovolcano – and a religious site for various Native American tribes including the Navaho, the Havasupai, the Hopi, and the Zuni. It is said to contain abalone and is known to the Navaho as Doko'oosliid, or “Abalone Shell Mountain.”

Though some have been tampered by controversy, these four sacred peaks were once the four points of the Navaho’s traditional homeland. They mapped what the Navaho believed was the land the Creator placed their people on. To this day, they are part of the belief system of the Navaho people (and a number of other Native American tribes), and create the harmony between nature and a higher power so central to the Navaho Nation. Their beauty and majesty have been preserved as well as eroded by time, but the people still believe in their mystical energy to this day.

Finding Inspiration in Western Photographs....

By Amber Leigh Williams

The concept for my first western romance came around slowly and on somewhat on a whim, an idea that I never thought would come to fruition. For me, it took a while to come around to reading western romance. The first one I picked up was Nora Robert's Lawless, which to this day is the best historical western romance on my shelf. Through its pages, I fell in love with the untamed landscape of the West and the dangerous lifestyle of the cowboy hero. It intrigued me, both as a fan of western films and as a storyteller.

Surprisingly, the idea of writing a western romance novel didn't come to life until I found inspiration while thumbing through an issue of Vogue. Charlize Theron was on the cover. I remember this because she's my husband's favorite actress. On the cover, she was posing in front of a barn in chic western attire. In the article, it was revealed that Charlize grew up farming/ranching before going on to become one of Hollywood's A-listers and an Academy Award winner. The western-themed shoot took her back to her ranching roots in South Africa. Not only did the western spread capture my attention. Snippets of the article itself - especially the part where she reminisced about her ranching heritage and her wish to return to those roots later in life - made me take pen to paper and begin brainstorming the character of Stella Ridge, heroine of Blackest Heart.




The notes were rough, but I saw America's Sweetheart going through a life-changing ordeal and retreating to her family's ranch in order to find peace in the solitude of the West. I chose a serious car crash as a personal choice because when I was a young girl I discovered firsthand just how traumatizing a car accident could be. Stella's search for peace, serenity, and a true sense of self leads her back to her family, her old ranching life, and the man she is destined to love.

It would be several months before I saw another photo, this time on the web, that furthered the story  concept of Blackest Heart....

I don't know how it happened but from this one photo the character of Judd Black, the silent cowboy, came to be. At that moment, I knew for sure that I had to write this western romance. I had to give Stella and Judd their own journey of forgivness and healing as well as a satisfying HEA. Although I love each and every one of my heroes, I have to admit that so far no other hero I've written has lived up quite to Judd's standards. There's just something about that mysterious, silent cowboy that makes me want to reach out to him again and again and it all goes back to a single, random photograph.

To get a taste for the rodeo town of Wayback in which Blackest Heart takes place, I turned again to images to help me set the tone for the setting of the story. I have to say that researching rodeo cowboys isn't the worst part of my job ;) 

If not for these images, Blackest Heart never would have found a life of its own. I look back on that day in October 2007 I found inspiration through the lens of Mario Testino in Vogue with happiness and appreciation because I’m not quite sure where my writing journey would have led me without finding a true writing niche in western romance.

Blackest Heart is now available in ebook from The Wild Rose Press, Kindle, and Nook! Recently, it became available as an audio book from AudioLark! You can also find it in paperback in the western romance anthology, The Way Back Home!

To read more about Blackest Heart and its subsequent trilogy, visit the BOOKS page of my website and read the REVIEWS. Happy reading!

BING CROSBY & A LITTLE HOLIDAY ROMANCE by Amber Leigh Williams

Happy holidays, Sweethearts and readers! I live on the Gulf Coast so I’m loving these low temps and the absence of all that evil humidity we’re plagued with deep down south throughout the majority of the year. Unfortunately, my husband and I left the north part of Alabama less than twenty-four hours before it began to snow. Hopefully, we’ll see a tiny bit of that fluffy white precipitation further down our way before the year is over. Just enough to snuggle up with a blanket and cocoa and read the latest holiday romance….


Wait, what am I talking about? I don’t need an excuse to curl up with a holiday romance. They happen to be my favorite part of the holiday season. And it might come as no surprise to you that my favorite holiday romance of all-time is western-themed. I don’t normally read inspirational titles but I couldn’t resist Jillian Hart’s Homespun Bride. Every holiday season I crack it open again for a sure, warm-hearted holiday read. To me, it’s the perfect medicine and distraction from the stress of the inevitable holiday rush.

I took part in a holiday romance this year, co-written by the authors of The Roses of Prose so the holiday season for me started some time ago while I was writing my two chapters of the progressive story. It's not easy getting into the Christmas spirit in September. Thankfully, not long before I began writing my portion of A Holiday to Remember, my husband found some of his mother's old records in storage. Among them was the best of Bing Crosby. Despite the fact that it was still hot and humid outside, I made myself some cocoa and marshmellows, turned the flames up on our electric fire place and listened to Bing while I wrote. All I needed was a light blanket of snow outside the window and the smell of roasting chestnuts.

So although I've been deeply entrenched in the holiday spirit for most of the autumn months, this is me wishing you all happy holidays! And I want to know which holiday read you're reading or soon to be reading to take you away this season....

(You can find out more about A Holiday to Remember, the holiday romance I co-wrote with The Roses of Prose, at my website: www.amberleighwilliams.com!)

The "Message Board" of the American West

The high desert of western New Mexico isn't the kind of place you would expect to come across an oasis...or what is known today as "sky island"...or, for that matter, a veritable message board for the American West. Yet if you happen to be traveling there and come across the El Morro National Monument, you would find all of the above.
Soft, flat El Morro Mesa has been a landmark for centuries. Thousands of years before people began carving their names in El Morro Mesa, Paleo and Archaic hunters gathered there, probably because even then it was a desert oasis. The ruins of a 13th century pueblo can still be found on top of the mesa and are known as the village of Atsinna. The people who lived there built the pueblos on top of the hard-to-reach mesa as a defensible position during a period of drought and famine.

The runoff from the mesa feeds the spring and gives it constant, reliable flow. It was a camping ground for Anasazi/Zuni traders, Spanish Conquistadors, the U.S. Army, and American pioneers. In fact, all of the above have carved their names into Inscription Rock at El Morro Mesa. The first translatable and dated message dates back to the 17th century when Adelantado Don Juan de Onate carved the following...

"Passed by here, the Adelantado Don Juan de Onate, from the discovery of the Sea of the South, the 16th day of April, 1605."

In the inscriptions of El Morro Mesa, history is written in many ways. For example, though they eventually lost control of New Mexico to the Mexicans (who in turn lost the colony to the United States), the Spanish ruled there for two centuries before the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680. They then reigned again for twelve years, after a victory against the Pueblo during which another a Spanish general carved the following....

"Here was the General Don Diego de Vargas, who conquered for our Holy Faith and for the Royal Crown all of New Mexico at his own expense, year of 1692."

The first American inscription at El Morro Mesa appeared in 1849 and was made by "Lt. Simpson" of the U.S. Army. In 1906, the state of New Mexico decided to recognize El Morro Mesa and Inscription Rock's historical value by incorporating both into El Morro National Monument. For the same reason, carvings are no longer permitted at Inscription Rock, but it remains a favorite camping spot for many modern explorers of the American West who don't mind going a bit off the beaten track to see a bit of history carved into desert stone.

Amber Leigh Williams

"Williams has brought the romantic back to romance!" ~ LASR

www.amberleighwilliams.com

Interview with Amber Leigh Williams + Giveaway

Hi Sweethearts! I'm here to introduce western romance author, Amber Leigh Williams! Amber is a multi-published romance author, a member of Romance Writers of America, former Secretary of the Gulf Coast Chapter of RWA, and a monthly contributor to Sweethearts of the West. Her first western romance, Blackest Heart, was the 1st Place More Than Magic Novella in 2009 and her historical romance, Forever Amore, was nominated for Best Book of 2009 by Long & Short Reviews. She is represented by D4EO Literary Agency.

Amber, when did you begin writing? Has it been a lifelong dream?
I discovered my love of storytelling in the third grade. It started out with plays and short stories and progressed into fairy tales and, eventually, YA and romance novels. When I found out that I could make a living writing fiction, I strived to be published! So, yes, in a way it was always a dream :)

Just to get an idea about your home, do you live north, south, east, or west in the U.S.? What do you like best about your area?

I’ve lived in the South all my life, most of it on Gulf Coast of Alabama. I’m definitely a small town girl at heart. Being raised in this part of the country made me who I am so I love everything about my upbringing and the South!

I know you have books with The Wild Rose Press. They must be Western in nature, or you wouldn't be a member of Sweethearts of the West! Can you tell a little more about them? Do you write in any other genre?

I write contemporary western romance for The Wild Rose Press, more specifically for the Wayback, Texas series where a cowboy falls in love every eight seconds! The Ridges of Wayback, TX trilogy follows the lives and loves of the tree Ridge siblings – Stella, Casey, and Keefe. The first book in the trilogy, Blackest Heart, finaled in the 2009 More Than Magic Contest, placing 1st in the novella category. It features one of my favorite heroes, silent cowboy Judd Black! You can find out more here at The Wild Rose Press….

The second book, Bluest Heart, is about the younger of the two Ridge cowboys, Casey. In this story, the good boy falls for the so-called “bad girl” of Wayback, Josie Brusky. And the good boy has never been this sexy. Find out more here about Casey and Josie’s story here….

Bet it on my Heart, the final book in the trilogy features Keefe Ridge, the playboy of Wayback, who meets his match in touch, city-slicker Calli Morlani. Find out more about Bet it on my Heart here….

I’ve also published a romantic suspense, Denied Origin, with The Wild Rose Press. The Way Back Home is a western romance anthology in paperback featuring Blackest Heart. Black Lyon Publishing more recently published my historical romance, Forever Amore!

Are you always as happy as your photos depict? What makes your life really good?

Haha, I certainly hope so! I’ve been happily married for five years. I also live just a few miles from the sugar white beaches on Alabama’s coast line! If that isn’t enough to keep me happy, I have three goofy labs to keep me entertained!

If you had one wish, what would it be?

Goodness, that’s a tough one! I would probably wish for a house on the lake in north Alabama where I spent a good part of my childhood as well! I’d love to retire there one day with the hubby, and it’s the perfect place for inspiration :)

What is most satisfying in the writing/submitting/publishing details of a novel?

The most satisfying part of it all, I think, is when readers respond in a really positive way. Good reviews are one thing, but when I hear from happy readers, I know I’ve done my job well. There’s nothing more fulfilling than satisfying readers!

Do you have anything else that is special/different/new/exciting in your life?

Recently, I updated my website to include bonus material from my western trilogy, the Ridges of Wayback, TX. It includes a sexy, short, Valentine’s Day snippet I wrote post-HEA for Bluest Heart as well as a deleted scene from Bet it on my Heart! Find it on the EXTRAS page at http://www.amberleighwilliams.com!

One more question: what is your favorite meal? Do you cook it, or go out?

My favorite meal consists of my mother’s chicken divan, though you won’t hear me put down my grandmother’s devilled eggs either, lol. Every summer holiday my family made our own lemon sherbet ice cream as well, which is divine! So divine I used it in Bet it on my Heart for one of my favorite scenes ;)

GIVEAWAY: Every reader who comments today or tomorrow to this post will be entered to win a ebook or audio book of their choice from the following titles – BLACKEST HEART, BLUEST HEART, and BET IT ON MY HEART. Find out more about each at my webpage here: http://www.amberleighwilliams.com/books. Read reviews for each, too, at http://www.amberleighwilliams.com/news-reviews. If you do comment, be sure to let me know which title you would prefer. I’ll draw the winner randomly Sunday, August 7th either here or at my personal blogs, The Cozy Page: http://amberleighwilliams.blogspot.com! Good luck :)

(CHANCES OF WINNING DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES AND YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OR OLDER.)

Setting the Scene: The Black Hills

So much of fiction set throughout the American West is setting – so this month I thought I’d focus on one of my favorite western regions, the Black Hills.

The Black Hills is one of the most storied mountain ranges in the American West. The range reaches across the border of South Dakota into Wyoming. In contrast to other western mountain ranges, it is small (Harney Peak, the highest summit, is only 7,244 feet) and remote – removed from the Rocky Mountains. Known as an “island of trees in a sea of grass,” the Black Hills is still home to the tallest peaks of continental North America east of the Rockies. Because they are covered in trees, the mountains appear dark in the distance. Therefore, the Lakota named the region HeSapa, or “Black Mountains.”

The Black Hills were first inhabited by Native Americans around 7000 BC. Among the tribes that called the range home were the Arikara, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, and Pawnee. Finally, in the eighteenth century the Lakota made the Black Hills their home by driving out the other tribes. Much of Lakota culture is central to the Black Hills. Both the Cheyenne and the Lakota believed that the Black Hills region was the axis mundi, or "sacred center of the world." However, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the discovery of gold in French Creek caused many European Americans to flock to the Black Hills. Soon after, the last major Indian War on the Great Plains, known as the Black Hills War, unleashed. In violation of a treaty with the Native Americans, the United States seized control of the land. As late as 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that the Black Hills had been taken illegally from the tribes. The Lakota refused a settlement of one-hundred-and-six million dollars, citing that they wanted the return of the Black Hills to their people. To this day, they persist in their quest to reclaim their land.

In the late nineteenth century, thousands of gold miners descended on the mountain range. In 1880, there was no part of the Dakota Territory more densely populated than the Black Hills. The cities of Deadwood, Central City, and Lead formed amidst the great surge of pioneers. Railroads also began to crop up. Since 1880, the gold mines of the Black Hills have earned four million dollars a year with an additional three million dollars in silver.

The Black Hills are covered mostly in fragrant Ponderosa Pine and Black Hills Spruce. Though scattered throughout the range are picturesque grasslands in lieu of forests, home to mountain meadows or “open parks.” The wildlife of the Black Hills is very diverse. It is actually known as a “mixing and meeting place” where species from all parts of the north, south, east, and west go to mingle. For example, both the forest and grasslands create great habitats for American bison, a variety of deer, mountain lions, prairie dogs, marmots and fox squirrels in particular. The creeks of the Black Hills are known for their trout. The creeks that run through the area are known for their trout fishing.

Tourism is a large part of the Black Hills economy. The range is home to Custer State Park, South Dakota’s largest state park. Custer State Park is also one of the largest in the United States. In August, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally takes place in the miles of scenic roadways throughout the Black Hills. In 2005, more than five-hundred-and-fifty-thousand bikers took part in the rally, which has become a key part of the region’s economy. Tourists are also drawn to the following Black Hills destinations:

Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Wind Cave National Park
Jewel Cave National Monument
Harney Peak
Bear Butte State Park
Devils Tower National Monument
The Crazy Horse Memorial (largest sculpture in the world)
George S. Mickelson Trail

Sheep and cattle ranching is also a large part of the Black Hills economy. And yes, here we find our cowboys! With a setting like that, it's hard not to imagine western fiction with the "Black Mountains" on the horizon.

Readers, your turn to sound off. What would you say your ideal western setting is - and why? It can be a state, a region, even a large formation like the Black Hills.


Amber Leigh Williams
"Williams has brought the romantic back to romance!" - Long & Short Reviews
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Native American Legends: Dream Catchers

Over the years, I've kept a research log.... Okay, well, it isn't an actual log. It's atually a filing cabinet full of loose-leaf papers that isn't in the least bit organized. Still, whenever I come across something fascinating enough for that little voice in my brain to pop up and say, "Hey, you might write about that someday," I write it down or tear the page out of the magazine (yes, I'm one of those) and add it to what I call the "junk pile." Not too long ago, I was going through this filing cabinet and happened across one of my first research topics: Native American dream catchers....

Anything to do with Native American legend or history makes me sit up and take notice. Probably has something to do with my own NA heritage. And something that has always been present in my home are dream catchers. A few years back, I got curious about these cultural objects. What's the story behind them? First of all, dream catchers aren't just a Native American craft - they're a tradition set forth by the Lakota. Here's a bit of the original legend surrounding dream-catchers (as told by Dream-Catchers.org)....

Long ago when the world was sound, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and searcher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life, how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and on to adulthood. Finally we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle.

But, Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, in each time of life there are many forces, some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they'll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help, or can interfere with the harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web. When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, The web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will filter your good ideas and the bad ones will be trapped and will not pass.

In Ojibwa - or Chippewa - culture, the word "dreamcatcher" (asabikeshiinh) also means "spider." It is always a hoop with a hole in the center, decorated with personal or sacred items, like the above-mentioned elder's willow hoop. Before the dream catcher, the hoop was a symbol of strength and unity. Many NA legends, like the dream catcher, spring from the importance of the hoop. The strands tied through the web are much like the design Native Americans used for making snowshoes. To this day, Native American people as well as New Age groups and others hang dream catchers in their homes. NA people believe that dreams, both bad and good, exist in the air, waiting for someone to sleep. The dream catcher allows the good dreams to pass through the strands and traps bad dreams that don't know the way through.

Amber Leigh Williams

"Williams has brought the romantic back to romance!" ~ LASR

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Great Western Performers

Last year in Oklahoma City at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the Hall of Great Western Performers honored its latest inductee, actor Tom Selleck. When most people think of cowboys, the likes of Gary Cooper or John Wayne (also members of the Hall of Great Western Performers) come to mind. For me, however, nothing says cowboy more than Tom Selleck and his mustache. Maybe because while watching Friends in the late '90's while swooning over Selleck's turn as Monica Gellar's main squeeze, I vividly remember my mother saying, "Now that is a cowboy." And rightly so. Not only has Tom classified the quintessential cowboy on-screen; he lives it on a 60-acre ranch where he raises horses and avocados. Ah, I bet you had no idea avocados were that sexy. Alas!

When I heard that Selleck had become a member of the Hall of Great Western Performers, it got me thinking. How much of an inspirational bearing do these men and women have on those who read and write westerns? When Louis L'Amour wrote The Daybreakers and The Sacketts, its doubtful he had Selleck in mind - unlike The Shadow Riders, which he wrote specifically for Selleck, Sam Elliott, and Jeff Osterhage. Neither did Larry McMurtry write the original screenplay Lonesome Dove using Robert Duvall or Tommy Lee Jones as muses. Instead, it was the likes of Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and Henry Fonda (all members of the Hall of Great Western Performers) he wanted for the parts of Augustus McCrae, W.F. Call, and Jake Spoon. It wasn't until the screenplay was adapted into a novel by McCurtry, which went on the win a Pulizer Prize for Fiction in 1986, did Duvall and Jones become hisleading men.

Though one of my DH's favorite actors, Jeff Bridges, no doubt made the lead role in True Grit his own with an Oscar nod last month, it's The Duke himself who is on my mind while watching the western remake. It's difficult for me to believe that writers and readers of western fiction (romance, especially) don't harken back to the likes of those great western performers like Selleck, Clint Eastwood, Gregory Peck, and Jimmy Stewart. Sorry, but there's just something about Jimmy! Mwah!

So readers, it's your turn! Which western performers have inspired you? Do any of them define the word "cowboy" like Selleck and Stewart do for me? (And for a complete listing from the Hall of Great Western Performers, here's a link. Enjoy!)

Amber Leigh Williams

"Williams has brought the romantic back to romance!"

BLACKEST HEART ~ 1st Place More Than Magic Novella

FOREVER AMORE ~ LASR Best Book of 2009 Nominee

Spirit of (Western) Christmas

I love nothing more than reading a good cowboy Christmas romance. Cocoa goes really well with a blanket and paperback this time of year!

As I was pulling out my Christmas decorations this week, I pondered my favorite things about the holidays. The heat of a fire. Christmas tree hunting. Cranking those ol' music boxes I've listened to every holiday season since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. The scent of pine and chestnuts. And, yes, sneaking time in between my notorious bouts of frantic last-minute shopping and family time to read a holiday romance. Some of my favorite holiday re-reads are of the western variety. For example, the inspirational western Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart. This story isn't necessarily a Christmas romance, but it does take place during winter. With every re-read, I can hear the crackle of the blazing hearth and the chiming of sleigh bells. In fact, it is a near-accident involving a horse-drawn sleigh that brings the hero and heroine together.

Christmas is meant for making memories and bringing family together - but I find the holidays to be very romantic. And one of the most romantic things, to my mind, about the Christmas season are sleigh rides. Who can forget the song?

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling
Ring ting tingling too.
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

Outside the snow is falling
And friends are calling 'Yoo-hoo.'
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
Let's go, Let's look at the show,
We're riding in a wonderland of snow.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
It's grand, Just holding your hand,
We're gliding along with a song
Of a wintry fairy land.

Our cheeks are nice and rosy
And comfy cozy are we
We're snuggled up together
Like two birds of a feather would be.

Let's take that road before us
And sing a chorus or two
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

There's a birthday party
At the home of Farmer Gray
It'll be the perfect ending a perfect day
We'll be singing the songs
We love to sing without a single stop,
At the fireplace while we watch
The chestnuts pop.
Pop pop pop.

There's a happy feeling
Nothing in the world can buy,
When they pass around the chocolate
And the pumpkin pie
It'll nearly be like a picture print
By Currier and Ives
These wonderful things are the things
We remember all through our lives.

Despite the upward tempo, fun whip cracks, and equine backup singers, the picture "Sleigh Ride" paints is quite romantic, is it not? Whenever we're shopping at the local Christmas tree farm, there's a sleigh that takes customers from one side of the fir-lined acreage to the other. No matter the temperature - or whether the horse's hooves are churning up sleet or mud (usually the latter here in the South) - the jingle of those sleigh bells always make me feel very warm and nostalgic. My imagination transports me to a winter fairy land, a powdery white vista, in the old west and the romance of a sleigh ride. With a cowboy at the reigns, it makes the perfect picture! (Now if only Currier and Ives had painted that....)

Readers, I'd love to hear your western romance holiday favorites and the meaning behind your favorite Christmas songs!

Amber Leigh Williams

"Williams has brought the romantic back to romance!" ~ Long & Short Reviews

BLACKEST HEART ~ 1st Place More Than Magic Novella

FOREVER AMORE ~ LASR Best Book of 2009 Nominee

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