A Favorite Book and a Favorite Hero~Tanya Hanson

My favorite hero has lingered in my heart and memory for many, many years. And no, it isn’t Mr. Darcy. His name is Glade Wyndham from a book I read in the late seventies ((Okay, okay, I know that means I’m really old, but let me down gently LOL).

Willing Hostage. How’s that for a tantalizing title? While Marlys Millhiser’s book has romance and HEA and all the other stuff we want, it’s also an action adventure chock full of CIA, FBI, a small-town sheriff, and industrial thugs out to kill.

And poor little city girl Leah Harper finds herself in the thick of it...and kidnapped by Glade. He was raised on a Colorado ranch, but life sure took him in another direction...and his brother sold out to an oil company in his absence.

 The story takes Leah and Glade up to the Flattops of Colorado to hide out--you can feel her Chicago misery as she climbs mountains such as Big Marvine --as well as rafting down  the Yampa River in flood in a flimsy rubber boat.

With bad guys on their rear.

Something about Leah’s mysterious, rough-and-tumble, hard-nosed, dark-haired assailant makes you root for him to be a good guy.

The drama and mystery would be ruined if you knew it right away. At first he thinks she’s a hit-woman sent to kill him. Then he puts his own life on the line to keep her safe.

Oh, and there's also a cat.

Unlike today’s romances, the book is totally third person Leah POV. And despite its publishing date, its theme of oil shale and the destruction it causes is totally timely today. As well as our hero wanting to save the wilds of Colorado--as well as Leah’s life. And his own.

This link takes you to a site with pictures of Big Marvine, one of the biggies in the setting.

http://www.summitpost.org/big-marvine-peak/751792   (The other pictures today we took on our trip.)

(I have read this book over and over again. With a few updatings, it could be a great movie. In my head it stars Anson Mount and Naomi Watts.)  

Actually, Glade’s character may be a bit too alpha for the sensibilities of today’s editors, and the book does a lot of “telling”, not “showing.” But...Glade “making love to Leah while the sands turned to satin beneath her back” fires up my imagination lots more than tons of description.

In fact, my mind is afire after two more recent re-reads. I took the book along with me in September on our trip through the Canadian Rockies, which included a raft trip on the Bow River in Banff. And, a no brainer, on our trip through Colorado in October

.

Anyway, it’s a book available in Amazon and I highly recommend it anytime you're in the mountains somewhere, or along a river. Mmm, mmm.  (buy link is below)

http://tinyurl.com/mwgt3lh

I’m unsure how to pick a favorite from my own heroes...it seems kinda mean, like picking a favorite child LOL. But I so love Tulsa Sanderson in Claiming His Heart. He marries a woman to try to save the younger brother he let down years ago. Turns out Charmlee has a brother in need, too, so they’re the perfect pair. It just takes them a while, including getting caught overnight in a blizzard, to figure it all out.

This full-length Western historical is inspirational, but I promise there’s nothing judge-y or preachy about it. It’s a man finding faith and family when he least expects it. And a woman realizing she can give her heart once again to a handsome stranger. This time, for keeps.

Blurb:

Tulsa Sanderson must do anything possible to prove his brother from the hangman...even if it means marrying a gold miner’s daughter he just met. He sure doesn’t need  wife, but he does need every nugget and flake he can pull from her worn-out claim. Save his brother and he’ll be back on the Texas cattle trails.

Charlotte Amalie lost her heart, her virtue, and her money to the last mysterious outsider who came to the valley. Faith and hope left with him, too, so she has no choice but to wed the handsome Tull. He bears terrible family secrets that need to be kept behind closed doors. Her unwanted marriage douses her plans for a new life down the mountain with her wounded twin brother yet stirs up hope and love for Tull she can’t ignore.

Can the two of them find a future--and faith--together even with their haunted pasts?  (buy link below:

http://tinyurl.com/lwprw3x

www.tanyahanson.com

www.petticoatsandpistols.com

A Bit of Father's Day Sentiment~Tanya Hanson

 Father’s Day has been around since 1910, when Sonora Smart Dodd arranged a celebration at a YMCA in Spokane, Washington. Her dad, a Civil War veteran, had been the single father of six. Hearing a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, Sonora decided men should get the same honor. President Calvin Coolidge recommended the holiday in 1924 but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation.

But the celebration didn’t catch on readily, criticized by many as merely an excuse to replicate the commercial success of Mother’s Day. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith accused Congress of ignoring half of our parents. President Lyndon Johnson passed the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers on the third Sunday in June (Sonora had initially wanted her father’s birthday, June 5) and finally, President Richard Nixon sighed the holiday into law in 1972.

As for me, sadly, I lost my dad in a car accident some 30 years ago, just a few months after my son was born. I like to think the angels part heavenly clouds once in a while so he can peek down and see how blessed I am.  Silly, but it gives me comfort. And among my greatest blessings is a hubby who’s a terrific dad and grampa. Therefore...

This poem is just too adorable not to share. Last year hubby printed it out and framed it for our son and son-in-law who have each given us a grandson

Enjoy Father’s Day! Oh, the photo isn’t anybody I know...(Dreamstime) but it so fits!    

                   

     A LITTLE FELLOW FOLLOWS ME

    A careful man I want to be,

    A little fellow follows me;

    I dare not to go astray                                            

    For fear he’ll go the self-same way, 

    I cannot once escape his eyes,

    Whatever he sees me do, he tries;

    Like me he says he’s going to be,

    The little chap who follows me.

    He thinks that I am good and fine,

    Believes in every word of mine;

    The base in me he must not see,

    The little chap who follows me.

    I must remember as I go

    Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow;

    I am building for the years to be

    That little chap who follows me.

www.tanyahanson.com

ANGEL CHILD ~Tanya Hanson

First of all, may this Thanksgiving season be filled with every good thing for you and yours!

It's a busy month for me with two books out. The first one is Angel Child, the sixth in my Hearts Crossing Ranch series at White Rose Publishing. (The second one I'll tell you about next time.) Here's how it all came about:

When my novella Hearts Crossing Ranch led to a contract for seven more books, I knew I’d have to stretch my imagination and my daily experiences to concoct stories about the eight Martin siblings of my fictional Colorado ranch. A ranch! Me, living on a cul-de-sac in a coastal California community surrounded by strawberries and avocados  not horses and cows! With the first book set on a city slicker wagon train trip--similar to the one we took around the Tetons not long ago, I looked back on that breathtaking experience for more inspiration.

And I found it in Heather, a severely disabled fourteen year old who went on the trip with her family. Unable to talk or stand or walk unaided, she nonetheless had the time of her life. The last day, when wagon master Jeff put her on a horse for her very first ride, everybody cheered, tears running down our faces. She was the prettiest cowgirl ever.

Somehow that moment stuck. You’ll meet a disabled young girl in Angel Child, my upcoming release, who comes to Hearts Crossing for therapy riding lessons.  Closer to home, though, is my twenty-something godson, born with the extremely rare, extremely debilitating Angelman Syndrome, who inspired fictional Creighton in the book. The disabled ten year old boy manages to steal Scott Martins heart as the handsome cowboy falls in love with Creighton’s mom...his former high school art teacher. Oh, who cares about the age difference? They’re grown up now. Mary Grace Gibson has returned to Hearts Crossing as a substitute teacher, and the scene below shows her dealing with a disagreeable student, Keith.

I hope you enjoy Angel Child, my tribute to disabled kids everywhere and the people who love them. The power of forgiveness is a pretty big theme, too. I always seem to need a lot of that.

Anyway, I hope you like the excerpt and blurb below. And make sure to have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hot, living blood ran through his veins. Scott rushed to her, she to him. They met in front of the teacher’s desk, and he wrapped her tight in his arms against his beating heart.

“Aw, Mary Grace,” he mumbled into her hair.

Desire stabbed him straight in the gut, rich searing feelings that surged into love and made him tremble. OK, he could admit it now. Love. He could say the word inside his head. Love. Soon he’d get courageous enough to tell her out loud. He’d been smitten last summer, but these past days with her in his life, at his ranch, at his side whether on horseback or discussing the therapy program finally merged the physical with the emotional, and he knew full well what it all meant.

Scott Martin was in love. In love. Reaching down, he took her face between his palms and lowered his mouth to hers. His lips closed over hers as if he was breathing in a new kind of life, and her mouth nibbled against his. Heat raged but turned to contentment as he the cuddled her close to rid her shudders. “Oh, you are so beautiful.”

“I can return that compliment,” she murmured, their lips still one. “I didn’t like not getting to say goodbye this morning,”

“I didn’t like not getting to say goodbye last night. I missed you.” His arms tightened and they stood melded, both holding the other upright as Scott willed his love to wash over them both.

“Ooooops. Sor-reee.” A whine split the air.

Startled, they broke apart like a quick sword had sliced between them.

“Oops. Sorry,” Keith Murphy repeated, not looking the least abashed. He made a big show about bobbing his head and peering closely at Scott. “Hey, you’re Scott Martin, right? You did my mom’s website for the mercantile.”

Mary Grace ran her hands through her hair to tidy it, cheeks glowing with a furious, beautiful flush. “I told you you’re dismissed, Keith.”

“I just had one last question, Ms. Gibson.” He waggled a smartphone at her. “How come Grant Gibson’s website doesn’t say a thing about Cray-ton It says he lives in Florida with his second wife Marla and their three kids Morse, Mason, and McKenna. You sort of get alluded to, a first wife, I mean, if there’s already a second. But not your so-called son.”

He stood insolent, his sneer so wide Scott held back a swat. Beside him, Mary Grace’s flush turned snow white.

Blurb:

Determined to get her life back on track,  Mary Grace Gibson takes on a substitute-teaching  job, grateful for the room and board offered at Hearts Crossing Ranch. The bustling family life helps her heal after abandonment by her ex. But her little boy’s serious disabilities make her cautious about revealing her secrets to anybody. Even Scott Martin, the handsome cowboy who’s fast stealing her heart.

Her former student now grown up, cowboy and graphic artist Scott Martin is instantly drawn to the beautiful single mom. She’s had some hard luck but never let go of her faith. Their age gap doesn’t fret him, and their kisses ignite his love. But as they fall for each other, Mary Grace’s lack of trust in him shatters his feelings, for he’s been down that broken trail before.

Amazon:   http://tinyurl.com/asxnenb

Publisher: Pelican Book Group/White Rose Publishing

My website: 

Yellow Ribbons..by Tanya Hanson

I never liked the song much, Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree, but that doesn't mean I can't sing it at will all these years later!  These days, I see frequent reminders to pray for our troops on yellow-ribbon car magnets.

But not until a recent visit to Old Sacramento, California, did I learn the origins of the yellow ribbon. For almost 150 years, displaying a yellow ribbon is a sign of loyalty to family, friends and loved ones far away from home in difficult situations such as war or captivity.

According to legend, the custom of a yellow ribbon showing support for a loved one far away began during the Civil War. At this time, the United States Cavalry wore yellow piping on their uniforms. Women who were married or promised to a Cavalryman wore yellow ribbons while waiting for their soldiers' return. Supposedly the practice kept prospective suitors at bay as well as warned of reprisal by the soldier if his lover was harmed.

Another version of the custom traces its origins to the horrific Andersonville Prison. Officially known as Camp Sumpter, Andersonville was one of the largest, most notorious Confederate prison camps. During its 14 months of operation, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined, 13,000 losing their lives from disease, malnutrition, overcrowding, and exposure.

Supposedly a member of the Ninth Ohio Cavalry who had been a Confederate prisoner there for several years, wrote to his wife with the suggestion that, rather than wear her ribbon, she tie it to a signpost near the train station so he could see it upon his return. The tale soon became part of Civil War lore.

The following song spread throughout the North, its words set to an old British drinking song:

Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon
She wore it in the Springtime and in the month of May.
And if you ask her why the hells he wore it,
She wore it for her soldier who is far, far away.

(Chorus)
Far away, far away.
She wore it for her soldier who is far, far away.

During the 1991 Gulf War and following 9/11, the yellow ribbon symbol has gained widespread popularity as it sends our service members the message that they are never far from our hearts.

Sincere thanks to the Old Sacramento School House Museum for this information.

~Tanya Hanson
www.tanyahanson.com

Some Black Magic, Western-style~ Tanya Hanson

By Tanya Hanson
     Not long ago, my hubby and I recently took a fantastic city slicker wagon train trip around the Tetons. Just as we started planning the trip, I started writing the eight-book Hearts Crossing Ranch series where wagon train adventures play a big part. In fact, one of the eight Martin siblings is a chuck cook on her family’s adventures. The fifth book in the series, Soul Food, stars Kelley Martin and will be out in the spring.

     Of course, Kelley cooks many outdoor meals for those city slickers in cast-iron Dutch ovens. Any discussion of this hearty kettle starts by mentioning the method of casting with iron in dry sand molds. The technique’s exact origin isn’t known, but it most probably dates from the Dark Ages in Western Europe, refined later in both England and the Netherlands. The term “Dutch oven” may have come from the Netherlands connection and the Dutch traders who peddled them.

     The “bulge” style pot –in my head I envision a witch’s cauldron— likely came over with the Pilgrims, but the 3-legged “bake” or “camp” oven appeared in the early 1700’s. Paul Revere (yes, he of the famous 1775 Midnight Ride) is said to have adapted the oven lid’s flanged lip to hold coals on top while the pot rested on a campfire. However, the oven was versatile and could be used on the hearth and for roasting in a stove’s oven.

     Lewis and Clark’s Corp of Discovery (1803-05) carried a “large-size Dutch oven” across their entire route to the Pacific Northwest and home again. No self-respecting covered wagon or cattle drive traveled without the Dutch oven, and every Gold Rush mining camp had several, needing at least one for their historic sourdough bread. Miners lucky enough to have a burro or pack mule invariably had a Dutch oven tied on top.

     By the mid 1870’s, every American household had some sort of cast iron cooking item, Dutch oven, skillet, or pot. Around 1920, casting iron reached its pinnacle in quality and quantity, but the invention of the electric stove in the 1890’s had already started a decline in interest of the Dutch ovens. However, one great casting company, Lodge, began operations in 1896 and continues to this day.

     In recent years, the mystique of Dutch oven “black pot” cooking has made a comeback, not because of need but because of a resurgence in the outdoors, in nostalgia, and in love of history. Most Dutch oven recipes can be revised for stove top, oven or slow cooker as well.

     Today’s Dutch oven chef needs a lid lifter, heavy special gloves, wooden utensils, briquettes, and a Dutch oven of 5 to 22 inches in diameter. The 12-incher is the most popular. The well-sealed lid allows heat and pressure to build while preserving the moisture of the food. Although there are many directions (e.g. “above-to-underneath” and “checkerboard pattern” among them) for actual food production, the general rule for the cook is to use twice as many briquettes as the diameter of the lid. Briquette placement on the lid and under the pot is crucial, as is rotating the lid and pot 90 degrees every fifteen minutes. Altitude, sun and even wind play important roles, too.

     The premier organization for Dutch oven cooking, the International Dutch Oven Society (http://www.idos.com/) began in the Rocky mountains and now has 48 chapters in 27 states and 2 Canadian provinces. Each spring IDOS holds the World Championship Dutch Oven Cook-off.

    Any Dutch oven stories or recipes to share today?

The Mason Jar...fill 'er up for Christmas. ~~Tanya Hanson

In 1858, The Mason jar was invented as the first canning jar by John Landis Mason. He expanded upon the ideas of Frenchman Francois Nicolas Appert, a pickler, brewer, chef and distiller who in 1810, had established the principles of preserving food in hermetically-sealed glass containers. 

John Mason developed a shoulder-seal jar with a zinc screw-cap.  Ten years later, he inroduced a top rubber seal above the threads and under a glass lid.

So why do most Mason jars come marked with the name Ball? 

When John Mason’s patent expired in 1879 , the market opened for competition. In 1884, the Ball brothers swooped in and started a manufacturing company inNew York State. However, three years later, Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company moved to Indiana. During the Great Depression, the company did not lay off one single worker. After 88 years as a family business, the company went public in 1972.

And their lovely jars can be used to construct the perfect Christmas gift for your neighbors. Cover the lid with a circle of gingham or calico, tie with a festive bow, and you’ve got it made. Don’t forget to attach the directions.

SAND ART BROWNIES!                                 

This recipe makes one gift jar using a wide-mouth quart Mason jar.  For 1 jar:

2/3 t. salt
1 1/8 c. flour, divided
1/3 c. cocoa powder
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans

Instructions:

In  a clean, dry canning jar, layer the ingredients as follows:

2/3 t. salt
5/8 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts

Close jar, add fabric circle and attach the following directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9x9 baking pan.

2. Pour the contents of the jar into a large bowl and mix well.

3. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2/3 cup vegetable oil and 3 eggs. Beat until just combined.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and enjoy!


There's still time to cuddle up with Right to Bragg, Book Four in the Hearts Crossing Ranch series...set at the ranch during a snowy Christmastime...

http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/right-to-bragg

Do Horses Fly? ~Tanya Hanson

Leland Stanford (1824-1893), who wore such hats as California governor, railroad baron, university founder and race horse owner, sought to settle one of the hottest debates of the 1870’s: Is there a moment in a horse’s gait when all four hooves are off the ground at once?

Legend says he bet $25,000 that it was true. Common opinion at the time nixed the idea. After all, if God wanted horses to “fly”, He would have given the creature wings. But determined to settle the question, Stanford hired celebrity photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) to prove it.

One of San Francisco’s most celebrated landscape photographers, Muybridge took more than 2,000 photographs with 20x24 inch negatives. His 1867 photographs of Yosemite Valley brought the valley…and himself…almost mythic status.

Accepting Stanford’s challenge in 1877, Muybridge captured Stanford’s horse, Occident, silhouetted against white sheets with all four feet off the ground. He used 12 to 24 cameras and a self-designed shutter that gave an exposure of 2/1,000 of a second. Although these original pictures didn’t survive, Muybridge continued to work with Stanford to develop techniques in the “science of animal motion.”

In 1878, he succeeded in photographing a sequence of frames produced on wet plate with 12 cameras that proved the “flying horse.” The slow wet plate collodion process produced images that were mostly silhouettes, but they showed something never before seen by the human eye.

Scientific American and other prominent publications featured articles on Muybridge’s accomplishment. However, Stanford invited his close friend, horseman and medical physician Dr. J.D.D. Stillman to produce a book analyzing the horse-in-motion. Stillman used Muybridge’s photography without crediting the photographer. Interestingly, when Muybridge sued Stanford and Stillman for copyright infringement, he lost his suit.

Eadweard Muybridge migrated to the University of Pennsylvania after that. His invention of the zoopraxiscope earned him the title of the father of the motion picture. To illustrate his lectures, he developed the scope; its lantern projected images in rapid succession onto a screen. The images came from his photographs, printed on a glass disc. From the rotating disc came the illusion of moving pictures.

Muybridge’s zoopraxiscope display, an important predecessor of the modern cinema, was a sensation at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. His works are still in demand by art students.

--Tanya Hanson
www.tanyahanson.com
www.petticoatsandpistols.com

P.s. Right to Bragg, fourth book in the Hearts Crossing Ranch series, will be released 11-11-11. How about that for a magic number?