The Olivas Adobe..come back in time today! ~Tanya Hanson.

The Olivas Adobe is a great way to “visit” Southern California’s Rancho Period first-hand. Not far from my home, this prime example of adobe (dried clay brick) architecture is unique with its two-story structure. Don Raymundo Olivas added an unusual second floor during the rancho’s hey-day in the late 1840’s, and the house has been restored to its original stature.

Don Raymundo was born poor in 1809 in the tiny pueblo that grew into today’s Los Angeles and joined the Mexican Army in California at 16. As a Lancer (cavalryman), he was assigned to the Presidio (fort) at Santa Barbara, about two hours north of L.A.

It was here in Santa Barbara that Raymundo met Teodora Lopez and married her in November 1832. In gratitude for his loyalty and service, Mexican Governor Juan B. Alvarado granted Raymundo and a friend 4,670 acres of land in today’s Ventura County. Raymundo began ranching this land while Teodora began bearing children. 21 total, eight girls and 13 boys.

When gold was discovered along the American River about four hundred miles north, Raymundo found his own "gold mine" and made a fortune supplying those Forty-Niner miners with beef as well as hides.

These were the golden years for the adobe, with its remodeling and additions and glorious parties. Raymundo’s family prospered until drought in the 1860’s destroyed the cattle empires. He survived by raising sheep.

His death in 1879 was the beginning of the end for the Olivas' fortune, and the adobe house was sold in 1899. Some of the ranchland has become a municipal golf course, some strawberry fields, some subdivisions. After passing through many owners, the adobe itself was purchased by Max Fleischmann, of the yeast empire, who restored the building in 1927. Upon his death, the adobe was given to the City of Ventura, and it opened as a museum in July, 1972. Docent-led tours are frequent.

We local folks enjoy the “Cowboys, Heroes and Outlaws: Passport to the American West” held every summer, with Western reenactors in full regalia as well as pioneer crafts for the kids.

In fact, many fourth-grade schoolchildren take field trips to the adobe for a hands-on two-hour program that brings to life the Rancho Period of California History.

And just last month, folks enjoyed the annual holiday candlelight tour that showcased the tradition of Las Posada, where Mary and Joseph seek room at the inn.

It’s a great place to visit. Ya’ll come on down, ya hear?

~Tanya
www.tanyahanson.com
www.petticoatsandpistols.com



My latest release, Right to Bragg, is available now at Amazon and White Rose Publishing.. It's Book Four in the Hearts Crossing Ranch series...I just turned in Book Eight and the feelings are bittersweet. I love that ranch and the Martin family. Book Three, Sanctuary, and my first-ever suspense story Faithful Danger are both up for CAPA Awards at The Romance Studio. Enjoyable start to a new year.

Savvy Sayin’s Two

By Anna Kathryn Lanier

No matter how often I remind myself that my blog date is coming up, it seems I am always writing my blog the night (or day) it’s due.  Sure enough, here it is, 11:30 p.m. on Friday, January 13^th and I’m just now writing my blog.  So, it has to be something simple and not requiring a lot of research.  I’ve gone to my shelf of ‘western’ books and found SAVVY SAYIN’S: True Wisdom from The Real West collected by Ken Alstad. (check out my Savvy Sayin’s  here).  The book includes woodcuts by Remington and Russell from the 1800’s.  Sorry that I can include those in this list of sayin’s, which, by the way, don’t come with translations, which some of them need.

·         You can’t measure water with a sieve.
·         Some men can’t live without lonesome.
·         It’s a sure sign of bad luck to bet on the wrong horse.
·         The ignorant hold up trains n’ stages. The intelligent steal ‘em.
·         Teeth and memory weaken with age.
·         Careful is a naked man climbin’ a bobwire fence.
·         Some men never reach a marriageable age.
·         Saddle your horse before sassin’ the boss.
·         Advice is only handy before trouble comes.
·         Cowboys are paid $30 a month to outthink cows.
·         The west is good country for men and dogs, but mighty hard on women and oxen.
·         A full house divided wins no pot.
·         The west is famous for rare and wonderful sights. But the rarest of all is clean socks in a bunkhouse.
·         Love your enemies, but keep your gun oiled.
·         Secrets are better heard than kept.

 Which one is your favorite?  Do you have a sayin’ to share?

Anna Kathryn Lanier
www.aklanier.com annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com

Use Emotions you Know by Paty Jager

I grew up in an area that until the 1980's depended on logging. So it was natural that one of my Halsey brothers would have an eye at the huge pines on their mountain.

Researching for Logger in Petticoats was fun and nostalgic. While the only connection my family had to logging were several years my dad worked in a lumber mill, our property ran up the side of a mountain and I loved riding my horse through the pine, fir, and tamarack on the mountain. The trees were tall, straight and some so wide at the base you needed several people to lock hands and reach around them. They were giant sentinels in the forest. The birds tweeting from the high branches, the wind rustling the needles and creaking the trees sounded loud in the muffled quiet of the forest floor. The scents of the forest; decaying leaves and needles, the tang of the pine and softer nuances of fir filled your nostrils and triggered a feeling of being one with the earth. Each type of tree had it's own distinguishing scent, bark, and needles.

I used my awe of the timber and infused it in the hero Hank Halsey. Then since the whole Halsey brother series had strong willed heroines, I came up with Kelda Nielsen. The only daughter of a Norwegian logger with three sons. They are all large, Kelda included. She's grown up learning the logging trade and excels. She loves being outside but as her mother has aged, Kelda must help out in the kitchen.

While Hank has sisters-in-law who have/had male occupations, he believes no woman should be in the woods and so the battle begins between the two as their attraction for one another also grows.

Here is the blurb for Logger in Petticoats the fifth book of the Halsey brother series.

Hank Halsey believes he’s found the perfect logging crew—complete with cooks—until he discovers Kelda Neilson would rather swing an axe than flip eggs. As he sets out to prove women belong in the kitchen, he’s the one in danger of getting burned.

Strong and stubborn, Kelda Nielsen grew up falling trees and resents any man who believes she’s not capable, until Hank. He treats her like a lady and has her questioning what that means.

As Kelda and Hank’s attraction builds, she hires a cook so she can sneak out and work in the woods. But will her deceit ruin her chance at love or will hardheaded Hank realize it’s more than his love that puts a sparkle in Kelda’s eye?

Excerpt:

Kelda stood by the door, a man’s black wool coat buttoned up to her neck and a wool scarf wrapped around her head. Her flushed cheeks shone in the lantern light. Her gaze met his solid and unflappable.

To appease Karl, Hank said as he pulled on his coat, “If Kelda isn’t back in here in fifteen minutes you can come looking for us.”

The door hadn’t fully closed when Dag’s voice cleared the threshold, “I don’t know what you’re worrying about. No man is going to think of Kelda in the way you’re talking.”

Kelda’s shoulders drooped proving she’d heard her brother’s comment. She walked around the corner of the cookhouse to a fallen log at the backside of the building. Hank wanted to catch up to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders. She was a fine woman.  Any man would be dang lucky to have her for a wife. He stood in front of her as she sat on the log, her face pointed toward the men’s logging boots on her feet.

Hank crouched in front of Kelda, tipping her face up to read her emotions. “Your brother sees you only as his sister. You’re a woman any man would be lucky to marry.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m the size and body of a man. Men want a small delicate woman.”  She wiped at the tears and her hands clutched his. “Don’t make Far keep me out of the woods.  It’s all I have to make me happy.”

Pleading in her eyes and voice sucker punched Hank. “Why would you want to work alongside men in the woods? Women belong in the home.”

“I don’t care to work inside. I love the outdoors and the labor of logging. Don’t keep me out of the woods. It’s the one thing I can do well.”

The strong grip of her fingers on his proved her strength. He had no doubt she was a skilled woodsman…woman.  He pried her fingers from his hands and held them between his palms. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you in the woods. It isn’t proper for a woman to work like that. And what if you prove too weak to handle a job and someone else gets hurt?”

“Ooooo!” Her hands ripped from his grasp and rammed him in the chest. He started tipping backwards and grabbed the first thing in reach—Kelda’s arms.

He fell back into the snow dragging Kelda on top of him.

The surprise in her eyes quickly turned to interest as she gazed down into his face. Her body sprawled across Hank, pressing him into the snow.  Even with the heavy clothing, her curves were evident as her relaxed body molded over his.

Hank pushed the scarf back from her face and stared into amazing eyes that glistened from the moonlight bouncing off the snow. Her gaze searched his.

The rise and fall of her chest quickened.

She licked her lips…

He held her head in his hands. Inch by inch, Hank drew her lips closer, wondering if the heat and passion he’d witnessed in her eyes would be in her kiss.

“Kelda!”

The male voice broke through the insanity of his actions. Hank rolled, rose to his feet, and pulled Kelda up with him.

This book will be available at all ebook outlets after the 15th.

You can learn more about me and the other Halsey books at my blog; www.patyjager.blogspot.com  website; http://www.patyjager.net or on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/paty.jager and twitter;  @patyjag. 

American Cowboy Chaps: Then and Now

By Charlotte Raby

CHARLOTTE RABY
Sitting on Laura Ingall's steps

 For everyone who loves western romances, no cowboy fantasy would be complete without envisioning (at least once) our heroic wrangler in full Wild West regalia, which, of course, always includes chaps.

 Many sources consider the historical beginning of chaps to have started with Mexican Vaqueros in the 1800’s, but really, they were used over thirty thousand years ago and evolved into what we consider them to be today.

A BREED APART by Charlotte Raby.
If you’re in the mood for a contemporary western romance full of rough and tumble wranglers, find my novel, A Breed Apart here:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/A-Breed-Apart-ebook/dp/B004SIQUHC/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325351788&sr=1-6
Kindle and other formats: https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=charlotte+raby  
Don't miss the excerpt toward the end of Charlotte's post. And please read her bio, too...you've got to see how much this talented woman does.
  

Nomadic peoples of the Upper Paleolithic era (30-50 thousand years ago) learned how to make and sew leather into clothing, as evidenced by their cave drawings, leather-scraping tools, and bone and thorn needles discovered in Spain.  These people most likely discovered animal skins on the forest floor which had been tanned naturally by tannins excreted from rotting vegetation. In 2010, archeologists found tangible evidence in the Swiss Alps: leather leggings created during the Neolithic period. They were 4200 years old, made from goat skin, and tanned with birch bark.  Prehistoric people gave us the concepts of making and sewing leather, as well as dyeing, bleaching, and decorating it.

NATIVE AMERICAN LEGGINGS

 Now fast forward to the 1500’s. The Plains and Eastern Native American tribes had been sewing and wearing leather clothing, including leggings, for quite some time. The leggings evolved from hides with forelegs tied at the ankle and hind legs either tied the waist or tucked into belts to fitted styles. They were cut and sewn, first with a front seam, then later with a side seam to aid horseback riding. In 1534, Louisiana was a French colony; Mountain men travelled extensively, interacting with many Native American tribes, and most likely took the idea of leather leggings and passed it along. Although Louisiana was ceded to Spain and Britain in 1762, the French continued to settle the land through the mid 1800’s.

 Enter the Mexican Vaqueros. They initially used thick hide as an apron tied to the saddle horn that covered the horse’s breast and rider’s legs. These were called Arma (weapon, armor). Eventually, Armitas were created, which tied around the leg, extending to just below the knee and covering only the exposed part of the leg.  Later, Armitas became like short trousers one would step into and pull up.  In the 1840’s these evolved into what we know of today as chaps and were called chaparreras and chaparajos (the j sounds like h).  The root of these words is chapa, meaning sheet; the word chapara follows, which means plate.

Although a strict Spanish pronunciation of chaps would give a hard ch sound, we can’t forget French influence on languages and cultures throughout the American West (and I would be interested in exploring chappen from 1275 Middle English and Dutch! But later.). The Spanish Chapara translates to plaque in French, which translates to plate in English. French and Spanish are closely related Romance Languages; therefore, French influence explains why in the American West, chaps is pronounced with a soft ch as in Charlemagne.  

The four styles of chaps from the 1800’s have changed very little since then: Below: Shotgun Chaps

Shotgun chaps, so named because the long tight fitting legs resemble shotgun barrels, were made to step into and were tight and often difficult to remove. Later, buckles and snaps were used, but today most come with a full length zipper along the outer leg. They were made from the leather of deer, elk, calf, goat, or wild animals. Today, they’re also made using nylon and ultra suede fabrics.

Bat Wing chaps (above) are long and tie around the thigh only. They have a wide flap of leather from the knee to the ankle that covers the rider’s boots and spurs and provides greater freedom of movement and ventilation in warmer climes.

Woolies (above) are made of hide with the hair on from buffalo, bear, and Angora goat, and were most often worn in the northern parts of the country, where cowboys needed protection from freezing rain, snow, and frigid temperatures.

Chinks (above) are short chaps, coming to below the knee. Fancy Chinks were worn by women in western shows in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

In the western United States today, Shotgun chaps are worn for dressage and work; Bat Wings are seen in rodeos and western shows, but sometimes still used for work, and Chinks and still worn by working cowboys around the barn and on cattle drives, and by farriers.

Chaps were an important part of a cowboy’s tack, and most cowboys went through two to three sets a year. Today, approximately 50% of cattle drives are accomplished on horseback with the riders wearing chaps, and modern working cowboys wear them around the barn. Of course, all rodeo and show riders wear colorful, fancy chaps. Sewing patterns and various materials can be used by the home-sewer to make her own.  See the sources listed below to read more about chaps and see pictures of historical and modern chaps. 
~*~*~*~
BLURB:
Newly graduated veterinarian, Kira McGovern, must find a permanent job and residence within three months in order to adopt her orphaned infant niece. A cattle rancher offers her a win-or-lose opportunity, but his sexy, distracting son plans to make sure she fails.

EXCERPT:
"Kira!" At first he thought she hadn't heard, but a second later, she turned her head and made eye contact. Holt leaned over and stuck out his left arm. Kira nodded and braced herself. With one last look at the bull, she aimed her left arm for Holt's midsection and jumped. Holt grabbed her armpit, swinging her behind him.

The bull lowered his head to gore the horse, and Holt's mare kicked backwards, twisting its rear-end away from danger. Holt almost dropped Kira over the other side, but she seized the back of his collar, ripping it, and dug her nails into his gut. She righted herself, then wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing the breath out of him. He jabbed his heels into the mare, leaving the bull in a cloud of dust.

By this time, the men reached the area and took turns distracting the animal until the other riders took over and forced him back across the fallen fence. They made a hasty repair, as the bull grew bored and finally trotted away.

Holt slowed his mare to a walk to calm her. Hell, to calm himself and Kira, too. They were quite a distance from the trucks and work area. The horse's slower rhythm eased his heartbeat. After a few minutes, he stopped and pried Kira's hands from his stomach, which stung where she'd torn his skin. He swung his leg over the mare's head and slid to the ground. Dazed, she turned, her arms out, and Holt gently lowered her from the saddle.

He barely got her to the ground before her knees buckled. She fell forward into his arms and Holt kneeled with her, holding her between his legs, her head on his shoulder. She was trembling.

He stroked her hair. "You're okay now."

She looked up, and in her eyes, he saw a shattering emotion. She grabbed the silver ball under her shirt. The chain around her neck strained against her dirt-smudged skin, and all he could think of as they stared at each other was that she was more beautiful than any other creature alive.

"I could hear his breath," she choked out, haltingly. "I could see his nostrils spraying."

With each word, Holt felt and heard her terror increase. He squeezed her upper arms.

"I felt his feet pounding the ground...oh, God..." She sobbed and searched his eyes.

"Shh, you're safe, baby, you're safe." Before he could think, he pressed his lips to hers. She tensed a second, then kissed him back. Their kiss intensified as he emptied the desperation he'd felt in trying to save her onto her warm, soft lips. She opened to him, and he held her tightly as the kiss deepened.

Slowly, they parted, and looked into each other's eyes. Then, she leaned over his thigh and puked.

Holt really needed a cigarette.
~*~*~*~
BIO:
Charlotte was born and raised in Arizona, but didn’t realize how much the West was a part of her until she moved away. After earning her engineering degree in Cleveland, Ohio, she moved back to Arizona. She stayed a while but got the itch to explore again so then lived in Virginia, South Carolina, Wyoming, and finally settled (?) in Colorado, where she now lives with her husband, two teen daughters and a sweet dog. She plays the flute with the Denver Pops, is on the board and various committees for the Golden Concert Choirs, runs her own custom sewing and alterations business (charlottesthimble.com), and writes (charlotteraby.com).
~*~*~*~
LINKS:
http://www.all-about-leather.co.uk/history.htm
http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/clothing.htm
http://www.ehow.com/about_4598491_leather-sewing.html
http://books.google.com/books/about/Dress_Clothing_of_the_Plains_Indians.html?id=3RhgNZOTVGoC

     (Dress Clothing of the Plains Indians by Ronald P. Kock; University of OK press, 1977)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/06/leather-fashionable-in-prehistoric-times/1

      (“Leather Fashionable in Prehistoric Times” by Dan Vergano, June 8, 2010)
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWchaps.htm
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWcowboys.htm
http://westernexplorers.us/FurTrade.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase
http://www.purecowboy.us/Shipley%20Rough-Out%20Chaps.htm
http://www.suitability.com/

Longhorns

All horns and no beef, the Texas Longhorn is as much a part of the mystique of the “Old West,” as the cowboy and his Colt Peacemaker.

Ancestors of the both the California and Texas Longhorns can be traced back to the marshes of Andalusia in Southern Spain and the wooded region of Extramadura in Western Spain.

These Andalusians were of the same lineage that produced the large black bulls of the Spanish and Latin-American bull rings.

They can be divided into three groups from the Andalusian areas; Retinta, a solid red, brown to tan colored animal; Black Andalusian, a solid black animal; and Berrenda, a white cow with black markings. The familiar high tail and narrow head of the Longhorn were also characteristic.

The people who lived in these regions sailed with Christopher Columbus on his second journey to the new world in 1493. These settlers brought with them these Andalusian cattle. They settled in the four island chain of the Antilles (Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba, and Puerto Rico). The cattle roamed freely and became semi-wild, giving birth to calves with a spotted or speckled color pattern, which is typical of untamed animals.

In 1519, many of the Antilles settlers left for Mexico in search of gold and other rumored treasure, bringing cattle with them.

In 1521, Don Gregorio de Villalobos was sent as viceroy to “New Spain” and brought a number of calves from Santo Domingo to the Pánuco River valley near what is today Tampico, Mexico. The stock raisers in Hispaniola, afraid they would lose their monopoly for the supply of horses and cattle to the Spanish settlements, instituted severe restrictions on the delivery of brood stock to Mexico.

In 1690 the first herd of 200 Spanish cattle were driven north into what is now Texas, for the missions Spain had established there. The cattle were rugged, sharp-horned animals that ran thick in the brush country of South Texas and into New Mexico and Arizona.

By the time the first Anglo-Saxon American settlers reached Texas, the woods were full of cattle. They were called Criollo, or “Cattle of the country”.

The Texas longhorn is generally thought to have been created as a cross between this criollo stock and the English cattle brought to Texas in 1820’s and 1830’s by these first settlers. The wild black cattle eventually mixed with these strains and the result was the hybrid breed known as the Texas Longhorn.

Though, some historians disagree. These Andalusian cattle were immune to a disease referred to as “Spanish Fever,” “Texas Fever,” or “Cattle Tick Fever.” This disease, spread by a tick that longhorns often carried, was often fatal in other cattle. Therefore it is unlikely that no more than minor inbreeding occurred as most settlers kept their cattle close, away from the wild longhorns.

The longhorn had long legs and a long, limber tail, and he came in just about every color of the rainbow, perhaps most often some hue of red, brown or yellow, but there were also brindles, “gruyas” (grullas, mouse-colored), duns, blacks, whites, creams and every possible combination. An animal splotched with different colors was called a paint, and one with a line stripe down his back, which the old Texans often called a lobo (wolf) stripe.

Hardy, aggressive and adaptable, the Texas Longhorns were well suited to harshness of the ranges of the southwestern United States.

Longhorn cattle have a strong survival instinct and can find food and shelter during times of rough weather. Longhorn calves are very tough and can stand up sooner after birth and other breeds.

Running wild for nearly two hundred years had made the longhorn tough and hardy enough to withstand blizzards, droughts, dust storms, attacks by other animals, and Indians. They did not require great amounts of water to survive. Their horns served for attack and defense. A strong sense of smell made it easy to for the cow to find her calf and she would ferociously defend this calf.

There was probably no meaner creature in Texas than a Longhorn bull. The slightest provocation would turn him into an aggressive and dangerous enemy. The bull’s horns usually measured over eight feet long. In addition, the sharpness of horns of any length, the speed and muscle power of the bull, and the ease with which he could be aroused and enraged, made him a dangerous and uncontrollable animal. When two bulls met, there was sure to be a fight, often to the death. And only a very well-armed cowboy had a chance against a Longhorn bull.

Regardless of their color, Longhorns could run like deer, swim like a seal, and fight like a mountain lion; and to help them they had the most fantastic horns ever to grace the head of any bovine. Though probably the average spread wasn’t more than 4-5 feet, there were many that went 6-7 feet. For the most part the horns arched forward more or less, but they might grow in any fashion, like the handlebars of a bicycle, or with curve on curve, or even one horn up and one down.

At about the age of four or five, when the Longhorn was considered to be getting its full growth, though they did keep putting on weight for years longer, little wrinkles would begin to grow up from the bases of the horns. The older the steer got, the more the wrinkles would show, giving rise the term “mossy horns,” meaning old-timers. A full-grown young steer would weigh 800-900 pounds, while a fat old mossy horn might go as high as 1500 or more.

When gold was discovered in California in 1848, and miners demanded beef, some of the first cattle drives on record took place, driving approximately 100,000 head of cattle west to California. After the Civil War, cattlemen of the Southwest discovered that you could drive a full-grown Texas Longhorn north and he’d put on weight grazing northern grass.

Eventually Shorthorn and Hereford stock were introduced to the Southwest to improve the beef quality, and Brahma cattle to produce animals more resistant to tick fever. The true Longhorn began to disappear. In 1920 funds were made available from Congress to save them. Forrest Service employees Will C. Barnes and John Hatton, armed with descriptions of the Longhorn “type”, inspected over 30,000 head of Texas cattle and assembled a herd of 20 cows, 3 bulls, 3 steers, and 4 calves. In 1927 the animals were shipped to the Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve.

These survivors became the foundation stock for a herd dedicated to preserving these great animals for posterity.





Sources:

Foster-Harris, William. The Look of the Old West, New York, Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2007

Texas Longhorn Survivor of the Past-Bright Promise for the Future, by Dr. Stewart h Fowler, PhD
http://www.anisiokstate.edu/breeds/cattle/texaslonghorn/

Texas State Historical Association-A Digital Gateway to Texas History, The handbook of Texas Online, Longhorn Cattle
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/at102

Texas Longhorns: A history of Longhorn Cattle
http://dfwnetmall.com/e-mag/longhorn.htm

Texas Longhorn Cattle-History of the Breed
http://www.rogerslonghorns.com/

California Association of Texas Longhorn Breeders, History of Longhorns in California, by Michael Casey
http://www.catl.com/histCA.html

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, History of the Texas Longhorns
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/longhornhist.html

Photos Courtesy of Dickinson Cattle Co.

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!

Georgetown Gazette

A 19th-Century Publisher by Paisley Kirkpatrick

The Mountain Democrat in Placerville, California, called her The Gazette's "editress," and the San Francisco Call described her as "gifted editor, writer and manager." She was Maude Hulbert Horn, a reporter for the Georgetown Gazette at fourteen and its publisher two years later at age sixteen.

Maude was born in 1873 and grew up with printer's ink in her veins. She was the daughter of Joseph Hulbert, who was also a publisher. In 1880 the family moved from Auburn, California, to Georgetown. Hulbert was impressed with the town's gold mining opportunities and the fact that it was a small bustling trade center with an air of permanence. The first Georgetown Gazette was published on April 9, 1880.

Once the newspaper was established, Hulbert started prospecting for gold, leaving the responsibility of the Gazette to his wife. During the next few years, the family increased, and Maude, the oldest of four children, had to assume a great deal of the Gazette's duties. The other children were not interested in the paper.

At the age of nine, Maude was taught to set type with a steel-type stick that was cut to fit the child's small hand, and, by the time Maude was fourteen, she was recognized as a reporter. She attended public school where she excelled in English literature. In 1891, at sixteen, her father named Maude editor of the Gazette. Her name, however, did not appear on the masthead for two years, and then she was titled manager instead of editor. Maude had to give up her plans of attending college, along with social activities, to maintain the family weekly newspaper.

The young woman was running the paper by 1895, with help only on press day and whenever Hulbert returned from the mines. Her desire to learn continued and Maude found the time to study French, Shakespeare, astronomy, and shorthand.

Her father moved to Oregon and left the newspaper in Maude's control. Two years after John C. 'Jack' Horn joined the Gazette, and the couple married. Horn was an experienced printer, and together their coverage gained the respect of Georgetown. It was Maude's policy not to print items that might cause embarrassment. Many times she would omit a birth notice so readers wouldn't know how long the woman had been married. When a local resident was involved in an indiscretion, it went unreported.

Maude was also a joiner and belonged to many organizations. They provided news and allowed her to socialize. She also belonged to many lodges.

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake her husband and daughter moved to San Francisco to help out Jack's destitute brother. Maude worked herself into exhaustion, and it was common for her to faint at moments of stress. She wrote, as a stringer, for The Sacramento Bee and submitted material to the Mountain Democrat in Placerville and the Auburn Journal. She also sold home-grown cherries.

During World War I, she directed Red Cross public health and relief efforts, and, following the war, she attended a League of Nations meeting as an honorary delegate. In 1921 her husband died trying to rescue a woman in a fire. When her son graduated from college, and after forty years with the Gazette, she sold the Gazette's equipment and took a vacation in Hawaii. She was accepted into both the state and national societies of The Daughters of the American Revolution. She became one of the jurors in El Dorado County's first Superior Court trial. Three years later she was a part of the Grand Jury, and in 1930 Maude was appointed Justice of the Peace. She was the first woman in Georgetown to hold this position and served for three years.

Maude Horn died in 1935, unrecognized for her great contributions to publishing.

Information taken from Women of the Sierra, written by Anne Seagraves.