Strength and Brawn Required by E. Ayres

Waving hello to everyone! I think this is the first time I've ever been on your blog, Paty, yet we've known each other for years. Unfortunately we are on opposite sides of the USA so we don't get to drink coffee together or go riding in the hills. And I would love to go riding with you!

I grew up riding English so keeping my derrière in the saddle… It's a whole different style of riding. I think it's easier to go from English to Western than it is to go from Western to English. Posting is a little like patting your head while rubbing your tummy. Let's just say I'd get lazy and ride bareback. You have to keep your hind parts down when you do that.

When I write contemporary westerns, I have fun mixing that east/west thing into the stories. But when I write historical westerns, I don't play. I want my stories to be accurate and that extends to the attitudes of the people at that time in history. But we all know that people never really have changed. What changes is their environment. Back up 150 years and people didn't want to live in a soddy on the plains, they wanted a log cabin. Today people don't want to live in an 800 square foot house, they want the McMansion. What we want changes as we acquire more. The surfs of yesteryear wanted their children to have a trade so they weren't doing menial jobs. We want ours to go to the finest colleges we can afford so that they do better than we did. Each generation since the beginning to time ups the ante. Therefore, writing about people in the 1800's or any time frame isn't that different from writing about today. People haven't changed! Only their environment!

Understanding the things that they had and what it took to get them is they key to keeping things accurate, but there's one more piece to the puzzle - attitude. And where did they get that? Mostly from the church. That's what controlled the morals, influenced politics, etc. So not unlike today, there were people who held close to what they were taught and those who didn't. To say there was no premarital sex in the 1880's is totally wrong! Statistics show that one third of first born children were born out of wedlock until about the 1950's when birth control became a common thing.

That brings us back to people haven't changed. Hormones and desire have not changed. But how they were handled did. So the next step is to look at the characters. Who went west and for what reason? Some of the men who first went west were escaping prosecution for petty crimes. Starving? Did he steal a loaf of bread and almost got caught or maybe recognized? Run away to place so large and vast, that a change in clothes and a beard, and a new name were enough to give them a new chance at life.

These men were tough, usually from impoverished backgrounds, so they were already hardened. Survival made them tougher. They weren't all bad people or vicious criminals. They went west looking for another way of life. They didn't want to do what their father did or they were the third son and would not be able to inherit the business, store, farm, etc. They could kill for food and sell the pelt. Soon too many realized they could make good money just by killing for the pelts.

As the east expanded into the western territories, looking for precious minerals such as gold and copper, it brought a different kind of man into the area. Skilled workers, surveyors, tinkers, traders, farriers, doctors, preachers, and adventurers came and settled. The west in the late 1700's through the 1800's was like the New World to the pilgrims and other settlers, a chance for a new life, a new beginning, and a chance to reinvent themselves as someone else. That street urchin grew up and now has a chance to become a respectable member of the community. The cunning and intelligence that keep him alive on the streets of some big eastern city, kept him alive in the untamed west.

Strength and brawn were required. If they didn't have it, they gained it. The cowboy that we romanticize isn't very accurate. Cowboys were boys! Cheap labor. But that man we conjure is probably the rancher and he earned those muscles by being on the range and working with those boys roping cattle. Taking down a 1500 pound animal is no small feat. Fast, sure, skilled, confident aren't qualities that most men are born with, instead they are gained by hard work and doing a job until they can do it in their sleep.

Who doesn't want such a man? Even the most independent woman who doesn't need a man to protect her still can admire a strong body and enjoys the company of a man who is as independent and capable as she. And although a rancher might appreciate a pretty little gal in a silk dress, he needed one who could handle a gun, knew how to butcher a steer, and wasn't going to fall apart if she broke a fingernail. Those men were tough and so were the women or they didn't survive. And even the tough ones didn't always make it, thanks to things like small pox, cholera, and even the flu.

And most of marriages never took place. There was no one to marry them. They were known as common law marriages. Maybe after several years, they might have come across a minister who married them. But over half the marriages were without any official records.

I happen to like these more realistic characters who get dirt under their nails. A heroine who can shoot a rattler, make belt from the skin and cook the meat for dinner. No, I don't want to eat snake and don't try to tell me it tastes like chicken. It tastes like snake! But I do admire the gutsy women who went west and found men worth loving. The real stories of those people who carved a living where nature wasn't always kind but it's always beautiful!

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Loving Matilda

E. Ayers

http://amzn.com/B01BL0HKHS

Blurb:

Matilda “Matt” Berwyn, forced to live disguised as a boy in a mining town, longs to escape and blossom into the female she's always wanted to be. But her desire to leave Morgan's Crossing escalates when she realizes she's being stalked.

Stockyard hand Zeke Hillerman knows her secret and has fallen in love with her. He helps her flee to his parents’ home in the east to learn to be a lady, while he struggles to start his own ranch. As Matilda grapples with Victorian expectations of young women, Zeke’s plans for their future unravel, and he realizes that the cost of her ticket out of Morgan's Crossing may have been his own heart.

Excerpt from Loving Matilda:

Zeke awaken and stretched. He had found the perfect spot for sleeping. Using his bedroll as a pillow, he’d slept through the night and well into the morning hours, leaving him feeling refreshed and ready for the ride to the Reiner stockyard. He scanned the water below and didn’t see Matt. Unfortunately, he couldn't wait forever. It was important that he return to the stockyard in a timely manner. But that didn't stop the disappointment that ran through him.

As he prepared to leave, movement caught his eye and he stopped long enough to realize it was Matt. She's not playing. She really is panning for gold!

He stood there mesmerized. Whatever she was finding wasn’t small. He left his horse and went back down the pass to get a better look. A spear whizzed through the air and landed near Matt.

Zeke instantly stiffened. His rifle was with his backpack, leaving him only with his knife. There was no time to think. He had to protect Matt. He took off in a full run, his boots barely touching the ground. A blood-curdling yell resonated across the peaceful landscape as an Indian ran towards Matt. He saw the Indian attack Matt.

Zeke dove for the young man slamming him into the creek bed. With his fist raised, Zeke looked into two dark orbs that instantly widened…

"Who is he?" Gray Fox asked.

Matilda sat in the creek after she dragged the man from the water and watched him. "Not sure. Think he's going to die?"

"As hard as you hit him with that rock, he might."

Bio:

As the official matchmaker for all the characters who wander through a mind full of imagination and the need to share, E. Ayers enjoys finding just the right ones to create a story.

Writing in a Kindle World by Caroline Clemmons

Usually I set my books in Texas, which is where I live. My latest release, AMANDA’S RANCHER, is part of a Kindle World for which Debra Holland set the parameters. She chose eastern Montana, which is where her Montana Sky Series is set. To provide a visual aid for authors participating in this project, author Lou Nelson put together a map of the small mining town central to the books, Morgan’s Crossing. I set my hero’s ranch a half hour’s wagon ride from that small town.

 

Writing in another person’s world is more difficult than in my own. I like challenges and stretching myself occasionally to keep growing as a writer. This book gave me the opportunity to delve into a new setting and expand my writing. But, I still wrote about my favorite cowboys, ranchers, and mail-order brides.

Books about mail-order brides are very popular. I believe it’s the unknown, fish-out-of-water aspect that keeps us entertained. In truth, there were many mail-order brides from the end of the Civil War up to the turn of the century (and beyond). Men moving west settled and wanted a wife, but there were not enough single women in the west. Women in the east wanted to marry and have a family, but there weren’t enough eligible men.

Enterprising people set up as matchmakers to connect the men and women—the early form of Match.com, eHarmony.com, and others. Like today’s online matches, some were happy and some were disasters. Of course, those in my mail-order bride books are successful, but only after enough difficulty to keep the plot going.

Like most romance readers, I read to relax and dive into another world that guarantees a happily-ever-after ending. You’re guaranteed a happy ending with my books. At the same time, I strive to be factual as far as locale, dress, customs, and so forth for the time period in which I’m writing. 

In planning AMANDA’S RANCHER, I first came up with my hero, Preston Kincaid. He moved to Montana Territory from Texas with his father after the death of his mother. Although Preston was happy in Texas, his father was determined to move to assuage his grief and Preston didn’t want his father starting over on his own. At the opening of the story, they’ve been in Montana for seven years and Preston is twenty-eight. He ranch is firmly established and he’s ready to wed and have a family. His father has encouraged him to write for a genteel Southern belle from Atlanta, which is where Preston’s mother grew up.

For my heroine, I wanted someone the opposite of what Preston requests, a woman in jeopardy and on the run, Mara O’Sullivan. I chose to make her the daughter of a prostitute in a small town near Atlanta, Georgia. In spite of her mother’s background, Mara is virtuous and hard-working. When she testifies against bank robbers, they vow to kill her in retaliation. On the way to prison, they escape and kill a guard. She knows she has to disappear. When the woman seated next to her on the train dies, she fulfills a deathbed promise by taking that woman’s identity and child.

Here’s the blurb for AMANDA’S RANCHER:

One desperate young woman.

A chance meeting.

A life-changing outcome.

Growing up in a brothel, Mara O'Sullivan battled public disdain and contempt, but always remained virtuous, kind-hearted, and gracious. After testifying against vicious bank robbers, her life is threatened and Mara must find sanctuary far from everything she knows.  

One train ride changes her life as she fatefully meets a half-sister and a niece she never knew existed. But when circumstances end her sister's life, Mara makes a deathbed promise that she'll raise her niece Iris as her own and take her sister Amanda's place as Preston Kincaid's mail-order-bride. As Mara and Preston grow closer, their marriage no longer seems like a ruse, but a relationship of love, passion, and desire.

Mara's past comes back to haunt her and she finds herself in danger—will her new husband forgive Mara's deceit and protect her as his own? 

Here’s an excerpt from AMANDA’S RANCHER:

They reached the church and Preston jumped down from the wagon and came around to help her alight. With a smile, he lifted Iris high over his head before he set her on the ground. Her giggle brought tears to Amanda’s eyes.

That was the first time she’d ever heard the child make the girlish sound. Iris had smiled, spoken, but never laughed until she met Preston Kincaid. For that alone, Amanda would be the best wife she knew how to be.

Inside the church, Mrs. Norton handed Amanda a bouquet of daisies secured with a white ribbon. The sanctuary interior was plain with wooden benches and an altar raised one step above the rest of the floor. Although there were several windows, none had stained-glass as did the churches she’d seen in Georgia.

The minister was waiting at the front of the church and wore a black frock coat and matching string tie. His brown hair and beard were thickly streaked with gray. He stood at a simple lectern with what looked like a Bible in one hand while he conversed with another man.

Amanda was surprised only one other person besides Reverend and Mrs. Norton was in the sanctuary. She’d supposed Preston had many friends in the area and thought at least his ranch hands would attend. The second man turned and came to greet them. He proved to be an older version of her groom.  

Preston cupped her elbow. “Amanda and Iris, this is my father. Most folks call him Tom, but I call him Papa.”

Amanda smiled at the handsome man who must be around fifty. He was tall, but maybe an inch shorter than his son. Silver sprinkled the same dark hair. “May I call you Papa, too?”

He beamed his pleasure and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’d be honored. And in the absence of your father, may I walk you down the aisle?”

“Would you? I’d be ever so grateful.” She laid her hand on his arm. Nerves had set in and she needed his support or her knees might give way.

Preston said, “Iris, why don’t you stand with me while my papa walks Mama to meet us?”

Iris shook her head. “Mommy, not my old mama?”

Preston frowned. “Old mama?”

Panic sent bile into her throat that threatened to choke her. Don’t throw up on your wedding dress. “Perhaps you remember my mother recently died.”

Sympathy shone from his blue eyes. “Of course.” He took Iris’ hand in his and strode to the front.

Mrs. Norton began playing the piano. She nodded toward Amanda. Papa Kincaid gently led her up the aisle.

Walking toward her husband, Amanda was conscious of Preston’s stare, as if he could see into her mind and knew her for an impostor. Although he held Iris’ hand, the intensity of his blue gaze unnerved her. She wondered if he was disappointed or if he were as numb as she.

Thankful for the presence of her future father-in-law beside her, she tightened her hold on Mr. Kincaid’s arm.

In response, he patted her hand her where it laid on his sleeve. Without looking at her, he whispered. “Steady as you go. We’re almost there.”

Iris gave a tiny wave and Amanda couldn’t resist smiling at the child. The little girl truly was a blessing. Focusing on Iris gave Amanda a target she could face.

When they reached the front, Mrs. Norton ceased playing.

Preston took the bouquet from Amanda’s hands. “Iris, would you hold this for Mommy so she and I can be married?”

Iris looked at him adoringly and reached to receive the flowers. Reverend Norton opened his Bible and began the ceremony. Preston took Amanda’s hands in his. She was conscious of his calluses, but also of the size and strength of his palms dwarfing hers.

When the minister indicated, Preston slipped a ring onto her finger. This new one belongs to me, even if my groom doesn’t know my true name.

After the ceremony, Preston brushed his lips gently against hers.

Iris clapped her hands across her mouth in surprise then said, “Mommy? That man kissed you.”

Preston knelt eye-to-eye with her. “I’m your new Daddy, remember? Mommy and I were just married and now I can kiss her whenever she says it’s okay. Do you think you can call me Daddy?”

Iris nodded. “Are you gonna kiss me too?”

He smiled broadly. “I certainly am.” He leaned forward and gave her a loud smack on the cheek.

The child giggled. Twice in one day this kind man had made Iris happy. Amanda owed Preston all her wifely devotion.

Buy link at Amazon:
http://amzn.com/B01BL0HKPK 

Bio:Caroline Clemmons is an Amazon bestselling and award winning author of historical and contemporary western romances. A frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, she has taught workshops on characterization, point of view, and layering a novel.

Caroline and her husband live in the heart of Texas cowboy country with their menagerie of rescued pets. When she’s not indulging her passion for writing, Caroline enjoys time with family, reading, travel, antiquing, genealogy, and getting together with friends. Find her on her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, and Pinterest. Subscribe to her newsletter here to receive a FREE novella of HAPPY IS THE BRIDE.