#NewRelease MERCY: BRIDE OF IDAHO by @JacquieRogers #western #mailorderbride

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Mercy: Bride of Idaho

by Jacquie Rogers

American Mail-Order Brides series #43

This series is unprecedented! 50 States, 50 Brides--yep, 50 Books written by 45 Authors, and released one book each day starting November 19th. Well, the wait is over because Mercy is finally here. All the books, including this one are on the Amazon Kindle Unlimited program so if you're subscribed, you can read the entire series for FREE. (The first four Hearts of Owyhee books are also available in KU.)

Also free to everyone is the Prequel by Kirsten Osbourne, so be sure to pick that up.

I was in Deadwood, SD, when Caroline Clemmons called me and told me I was going to write this book. Yes, that's what friends are for. Ha! I thought it was a crazy idea but if Caroline thought it was a good deal, I was in. The concept came from the awesome (and zany) Kirsten Osbourne, and I thought this series was wild enough that it just might work.

It has!!!  So far, American Mail-Order Brides has been a fabulous success and I hope Mercy: Bride of Idaho carries banner, too. Mercy Eaton is the younger sister of Caroline's heroine in Patience: Bride of Washington (American Mail-Order Brides #42), so if you haven't read that book, you'll definitely want to get it.

Mercy: Bride of Idaho 

One woman bent on saving her family.

One rancher determined to save his own heart.

Is her love enough to save them all?

So what was happening in 1890?  I really didn't know since all my books have been earlier than that so I'd never researched that decade.  Here are a few tidbits that I included in this book--some from that time and some from earlier.

Mercy is a seamstress but it seemed only likely that she'd be making her own hats.  

I knew that Elias Howe had invented the modern sewing machine but I didn't know that Isaac Singer had been court-ordered to pay royalties to him.

Mercy is a city girl from Lawrence, Massachusetts.  Coming to Owyhee County would have been quite a culture shock, both in climate and population.

Mercy: Bride of Idaho is connected to the Hearts of Owyhee series even though it takes place much later, because Jake O'Keefe, the heroine in Much Ado About Mavericks (Hearts of Owyhee #4) is the mentor to the hero.  And his ears are still ringing.

I hope you had a wonderful 2015 and a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2016!

Hearts of Owyhee

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Miners

Much Ado About Mavericks

Much Ado About Mustangs

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Games Kids Played Back When #nostalgia #western @JacquieRogers

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Games Kids Played Back When

 

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We just spent 38 hours without power.  Not so bad, you say?  I have a brand new release and couldn't publicize it.  Yes, the publisher does more than most, but these days, if you don't promote, you don't sell.  

Ahem.  This will be a short post since I had so little time to get going on it, because, well, we had no power.  So here's my new release to the right.  Kudos to Livia Reasoner who designed the cover.  It's a fun western romance with attack goats and a killer chicken named Jethro.

About that power outage... Three adults and four boys live in this house.  The four boys were utterly lost—no Xbox, no Kindle, no computer.  So no video games.  They had no idea how to entertain themselves but quickly devised a game where they played characters of their favorite video games.  Before that happened, though, they wanted to know what we did when we were kids.

No one made up our worlds for us.  Yes, sometimes we played in Marshal Dillon’s world, or Paladin’s world, or Samantha Stevens’ world, but mostly we made up our own.  Someone would be the hero, someone the villain, and then there was the damsel in distress.  We all hated being the damsel so usually the smallest kid (boy or girl) got stuck with that.

And we played all sorts of games:

• Tag (various versions)
  
• Mother May I
• Duck, Duck, Goose
• All Bears Are Out Tonight
• Anti-Anti-I-Over
• Red Rover
• Dodge ball
• Red Light, Green Light
• Fox and Geese
• King of Bunker Hill (on a 20-tier haystack)
• Swing the Statue
• Double Dutch jump rope
• Hop Scotch

We rode our horses everywhere, and when not horseback, we played with marbles, jacks, tops, and hula hoops.  Could you ever get going with the paddle that had the string and ball attached?  My dad was pretty good but I never did get the hang of it.  The lucky kids had Lincoln Logs (made of actual wood) and Tinkertoys.

On hot summer days, we made cucumber boats and raced them in the stock tank.  We caught frogs and horny toads, and we looked for gold.  We hunted pheasant and duck.  Not quail, though—Mom wouldn’t have it.  During the winter, we read books, whittled, and gathered fodder for more fun games in the summer.

I have to say, I feel sorry that our four boys have no interest in any of the above—they do love their video games.

Hearts of Owyhee

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Miners

Much Ado About Mavericks

Much Ado About Mustangs

Amazon Author Page

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Zephyr Bosom Pads and other trivia from 1875 @JacquieRogers #western

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First of all, I'm in fine fettle today because I just found out that the third book in my Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Miners, won a Laramie Award for Western Romance/Comedy Novel.  I attribute that directly to Dr. VonSouter's Medicine Show.  So thank you, Keith.  The Laramie Contest is sponsored by Chanticleer Book Reviews, and I'll be attending the conference in September, so if you're in Bellingham, WA, stop by and say hi.

Now it's time to get back to the newspapers--the 1870s newspapers, that is.  These articles are all from The Owyhee Avalanche, the oldest newspaper in Idaho, and currently based in my hometown, Homedale.  They have a good sense of humor there, and since I'm in good humor (the award and all), I picked out a few articles that show the Silver City residents' lighter side.

We might as well start with fashion.  In the old days, fellows liked their ladies a bit on the plump side, as evidenced by this article published July 24, 1875.

I'm not sure what zephyr bosom pads are, but I know that the online dictionary said "bosom," meaning a woman's breasts, wasn't in use until the 1920s.  Well here it is.  1875.  Take that, dictionary.

It seems like no matter where you go, someone wants to make off with someone else's stuff.  This report was also printed in the July 24, 1875 issue.  I'd say Mr. Lord robbed the wrong person, and definitely stayed in town too long.

Speaking of Dr. Souter, here's a report of a bullet extraction in the July 17, 1875 issue.  I don't know many men these days whose first name is Patsey.  That would get you shot right there.  Maybe Keith will tell us why Dr. Peters left the bullet in Patsey's leg for three months before removing it.

This next article is about a saloon brawl, which isn't funny at all, but the wording in the July 3, 1875, article made me laugh.

I don't think I've ever read a newspaper from any era that didn't complain about the state of the roads.  It appears the ruts were impeding their fun.  This is from July 17, 1875.

And I learned a whole new term: caterer.  I don't think they're talking about serving cute little sandwiches at parties in this next article.

So that's what happened in Silver City, Idaho Territory, in July of 1875.  The people weren't so different, but the reporting was a lot more interesting!

May your saddle never slip.

Hearts of Owyhee

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Miners

Much Ado About Mavericks

Much Ado About Mustangs

Amazon Author Page

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Mustangs, Friesians, and Cossacks #Western #horses @JacquieRogers

Mustangs, Friesians, and Cossacks
by Jacquie Rogers
Website | Pickle Barrel Gazette

Much Ado About Mustangs (Hearts of Owyhee #5), my June 1 release, is an interesting mix of elements that you might not associate with the Old West, but they were there. I’ve just spent about 20 hours working on the final draft and getting the book on Amazon, which didn’t leave much time for a carefully researched blog article, so here’s an overview.

British Aristocracy

Today, the American media is filled with the day to day trivia of the British royal family, and folks of the Old West—all right, some folks—were fascinated with British aristocracy. Many second sons were sent to America. Some did well and some made fools of themselves just like the rest of those who immigrated. Some tried to establish versions of their homeland, some went native.  

My heroine, Pearl Jane Evans of Kentucky, tours as Lady Pearl Montford and is famous all over the nation. This wouldn’t be much of a stretch, as people have always looked for an angle. This angle worked for her very well.

Cossacks

If you go to a rodeo of any size today, you’ll probably see some trick riding. When I was little, I loved, loved, loved to watch trick riding.  Still do.  It seems like such a Western thing. Turns out, it’s a Cossack thing. Who knew?

It always amazed me what the riders could do on a horse—vaulting, Roman riding, and such. And of course the most exhilarating trick to watch was the Cossack Death Drag. That’s where the rider hangs by one foot, her backside against the horse’s ribs, and her hair drags the dirt, all while the horse is at a full gallop. Pretty incredible! It’s one of those “don’t try this at home, kids” kind of things, but of course we did. The results weren’t pretty.

Cossack Death Drag

In the late 1800s, equestrian shows were wildly popular. Hence, the fictional Great Dmitri and the Royal Cossack Equestrians were born. Trick riding came from the Cossack tradition and these maneuvers were designed for cavalry use in wartime, not for show. Pearl does a couple tricks, but expedient to the situation at hand, not in exhibition.

And here’s a secret—I had a hard time keeping my mind on the writing the story during those parts because YouTube’s Cossack riding was just too alluring.

Friesians
Friesian horses are beautiful animals—sleek black, lush manes and tails, and they’re downright showy since they’re high-steppers. Search for ‘Friesian horses’ on YouTube and you can see them in action. This breed was originally developed to carry knights in shining armor, but then were later bred to be draft horses after armor became obsolete. They’re still used today for carriage horses, saddle horses, and dressage. They’re often used in the entertainment business because of their elegance.

Mustangs
Actually there are more references in my book to Friesians than mustangs, but wild horses do cause a bit of havoc for Josh and Pearl. Owyhee County is home to a lot of mustangs—both my dad and my grandpa rode them. Dad’s mustang was named Rocky and Grandpa’s was Maverick. Neither were tame enough for inexperienced riders, but both could negotiate just about any trail in the hills. Mustangs make wonderful trail horses—they’re smart (very smart!), agile, and surefooted.

Much Ado About Mustangs

Hearts of Owyhee #5
by Jacquie Rogers

Secret lives, hidden dreams, and forbidden sex in the Old West—what’s a woman of nobility to do when a handsome rancher tears through her world like an Owyhee dust devil?

A British Aristocrat

Or is she? Lady Pearl Montford has performed in theatres all over the West for crowds of all sizes, but what would the world say if her secret was found out—that she's really plain old Pearl Jane Evans from Kentucky. To make matters worse, Pearl's past life as a professional trick rider is floating to the surface thanks to an unsavory suitor from her past who wants either her—or $10,000.

A Frustrated Rancher

Rugged Josh McKinnon has a ranch to build and blooded horses due in any day, but there's one problem standing between him and his dream—Lady Montford, a high-falutin' diva actress. Wrangled into playing opposite the snooty Brit in Shakespeare's ‘Much Ado about Nothing,’ Josh has to put his ranch on hold and put up with her nonsense for two weeks. Only thing is—how can he focus on his ranch when all he can think about is the way Pearl sits a horse?

Much Ado About ... Love?
With a slew of critters causing stirs left and right, meddling family members and townsfolk playing cupid, and horse rustlers causing a ruckus, Pearl and Josh have a heck of a time keeping their minds on the play and their hands off each other. When the dust settles and the curtain falls, will Pearl and Josh be able to overcome the odds working against them and find love in the wild Idaho countryside?

Hearts of Owyhee

Much Ado About Madams 

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Miners

Much Ado About Mavericks

Much Ado About Mustangs

1875: News Reporting at Its Finest #western @JacquieRogers

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January in the Old West

by Jacquie Rogers

I'd planned to write my article on A Million Ways to Die in the West, but can't overwhelmingly endorse it. <snort>  Okay, I did laugh out loud a few times, but if they'd taken the F-bomb out of the script, the movie would've been about 20 minutes long.  Enough said about that.

So it's back to my favorite stomping grounds, the archives of The Owyhee Avalanche.  I didn't have to look far, and I'm not going write a whole lot today, because this report of a house fire really tickled my funny bone, and I hope you're entertained as well.

From the January 3, 1874 issue of The Owyhee Avalanche:

And of course they partied--here's how, from the January 30, 1875 issue:

I'm thinkin' this reporter wasn't too enamored with dentists:

That's all for this month.  I've been busy because my Hearts of Owyhee rights reverted back to me Dec. 31, so I've been working on getting the books reissued, renumbered with new covers and a few typo corrections.  Here they are:

Hearts of Owyhee

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Miners

Much Ado About Mavericks

coming soon:

Much Ado About Mustangs

Amazon Author Page

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Two Cowboys, Two Sisters, Two Crazy Authors: MAIL-ORDER TANGLE #NewRelease #western #romance

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The Birth of 

Mail-Order Tangle

by Jacquie Rogers

Website | Pickle Barrel Gazette

What would you do if you had a chance to work with one of your most favorite authors? Jump at the chance, that’s what! And I even got to talk to her on the phone.

Caroline Clemmons

I’m talking about Caroline Clemmons, who wrote the first book of Mail-Order Tangle, about Ellie and Kage, Mail-Order Promise. I wrote Laura and Matt’s story in the second book, Mail-Order Ruckus. I’m going to let you in on some of our early notes.

We already knew that whatever idea we had, Caroline would set her story in Texas and I’d set mine in Owyhee County, Idaho Territory. But that’s pretty much all we knew. Neither of us had characters or any sort of plot in mind. We had several ideas, none of which hit us as the right one. Truth is, I’m not sure who came up with the two cousins and two sisters idea, but I think it was a result of our conversations about how to connect the stories. We’d thought about twin heroes, or stories connected by the heroes’ jobs. Several ideas were batted back and forth.

But in the end, cousins Kage and Matt marrying sisters, Ellie and Laura, won the race. Once those characters showed up, we knew they were the ones. Writers have to fall in love with their characters—Caroline and I were both in love with Kage and Matt immediately. Ellie and Laura took a little longer to form but we love them no less.

First, we had to decide when the stories would be set. Here’s what Caroline said: “What year are we talking about? I was thinking around 1870 – 1873, but I write 1870 – 1890s, ...so I’ll to defer to you there. I’m happy with any date in the above time frame of 1870 - 1890.” I split the difference and chose 1880. We had to have a year when ranching was relatively well established in Owyhee County. Most of the ranches were started in the 1870s to feed the miners in Silver City, and since the Johanssens had been there three years before Caroline’s story started, 1880 was just about right. Texas, of course, was no problem in that regard, since ranching had been established by the Spaniards in the 1700s, so Texas has a long history in the cattle business.

But why would Kage and Matt have a ranch in Idaho in the first place? And then, why would they leave their Idaho ranch to visit their Texas home? These are mostly final notes, a compilation of suggestions and ideas from each of us. “The Johanssens are cousins. Kage’s father ran the ranch (brand could be Bar AJ, he passed on several years before book one starts. {Note: we hadn't come up with titles yet.}  Kage’s older brother Erik Jr took over the ranch operation—their grandfather Adalbert is still alive so still owns it, and Kage’s mom, Inga, is still alive and keeps house for her father-in-law. Kage and Matt had driven cattle to Silver City and decided to settle in Owyhee County where land was cheap and the need for beef was high. They’ve worked hard to build the ranch and endured four snowy winters, varmints, and Indians. They’re just starting to break even when an especially hard winter hurts their herd.”

And why would Kage stay? Well, that’s when we decided to kill off his beloved older brother. It’s a sad thing, but writers have to do these things. That was Caroline’s job.

Once we fiddled around with the Dickerson sisters’ backstory and a few details about peripheral characters, we were set to go. We shared characters, backgrounds, and some setting, but we didn’t have much input in the plot of each other’s story. One reason for that is we wanted to leave room for both of us to write what we write best and not be too hog-tied by a story bible.

And that’s how Mail-Order Tangle was born. It’s up on Amazon now and we’re really excited about it. I hope you enjoy our co-writing adventure. I’m still tickled to have my name on a cover with the fabulous Caroline Clemmons. Wow!

Hearts of Owyhee series

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Fair Play (or How to Survive a County Fair) #western @JacquieRogers

All’s Fair in Owyhee!

by Jacquie Rogers

Website | Pickle Barrel Gazette

When I was a kid in Owyhee County, Idaho, the year was divided up in two parts — 3 days of the fair, and 362 days preparing for it. The Owyhee County Fair & Rodeo outshined every other event, at least it did for me. The heat, sawdust, animals... the excitement of winning a blue ribbon or sometimes even a purple... yep, that’s when people kick back and enjoy themselves.

This year, I rented a booth in the Commercial Building, where I featured my Hearts of Owyhee series. More about that later.

These days, the fair is four days and it’s the second week of August, not the third. Lots has changed over the years. The old and young go, but we didn’t see many twenty-somethings there. The food and art exhibits were fewer, but the livestock barns bulged as always. Good to see.

Speaking of livestock, they’ve now added goats. I never once saw a goat the whole time I lived in Owyhee County, but apparently lots of folks have them now.

Of course the standard dairy, beef, swine, and sheep. The granddaughters had a great time snapping pictures. Here are a few:

A few prize chickens shared a barn with the cute little lop-eared bunnies. I’m gonna get one of those someday.  (A bunny, not a danged chicken.  I've had enough of those.)

The Tumbleweed Theater had several fun acts including Larry—and I’m sorry but I can’t remember the name of his act. He walked around the fairgrounds, twirling loops around people. Everyone got a real kick out of it, and not one kicked his stilts out from under him.

We all love the rodeo but we only managed to go one night. Loved the mutton-busting. The wild horse race lived up to the bill. A horse dragged a man all the way around the arena (and it’s a big one) three or four times, but he hung on to the rope, and eventually they got that horse saddled. Not sure if he won or not, but he finished the race. Not very many do.

Ranch bronc and the normal bronc events are always a treat.

Ahem.  Back to work.  My booth turned out pretty well even though I had no idea what size it was until I got there. What decorations to bring was purely by-guess and by-golly. Turns out, the stuff we brought actually worked out, and even fit right. I figured the commercial stall would be about the same size as the dairy stalls, and I’d spent many an hour in the dairy barn as a kid, so I figured 8’ x 9’. Imagine my surprise when I was actually right! Well, close. I was assigned #7 and it measured 7.5’ x 9.5’ so my banner worked and things just came together.

Hearts of Owyhee booth... mostly finished

It was the second day of the fair when we realized the banner had a typo—misspelled “Owyhee” of all things. How embarrassing. My husband didn’t say a thing when I told him, just stapled a cover flat over the two offending letters. Worked great.

Other than roasting half to death, we had a great time—met with old friends and made some new friends.  Even some relatives showed up.  I gave away tons of promo material but only sold half my books.  Since most people there live too far away from stores to buy print books and most that I talked to were strictly ebook readers, I thought that was pretty good.

The Owyhee County sheriff deputies wouldn't take my Hearts of Owyhee junior deputy stars, but we gave out over 500 to the kids and a lot of adults.  Everyone's up for a good time.  Like riding a mechanical bull.  The operator told me that little girls generally do the best.  

And of course there's fair food.  Fair food is unique in and of itself, but in Owyhee County, no event is complete without a chorizo.  The Basque kind.  Absolutely heaven.  

So there's my "what did you do this summer" essay.  Actually, that only took up a week and the rest of the time I've been writing.  What's your idea of summer fun?

Which Comes First--Character or Setting?

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Many genre writers start with setting. Yes, they say they start with characters, or with situations, but the truth is, if you’re writing a Regency, it’ll be set in England between 1811 to 1820, give or take. If you’re writing a Scottish Medieval, then it has to be set in Scotland between the 5th and 15th centuries. If you’re writing a Western, it’ll be set west of the Mississippi (or at least rural North America), usually sometime after the first wagon train went to Oregon and before automobiles became ubiquitous. If you’re writing to the commercial market, the setting needs to be marketable, which is why Texas and Wyoming are used more than any other areas of the West.

So yes, many of us do start with setting.

Setting is far more than a time and a place. Woven properly into a story, it becomes a character in itself. Louis L’Amour was a master at this. How did setting come into play in the first book in my Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Marshals, which is set in 1885 Owyhee County, Idaho Territory? The seeds of the idea came to me when we visited Idaho to see relatives and while there, made some research trips to local sites.

I grew up in Owyhee County, so I’d been to the former boom town, Silver City, many times, but as I stood in front of the Idaho Hotel taking in the view, the huge bank safe sparked my imagination. What if a desperate bumbling cowhand botches up a bank robbery, is saved by his sensible friend, but then his friend is shot? Hmmm.

Setting and character were on equal footing at this point—couldn’t have one without the other. Why? Because the bank and its proximity to the other buildings in Silver City were firmly a part of the story. Besides, the sensible friend is Cole Richards and he has a ranch on Sinker Creek. The bumbling cowhand is Bosco Kunkle and he’s Cole’s best friend. Okay, so I moved geography around a little. Writers can do this.

As I contemplated that scenario, we stopped by Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Oreana. Even though I grew up not far from there, I never knew that the church was originally built as a general store by stonemasons John Pierson and Jim Kelly, the best stonemasons in the area. A store! It’s a good-sized rock building and was actually built later than my story is set, probably 1888, but is typical of the rock buildings constructed during the 1870s and 1880s. My book is set in 1885 so I felt comfortable using the building.

General Mercantile converted to
Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church
Oreana, Idaho

(To read more about the history of the church in Oreana, visit St. Paul's website.  The graphic above is from there.)

Aha! In my mind, I saw a vivacious young woman run down the steps, carrying a package. She has a purpose and no one can stop her. Her name is Daisy Gardner. The store is Gardner’s Mercantile, owned and operated by her father. An aside note—I’ve always thought Oreana was the prettiest name for a town, and so I envisioned a lively little town full of fun characters. It was the perfect place for Bosco to take Cole for medical care.

That little rock building behind the store-now-church?  It was originally a saloon—extremely small, with room for maybe three customers.  Short ones.  I was told that men came in to buy their drinks but usually went outside to socialize and play cards while imbibing.

And no, the real Oreana isn’t on the way to Sinker Creek from Silver City, so I moved it, too. Literary license, you know. Bustling? Hardly. (See Google Maps satellite photo above.  Yes, that's the whole town for real, and it never was any more populated.)

So let’s say the editor wanted this story set in Boston. First problem is law and order—Boston had some, but Owyhee County wasn’t nearly as “civilized.” (Many would contend that’s still true, but in my opinion it depends on your definition.) At least 50% of the events could never have happened in Boston or any metropolitan area. Worse, Cole would never have been accepted by the city fathers, and Daisy would’ve been ostracized by society for her behavior. This story simply can’t be moved.

The point of all this is to not underestimate the value of setting. When well written, setting emphasizes conflict and every aspect of a character’s decisions. Writers: how do you use setting to the best effect in your stories? Readers: how does setting influence your perception of the characters? Would Hondo be the same character if the story took place in New Orleans or Paris?

Free Book!!!

One commenter will win a free Kindle copy of Much Ado About Marshals. Drawing will be April 27 at 9pm Pacific Time. Please leave your email address in your comment. Thanks!

♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥ series

#1 Much Ado About Marshals 

#2 Much Ado About Madams

#3 Much Ado About Mavericks

#4 Much Ado About Miners

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