Welcome to the Cowboys of Little Horn

They’re here! The cowboys of 1895 Little Horn, Texas, have begun arriving. Renee Ryan’s Stand-In Rancher Daddy (July) introduced readers to 19^th century Little Horn, a small town made up of ranchers with big hearts, and now Louise M. Gouge’s A Family for the Rancher takes it one step farther, showing life on a cattle ranch and one dedicated to breeding cattle ponies.

Rancher Edmund McKay likes his life simple and quiet—everything feisty neighbor Lula May Barlow is not! But with a cattle rustler on the loose, he’s duty-bound to protect the widowed mother, even without her approval. Yet he never expected to enjoy her company. And he certainly never thought her crowded, bustling house would be the first place he’d ever feel at home…

After a harsh childhood, Lula May knows how to stand on her own two feet. She doesn’t need Edmund’s help—but she’s starting to want it, all the same. So are her children, who clearly have matchmaking in mind. And when a threat from the past resurfaces, she realizes all that’s at stake…including her chance for a lifetime of love.

 

If you just can’t wait to learn more about Little Horn, A Rancher of Convenience, this year’s finale by yours truly, from the publisher now in print and ebook or preorder it on Amazon. And we’ll be sure to whoop it up when the book comes out officially in early September.

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Because what are cowboys without a hoedown?

Those Crafty Coopers

Most of my earlier stories are set in Regency England, but, the last few years, I have enjoyed writing about other portions of the 19^th century, both in location and time. When I first read Renee Ryan’s Stand-In Rancher Daddy, the first in the Lone Star Cowboy League: The Founding Series set of stories (out now), I was intrigued to see her place two businesses along Main Street that I wouldn’t have thought to include in my book, A Rancher of Convenience, which finishes the set in September. What were these businesses?

Coopers.

I’d heard the term, but I had to do research (yes, any excuse to do research J) on what they actually did and why they would be so sorely needed in a Wild West town.

Coopers make barrels, casks, tubs, hogsheads, and other things that carry liquids and dry goods safely over great distances or store them for long time periods. They can also make wooden pails and tubs for daily use in households. They cut, dress, and curl staves of the correct size for whatever application, arrange them in a circle, then drive wooden (perhaps hazel or ash) or iron rings over the ends to form the correct shape, including adding a bottom and top as needed. They can also drill holes to add a spigot or to hook in a metal handle.

The cooper’s barrels, in particular, were highly important crossing the ocean. According to the Book of English Trades, barrels full of coarse wool or hats were sent from England to the West Indies and returned full of rum or sugar. The records at Fort Nisqually in Washington Territory indicate that barrels of molasses were used to cushion panes of glass sent from England to the Pacific Coast for windows. The worker charged with cleaning the glass when it arrived got a bonus—he could keep the molasses he scraped off!

I could see why coopers would be needed in Little Horn, Texas, in 1896. Ranchers would need barrels to hold supplies being taken on cattle drives. Farmers would need barrels to store goods or transport them to market farther East. Then there are the pails and tubs needed to hold water for various purposes on the frontier.

Today the cooper’s work is in high demand in the wine industry. As wine is now a key export of Washington State, there might end up being two such businesses in some of our towns as well.

Who knew?

Longing for Little Horn

I’ve been privileged to write about some wonderful settings. England’s Lakes District in the late Georgian era. Regency London. Pioneer Seattle. And now, Little Horn, Texas.

 

Never heard of it? I’m not surprised. Little Horn, Texas, is the brainchild of the amazing editors at Love Inspired. They conceived of a small town populated by big-hearted ranchers. Six books came out in late 2015 and early 2016 about the town today. And, starting in July, Renee Ryan, Louise M. Gouge, and I have the honor of taking readers back to the founding years.

You see, these books are what my publisher calls a continuity. That is, the location, characters, and overall story arc crosses three or more books and are developed by the editors. They create a “bible” describing places and people and the overall plots, then hand it to the authors to flesh things out and make the stories come alive. Renee, Louise, and I worked closely together to make sure we were describing things in similar ways, from the way characters talked to the sound of the wheezy organ in the church. We also hammered out plot points and the transitions between books. In addition, because our heroines all turned out to be good cooks, we came up with a cookbook of recipes for the time period (Lone Star Cowboy League: The Cookbook :-)). It will come out in September with extended excerpts from our three books.

I undertook the endeavor as a challenge, and there were times it was just that. From the beginning of my career, I tended to interconnect my books, often on the fly. Now I had to not only keep track of the details in my story but the details in everyone else’s story as well. My stories often evolve as I write them, with characters becoming more defined with each draft. Now I had to be very purposeful. For example, I couldn’t suddenly decide to give my hero a mustache without letting the other authors know so they could give him one as well! (No worries—no mustache. J)

I fussed enough about getting plot and characterization consistent among the books and historically accurate that I told my husband and critique partner I never wanted to write another continuity again!

And then my editor asked if I would revisit Little Horn for the 2017 continuity set there. Once more I’d get to end a great set of stories, this time featuring orphaned triplets.

How do you say no to cowboys AND triplets?

So, I am happy to announce that I will be writing another cowboy story set in Little Horn to be published in mid-2017.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll give some of the Little Horn stories a try. They are all part of the series called Lone Star Cowboy League. Here’s the list and publication dates so far:

• A Reunion for the Rancher, Brenda Minton, October 2015 (contemporary romance)
• A Doctor for the Nanny, Leigh Bale, November 2015 (contemporary romance)
• A Ranger for the Holidays, Allie Pleiter, December 2015 (contemporary romance)
• A Family for the Soldier, Carolyne Aarsen, January 2016 (contemporary romance)
• A Daddy for Her Triplets, Deb Kastner, February 2016 (contemporary romance)
• A Baby for the Rancher, Margaret Daley, March 2016 (contemporary romance)
• Stand-In Rancher Daddy, Renee Ryan, July 2016 (historical romance)
• A Family for the Rancher, Louise M. Gouge, August 2016 (historical romance)
• A Rancher of Convenience, Regina Scott, September 2016 (historical romance).

A new set of contemporary romances starts in October titled, Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch. Guess I’ll be moseying back to Little Horn come fall. J

Live from RWA National 2015, Part 2

Oh, yes? My turn to blog, you say? But I'm having so much fun!

Thursday saw the start of the workshops for the conference, and Marissa and I eagerly soaked up information on the industry, from better ways to blog (I'm obviously still working on that) to understanding market trends. But a highlight of the day was a very refined tea with a marvelous group of librarians, publicists, and authors (thank you so much, John! You are my hero!). We talked about literature, our lives, the influence our teachers had on us, and the way odd things can point us to our true calling.

That evening, Marissa invited me to attend a networking party for published authors. I walked into the room, and there was a spunky little lady, talking with great charm and animation. That should have been enough to win me over, but I took one look at her nametag and nearly swooned.

Deeanne Gist is one of the shining lights of historical romance. The self-styled "bad girl" of the inspirational subgenre, she pushes the boundaries and expands the market for all who dare to follow behind. She spent the evening with me and Marissa (and a host of other folks who were drawn to her warm laugh and clever wit), and we talked about favorite books, our families, and the messages we send our readers (obviously still working on that one too!).

Many publishers host their own signings at the conference, giving away thousands of copies of free books to attendees. I was one of the Love Inspired authors signing this year on Friday morning, along with award-winning author Renee Ryan, who somehow writes great Westerns, serves on the Romance Writers of America board, and still looks like a movie star every time I see her.

Ever since I started writing for Love Inspired, I look forward to Friday nights at conference, because that's when my publisher throws a party for all its authors. This year the Black and White Ball was held at the Waldorf-Astoria and featured black-and-white decore and even food! I joined nearly 200 of my sister authors on the dance floor, celebrating another year in the greatest profession on earth.

But you know what? I wouldn't have met Marissa, come to New York, or had a wonderful career so far without you reading my books. So, thank you. It's been a blast, and I know the best is yet to come.