Coming in December - The Sparrow

The Grand Canyon

By

Kristy McCaffrey

Grand Canyon National Park is known for its overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape. Over time, the elements have scoured and carved the dramatically splendid Grand Canyon, known as one of the world’s seven natural wonders. The distance from the South Rim to the North Rim varies from half a mile to eighteen miles, and the canyon has a maximum depth of 6,000 feet. This great range in elevation allows for a variety of climate, flora, and fauna; of the seven life zones on the North American continent, four can be experienced within Grand Canyon.

The first documented expedition of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon was accomplished by Major John Wesley Powell in 1869. Powell, a Civil War veteran with only one arm, and nine companions became the first men to journey 1,000 miles on the river, part of it through Grand Canyon. They braved rapids, heat, plummeting morale, and the loss of three men. Powell’s account of this expedition, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, made him a national hero as well as brought the canyon to the attention of the country. The Paiutes called the plateau that the canyon cuts through ”Kaibab” or “Mountain Lying Down,” but it was Powell who first consistently used and published the name “Grand Canyon” in the 1870’s.

The Colorado River, meaning “red” in Spanish, was named in 1776 by a Spanish missionary, Padre Francisco Tomás Garcés.  It was a description of the brown, muddy river at the time. However, since the construction of Glen Canyon Dam in 1964 the river is now clear, clean, and cold.

The river begins as a tiny stream in Rocky Mountain National Park, eventually flowing into Lake Powell, formed by the Glen Canyon Dam. Below the dam it begins its journey through Marble Canyon by joining with the Paria River. At the confluence of the Little Colorado River does the Colorado finally enter Grand Canyon National Park, flowing 217 miles until it reaches Lake Mead Recreation Area.

One of the most colorful characters in Grand Canyon history was Captain John Hance. Born in 1840, he served in both the Confederate and Union armies and is thought to be the first non-Native American resident of the Grand Canyon. Arriving in 1883 he first attempted mining asbestos, but failed due to the expense of removing it from the canyon. He soon started giving tours, opening the first tourist trail in the Canyon in the late nineteenth century. He’s credited with carving a number of trails which often followed old American Indian paths.

John Hance loved the canyon and remained until his death in 1919. In his memory there’s a Hance Trail, Hance Creek, Hance Canyon, Hance Spring, Hance Mine, Hance Rapid, and a Hance’s Cove. He was famous throughout Arizona for his tall tales. In one, he stated that the Colorado River got so muddy that the only way to quench his thirst was to cut a piece of water off and chew it.

Kristy McCaffrey’s newest book, THE SPARROW, will be released in December 2011. Join Emma Hart as she guides a wooden dory on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon in 1877, accompanied by Texas Ranger Nathan Blackmore. Visit Kristy’s website at www.kristymccaffrey.com for more inf

Interesting Question About the Old West

Are Western Heroes Always The Sheriff?

 (Question from Jannine Corti Petska)

            The field of occupations in the 19^th century American West was wide open, yet heroes in historical romance books are either a sheriff, a marshal, a cowboy, a desperado (with heart), or a gambler. But what about other jobs that shaped the West?

            I’ve been reading historical western romances for over 30 years. There were heroes of all kinds, but my favorite was (and still is) the ex-gunslinger. What exactly is a gunslinger, you ask? He can be for hire, seemingly on the wrong side of the law. In today’s terms, he’d have been a bad ass. Or he can shoot-‘em-up to survive the evil men chasing after him. He’s either made a mistake or was falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Beneath his dark past lurks a good guy, even though he was a hardened man who was a crack shot with a rifle or gun. The kind of man you’d love to see transformed by the end of the book all because of a determined yet caring heroine.

Below are a few occupations that aren’t new to the western romance genre, but neither are they the norm. A writer’s imagination can romanticize about the hero who is a trapper or miner. Sure, the sheriff hero seems stronger, more appealing, the upstanding citizen, but I’m willing to read a romance with any hero who has a job outside the norm. It’s all about the author’s vision.  

Mountain Men, Trappers, Fur Traders: Who wouldn’t want to see a tall, solidly muscled hero in buckskins? These men lived off nature and usually preferred making their home in the mountains. They mingled with the Indians, traded, and sold their goods to anyone with money. But the life these men led was lonely and dangerous. Accidents and illness killed many, especially those high up in the mountains who had no way of getting help.

The Hawken rifle was their constant companion. They owned metal traps large and small, bearskin gloves, sharp knives for scraping hides, utility knives, ash-frame snowshoes, and so much more, all of it practical and useful. In reality, trappers, et. al, were filthy with little regard to personal hygiene. Of course, in a romance novel, this hero—while attractively grubby—prefers to be clean, or as clean as possible.  

            Now take a heroine, add a trapper in trouble—maybe she stumbled upon him injured—and throw in a believable conflict. A romance writer’s imagination can run with just that bit of an idea. At least, that’s all it takes for me to realize there’s story material in there waiting to jump onto the pages.

            Miners: The hero needs money. He pans for gold. But is he the miner? Of course not! I have a story simmering on the back burner with a heroine who is a miner. This is the American West, so that’s not an impossibility. Women back then were made sturdy and had a strong constitution. What if your hero and heroine are both miners? What if they stake a claim on the exact same spot?

            Wherever gold was found, towns shot up almost overnight. Of course, when the gold was depleted, a town disappeared rather quickly. Is there something in this new town that has drawn your hero or heroine? Again, are they after the same thing? When these “gold” towns sprang up, laws were set by vigilante miners’ courts. They didn’t mess around. Justice came swift. A-ha! Is your miner hero about to be hanged?

            With a little research (the era of the internet is a God-send to writers; but always double-check your facts), a writer can find an occupation seldom written about for her hero. Or heroine. You’ll make your readers happy because you’ll give them a refreshing look at the Old West. I don’t recall reading any westerns with a hero who was a doctor or lawyer. I tend to go after the rough and ready guy with a stubbly chin and jaw (a perennial 5:00 shadow). You never know who might pick up your book to read. You could be responsible for turning a reader, who never cared for the American West, on to historical western romances. Whatever the case, let your imagination spread as far and wide as the West. You’d be surprised by what you’ll find.

Writers, what are some of the different types of jobs you’ve given your hero. Readers, what jobs for a hero would you like to see? (Jump in with thoughts about jobs for heroines, too!)

Now that your mind is thinking about westerns...how about checking out Rebel Heart:

Blurb

When the woman he's sworn to protect finds herself in the middle of a range war,
Beau Hamilton fights against losing his heart while defending Courtney Danning against the unscrupulous man fixing to run her out of town.

But when their passion turns as hot as the Santa Fe sun, will their love in the untamed West prevail? Or will Beau's dark past tear them apart?

Buy links

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rebel-heart-jannine-corti-petska/1100069789?ean=9780974624983&itm=1&usri=rebel%2bheart

http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-Heart-ebook/dp/B001C4O6X0/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315181643&sr=1-2

Welcome Annette Snyder, Mega Western Author

I was talking to a friend one day having one of those conversations that started with, “Did you try that recipe for pizza?” and ended with, “That would make a great story.” 

I was recalling a day with my great grandfather. In his nineties when I was five or six, he had Alzheimer’s but to me he was just as normal as anyone else.  He sat on the swing in his front yard one spring day in his dirty grey bowler hat, jacket zipped up to the collar.  His beautiful whistle echoed across the yard.  

That morning I was drawn to my great grandparent’s house next door and I asked Doda to teach me how to whistle.  

A glimmer of recognition came to his face.  In broken English, he said, “Nunda, make your mouth like this and blow.” 

I did but only a weird howl came out.  I was born with a birth defect that stole any chance of whistling away but still, Doda tried. 

As suddenly as the swing moved backward, his memory slipped away. 

That was the  story I recounted to my friend followed by a tale of Doda’s migration to the United States as man in his late twenties. Bringing along a fifteen year old bride, arranged in marriage by her parents, Doda and Babbie used all their money to purchase one way ships passage to America. 

More than sixty years later, children, grand children and great grandchildren that included me, Doda lived a full life and seemed content to sit on that swing under the big elm tree in the front yard of his one bedroom house that sat on the lot next to ours and, in his lucid moments, he told stories to me. 

And I paid attention because, even when I was young, something inside said those stories were important.  I knew I had to remember the excitement in Doda’s voice as he spoke of his first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.  I knew how lucky I was to be born into a family where my great grandparents were alive to tell me stories that seemed so foreign and unimaginable.  My great grandparents were like living storybooks, as old as their tales and as wise as their words portrayed. 

The day during the conversation with my friend, she added the story of her family.  Ancestors she didn’t know migrated to the new land.  From which country, she had no clue, but she knew of the baby they found on the edge of a river.  His parents killed by people they supposed were Indians, the baby left to die in his massacred mother’s arms.  By the prodding of what I can only guess was Gods lead, the infant survived and, when he was old enough, he married their daughter and took the family name. 

Covered wagons, harsh winters, disease, struggle, love, commitment and the will to make a better life was the goal of the immigrants and I combined all that I was lucky enough to hear as a child to write my historical romance Travis Pass Series. 

I presented my friend with the first chapter of Travis Pass and she read every page right then.  With tears in her eyes she said, “This is amazing.  You should try and get it published.” 

So I did.  For her, and Doda--and my own children who grew up with their own trove of stories told by my grandmothers, their great grandmothers, who lived into their nineties. Many times my children sat listening to bohemian accents flavoring each sentence, wrinkled hands gracing the air as if movement could open a curtain to the past. 

And maybe someday, my great grandchildren will ask about my life which, as the past makes way for the future, may seem so strange to them that something will draw them to take notice.  Perhaps they’ll be inspired as I was.

Visit my website and read the essay I wrote about Doda’s whistle and learn about the rest of my work.  http://annettesnyder.atspace.com  or my unique blog which includes writing talent and promoters -Fifty Authors from Fifty States http://annettesnyder.blogspot.com