Another Blog-jacking from Shanna Hatfield

I'm on vacation with limited Internet access, so today I've stolen this blog.  :) (with permission of course.)

by Shanna Hatfield

The latest installment in my Pendleton Petticoats series releases this week. In the story, Millie Matlock is leading the local Women's Christian Temperance Union to drive the saloons out of town. Gideon McBride is a saloon owner who also happens to be the one man who turns Millie's head.

 The story is set in 1908, when the citizens of Pendleton, Oregon (along with the rest of the county) voted to go "dry" and bring prohibition to the area.

As I started digging into the research, I couldn't help but question why a town that boasted more than thirty saloons and nearly 18 bordellos would suddenly decide to go dry.

In truth, I never found the exact reason why prohibition became an issue. Although Pendleton had a population of 4,406 and was the fourth-largest city in Oregon in 1900, it  catered to the surrounding communities as an "entertainment hub." Cowboys, wheat harvesters, sheepherders, railroad workers, miners, and crews of men who descended on the town to work could find quite an assortment of places to drink, play cards and visit soiled doves.

In late spring of 1908, articles began popping up in the newspaper about the possibility of prohibition. A special voter’s edition of the Pendleton newspaper was published May 22, 1908. It urged voters to consider the financial impact prohibition would have on the town. 

According to the article, the city would lose more than $23,000 in liquor licenses alone if prohibition came to town. With rent, salaries, and other expenses, it was estimated the abolition of liquor business would leave a deficit of approximately $270,000 (around $6.6 million in today's economy). Not only would prohibition create a significant loss of income, it would leave thirty businesses empty and a few hundred people seeking a new means of support.

When ballots were cast in the June 1 election, prohibition passed in Umatilla County, but also in three neighboring counties as well.

The saloon owners had until June 30 to close their businesses. According to newspaper articles, the saloons went out of business without much fanfare on June 30, 1908 (several closing at midnight) and only one man was arrested that night.

A group of saloon owners did their best to have the vote declared illegal, citing an improper navigation of voting protocols. Other than running up attorney's fees, nothing came of their efforts.

Although Pendleton went "dry," twelve saloons were allowed to retain their liquor licenses and remain in business. The how and why those twelve were given special treatment is lost to history.

In years between then and the time when prohibition officially ended across the nation in 1933, many underground drinking rooms and escape tunnels popped up throughout Pendleton.

~*~

He watched as Millie sipped her hot chocolate. As soon as she lowered the cup from her mouth, he took it from her, placing his lips in the exact spot hers had been. While he tasted the rapidly cooling drink, he stared at her over the rim of the cup. His green eyes locked on hers as he handed the cup back to her. “That’s not bad, but I like a pinch of cinnamon and a dollop of whipped cream in mine.”

In a huff, she scowled at him. “I don’t recall offering to share my chocolate with you.”

“Oh, what’s one little sip between friends, Miss Matlock?” Gideon laid on his charm, smiling in such a way it did great justice to the dimples in his cheeks. Ever so slightly, he bent closer to her and lowered his voice. “Any time you like, I’d be more than happy to make you libations far more tempting than you could imagine.”

The timbre in his voice as he said “libations” nearly made Millie drop the cup in her hand. Not completely certain they were talking about beverages, her heart skittered in her chest.

Unsettled, her gaze shot to his, yet he continued to smile in an amiable, almost boyish manner, appearing innocent of any indecent implications.

Millie - Pendleton Petticoats Book 7

~*~

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, USA Today best-selling author Shanna Hatfield is out to make it happen, one story at a time. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances combine humor and heart-pumping moments with relatable characters. When this hopeless romantic isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Find Shanna’s books at:

 Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple

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Welcome Peggy L. Henderson to Dishin' It Out - Orphan Trains

My recent book release, In His Arms (Book 3 in the Blemished Brides Series) deals with a young woman who is not only facing a physical handicap, but she was also a rider of the orphan train.  

There is so much history to be found with the Orphan Train movement, which gave me the creative freedom to come up with my own circumstances for my characters. 

The number of orphans or children of poor and destitute families continued to climb from early colonial days well into the nineteenth century. Private charities were established to care for these children, and the New York Orphan Asylum Society was one of the first private children’s charity, formed in 1806. It required that children be placed as soon as they received basic education. 

By 1854, the first annual report by the Children’s Aid Society reported that there were at least 10,000 vagrant children in New York. Publicly funded programs failed to adequately deal with these orphans, which gave rise to over 100 private charities between 1850 and 1860. Many of these charities placed these children into indentured servitude for boys by the age of 12 and girls by the age of 14. Due to the lack of jobs in the eastern states, charities began sending the children to rural areas in the west where child labor was needed. This soon became known as the Orphan Train Movement, a phrase first used in 1854.

These children could be placed anywhere, with no geographical restrictions. The participating charities would ask the families who received the children to sign an agreement that the child would be accepted into the family, but there was generally very little enforcement or oversight. 

Committees were formed in towns where the orphan trains would stop, and advertisements would be placed in local newspapers announcing the children. Prospective families could specify what child they were looking for ahead of time.  

The children were usually placed into two groups - those who were selected for adoption and those who were not. Selected children went home with their families. The others got back on the train and rode to the next stop. Siblings were often separated from each other and, in many cases, never saw each other again.  

The orphan train movement ended in 1929, partly due to labor no longer being needed in the west, and railroad expansion in the US was finished and most railroads no longer subsidized the charities for moving the children.

Excerpt from In His Arms:

“You didn’t tell me what happened to your leg.”

Grace glanced down, his words taking her off guard. She shook her head slightly. 

“It’s an old injury,” she stammered. “A wagon wheel ran over my leg when I was younger. It was never set properly.”

The corners of Levi’s eyes twitched as they narrowed. He looked unsure, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to say any more than was necessary. 

When he finally spoke, it was a low grumble. “I rode the orphan train, too.” 

Grace’s eyes widened, and she stared up at him. The cold air around her vanished. Their eyes connected and held, as if some invisible string suddenly wound itself around them, and neither could look away. She shared a connection with this man through the orphan train? 

“How’d you and your sister end up in Montana Territory?”

He asked his question before she could open her mouth to find out how he’d ended up in a remote cabin in the mountains. Grace swallowed back the constricting feeling in her throat. How much should she tell him? Not that it mattered. She and Rose were two of so many who had faced a similar plight. 

“I only have vague memories of my life on the streets of New York,” she began. “My family was too poor to properly care for me and Rose. To bring home food, I was sent to beg in the streets.” She sniffed, and wiped the back of her hand under her cold nose, and laughed scornfully. “When a vegetable vendor accidentally ran over my leg with his cart, my father had thought it a lucky turn of events. He said that folks would take pity on me, and give me more money.”

“He never took you to get your leg set by a doctor?” A spark of anger blazed in Levi’s eyes. 

Grace laughed again. “He would rather spend any money we received on liquor than getting me seen by a doctor.” She sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, letting the mist swirl around her face. 

“My mother died in childbirth, along with my baby brother when I was about ten. Soon after, Pa left one morning and never came back. I took care of Rose on my own, until an Alms House picked us up. Years later, we were put on a train and sent out west.” She shrugged to hide her pain, and gazed off into the distance as old memories resurfaced. 

How would her life have turned out if she’d stayed in New York? Her hope for a future there had been just as bleak as it had been on the journey west. No one wanted a cripple. No one, until Harlan Randall took a look at her during one of the adoption stops. Why her sister kept getting passed over time and again remained a mystery, but then again, many of the orphans rode the train for years, with no hope of finding a family willing to take them in. 

Peggy L Henderson

Western Historical and Time Travel Romance

“Where Adventure Awaits and Love is Timeless”

Author of:

Yellowstone Romance Series

Teton Romance Trilogy

Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series

Blemished Brides Western Historical Romance Series

                

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Editing and More Editing - Guest - Paula Martin

I borrowed this blog through the graciousness of Paula Martin who authored it.  I thought it very valuable for those who want to get their manuscript as ready as it can be.  This is a great way to surprise your editor, if you have one.  Thanks to Paula Martin for great advice.  You can follow her progress on her website. 

Author, Paula Martin

I’m about half way through revising and editing ‘Irish Inheritance’. Each chapter is taking me about 8 or 9 hours to get through – almost as long as writing the chapter in the first place! With 27 chapters (averaging about 3,500 words each), that’s a lot of hours!

I tend to do some basic editing as I write the first draft, but once the whole story is written, here’s my usual process with each chapter:

1. Read through the chapter, and adjust the elements of the story where necessary – add, delete, amend etc, and check for repeated/unnecessary explanations, and also for continuity. This can also involve going back to earlier chapters to check, add, or delete there too, or making a note to remind myself for later chapters.

2. Go through again, and fine-tune words and phrasing. A thesaurus can come in useful here to find the exact word I want, instead of being content with a word or phrase that now seems inadequate. I also try to spot very basic errors e.g.in my current chapter, I found I’d written ‘small pinpricks of excitement’ and thought, ‘Hmm, pinpricks ARE small’ so I deleted the unnecessary word.

3. Use the ‘find’ facility on Word to find and change the words I know I tend to overuse. Yes, we all have them! Only, really, just, then, so, maybe, look, ‘ly’words – my list seems to be getting longer, not shorter.

4. Put the chapter through Autocrit Wizard (yes, you knew I’d mention that again, didn’t you?) – and groan at the overused or repeated words and phrases I missed. This is probably the longest part of the whole process, as Autocrit highlights other errors, or at least areas that can be improved. For example, in my latest chapter, the heroine nodded so much, it’s a wonder her head didn’t fall off. It can take me a long time to sort out the style problems and find some way to rephrase them.

5. Once I’ve been through all the different categories on Autocrit, I read the chapter out loud. This helps me to spot any typos, missed words or missed punctuation. It also tells me if the ‘flow’ of my writing sounds right, or if I need to adjust any phrasing, or use pronouns instead of names (and vice versa).

6. When I think the chapter is ‘perfect’ (ha!), I put it through Autocrit again, preen myself at losing the errors, and then cringe at the final ‘combination report’ which can still highlight the things I’ve missed! How did I miss the word ‘about’ three times in one paragraph?

7. Having done all this, I send the chapter to my two critique partners. And yes, they come up with queries and suggestions, so I open up the chapter again, and take their advice on board.

8. Once I’ve gone through this process with every chapter, I put them all together, and do a ‘Find’ on the whole document for those repeat words and phrases. Even though there may only be one in each chapter, a reader will notice if the same phrase keeps appearing chapter after chapter. I know this from my own reading.

9. I then read through the story backwards, page by page. This takes you away from the story line, and makes you concentrate on the words, sentences, paragraphs, and on any punctuation errors too.

10. Last but not least, I put the story away for about a week, do something else, and then come back to it, and read it through from start to finish. And yes, I can still find something I want to tweak!

Guest Post: Meredith Holmes of Drollerie Press

Some of y’all may remember me—Meredith Holmes, author of Unseelie and short stories such as Widow’s Walk and Saturday Night. And that came off as more “Hi, I’m Troy McClure!” than I intended… Ginger Simpson has been wonderful enough to host me today on her blog and this just thrills me to my toes. Today’s my birthday and talking about writing and actually writing are two of my favorite ways to celebrate! I write primarily romance/urban fantasy. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I even knew there was such a thing as urban fantasy, much less that I wrote it myself!

Urban fantasy is the subgenre (or maybe it’s own genre?) of fantasy literature which is set in contemporary times or settings. Unseelie, if I may use my own book for an example, is urban fantasy because the main (human) character lives and works in the “modern” world. Although most of the action takes place in the realm of the Sidhe, the time and era is our century. I never intended to jump into the genre of urban fantasy—I tried writing high fantasy and alternate realities, working on creating entire worlds… Well, it didn’t work. I kept slipping in modernisms, making the characters have too many touchstones in modern culture. Finally, I just took a deep breath and let it go, wrote what I imagined instead of trying to force it into a high fantasy mold. Saturday Night stopped being an Anne Rice wanna-be and became a short story about two creatures of the night just trying to get by in evening London. Unseelie stopped sounding like a really bad Tolkein knock-off and developed it’s own voice.

Romance is another odd category, at least for me. Growing up, I read a lot of the really cheesy “rape romance” sort of stories. The kind you find tucked behind grandma’s couch cushions or hidden in college dorms, the 200 page or less stories with big, blown-out, Knot’s Landing hair, super-aggressive alpha-males and meek, ultra-submissive women with “fine-textured skin” who were always models. As I got older, I found better books, better writers—Eloisa James and Laura Kinsale spring immediately to mind. Romance lost some of it’s stigma as a genre; it became less an object of derision and more of a nonchalant “Oh, this? I’m just reading this great novel with complex characters and an intriguing plotline… Nothing rapey or bodice ripping here at all!” (Though, to be fair, I do like me some ripped bodices now and then—just with better writing than used to be prolific in the genre.) It became only natural for me to combine my love of romance with my budding urban fantasy writing and fall in love with the offspring of the wonderful union.

That brings me to this: It’s been almost a year since Unseelie came out, a bit less than that since Widow’s Walk was published as a short story. I’m working on a new series, the Personal Demon trilogy, which combines not only the urban fantasy and the romance genres but some new elements as well—characters embracing non-traditional sexualities and proclivities, self-rescuing princesses, and a good dose of sympathy for the devil. Writing is a journey—I know how trite that can sound, but it really is. If you’re afraid to take the first step into unknown territory, you end up stuck in place. I think about that often as I sit here every day and work on the next novel I’m hoping to submit (after computer problems and this whole thrill ride called pregnancy—I’m finally not sick all the time and I’m in a very hyperactive place so let’s hope that lasts one more trimester!); if I had let my wariness of romance take root, or my insistence that fantasy must be high fantasy, then nothing I’ve written would ever have gotten published. I wouldn’t be sitting here now, this blog post open but the first of the Demon novels hovering just beneath it, begging me to write more, to finish the story and send it to Deena at Drollerie Press and cross my fingers. Today’s my birthday and there is no better way for me to celebrate (well, alone, anyway!) than with writing, and letting these little creations grow.

Meredith Holmes

www.meredithholmes.com

Who Needs Spring When You Have The Vampire Family?

I'm sure some of naughty little fiends (!) are familiar with Eternal Press and my novel with them, The Vampire Family. We came out last year in ebook formats and last month, we became available in paperback! Hip, Hip! So, I'll just get right to the good stuff. I know that's what you want. Horror, dark fantasy, historical, urban, paranormal, romance, these greedy little vampires do it all!

Here's Our blurb from our Eternal Press Page:

Sadistic? Check. Domination? Check. Happiness? Not for all.

Antonio Welshire accepts the mysterious Mestiphles' offer for vampiric power, but fails to consider that not all in his family desires evil. Daughter Victoria revels in the debauchery, but eldest daughter Samantha loathes the darkness. Enemies are in no short supply when the family turns to darkness. Charismatic rebel Gaston turns up to rival for Antonio's power; the vampire lover Jean can destroy them once and for all, and henchwoman Lilith seeks to supplant Antonio as Mestiphles' favorite. Who will be declared the victor? And in the end, though they've survived coven wars and persecutions since the 12th century, can The Vampire Family survive each other? Killing his abusive parents isn't enough for Antonio Welshire. Rape and death follow him through his youth in the 12th Century-until a stranger named Mestiphles give Antonio unimaginable vampire powers. Fearful yet captivated by his allure, Antonio's adopted sisters Ann and Elizabeth share this gift with him and their children-Victoria, James, Samantha, and Stephen. Antonio is a cruel ruler , and after his defeat of the young rebel Gaston, Antonio struggles with Lilith-another magical pet also created by Mestiphles. Antonio's vampire family grows over the centuries, each vampire loving and losing vampire fledglings over time. Wars, persecutions come adn go, but the family's troubles always stem from within. Elizabeth may be his wife, but Ann supplants her as Antonio's mistress. By the 20th century, Elizabeth has found love again-unfortunately her fledgling Jean share's Samantha's disdain for the vampire life. Will The Vampire Family self destruct before the 21st Century?

We're also available at Fictionwise/Barnes and Noble-at a discount if you're a member!


The Vampire Family is meant to be a parallel examination into the high and lows, loves and losses, darkness and light of one twisted group of immortals through the centuries. Here's a more detailed breakdown of our storylines and characters. For more infor, you can check out my official website For Flying Servants Only.......

Book 1: Conflict

Antonio Welshire’s downfall begins as a young man in the British Isles almost 1,000 years ago. Caught between abuse and poverty, Antonio's ambition leads him to power, and a unique stranger named Mestiphles. Antonio's tyranny, however, is contested by Gaston-Antonio’s shrewd and charismatic young rival. Will Antonio be victorious against the unruly Gaston and gain Mestiphles’ favor? Or will the battle destroy Antonio and his family?

Book 2: Pinnacle

Elizabeth’s new fledgling Jean romances the weary Samantha, and the lovers plan to upset the already shaky 1,000 years of Antonio’s reign. Mestiphles wants The Masquerade-an annual party held by Antonio to attract unsuspecting guests-to go off smoothly, but Ann and Elizabeth’s escalating tensions also threatened to destroy the family's decadent lifestyle. Will Samantha finally be free of her father's rule? Can Antonio keep his vampire coven on top or will Mestiphles take it all away?


Book 3: Hunted

Victoria returns to upset Samantha’s not so perfect life. The remaining Welshire vampires must form an uneasy alliance to defeat Lilith, an avenger sent by Mestiphles to finish the dysfunctioning Welshire coven once and for all. Lilith failed Mestiphles in the past and is determined to hunt down the fallen coven one by one to impress him. Will the Welshires prevail? Can Lilith complete Mestiphles’ plans and destroy the Welshires? Which coven will gain Mestiphles’ favor?


Now, now, you probably want an excerpt for those juicy little appetites! I've got a short one ready here-I can't hog up all of Ginger's Space, now, can I? ;0) For a lengthy dash of free samples, Check our our Vampfam Blog.

http://vampfam.blogspot.com

You can also read more about The Vampire Family and keep up to date with our appearances by subscribing to our blog or friending and following us. If you prefer groups, you can come on over and hang out at the Kristin Battestella Yahoo Group. We're due for a Summer contest in a few months!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kristinbattestella/

And of course, you can get all the latest information about our paperback edition by visiting our page on Amazon. The look inside feature is now available!


Alright so here's the naughty little excerpt!



“Catherine?” Antonio’s shadowy figure stood at her door. The tiny flame shortened in a clump of wax as the maid looked up.
“Yes, sir?” She set down her quill. “You sound different, sir. Are you ill?”
“Yes.” He stepped toward her. “I need your help.”
The dim light shined in his face. He couldn’t see. His eyes felt bloodshot, and his hands seemed pale as the candle flickered. He put his hands on Catherine’s arms. She felt warm to his cold touch. Sharp teeth cut the inside of his lips.
Antonio’s voice trembled. His hands shook. “I need your help.”
“Of course, sir.” She put her arms on his, but Antonio shook and felt the muscles of his forearm clench. “What can I do? Here, sit down.”
His arms came around her waist. Antonio heard her blood rush and saw her face flush. He put his head down on her chest. She trembled, but held Antonio’s head.
“Such overwhelming!” He spoke more to himself than Catherine. His words and hot breath were muffled against her. “Now I know what Mestiphles meant. I know what to do. I need to do it. I have to have it!”
“I’ll get some water.” Catherine was about to get up, but Antonio clenched his hands tighter around her.
“No,” he said hoarsely. His nails dug into her sides, and she winced. Antonio relaxed his grip, and she allowed his hands to roam. He unlaced her dressing gown. His hands stopped shaking, and bewitched, Catherine gave him total control. He pulled the loosened gown off her shoulders and swept Catherine to her feet in one swift motion. Yes, he knew she was captivated and paralyzed. He could be so frightening, yet masculine and desirable. Antonio put his head to her neck and bit the pumping jugular.
She flinched, but her blood flowed into Antonio’s mouth. The short life drain was ecstatic, but soon grew empty. Her life was now in him.
Antonio let Catherine’s limp body fall to the bed. He had her, and now he wanted more.


Bless Ginger's little heart for having us today! You can catch me, Ginger, and the rest of the Eternal Press Gang next when we hang out with the Talking Two Lips Group Saturday April 18. I'll also be chatting live 9 p.m. Tuesday April 21 at Coffee Time Romance. If you've got a few moments that night, stop on by!

Previously, I've taken The Vampire Family out for some live fun with Fallen Angels Reviews and Night Owl Romance. We've had several reviews and interviews as well, most recently with Raine Delight's Spotlight:

http://authorrainedelight.com/2009/03/author-blog-spotlight-is-on-kristin-battestella/

http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/Interviews/2007/Nov07-LindaL-KristinBattestella.htm

http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/interviews/kristinbattestella.asp

http://redrosesforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/10/interview-with-kristin-battestella.html

http://eternalpressauthors.blogspot.com/2008/05/interview-with-kristin-battestella.html

Whew! There's plently more Vampy press at my home page, jsnouff.com/kristin. You can read up on severl of my horror short stories as well or taste a bit of my non fiction and reviews at I Think, Therefore I Review.

Up next writing wise is a horror short story I've been going back and forth on called The Haberdasher. Samples of this and other short stories are available at Yahoo Group. I've also done some editing work on my pal Leigh Wood's sf erotica On The Way To New Isosceles, which I am happy to say was recently contracted with Eternal Press! For seriously naughty samples of that one, check out Leigh's blog:

http://leighwood.blogspot.com

On a final note, I have to mention that one of the first questions I'm always asked is, "Is there a sequel to The Vampire Family?" My answer? Maybe...

Getting What You Want

My creator is feeling a little uninspired today, so I’m going to jump in here for her and talk to you today. Frankly, I think she’s off somewhere swilling coffee and dreaming of her book hitting the best sellers’ list. That woman can sure down the coffee, let me tell you. I guess she needs it so she can keep pace with me. I must admit I don’t make it easy for her. Who am I? Well, I didn’t think I needed an introduction, but I’ll humor you just the same. My name is Dante. Ah, you’ve heard of me before, have you? I see my creator has done a good job of introducing me to you. Well, let’s begin, shall we?

I’ve been walking among your kind for many years, but don’t worry. I’m not going to bore you with the details of my existence. I’m here to talk about you. I only mention my longevity to underscore the wealth of my experience with your kind. I have observed you for a lifetime, taken stock of your mannerisms and characteristics, your dreams and desires, and the one thread that links you from generation to generation is your insatiable need to get what you want. Some of you have altruistic motives, some of you do not, some of you will succeed, others will not, but the drive to achieve is just as strong in one as it is in the other. It’s all rather amusing to watch, if you ask me. The way you push yourselves, motivate yourselves, will yourselves to the attainment of your dreams is all rather admirable. But what happens when you get there? What happens when you get what you want?

I often wonder as I watch you if you ever take that into consideration. So much of your energy is focused upon the journey from idea to achievement, the stops along the way, the roadblocks that you must circumvent before you arrive at your final destination. But do you think beyond that? What happens when you arrive there? Are you happy with the accommodations, or let down because they’re not what you expected?

Sometimes the best part of the journey is the trip itself, the people you meet along the way, the unexpected roadblocks that prolong the process. And before I start to wax poetic like my good friend Peter, I will leave it at that. Enjoy the trip as much as the destination and you are bound to lessen your disappointment. And remember, those roadblocks are checkpoints for you to reassess your goals and to ask yourself if this is really what you want, to test your commitment. They’re not there to stop you from achieving your goals. But then, you knew that, didn’t you?

So what are you waiting for? Go out and get what you want.


Written by Dante (with help from Margay Leah Justice), check out my debut in the book, Nora's Soul on Amazon.com and come back for more at http://margayleahjustice.com. You didn't think one book would be enough for me, did you?