February...A Time to Garden?

Awww... it's February, and spring is in the air, as cold as that air might be. Here in the Deep South where I live, I have seen the first bluebirds and a robin or two. And that means time to pull out seed catalogs and begin planning the garden.

Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies, and by gardening, I mean the growing of vegetables and fruits. We have fig trees, apple trees, peach trees, pecan trees, and a few other fruit trees. We grow turnips, collards, tomatoes, okra, peas, butterbeans, peppers, and my favorite, squash. It's too early for many of those, although around the middle of the month, we will be planting our turnip seeds. My collard plants look as if they have survived the winter, and I don't anticipate having to buy more.

Another activity my husband and I will engage in this month, if the Lord and we are willing, is to prune our fruit trees, and perhaps invest in a few more. What does this have to do with historical life? Not so long ago, most families had their own kitchen garden. We forget that fruits and vegetables were not always so abundant in the stores, even if you were lucky enough to live near one that sold perishable goods. Most goods in the general stores were staples, such as flour, and cornmeal, perhaps meat that had been cured, salt, and perhaps a few more common spices.

And thus the need for a kitchen garden and the need to take the month of February to prepare the soil and prune the trees.

Most planted fruit trees near their cabin for convenience.

In my last Lockets & Lace book, Joy, Unending Joy finds a job as an apple picker in Lonely Grove, Texas. She goes on to learn to can apple jams and jellies and is the best apple pie maker in Lonely Grove. So good is she that the local restaurant asks her to supply them with desserts, mostly made with those delicious apples from the Lonely Grove Orchard.

Apple pie is my favorite!

So, in February, what would the Lonely Grove Orchard workers be doing? Pruning the apple trees, of course. Pruning opens up the canopy to sunlight and proper air circulation. The very first rule of pruning is to remove any dead or damaged branches. The second rule is to prune so that branches are not crossing. If the branches rub against each other because of the crossing, it can lead to damaged branches and may introduce diseases into the tree. The apple tree should only have one leader branch, otherwise the tree will become weak. Any competing leader branches should also be pruned. And that's a few basics of pruning.

An apple tree, ready to be pruned.

The apple tree was and still is the most popular fruit tree grown in gardens.  Much of the popularity of the apple tree is due to John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 18, 1845) who traveled to several states and helped farmers establish nurseries for the propagation of apple trees, contrary to the image we usually have of him of throwing seeds wherever he went. Yes, his nickname was Johnny Appleseed.

Perhaps due to Johnny Appleseed's influence, apple orchards became common across America, such as Lonely Grove Orchard. I am in the process of creating a new series set near that very orchard.  In Joy, Unending, the story ends with Tristan planning to build a school. Joy will continue creating her jellies and jams and her apple desserts for the school children. I can't wait to share some upcoming news with you about that soon. Stay tuned!

If you garden, please tell us about it in the comments. In the meantime, happy reading!

Settling in Texas by Abagail Eldan

The first true German immigrants in Texas were Johann Friedrich Ernst, the "Father of German Immigration to Texas," and Charles Fordtran. A few years later, in 1842, the Adelsverein was formed for the purpose of promoting German immigration into Texas. Some came to escape religious persecutions, others because of political problems in Germany, and still others came looking for better opportunities. (see Lonestar Genealogy)

My Brokken books are populated with German immigrants. The series is set in Brokken, Texas, the small Texas town founded by Franklin Brokken, a descendant of Wilhelm Brecheisen whose surname means “breaker of iron” in German. Not long after Wilhelm arrived in America, he became involved in a fistfight with a fellow German, a man named Frederick Eisen, whose name means "iron." When Eisen landed a blow and Wilhelm fell, breaking his hip in the process, one of the onlookers said, “The iron has broken the iron breaker.” And just like that, Brokken became Wilhelm’s last name. He cheerfully accepted the Americanization of his name but added the K, right in the middle. The K, he told his family, stood for kein, which means“not” in German. He declared to all who would listen that he was not broken. And he set out to prove it, soon becoming one of the richest men in Pennsylvania.

His grandson Franklin Brokken traveled to Texas to found the town that bears his name. With his first wife, Franklin had three sons, Fritz, Curt, and Karl. After the death of his first wife, Franklin remarried, and his wife bore him a daughter, Deborah. 

Beginning in This Brokken Road, we learn a little about the three sons. Many of the businesses in the town are owned by the Brokkens, and one of their businesses, the Brokken bank, is robbed by the owners themselves. In Brokken Brother we discover why. 

In Brokken Redeemed, the tale of the Brokkens continues with Deborah's story. When the town is attacked by a group of outlaws, Fritz bears the brunt of the blame for the destruction that ensues. 

Disillusioned, outcast by his own family, and his engagement broken, Fritz is given a mission--find the mother of Sally Jane whose grandmother was killed in the fiasco. 

In Brokken Promises, Fritz sets out on his journey, unaware of the repercussions from his lies and the broken promises he has left in his wake. 

His search leads him to Camellia Jenkins who harbors deep secrets. She is barely able to keep body and soul together and returns to Brokken, Texas with Fritz who promises to help her. 

When her secrets are revealed, will Fritz stand by his word? Will keeping promises break him further... or make him stronger? 

Brokken Promises is the latest in the Brokken Road Romances. 

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Historic Seven-Year Texas Drought

From 1950 until 1957, the first seven years of my life, Texas experienced a devastating stretch of seven long years with severely deficient rainfall—thirty to fifty percent less than average.

With the drought came the second, third, and eighth-driest single years since the Weather Bureau began keeping records in 1888—1956, 1954, and 1951, respectively. drought

Now, it’s my personal opinion—since I lived through it—the event shouldn’t be counted as history. I find it hard to believe I’m historic!

However, for the purposes of writing historical novels, anything happening right up to the Vietnam war is included by the powers that be. Whoever they might be.

The loss of rain devastated the state’s economy and changed lives, especially in the rural areas where ranchers and farmers were so greatly affected.

Cattlemen sold off their stock or moved them north to Kansas as watering ponds, lakes, and rivers dried up and feed prices soared while that of beef dropped by two-thirds from fifteen cents a pound to only a nickel.

And of course, they’d overgrazed the pastures, encouraging the growth of the unwanted cedar and mesquite trees. Scorching winds carried the topsoil away, causing dust storms that rivaled those during the Great Dust Bowl.

Over a HUNDRED THOUSAND Texas ranchers went out of business and moved to town.

Farmers didn’t fare any better. In 1940, almost thirty percent of the population worked on a farm. That number fell to twelve percent by the 1960 census.

Harvests shriveled, showing great losses when in some areas the crop yield dropped as much as fifty percent. The unprecedented agriculture economic losses exceeded even the earlier Great Dust Bowl’s.

And towns didn’t go unaffected. Some thousand communities strictly enforced water restrictions with many going completely dry and forced to haul water in by truck or train.

Dallas, the hardest-hit large city, reservoirs got so low, they pumped water from the Red River that damaged pipes due to its high salt content.

The drought spurred Texas’ modern “water planning” era that prompted the creation of artificial lakes across the Lone Star State.

From 1950 through 1957, losses were estimated to be over twenty-two billion in 2011 dollars. Funny how little it affected me. All I remember of it is the flood that ended it when it rained and rained, and the rain almost came into our house. It flooded the halls of Letot Elementary in Dallas.

Mama didn’t know when she took me to school that day. I remember walking through the halls in about six inches of water, and one basement classroom had filled with water completely.

(No second-grade class was held that day and for a few to come after! This photo was when I was in the first grade at Letot.)       

Temperatures soared over a blistering one hundred degrees for over eighty days straight in some areas. By 1956, ten states around Texas were also affected.

In the form of prophecy, this drought plays a part in one of my novels, SON OF PROMISE, the third ‘Companion Book’ to my Texas Romance Family Saga series, when God warns Travis Buckmeyer (third-generation from Henry in book one, VOW UNBROKEN) that it’s coming.

He sells off most of his cattle while the prices are still high and goes into the well-digging business.

I’ve made SON OF PROMISE FREE today for my readers! Just click "SON OF PROMISE FREE" to go claim your copy. I hope you enjoy it and would surely appreciate a review!

Here’s what one reviewer said about THE SON OF PROMISE:

  “This story shows that the love of God within can overcome all obstacles. Your past does not determine your future.  Such a gentle story of faith, love, forgiveness, and yielding the sinful man to a higher power.” –Judy Schexnayder

I fell in love with Cody Buckmeyer, the 'secret-revealed' son of Travis from a one-night stand that happened even before he met Emma Lee Harris and married her (in CHIEF OF SINNERS, book ten of the Texas Romance Family Saga series).

It's a sweet coming of age story with horses, goats, and Great Pyrenees guardians!

Bio: Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and a quick scroll through her novels’ ratings by Christian readers attests to the Father’s faithfulness. She loves writing several genres (FORTY-EIGHT published and counting) almost as much as singing the new songs He gives her—look her up on YouTube to hear a few.

Her high school sweetheart husband won her heart fifty-one years ago, and now they share four children and eighteen grandsugars. Ron and Caryl live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas, waiting expectantly for God to open the next door.

Website   Amazon   BookBub   Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest

Caryl's Published Christian Titles 

Historical & Contemporary Romance, Biblical fiction, Mid-grade and YA, and Non-fiction   

     

The Spread of the Appalachian Dialect

In an attempt to add authenticity to stories, authors often sprinkle colloquialisms throughout their writing. As a South Alabama native, I grew up exposed to a unique accent. For example, my grandmother called the sink, a "zink." My mother's name was Esta, and yet her family called her "Estee." Her sister was "Velmer," instead of Velma. My Uncle Andrew became Uncle "Ander." 

Recently, I discovered my ancestors migrated from Tennessee, from the Appalachian region. Like the people of Appalachia, my family pronounced wire, tire, and fire as "war," "tar," and "far." Pillows were "pillers," tomatoes, "tomaders," and windows, "winders." Even the pronunciation of the state of Alabama ended with an -er sound--"We're from Alabamer." 

Scholars disagree on the origins of the Appalachian dialect. Some have suggested it's a holdover from Elizabethan English. Others point to the relative isolation of the mountain people.

Perhaps it "led to" is too strong a word although it did ensure the survival of it until recent generations. With the advent of television and the internet, accents are being lost.

Fortunately, we still hear it here in South Alabama. We, too, are relatively isolated and not easily influenced by others, but it is less noticeable in our young people. Still today, it is not unusual to hear phrases like "young'un," "he got a whupping laid on him," "I reckon you're right," "we're fixin' to eat supper," "she's right pretty."

And we often read these phrases in western books. Many historical western novels are set in Texas where this dialect was used. Why? Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, and David Bowie were originally mountain men who helped form the state of Texas. And we see this in western books. You will find, for example, the heroes of Louis L'amour were originally from Tennesse, the same as my own ancestors. 

My Brokken romances are set in the east of Texas, in the small town of Brokken. The novel I am writing now is set in Lonely Grove, Texas. Sprinkled throughout will be these colloquialisms I picked up as a young'un. 

Slowly, the dialect is slipping away. Fortunately, our books keep it alive and well.

My Brokken books are on Amazon. Click here.
And my latest Lockets & Lace book is up for pre-order, here.

Melting Pot Themes in My Stories

One aspect of frontier stories that I love is the “melting pot” society of immigrant populations. Family genealogy tells me most of my ancestors were already in the United States by the 1700s.  But in those years most people didn’t travel far from where they were born, because travel was by horse and wagon. In order for the plots of putting a character into an unknown situation (which I love), I need time periods when stagecoach lines and train routes had been established. Hence, my favorite periods are post-Civil War and settings are west of the Mississippi. I’m a California native, and I’ve visited lots of places in the western states so I have visuals of lots of different places in my memories.

Why am I writing all this? Because all of the above came in to play when I developed my plot for Ione’s Dilemma. I wanted to take a young woman of a more-privileged-than-most lifestyle (daughter of a Des Moines’ surgeon) and throw her into a working class situation where she had to fend for herself away from everything she’d known. On top of those obstacles, she has to deal with a small-town Texas carpenter aspiring to expand his business who thinks because she comes from a big city, she’ll have great ideas. Sound like maybe some tension is created?

Ione’s Dilemma is currently on preorder for 99 cents. Price will increase to $2.99 on January 17^th. (Although the book is Book 6 of the Dorado, Texas series, it can be enjoyed without reading the previous stories. They are how several other characters in the town who may appear in this story met and fell in love.)

BUY LINK

When Ione Forrester calls off her wedding, she becomes the social pariah of Des Moines. Much to her society parents’ chagrin. To escape the gossip, Ione accepts a teaching job in Dorado, Texas, vowing to avoid scandal at all costs. Relocating from a doctor’s household with cook and maids to a room in a boarding house is quite an adjustment. Then she has to face her biggest challenge—a schoolhouse full of students.

Carpenter Morgan Shipley has been working hard to build his business and now he’s looking for companionship in his life. An ad for a mail-order bride brings a deluge of letters, and Morgan adopts the role of matchmaker to share the wealth among other Dorado bachelors. To his surprise, an intriguing woman from a big city arrives in his small Texas town. Correspondence is nothing like interacting with a flesh-and-blood woman every day. But Ione wants nothing to do with Morgan’s attempts at courting, which makes him try even harder. (Book 6 of the “Dorado, Texas” series)

I hope you enjoy my story.­­­­

Old Time Technology: Part One, Where’s the MEAT?

With no refrigeration, meat preservation posed some challenges to the early Texas settlers, but offered a paramount source of protein. Most commonly, one of the first things built along with the main cabin would be a good, old fashioned smokehouse. On the morning of the first frost—early November to mid-December—the whole family went to butchering hogs.

With the meat hung in the smokehouse, usually a windowless log structure, they built hickory, pecan, or oak, depending on taste preferences, fires. Conduit—often clay pipe—ran six to eight feet from the fire to the structure. For the duration, the community kept the fire going twenty-four/seven until all the meat cured properly, sometimes upward to fourteen days.

This procedure is mentioned in more than one of the historical Texas Romance Family Saga series. It provided a good way to sustain their families. I put Sue’s smokehouse exactly where the first cabin we built on the nine hundred acre McAdoo ranch south of Clarksville, Texas. 

I’d love to share book one VOW UNBROKEN with a commenter. It's book one in the Texas Romance Family Saga series, when Suzannah Baylor meets Henry Buckmeyer an dhires him to help get her cotton crop to market.

I’m offering to draw from those who  leave a comment for a blessed person to send a print book to!

Bio: Christian author Caryl McAdoo prays her story gives God glory! With four series—each a different genre—the award-winning, best-selling hybrid releases at least three new titles each year, steadily adding to her total of twenty-seven books published through 2016. She also loves singing new songs the Lord gives her, her husband Ron, and two grandsons live five miles south of Clarksville, in the far Northeast corner of Texas.

Links:   Author Pages: BookBub  Amazon   /  Website   /   Blog  /

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A Family Saga over Three Generations and Six Decades!

The newest offering of the beloved Texas Romance family saga, AT LIBERTY TO LOVE, delivers it all. It is a stand alone, but as in any series, all the more enjoyable when the previous stories are read in order. This book seven in the series takes you on a journey from Texas to California, delivering romance fraught with obstacles. Readers who've enjoyed the series met the heroine as a nine years old back in 1832, but thirty-three years have passed, and life hasn't always been kind.

Jacket Copy:
Obedience is better than sacrifice…and trumps romance, no matter how sweet.
   Profound loneliness propels a childless widow west with the idea of choosing an orphan to share her life. On the way, a fellow traveler takes her by surprise. She never dreams, is unprepared, doesn’t need another man, but can’t get him out of her head…or heart. He’s so perfect—every bit the one she’d searched for as a young woman—except his mistrust of God has erected a wall she cannot breach.
    Marcus Ford blames God and struggles for peace after losing his wife and baby. Not once has he considered another woman could be the answer, but the widow is like none other he’s ever met. He falls hard, but plans are taking him east. Hope dashed sends two hearts into the pit. If only Ford could forgive God or the widow ease up on her adamant resolve.
   Will God’s mercy shine a beacon in the fog of despair and prove sufficient to heal their souls?
 
Excerpt:
    Stepping off the last stair, she approached.
    He inhaled deeply then shook his head. “Oh my.” He drew in another long breath, closing his eyes. “You smell better than you look. I mean, you look outstanding, but your fragrance is even better. Not that you didn’t smell good before… I mean…” He finally just shrugged. “Your appearance shames me. I should have brought my dress blues.”
    “I understand, but here.” She handed him her door key, grinning. “On my couch, you’ll some new threads…the least Henry Buckmeyer could do.”
    At first, he didn’t take it, then scooped it up like a kid in a candy store and took the stairs two at a time.
    “I’ll wait on the deck, just outside the dining room.”
    Waving with one hand, he didn’t look back.
    Might do the man a bit of good to have his pride pricked. She chuckled, so enjoying the highly pleasant distraction he afforded.
    Took him longer than expected, but the wait was well worth it. The ready-made suit fit perfect. She loved the shirt’s high collar and how it seemed to choke him.
    He grinned then extended his arm. “Thank you.”
    Such the gentleman! She slipped her hand under then over his offering. “You’re welcome.” She glanced down. He’d shined his boots. Per chance that accounted for the extra time.

Reviews:
I don't know how Caryl McAdoo does it, but each book in this Texas Romance series just gets better! "At Liberty to Love" is book 7, and its message is "Obedience is better than sacrifice…and trumps romance, no matter how sweet."  This book is a must read.  I highly recommend this author and whole series. –Joy Roberts, Tennessee reader

Sweet Tweet: (Help spread the word! Just copy and paste :)

AT LIBERTY TO LOVE #ChristianFiction Family Saga #HistoricalRomance http://www.amazon.com/dp/1533016798 @CarylMcAdoo

Bio: Caryl McAdoo, loving God, currently writes four series: the historical Christian ‘Texas Romance’; a contemporary ‘Red River Romance’; The Generations, her Biblical fiction, and the newest Days of Dread Trilogy for mid-grade and young adult readers. Oft called the Singing Pray-er, she loves praising with new songs the Lord gives her and prays her story gives God glory!
    In 2008, she and her high school sweetheart-husband Ron moved from the DFW area—home for fifty-plus years—to the woods of Red River County. Caryl counts four children and sixteen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings, believing all good things come from God. Besides glorifying Him, she hopes each title will also minister His love, mercy, and grace to its readers.
    Caryl and Ron live in Clarksville, the county seat, in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State with two grandsons.

Links: 
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YouTube (Hear Caryl sing her New Songs!)

Orphanages and Dairies

In the early days of San Francisco, right in the middle of the gold rush period, I researched and included two institutions in SINS OF THE MOTHERS (book four /Texas Romance family saga series): orphanages and dairies. Called Orphanage Asylums in the day, when they were founded and supported strictly through charitable donations, the new government stepped in to subsidize the children’s care in 1870.

The government paid fifty dollars per year per child paid quarterly to the orphanages to support and maintain the care of the orphans. For this money, the directors had to keep immaculate records as to each child’s name, age, arrival, and leaving—whether by adoption or reaching a self-sustaining age. The Mercy House, my fictitious orphanage met all the criteria.

In my story, partners made rich by their gold mining, Moses Jones and Jethro Risen, discerned the need for an orphanage as children kept turning up without parents, many of whom were simply abandoned when unsuccessful mining left little to feed their families, and parents with gold fever moved on to other areas, leaving their children behind.

The founder the Mercy House Orphanage, Jethro Risen, was divinely inspired to purchase enough land to support a dairy, as well, to provide not only milk for the children but on the job training to the older orphans, giving them the knowledge and experience to make a living when they grew up and eventually left.

But as the dairy went into operation, its profit potential to subsidize the daily expenses of the orphanage shone bright. A quart of milk sold for fifty cents in 1851. It took fifty dollars per month to maintain each cow which in turn produced eight gallons of milk a day worth four dollars or one hundred twenty dollars a month for a net profit of seventy dollars per animal.

Jethro not only imported quality cows, but shorthorn bulls were carried around the Horn in the late 1850s to breed with his resident stock and improve the standards of his producers’ quality and quantity for milk. 

By 1870, San Francisco was the fourteenth largest city in the United States and the dairy industry flourished with their rich pastures and improved cattle herds. The Mercy House orphans, because of their work at the dairy, were ready for employment when they reached the age of leaving the orphanage.

After the Civil War, when my childless heroine in AT LIBERTY TO LOVE (book seven / Texas Romance family saga) is widowed, she thinks of adopting children to share the remainder of her life. As her sister Mary Rachel had married Jethro Risen, she decides to travel to San Francisco (see previous post Stagecoaches and Steamships) to adopt an orphan from the Mercy House.

Loneliness had engulfed her after her husband’s death, and she believed she could be a blessing to the parentless children, providing love and a home. And as God’s economy is for all to be blessed, she expected the baby—or babies—would give purpose and bring great joy to her life.

Her other half-sisters, Gwendolyn and Bonnie Buckmeyer, had previously traveled to San Francisco to help with the orphanage. While it remained unusual to release children for adoption to a single parent in the 1860s, Rebecca Baylor Rusk hoped that family ties would work in her favor.

GIVEAWAY: I'd like to offer a free print book of VOW UNBROKEN, book one in this Christian historical series to one randomly chosen commenter on this blog! In it, you'll meet the mother  of both the lovely ladies on these two covers (book four SINS OF THE MOTHERS and book seven AT LIBERTY TO LOVE! Winner will be chosen and the end of the week, and winner notified.

Do you know an ex-orphan? Have you ever milked a cow? Has God ever inspired you to do something out of the blue?

Hugs and blessings! 

Bio: Caryl McAdoo loves God, and currently writes four series: the historical Christian ‘Texas Romance’ a family saga; a contemporary ‘Red River Romance’; The Generations, her Biblical fiction, and the newest Days of Dread Trilogy for mid-grade readers. Known as the “Singing Pray-er”, she loves praising with new songs the Lord gives her and prays her story gives God glory! In 2008, she and high school sweetheart-husband Ron moved from the DFW area—home for fifty-plus years—to the woods of Red River County. Caryl counts four children and sixteen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings, believing all good things come from the Lord. Besides glorifying Him, she hopes each title also ministers His love, mercy, and grace to its readers. The McAdoos live in Clarksville, the county seat, in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State with two grandsons.

Stagecoaches & Steamships

In 1865, my heroine in AT LIBERTY TO LOVE (book seven in the Texas Romance series) wanted to go from northeast Texas (Red River County) to San Francisco. Her trip began in downtown Clarksville, the county seat, where the Donoho Hotel served as the station.  
Work a jigsaw PUZZLE  !!

The coach took the Jefferson Trace, about one hundred miles south and east. It could travel about ten miles before changing teams, so they made about ten stops along the way including at Cuthand, Mount Pleasant, and Daingerfield to name a few. It took about twelve hours.    Work another PUZZLE  !!

The same trip thirty-three years earlier in 1832, when the widow Sue Baylor made a valiant effort to get her cotton crop to market in book one, VOW UNBROKEN, lasted ten days with no setbacks. It took her lots longer.
Work a jigsaw PUZZLE  !!

From Jefferson, my AT LIBERTY TO LOVE heroine took a short steamboat ride down the Red River to the Mississippi for five days to get down to New Orleans.

Those river steamboats were a lower draft where they could also go upriver farther. They were older and smaller. The steamships built to navigate the Gulf and Pacific were larger and drew more water (the draft is how much the boat set into the water. These ship’s bread and butter were the U.S. mail contracts. Freight and passengers were the gravy.

In New Orleans, my lady steamed across the Gulf to reach Caracus, a new city thrown up for the crossing of the Isthmus. There she purchased a seat on the train across the Isthmus to the City of Panama, built in the 1500s with a Spanish influence...a lot like New Orleans, but on the Pacific side of the Isthmus the city enjoyed a good trade. It quite impressed!

The cost from New Orleans to Caracas—which took five or six days depending on weather—cost less than the one day train fare. Prior to the railroad being built in the early 1850s, travelers crossed in barges or canoes part of the way and wagons the rest. That normally took three days with tropical heat and humidity and many insect un-pleasantries. So the train ride, though more expensive, was deemed well worth the price and a necessity rather than a luxury. In Panama City, she again boarded a steamship for the Pacific Ocean leg of her journey.

Those steamships stayed relatively close to the coast, not veering too far out into the ocean waters. First class passengers dined on linen-covered tables with fine, matching china. Uniformed servants attended to their every need as at the finest big city establishments.

Bands played, and gaming rooms presented a diversion for those inclined to take a chance. This all filled the top deck; those passengers’ lavish suites offered private balconies to enjoy the ocean breezes and magnificent water sunsets and rises.

Steerage, two decks down, could be as inexpensive as fifteen dollars while first class might set the traveler back over fifty. The floor in between cost less than first class and offered fewer amenities; leaving off most all of the elegant accommodations, the middle deck gave the business man and his wife—perhaps traveling with their children—a more affordable fare.

The next floor down, steerage, got no meals included with passage. They were purchased separately, and there could be as many as six packed into a single room. Of course, tickets didn’t cost as much as above, and the decks never mixed. Cheapest passage was on the lowest level, underwater—space in the boiler room or cargo hold as you could find it. This is where the ‘wooders’ rode.

On the Pacific side, from Panama City, my heroine boarded yet another steamship up to San Francisco with possible stops in Acapulco or San Diego before arriving in City by the Bay, depending on how much coal or firewood they carried on board. The bigger, newer ships routinely made the trip with no stops. This leg of the journey took fifteen days, making the trip from Texas to the golden shores a month to thirty-five days.

Travelers could opt to go cross county by stage and arrive in as few as twenty-two, but the ride proved rough and the warring tribe of Indians always posed a danger. Most thought nice accommodations and safety outweighed the time factor.

As Marcus Ford, my hero in AT LIBERTY TO LOVE discovered, one could work his way on a steamship serving as a wooder. Spending four hours of every twelve shoveling coal to feed the boiler was grueling, monotonous work. And dangerous, too, considering if the boiler did blow, those men were goners for sure. And shirkers could be summarily tossed overboard. The captain was king.
AT LIBERTY TO LOVE, book seven in the highly successful Texas Romance historical series, has just debuted May 27th and is now available in print or digital formats.

JACKET COPY: Obedience is better than sacrifice…and trumps romance, no matter how sweet.
   Profound loneliness propels a childless widow west with the idea of choosing an orphan to share her life. On the way, a fellow traveler takes her by surprise. She never dreams, is unprepared, doesn’t need another man, but can’t get him out of her head…or heart. He’s so perfect—every bit the one she’d searched for as a young woman—except his mistrust of God has erected a wall she cannot breach.
    Marcus Ford blames God and struggles for peace after losing his wife and baby. Not once has he considered another woman could be the answer, but the widow is like none other he’s ever met. He falls hard, but plans are taking him east. Hope dashed sends two hearts into the pit. If only Ford could forgive God or the widow ease up on her adamant resolve.
   Will God’s mercy shine a beacon in the fog of despair and prove sufficient to heal their souls?
   
EXCERPT: 
    Stepping off the last stair, she approached. He inhaled deeply then shook his head. “Oh my.” He drew in another long breath, closing his eyes. “You smell better than you look. I mean, you look outstanding, but your fragrance is even better. Not that you didn’t smell good before… I mean…” He finally just shrugged. “Your appearance shames me. I should have brought my dress blues.”
    She grinned. “I understand, but here.” She handed him her door key. “On my couch, you’ll some new threads…the least Henry Buckmeyer could do.”
    At first, he didn’t take it, then scooped it up like a kid in a candy store and took the stairs two at a time.
    “I’ll wait on the deck, just outside the dining room.”
    He waved one hand but didn’t look back.
    Might do the man a bit of good to have his pride pricked. She chuckled, so enjoying the highly pleasant distraction he afforded.
    Took the man longer than expected, but the wait worth it, the readymade suit fit perfect, she loved the shirt’s high collar and how it seemed to choke him.
He grinned then extended his arm. “Thank you.”
    She slipped her hand under then over his offering. “You’re welcome.” She glanced down. He’d shined his boots. Per chance that accounted for the extra time.

REVIEWS:  At Liberty To Love shows how God can speak through dreams, visions and small children. As God spoke in biblical times, so He can still speak that way today. There are some wonderful exchanges of dialogue with four year old Michael. Caryl McAdoo demonstrates the power of trust and faith. "Nothing was too hard for God" Who shows that He loves to step in and make the seemingly impossible, possible.  Another great offering from Caryl McAdoo.     --Julia Wilson, Worchester, England reader

I’ve followed Henry Buckmeyer and his family since the first book, "Vow Unbroken" and couldn't wait for this one. Could this be the true love the widow has never known before? At Liberty To Love as always, gives glory to God. All Caryl McAdoo’s stories are uplifting and truly enjoyable. I highly recommend this one and all of the stories in the Texas Romance series.     --Michelle Beach, Clinton, New York reader

With characters that charm, and scenes that tug at our heart strings, Caryl McAdoo keeps us reading well past our bedtimes. Mrs. McAdoo has woven yet another Texas tall tale to keep us flipping pages. The mistress of the Texas yarn, her Texas dialect tantalizes from start to finish. At Liberty to Love made this reviewer fall in love with fictional people who seem so real that they almost breathe. This character-driven, well-crafted novel is a keeper. I’m adding it to my collection of Texas Romances by Caryl McAdoo.     --Cassandra Wessel, Tionesta, Pennsylvania multi-published author of devotionals

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Bio: Caryl McAdoo is all about loving God! She currently writes four series: the historical Christian ‘Texas Romance’; a contemporary ‘Red River Romance’; The Generations, her Biblical fiction, and the newest Days of Dread Trilogy for mid-grade readers. Known as the Singing Pray-er, she loves praising with new songs the Lord gives her and prays her story gives God glory! In 2008, she and her high school sweetheart-husband Ron moved from the DFW area—home for fifty-plus years—to the woods of Red River County. Caryl counts four children and sixteen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings believing all good things come from God. Besides glorifying Him, she hopes each title will also minister His love, mercy, and grace to its readers. Caryl and Ron live in Clarksville, the county seat, in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State with two grandsons.

LINKS:  All Books   At Liberty to Love    BookBub   Website    Newsletter Facebook    Blog    GoodReads   Google+   LinkedIn   Twitter   Pinterest   Hear me sing on  YouTube !!