RESEARCHING KANSAS & A MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL!

by Kathryn Albright


The new series that I am working on has required a lot of new research in the state of Kansas. One thing that I needed to know was the Native American Situation and whether it was realistic to have any Indian/Settler skirmishes at the time that my stories take place which is 1878-1880. By this time, Kansas was already a state in the Union. Statehood happened in 1861 and the story of how it came to be is a post in itself!

Here is short timeline of a few things going on in 1870's Kansas that I wanted to make sure I was aware of before writing my first story set there. I strive for historical accuracy and often information like this inspires my plotting. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it was pertinent to my new series.

1870  -  The Kansas Pacific Railroad extends from Kansas City to Denver.
1871  -  April 15 -- 'Wild Bill' Hickok became the marshal of Abilene.
1872  -  June 17  --  Hoover's Bar established in a tent shop five miles west of Fort Dodge.
                  It was the founding business of Dodge City. Up to then the town had been dry.
             "Home on the Range" song words written by Dr. Brewster Higley, M.D. (Smith Cty)
             Ellsworth became the northern shipping point of the Texas cattle trail. (Succeeding
             Abiliene.)
             The Sante Fe Railroad was completed to the Colorado border and succeeded the Santa Fe
                  Trail as the main transportation route to the southwest.
1873  -  The Kaw Indians were removed from their reservation in Morris County to Oklahoma
                 Territory.
              Grasshopper plague from the Rocky Mountain Locust devastated the corn crop.
              Four Kansas railroads shipped 122,914 head of Texas cattle in eight months.
1874  -  Mennonites from Russia introduce Turkey Red wheat to Kansas.
1875  -  Most of the buffalo in the state have been destroyed.
1876  -  Wyatt Earp moved to Dodge City.
1878  -  Cheyenne raid in Northwestern, Kansas. In Oklahoma Indian Territory, the Northern
             Cheyenne left their reservation and headed north to their lands in Yellowstone. They were
             stopped in Northwestern Kansas at Ladder Creek (known as Beaver Creek today.)
             The last Indian raid in Kansas occurred in this year.
1879  -  Prohibition at the forefront of the Kansas legistlature.
1880  -  Kansas became the first state to pass an amendment prohibiting all alcoholic beverages.

The decade of the 1870's went a long way in changing Kansas from a windswept open prairie to America's agricultural heartland. Until I started delving into its history, I knew little about this amazing state and the people that lived there. I am excited to set my next series there ~ The Oak Grove Series. Find out more on May 23rd here at Sweet Americana Sweethearts!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Inquiring minds want to know...

HOW MANY HAVE YOU READ?

The authors of the

GRANDMA'S WEDDING QUILTS SERIES

are having a collective sale at Amazon over the Mother's Day Weekend! 

 NOW is the opportune time to get your copies!

ALL THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES ARE DISCOUNTED TO

~ $0.99! ~

Books #2 - #7:  May 10th through May 14th

      #8 - #12:  May  12th through May 16th

The Prequel is always 99 cents!

This means that starting today and over Mother's Day Weekend 

ALL TWELVE BOOKS plus the PREQUEL will be discounted at the same time. 

This is one series that gets better and better with each new read. Each story ties a family and quilt together to make it a wonderful outstanding clean series you do no want to miss. I can't wait for the next one!     PAGE BY PAGE REVIEWS

My story, Gloria's Song, is the one book in the series (besides the prequel!) that is not a historical western. Gloria's Song takes place on the Potomac River in Virginia where my mother's family comes from.

I love to hear my mother talk about the years growing up there and visiting her grandmother who lived in a four-story brick building that was built in the 1870s. Cobblestone streets and gas lamps...For fun they went ice skating, crabbing, and jumping off the dock. And my mother played the piano...A LOT! How could I not set a story there.

It seems appropriate to have Gloria's Song available on special for this special Mother's Day weekend.

Me and my mother -- Gloria

Kathryn Albright writes sweet historical romance. Her stories celebrate courage and hope with a dash of adventure. Kathryn's stories have been finalists in the RWA Golden Heart and the HOLT Medallion as well as several other industry contests. She enjoys hiking and road trips with her husband (when he drives) and being caught up in a good story. She lives with her family in the rural Midwest.

Sign up for Kathryn's newsletter at www.KathrynAlbright.com to be the first to hear of her books, contests, and more.

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Nate's Valentine

by Shanna Hatfield

Tongue firmly clamped between his lips, six-year-old Nate Palmer concentrated on cutting out a heart with a pair of blunt-edged scissors.

Pieces of red and white paper, a spilled pot of paste, and bits of ribbon and lace gave testament to his efforts at creating a Valentine’s Day surprise.

The sound of footsteps outside his bedroom door made him glance up with worry creasing a vertical line down his small brow. A tap on the door sent him scurrying to toss a blanket over the mess on his bed.

“Nater? May I come in?” his stepfather asked.

Nate expelled a sigh of relief. “Yep!” he called out. “You can come in.”

The boy was so happy when his mama, Posey, agreed to marry Uncle Tad. Although he knew Tad wasn’t really his uncle, he loved him anyway. Tad had always been a part of his life since his father died in a mine accident when Nate was just a baby. His father and Tad had been best friends.

When his mother had married Tad last summer, Nate cheered to finally have a father, one he’d loved his whole life.

“What are you working on, son?” Tad asked as he stepped into the room.

Nate removed the blanket hiding his handiwork and looked up to Tad. “I’m trying to make a surprise for Mama. Do you think she’ll like it?”

Tad smiled and set his hand on Nate’s head, ruffling the boy’s mussed hair. “She’ll love it, Nater. Do you need some help?”

“No. I want to do it myself,” Nate said, climbing back up on his bed and picking up the scissors.

Tad hunkered down beside him and placed a hand on the boy’s knee. “You’re doing a fine job, and I’m proud of you for remembering to put the paste on a plate so if you spilled it this time, your mama wouldn’t have to scrub it out of your quilt.”

Nate wrinkled his little nose. “It sure was a mess last time, wasn’t it?”

Tad chuckled. “It was, indeed, son.” The man straightened and took a step toward the door. “I’ll tell your mother you’re not to be disturbed, but supper will be ready in about an hour.”

“I better hurry.” Nate turned back to constructing the most beautiful card he could imagine.

An hour later, when Tad tapped on his door again, Nate stuffed a card beneath his pillow before running over to answer the door.

“Ready to eat, son?” Tad asked, grinning at him.

“Yep! I’m starved, but I need your help.” He grabbed his stepfather’s hand and tugged Tad into the room, handing him a pencil. While Tad wrote, he dictated what he wanted written inside Posey’s card. When they finished, Nate ran past Tad to the kitchen where he climbed on a stool to wash his hands at the sink.

“You’ve been awfully quiet all afternoon, baby.” Posey Palmer smiled at her son as she set a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table. “What mischief have you been making?”

“None, Mama. I’m working on surprises,” Nate said, shaking the water from his hands before taking the dish towel Tad handed to him. Together, they all sat at the table, festively adorned with Posey’s best cloth and her gleaming china.

After Tad asked a blessing on the meal, Nate rushed to eat his meal, anxious to give his parents the surprises he’d made. When he’d cleaned his plate, he looked at Tad. The man winked at him and tipped his head toward the doorway, letting Nate know he could leave the table.

Nate jumped down from his chair and carried his plate to the sink.

“Where are you going, Nate? We haven’t even had dessert yet.” Posey gave him a curious glance. “You’ve never turned down a piece of chocolate cake.”

“I want cake, Mama, but I have to give you something. Wait right there!” Nate raced down the hall, his footsteps echoing on the hardwood floor. He soon returned holding both hands behind his back. “You both close your eyes. Please?”

Posey glanced at Tad then back at her son. She set down her fork and folded her hands on her lap then closed her eyes. “Don’t you dare put something creepy-crawly on my plate, Nate. I don’t need that kind of surprise.”

Nate laughed. “I won’t, Mama. I only did that once and you liked to scared that poor little lizard to death.”

Tad chuckled. “You did give him quite a fright, Posey.”

She opened one eye and stuck out her tongue at her husband before closing it again.

Nate delivered his surprises then climbed back up in his chair. Excitedly, he clapped his hands and yelled, “Surprise!”

The boy had set two cards on the table, one for each of the adults.

“Oh, baby, this is wonderful,” Posey said, lifting the card, still damp with paste. Snips of lace and one crookedly tied bow adorned the front. Inside, it read:

To Mama,

I think you are the sweetest, nicest, prettiest mother in the whole world.

Love,

Nate

“Thank you, Nate. This is perfect.” Posey pulled him onto her lap and kissed his cheek, giving him a tight hug. “Is this what you worked on all afternoon?”

Vigorously, he nodded, hair flopping into his eyes. Posey brushed it back and kissed him again.

“Look at yours, now,” Nate said, turning to Tad.

The big man lifted the card in his hands, admiring the lopsided heart pasted on the front. In a childish scrawl, Nate had written inside the card.

I love you, Daddy.

Love,

Nate

“Aw, Nater! Come here, son.” Tad lifted Nate from Posey’s lap and gave the boy a warm hug. “I love you, too, and I’m so happy to wake up every day, knowing we’re a family — you, and your beautiful mama, and me.”

“I’m glad we’re a family, too!” Nate wrapped his arms around Tad’s neck and gave it a squeeze before loudly whispering, “Will you give Mama her present now?”

Tad grinned. “Sure.” He set Nate back into his chair at the table and walked over to where he’d set his saddlebags just inside the door when he arrived home earlier. He pulled two packages wrapped in brown paper and tied with red ribbon from them then walked back to the table.

“I think Nate should get his gift first,” Tad said, handing the boy one of the packages.

Nate tugged off the ribbon and gave it to his mother then folded back the paper. “Oh, golly! Did you make these, Daddy?” He lifted a pair of soft leather gloves, just like all the ranchers in the area wore for work.

“I sure did, Nate. They should fit you like, well…” he glanced at his wife and winked, “a glove.”

Posey laughed and pointed to the gloves. “Try one on, Nate.”

When Nate stuck his hand inside the glove, something blocked his fingers. He tipped the glove over and pieces of wrapped candy fell onto the table. “Candy, too?” Wide-eyed with surprise and excitement, he smiled at the adults. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, son.” Tad held the gloves and helped Nate put them on. While the boy rubbed his hands together and examined every stitch in the tanned leather, Tad handed Posey her gift.  “It’s something for your quilting.”

Posey untied the ribbon and removed the paper to reveal a beautiful leather sewing pocket. “Oh, Tad. It’s wonderful.”  The leather pocket could hang on the wall and hold her thimbles or any sort of treasures. Her fingers ran over the soft leather of a heart-shaped pincushion at the top of the pocket. “I love it.”

Tad knelt beside her chair. “And I love you, Posey Palmer. With all my heart. Happy Valentine’s Day to both of you.” 

Read more about Tad, Posey, and Nate in Tad’s Treasure , available on Amazon: http://a.co/cT1HJsR

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day.

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, this hopeless romantic is out to make it happen, one story at a time. When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Find Shanna’s books at:

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

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Newsletter | Pinterest | Goodreads | You Tube | Twitter

JOSIE'S DREAM - Release Day

Post (c) Doris McCraw writing as Angela Raines

It's release day for "Josie's Dream", part of the "Grandma's Wedding Quilts" series. If you haven't already made your purchase at $.99, do so before it returns to the regular price on January 18, 2017.

http://amzn.to/2itPfVK  

I had the good fortune to grow up in the tri-state area composed of Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. The medical school Josephine Forrester attend was located in Keokuk, Iowa. I'd walked those streets many a time in my childhood.

Keokuk has an interesting history, located on the Mississippi where it is almost a mile wide. From its early days to the present, many people have landed in this town. It has one of the few National Cemeteries west of the Mississippi and was a place where soldiers and supplies for the Civil War departed, along with the wounded of that war arrived. Samuel Clemens also knows as Mark Twain, made his home in this town in 1857, working alongside his brother Orion in the printing business.

The Medical School Josephine attended was part of the University of Iowa, the first public university to be co-ed. The Keokuk School of Physicians and Surgeons began life in Indiana but by November of 1850, the school held its first session in Keokuk, Iowa in a seven story building located at the corner of Third and Paleon Streets. It continued until 1908 when it merged with Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Hope you have enjoyed the first eight offerings in the sweet, fun series of the grandchildren of Grandma Mary. Since today is the release day for Josie's Dream, I want to thank my cover models, Camille, Chris and my photographer Nadine and of course Shanna Hatfield for putting my photos into the amazing cover you see at the beginning of this post. I also want to thank the other authors for their encouragement and support. This book would not be here without them.

Please enjoy the excerpt below from "Josie's Dream":

Pulling up the hem, Josie bent down to see a pair of gold eyes look at her from a coat of dark gray. “How did you get there?” Josie asked. Lifting the small creature up, she moved to the door. The kitten clung to her shoulder, headbutting her chin, loud purrs sounding in her ear.

“Well I’ll be,” the clerk exclaimed, followed by a series of sneezes. “Sure is a cute one,” he continued when the sneezes abated once again. “No one’s been able to get that close to it.”

“You know this because...?” Josie asked.

The clerk smiled, covering his nose before answering in the hopes of staving off any further sneezing. “Yes, indeed,” he said. “It’s mother was killed a short while ago and I’ve been leaving it some food.”

“I thought you were allergic?”

“I am, but I always liked cats. Figured a few sneezes were worth it. But that one hasn’t cottoned to anyone.” The clerk looked at the kitten making itself comfortable on Josie’s shoulder then continued, “Looks like it’s chosen you.”

Josie reached up, gently pulling the kitten forward for a better look. She’d always enjoyed animals, but a cat?

“I don’t...” Josie started.

“You’d make me feel better if you...” the clerk began, then sneezed.

“Let me think about it,” Josie said. “Now about that room?”

“Sure,” the clerk smiled as he handed her the key. “Room 204 looking out over the town”

“Also, is there a freighting service I could use to bring my things from the train depot at Kit Carson?”

“Myers & Company make a run from here to there twice a week, and they’re reasonable.”

“Thank you,” Josie replied, as she gathered her bags and started up the stairs.

Josie opened her room door, but before she could close it, the kitten bounded in, scratching its way to the middle of the bed.

Just then, Josie heard laughter, followed by cries of pain. Grabbing her bag, she closed the door and headed downstairs again, determined to help whoever was hurt.

The Grandma's Wedding Quilts books will be released at the rate of one per day. You will want to read all the books in the series. To find then all in one location, please visit and follow the series page on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2iVfF1h .

The Sweet Americana Sweethearts authors plan to keep writing together to create more book series. You can keep track of our progress two ways. First, please sign up to follow this blog, SweetAmericana Sweethearts blog.

Second, join the SweetAmericana Book Club group on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2jnVw7y.

Angela Raines is the pen name for Doris McCraw. Doris also writes haiku posted at – http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com  Check out her other work and like her Amazon author page:  http://amzn.to/1I0YoeL