Meet the Lockets & Lace Authors - Part 1

We authors who took part in the Lockets & Lace series books published in 2019 wish to thank you for your support of the series. 

We love book reviews! 

Here is a little bit about each author...

Patricia PacJac Carroll:

 

I am a writer, Christian first, and blessed beyond my imagination. I live in the Dallas-Ft Worth area of Texas with my wonderful treasure of a husband, my spoiled dog, Jacs, and my awesome son, Josh. Did I say I was blessed? The PacJac is from my initials and my husbands. I wouldn't be able to write if it weren't for him. I love adventure and the open road. The stories of the western era have always been a favorite of mine.

CLICK HERE for the purchase link to her 2019 book, Sandra’s Journey.

To learn more about Patricia, click on the above tab with her name and follow her on her Amazon Author Central page. CLICK HERE.

Abagail Eldan:

At the age of ten, Sheila Hollinghead who is now writing as Abagail Eldan discovered a treasure trove of books hiding in the furnace room of her family’s new house. These books, westerns, mysteries, fantasy, and the classics, opened her mind to the power of story.

Being the daughter of a soldier, she has lived many places, none home until she returned to south Alabama. She lives with her husband, three dogs, and two cats near the farms where her ancestors lived and loved.

CLICK HERE for the purchase link to her 2019 book, Joy, Unending.

To learn more about Abagail, click on the above tab with her name and follow her on her Amazon Author Central page. CLICK HERE.

Caryl McAdoo:

Award-winning Christian author Caryl McAdoo is all about loving the Lord! She prays her story brings God glory which is what she lives to do. Her best-selling novels enjoy a lion’s share of 5-Star ratings from readers around the world. 
A dear, but gruff Navy-sergeant-mentor once told her, "Caryl, pick a genre," but she never could and enjoys writing many genres with her husband Ron--yes, though only her name is on the covers, that's how Simon & Schuster wanted it when they published book number ten, and it works well for the McAdoos.

CLICK HERE for the purchase link to her 2019 book, Uniquely Common.

To learn more about Caryl, click on the above tab with her name. CLICK HERE.

Barbara Goss:

Amazon best-selling author, Barbara Goss, lives in Western New York and to date has written 35 (soon to be 36) Christian/Sweet Romance books, mostly westerns. She enjoys crossword puzzles, penny slots, reading, swimming, and her two cats, but not necessarily in that order. She tries to write exciting stories with a bit of God's word spread within, without dominating the story.

CLICK HERE for the purchase link to her 2019 book, A Secret Diary.

To learn more about Barbara, click on the above tab with her name and follow her on her Amazon Author Central page. CLICK HERE.

Linda Carroll-Bradd:

As a young girl, Linda was often found lying on her bed reading about fascinating characters having exciting adventures in places far away and in other time periods. In later years, she read and then started writing romances and achieved her first publication--a confession story. Married with 4 adult children and 2 granddaughters, Linda now writes heartwarming contemporary and historical stories with a touch of humor and a bit of sass from her home in the southern California mountains.

CLICK HERE for the purchase link to her 2019 book, Taming a Scandal.

To learn more about Linda, click on the above tab with her name. CLICK HERE.

Wagons Ho!

I’ve written a few books about life on a wagon train and I find the research interesting. I have great admiration for those brave pioneers who left their comfortable home to walk across the country under the most primitive conditions. Some had no idea where they would end up or what to expect at the end of their journey.

In search of inexpensive land and opportunity, American pioneers migrated westward by the thousands. The early British American colonies for the most part hugged the Atlantic Ocean. As the population of the colonies grew and expanded, westward migration began and never really stopped.

The migration of pioneers had pushed the American frontier to the Mississippi Valley by the 1830s. Traders, explorers and missionaries who traveled further west described of fertile valleys, great forests and abundant farming, mining and hunting opportunities in the Oregon, California, Missouri frontiers and other western regions west of the Mississippi River. 

From the 1840s to the 1860s more than 300,000 pioneers crossed the plains and mountains of the West along various routes such as the Oregon and Santa Fe trails.

How Did They Travel?

Sometimes they show the pioneers using Conestoga wagons pulled by horses, with the pioneers riding. Actually, Conestoga wagons were too big and heavy for the Oregon Trail. Converted farm wagons, called Prairie Schooners, were actually used and pulled generally not by horses, but oxen.

Oxen were slower, but more reliable and tougher than mules. They ate poor grass. Oxen were very strong and could haul fully-loaded wagons up ravines or drag them out of mudholes. A large wagon needed at least three pairs of oxen to pull it.

What Trails Did They Use?

The major southern routes were the Santa Fe Trail, the Southern Emigrant Trail, and the Old Spanish Trail, as well as its wagon road successor the Mormon Road, a southern spur of the California Trail used in the winter that also made use of the western half of the Old Spanish Trail.

Wagon Trains were composed of up to 200 wagons, though more common were trains of 30 or less wagons. It was decided early on that the larger the caravan of wagons, the safer the travelers would be. 

What Did the Pioneers Need For the Trip?

BEDDING & TENT SUPPLIES: blankets, ground cloths, pillows, tent, poles, stakes, ropes. TOOLS & EQUIPMENT: set of augers, gimlet, ax, hammer, hoe, plow, shovel, spade, whetstone, oxbows, axles, kingbolts, ox shoes, spokes, wagon tongue, heavy ropes, chains.

FOOD: flour (600 lbs.), bacon ( 400 lbs.), coffee (60 lbs.), baking soda, corn meal, hardtack, dried beans, dried fruit, dried beef, molasses, vinegar, pepper, eggs, salt, sugar (100 lbs.), rice, tea (4 lbs.), lard (200 lbs.) 

Beans and rice, dried meat and salted bacon, dried fruit, hardtack or crackers (hard dried bread which had to be softened in water to eat). They took flour and sugar and sometimes baked bread, biscuits, or pies

A wagon and oxen team cost each family about $400 to $600. The total weight of wagon's cargo pulled by the oxen was about 2500 pounds. That was a lot of money back then.

What Were the Biggest Hazards?

Contrary to popular belief, attacks by Native American Indians were rare. Often, the local Indian tribes welcomed the Wagon Trains to trade. Although the long westward journey caused numerous deaths and injuries through accidents, weather and terrain related causes; the biggest danger was disease.  Thousands of pioneers died along the way due to disease and lack of medical attention. 

Illnesses claimed far more lives than violence, and the majority of violent deaths on the trail were entirely accidental.

·           Disease. Illnesses such as food poisoning, typhoid and, particularly, cholera were the primary causes of death for travelers on the Oregon Trail. ... 

·           Wagon Accidents. ... 

·           Drowning. ... 

·           Gunshots.

A Typical Day on the Trail

4:00 am: a bugler blows a trumpet or a rifle is fired by the night guards to wake up the camp. 

5:00 am: cattle are rounded up after being allowed to graze during the night (except when Indians threatened). 

5:30 am: women and children are up and fixing breakfast of usually bacon, corn porridge or “Johnny Cakes” made of flour and water. 

6:30 am: women rinse plates and mugs and stow bedding, while the men haul down tents and load them in the wagons.

7:00 am: after every family has gathered their teams and hitched them to wagons, a trumpeter signals a “Wagons Ho,” to start the wagons down the trail. Average distance covered in a day was usually fifteen miles, but on a good day twenty could be traveled. 

7:30 am: men ride ahead on horses with shovels to clear out a path, if needed. 

“Nooning Time”: animals and people stop to eat, drink and rest. 

1:00 pm: back on the trail. 

5:00 pm: when a good campsite with ample water and grass is found, pioneers stop to set up camp for the evening. Wagons are formed into a corral. 

6:00 pm: families unpack and make supper. 

7:00 pm: mothers do chores, men smoke and talk, young people dance. 

8:00 pm: camp settles down for the night, guards go out on duty. 

Midnight: night guards are changed.

My Newest Release is A Bride for Nathan, book 3 of the series: Proxy Brides.

Barb's Website

Stand alone read.

Please Welcome Two New Monthly Contributors

Please welcome two of our new monthly contributing authors to the Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog, Barbara Goss and Cyndi Raye. Starting in October, Cyndi will blog for us on the third Thursday of the month, and Barbara will blog for us on the third Friday of the month.

About Cyndi Raye:

Cyndi Raye writes contemporary and historical western romance. Her love of the Old West and the feel of small town togetherness is found in all of her series.

Creating worlds where everyone is considered family, if not by blood, but from friendships, heartaches and sometimes mistakes made right again is what she loves to read. So, it was important to create such a world for her own readers to indulge in.

Cyndi lives in Eastern PA and loves to travel and enjoy life with her hubby of over 38+ years. She has 3 grown children and loves to spend time with her grand babies whenever possible.

Connect with Cyndi:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/cyndi.raye.3

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CyndiRayeauthor

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Cyndi-Raye/e/B00ENA1WEG

Don't forget to sign up for the mailing list by visiting www.cyndiraye.com and get a free copy of the exclusive short read: Miss Addie, the Beginning. The story behind the Brides of Wichita Falls. (This will not be sold, exclusive for reader's only).

 About Barbara Goss:

Amazon best-selling author, Barbara Goss, lives in Western New York and to date has written 35 (soon to be 36) Christian/Sweet Romance books, mostly westerns. She enjoys crossword puzzles, penny slots, reading, swimming, and her two cats, but not necessarily in that order. She tries to write exciting stories with a bit of God's word spread within, without dominating the story.

Barbara began writing in 1988 and her first book, Forbidden Legacy, won first prize for fiction at a Christian Writers Convention in Titusville, Florida in 1989. This won her a book contract with Publishers: Fleming Revell and later Baker Books. She wrote four books for them under contract. She then took a few years off to work full time as a secretary to the county hospital and the local school system.

Barbara's greatest influence in writing is the 100 books written by Grace Livingston Hill. As a Christian writer, she weaves a bit of godliness into the romance and adventure yet her books are always clean. Barbara is well on her way to catching up to Ms. Livingston. She is now turning her wonderful ebooks into Audiobooks. Look for them on Amazon.

Connect with Barbara:

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/barbara-goss
My website: http://www.barbaragossbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraGossBooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Barbee44