Researching Fun

Are you ready for a little "eeeiiuuw" factor today? Research can sure turn over some unlikely facts from "back in the day." (Which is what makes it fun!) While doing research for The Gunslinger and the Heiress I found a tidbit that I just had to include in my story.

What would you do it you entered a restaurant and found the ceiling crawling with spiders?

Tillman Augustus Burnes, An Irishman known for his larger-than-life personality, grew up in San Francisco. There he came to appreciate the infamous Cobweb Palace at the end of Meiggs' Wharf where spiders and transformed the saloon with swags of cobwebs decorating the ceiling and upper walls.

When 'Till' came south to San Diego for health reasons, he got his first job at the Last Chance Saloon on 5th Street. He saved his money until he could buy his own saloon, naming it The Phoenix, located just one block from the docks. He opened his doors for business in 1875 and started collecting spiders to decorate his new place. He also hunted and trapped small animals and birds in southern California to display in cages, and bought exotic animals off sailors coming from South America. At one time, his menagerie housed a coyote, a bear, an anteater, and a monkey, along with exotic birds.

"Bruin" caused a few incidences quite honorable to a bear, but not appreciated by humans. Till chained him outside the saloon to a tree. One particularly hot day, a group of children taunted Bruin. Aroused from his nap, the angry bear broke loose of his chain and scared the children, creating havoc until finally lassoed. After that, Till had an iron cage built and brought the bear inside. That worked until one particular customer who liked Bruin and regularly let the bear lick the beer off his face, had the tip of his nose bit off. After the ensuing lawsuit, Till moved Bruin to his home.


After ten years, the spiders had a foot-thick wall of webbing over the ceiling. Visitors came from far and wide to see the animals and the spiders at work. The Phoenix was a city landmark and sailors made sure to stop there frequently. Till, along with his saloon, started a stage line down to Mexico and escorted tours into the back country.

It was just before one of these tours that his regular bartender became sick and Till hired a another bartender (unfamiliar with his business) so that he could quickly leave with his scheduled tour. Ten days later he returned to find that the man had cleaned out every last cobweb in the saloon, destroying his work (or the spiders work) of ten years.

Nowadays the health commissioner would shut such place down in a fast minute, but I imagine Till's Cobweb Emporium must have been a sight to see once in a lifetime!

How about you? What unusual sights have you come across in your travels?

Kathryn's most recent title is 

Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs. 

Read an excerpt here ~

Connect with Kathryn!

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  About the Book:

  Back in the officer's arms… 

 Four years ago, Tom Barrington shared a connection with  Elizabeth  Morley that was like nothing he had  ever experienced.  But as a solitary  soldier, he knew marriage was out of  the  question. 

 So when he strolls back into her life,  Elizabeth can't believe it. He  once  broke her heart, and now he's back—  more irresistible than  ever! And when  the dangers of Tom's lifestyle catch up  with him,  the question remains: can  he be the safe harbor she craves?

My newest release, Familiar     Stranger in Clear Springs, is a sweet,   clean romance that takes place in early San Diego. The inspiration came from research when I learned of the gold runs that would take place from Julian City in the back country to the bank in New San Diego. I also had a character—Elizabeth—who had become quite “real” to me and I knew I wanted to tell her story. Trouble was —she lived in La Playa on the water. How in the world was I going to get her from her comfortable mercantile on the harbor to the gold town of Julian?  (You’ll have to read it to find out.)

Tom Barrington is a special agent whose last government assignment   nearly killed him—and did kill his partner. He’s not sure he has the strength of will or body to do his job anymore—a job he used to feel so passionate about.

The day he strides back into Elizabeth’s life and demands to know about her marriage is the day Elizabeth realizes she never forgave—or forgot—him. And when Elizabeth is caught in the middle of his next dangerous assignment, Tom must confront the enemy who would separate them forever.

Paperback release: Available Now!    Ebook release:  January 1, 2016  

Buy Links:                  

 Excerpt ~ First meeting  

Elizabeth moved to the stove and filled the kettle with water. Stuffing kindling and old brown wrap­ping paper into the stove, she struck a match to it. “Just to take the chill off.”

Oh, my. She gave herself a mental shake. Here she was talking to her cat. Again.

Bells tinkled as the front door opened.

“We’re closed for the day,” she called out absently without looking up. A body should know one didn’t do commerce so late in the day. Who would be want­ ing something at this hour?

“Ma’am?”

Odd how a voice could stay in a person’s memory forever. The deep tone sent tremors to the ends of her toes. She nearly dropped the kettle. As it was her hand shook violently. A vision flashed through her mem­ory of the stranger she’d seen riding through town earlier. Now she could put a name to that form Tom. Tom Barrington. She stood frozen to the spot, unable to move for a moment. Then she glanced up.

Despite the thick dark mustache and scruffy beard hiding most of his face, she recognized him. It was his eyes. The blueness that had been so striking all those years ago was still there. His shoulders were broader than she remembered, and his frame taller, leaner, as though he’d lived hard without a lot of the finer comforts. That barely registered. She’d given up on ever seeing him again and now here he was standing before her. She could scarcely remember to breathe.

He stood in the doorway, black Stetson in hand, waiting for permission to enter the store farther. So clearly did the image come to her of the last day she had seen him standing there in his soldier blues that she drew in a shaky breath and set down the kettle. He wasn’t wearing a corporal’s uniform now, but a dark gray leather duster. His clothes had a layer of grit on them at least a half-inch thick. The wind off the ocean had tousled his dark brown, nearly black hair until it was completely lacking its parting on the side—or perhaps he  o longer kept it as he once had when he was in the military. He looked  surprised to see her—perhaps even shocked.

“Elizabeth?”

How many times had she hoped he’d walk back through that door over the past four years? One hun­dred? Two hundred? She’d imagined all sorts of sce­ narios. He’d rush in and sweep her off her feet. She’d run to him and throw her arms around him. Always, always, the dreams had ended in a deep kiss.  Of course, that had been when she’d thought he’d re­turn for her upon  receiving her letter. That hope…that dream…had died years ago. And, unlike  Laza­rus, it would not be revived. Four years was too long to wait for anyone.

Oddly, the thought flashed through her mind that she was glad she hadn’t yet changed from her day dress as she so often did once she shut up the store for the night. Usually she anticipated the removal of her corset at the end of a long day much as she imagined a horse reveled in the loss of his cinch and  saddle. For now, the laced binding under her dark plum-colored skirt and  bodice held her upright and firm. Perhaps she had enough layers on to feel    sufficiently armored against his charm now.

After all, he was the one who had left her. With­out word, without a care for what she’d thought they meant to each other, without asking her to wait for him or taking her with him. He’d been a scoundrel…and she hated him for it.

She swallowed. “Mr. Barrington.” The sound of his name came firm and cool. “I assume it is…‘Mr.’ now by the way you are clothed. Not ‘Corporal.’ Not ‘Captain.’”

“‘Mr.’ is fine.” He ducked his head under the door frame and stepped farther into the store. The door swung shut behind him with a solid whump. He didn’t even jump at the sound. In fact, he appeared a bit dazed as he looked at her, almost as though he were seeing a ghost. “What are you doing here?”

Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs
© 2016 Kathryn Albright

For more please go to my website: http://kathrynalbright.com/about-the-books/familiar-stranger-in-clear-springs/

About the Author:  

 Golden Heart finalist and recipient of the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit, author Kathryn Albright writes American-set historical romance that celebrates the strength of courage, hope and love against all odds.

Visit Kathryn: 

 www.kathrynalbright.com  | Newsletter |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads 

San Diego's Colorful Past

One of the things I enjoy most about writing historical romances is intertwining real history with the story that I am creating. I am often inspired by true happenings of the past--some well-known and some not so well-known. I believe this lends authenticity to the setting and it also adds depth to the plot.

My newest release, The Gunslinger and the Heiress, takes place in 1888 San Diego when the Hotel Del Coronado was first opened. I've posted about that in a previous post so I won't go into it here.  I did, however, want to give a little bit of history about San Diego at that time.

During the time of The Gunslinger and the Heiress, the influx of emigrants and land speculators changed the town from a sleepy border town with distinctly Mexican flavor to more of a "wild west" town.

During the 1880s, the town's real estate book and the plans for the Santa Fe Railroad attracted many colorful characters. Wyatt Earp was one such character, arriving with his third wife, Josie, five years after his famous gunfight with the Clanton gang at the OK corral in Tucson, Arizona. Thirty-seven year old Wyatt ran and/or leased four gambling halls in the city, speculated on land, and officiated at boxing matches during the seven years he lived in San Diego. When he won a trotter in a card game, he took interest in horse racing at the nearby track just north of town.

At his saloons, men played faro, blackjack, poker and keno. It is said, Wyatt could count on profits of as much as $1,000 per night during the years just before San Diego's real estate bust. A few of his saloons were located in the red light district known to locals as the Stingaree. Here bars, bordellos and opium dens saturated the landscape. It was said a man could get stung as badly in the Stingaree as he could in the waters of the nearby bay by the stingray fish.

Above ~ one of Wyatt Earp's restored saloons as it looks today. 

photo credit: Bernard Gagnon

The renovated Horton Grand Hotel, actually a combination of two historic buildings, rests on the very plot of ground where Ida Bailey's "cat house" once stood in the heart of the Stingaree "red light" district during the boom days of early San Diego.

It wasn't long before street cars and electric wires bisected the streets. San Diego was growing and changing from a booming cowboy town to a fledgling city in the blink of an eye...

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Kathryn Albright writes stories that celebrate courage and hope and love against all odds. She writes American-set historical romance with a dash of grit thrown in and of course…a happily, ever, after. 

Visit her at www.kathrynalbright.com, on Facebook , Twitter, Pinterest or Goodreads. 

Of Devil Fish & Widow's Walks

Whenever I think of whaling, I envision "Widow's Walks" on tall Victorian manors, frigid blustery days, and the longing and romance associated with the captain returning from a voyage at sea to his New England home. Because of my romanticized view, it was with some fascination I discovered whaling took place in early San Diego. I quickly realized that life then was hard, messy, and often downright scary. 

Widow's Walk

Gray whales migrate south and pass by San Diego in December and January. They winter in Baja California and then migrate north to Alaska, passing by San Diego in March, April and May.

Although shore whaling had been going on along the coastline for many years, no operations where located in San Diego's harbor until the Packard Whaling Company arrived in 1857. The Packard brothers, 40-year old twins from Massachusetts and hailing from a long line of Portuguese whalers, set up the try-works and small company shacks. Over the next 25 years other whaling companies came and went bringing Portuguese, Chinese, and Anglo-American workers.

The men used 28-foot open boats to chase after a whale, harpoon it, and then go for the scariest ride of their lives as the whale tried to shake them loose. The California Gray soon became known as the "Devil Fish" due to its intense fighting. When the whale gave up--evidenced by its last long exhalation and its blow-hole covered with clotted blood--the men would pull it back to Ballast Point and drag it ashore.

Breaching Gray Whale

There, they would cut off the chunks of blubber - a process called flensing - by slowly rolling the massive carcass with a winch. Using mincing tubs, mincing-knives, pikes, bailers, and other implements they would render out the oil at the try-works. A 150 gallon cast-iron cauldron called a try-pot was used to further extract the oil. Black oily smoke could be seen from San Diego and the stench was noticed for miles. The carcass was left on the beach, waiting for the tide to carry it back out to sea.

Scrimshaw

Oil from the whale was used as a lubricant in manufacturing and as a fuel for lamps and in soaps and creams. The bones were used in ladies corsets, bustles, umbrella ribs, jagging wheels for pastry decorating, and scrimshaw (Decorative carving of bones and ivory.) Spermaceti, a wax-like substance, was used in tanning leather and high quality candles. Baleen was used for buggy whips, carriage springs, fishing poles, ladies stays and frames for traveling bags. Ambergris was used for perfume.

The industry declined as the whales were decimated and petroleum took over with a newer, cheaper product. (Thank goodness because that saved the animals from extinction!) In 1870, the U.S. government ruled that Ballast Point was public land and military property which made way for the establishment of Fort Rosecrans. The whalers had to leave.

My newest book will be released in December 2015, A Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs. It takes place in La Playa after the whalers have left the area. The protagonist, Tom Barrington, is a soldier at Fort Rosecrans. It is available for pre-order. Here is a blurb ~

Back in the Officer's Arms...

Four years ago, Tom Barrington shared a connection with Elizabeth Morley that was like nothing he had ever experienced. But as a solitary soldier, he knew marriage was out of the question. 

So when he strolls back into her life, Elizabeth can't believe it. He once broke her heart, and now he's back--more irresistible than ever! And when the dangers of Tom's lifestyle catch up with him, the question remains: can he be the safe harbor she craves?

Visit Kathryn on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and her website. 

Sign up for her newsletter here.

Romancing San Diego's Amazing Past

Since this blog is just starting up (thanks to Robyn Echols!) I thought I’d introduce myself and say what a thrill it is to be here among such wonderful story-tellers! 

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The stories I write are often set in southern California where I grew up. San Diego’s history, with its whaling port, ships, and “hide” industry along with gold discovered in the back country, makes it a fascinating place to write about. I love the Spanish and Native American influence there too.

My latest sweet historical, 

The Gunslinger and the Heiress, 

takes place when Wyatt Earp owned three businesses in San Diego, when the Hotel Del Coronado had its grand opening, and when a young boy stumbled into town saying that he had been living on an island off the coast with pirates. No one believed him until he produced a few items from the pirate’s stolen booty. (I do love adventure in my books but this is for real!)

The opening of a famous hotel figures prominently in my book and so I thought I’d share a bit about the place. The Hotel Del Coronado opened in February 1888, as the vision of two San Diego entrepreneurs. Elisha Babcock, Jr. had been a railroad executive in Indiana who came to the coast for his health and his friend, H.L. Story (of the Story and Clark Piano Company) envisioned a place where people could come to escape the harsh winters in other parts of the country.

Hotel Del Coronado

At the time, the flat peninsula of Coronado looked like a huge sandbar. The main occupants were jack rabbits and quail and sagebrush. San Diego was still a sleepy town without railroad access and to get to the “island” one had to go by boat across the harbor or by horse and carriage twenty miles around on the thin strip of sand known as Silver Strand.

Babcock and Story bought the entire peninsula for $110,000 in 1885. They had a lot of work ahead of them. Fresh water had to be piped all the way from the San Diego River (at Old Town), a ferry system and railroad had to be put in place in order to transport building supplies. They even built a power plant—second only to San Francisco's in the state. (Electricity in California was virtually non-existent at the time.) 

They marked out their town in a grid formation, planted exotic trees and bushes in place of the sage, started a foundry and a laundry that would support the main focus of the island—a resort hotel they wanted to be “the talk of the western world.” Architects submitted their proposals and Clinton Day’s plan was approved—a striking and unusual Victorian. Shortly after, the Hotel Del Coronado became known simply (and affectionately) as “The Del.”

Early San Diego 

Opening day, which is featured in my story, was a “soft” opening. The kitchens were not completed for another three weeks. Guests who had made reservations found their rooms unfinished. It didn’t stop people from arriving…and continuing to come.

The Hotel Del Coronado is now a famous National Historic Landmark that commemorates the history of the United States. It is world renowned and has been host to more than fourteen presidents, foreign leaders, well-known Hollywood celebrities, and my brother on his honeymoon. (Does that make me famous by association?)

It is also host to a ghost—but that is another story…

Blurb from The Gunslinger and the Heiress:

Hannah Lansing, heir to a large shipping venture on the west coast, must discover the fate of her lost ships or marry to save the family business.  Unfortunately, the one person that can help her is a man she once bitterly betrayed.

Caleb Houston still carries the scars of his last encounter with the Nob Hill princess although wild horses wouldn’t drag that fact out of him now. The sooner she gets her answers and leaves town, the easier he’ll breathe.

But when her digging unearths more than the missing cargo, disturbing a sleeping rattler, she becomes a target. And Caleb finds that guarding her life could mean he’ll lose his own heart.

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Links for my books ~    Amazon    Barnes and Noble  

       Website ~                   www.kathrynalbright.com

Chat with me ~          Facebook,  Twitter, or  Goodreads!

I would love to hear from you! Introduce yourself and tell me what draws you to historical fiction!

                                                                              Kathryn