RANDOM THOUGHTS

Post by Doris McCraw

It's the first Sunday of the month and time for another post. I pondered what I would write about. There are a lot of things on my plate these days.So I've decided Random Thoughts will be my theme. Those who truly know me, well, hang on.

1. My story 'North Star' is in the recently released Medieval Anthology "One Hot Knight". Deciding to participate, I needed to find my story. As someone who loves history, I looked at non-traditional areas for the story setting.There was the large tome about Medieval Spain that was just calling for me to pick it up off the library shelf. What a gold mine. Moors, Spaniards, Italians, French, a Pope and the Reconquista had the story off and running in my head. Hope you all enjoy it.

2. I'm trying to finish up a paper for the Pikes Peak Library District on Doc Susie, Dr. Quinn and the myth of the lone female doctor who had to fight for everything they got. While it was not always easy, the facts and events give lie to some of that myth. If I didn't have to always cite my resources I would have had this paper done weeks ago.

3. And speaking of Female Doctors in Colorado before 1900, for someone who is not fond of doctors, the stories of these women and what they accomplished continues to fascinate and draw me in. An advertisement for a woman doctor appears in the Denver paper in 1873 and the ad cites many male doctors as her references, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

4. Recently was Helen (Hunt) Jackson at the local cemetery walk. I've neglected Helen over the past couple of years. That is sad, for she has many wonderful things to say that are just as important today as they were in the 1800s. Her poetry, stunning. If you ever get a chance, read 'Last Words', 'Two Truths' and 'Emgravit'.You can search online for most of these. Her "Bits about Home Matters" can be found on the Project Gutenberg site.

5. If you haven't read "Spoon River Anthology" by Edgar Lee Masters, go do it right now! You can also this on the Project Gutenberg site.

6. I'll end with some of my favorite quotes:
          Marcus Aurelius:
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live.

The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.

          Mark Twain:

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

          Dorothy Parker:

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

Don't look at me in that tone of voice.

I hate writing, I love having written.

So those are my random thoughts as I head back to the paper, the novel, the short stories and the photos and haiku. Who says life is boring? Too many stories to tell and books to read. Have a great July! OH, and by the way, don't forget to get your copy of "One Hot Knight". I don't think you will be sorry. **GRIN**

Angela Raines is the pen name for Doris McCraw. Doris also writes haiku posted five days a week at – http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com and has now passed one thousand haiku and photos posted on this blog. Check out her other work or like her Amazon author page:  http://amzn.to/1I0YoeL

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New Release -- ONE HOT KNIGHT -- Giveaway!

Come join us for a medieval collection of wonderful romantic tales that take place during the hottest part of the year with ONE HOT KNIGHT! This unusual offering of summertime stories set between the medieval times of 1100-1300, of hot nights and even hotter knights, will keep you reading long past bedtime.

You’ll be entranced with these five tales of knights and their ladies from some of today’s top medieval authors, as well as some rising stars in this up-and-coming genre.

Lindsay Townsend, Deborah Macgillivray, Cynthia Breeding, Angela Raines, and Keena Kincaid offer you some of the best medieval-themed stories written, filled with romance and intrigue, laced with traditions and celebrations of this rich era.

Prairie Rose Publications is proud to introduce yet another wonderful collection of exciting tales for your reading pleasure. ONE HOT KNIGHT is sure to bring you hours of enjoyment as you read on to find out how these knights and ladies will find their very own "happily-ever-after" endings at this very “hottest” time of year!

* * *

In Lindsay Townsend’s A GATHERING OF HERBS, a father is betrayed by one son while the other tries to save him. Can Solomon defeat his wicked brother and also win beautiful Agnes, the woman he loves—or will he have to make a choice?

There’s something odd about Cianna Mackenzie—but she meets her match in Deborah Macgillivray’s GAMBIT, CHECK, AND MATE. Cianna strikes a bargain with powerful Iain Sinclair that she never intends to uphold. But how else can she save her people? Now, how will she save herself?

Scottish-born Brenna Montgomerie plays a deadly game of deception in Cynthia Breeding’s A KNIGHTLY CHALLENGE. When she’s found out, can she dare hope that a handsome English knight will show her mercy—and love?

With the help of the mysterious Esteban Montero, beautiful hostage Sophia Corbolini escapes her captors. Now, she must decide if she trusts him enough to put her fate in his hands through binding marriage vows. NORTH STAR by Angela Raines pits family members against one another as a new, true love shines bright.

A young woman’s life is changed forever in an instant in A QUIET NIGHT AT THE HAPPY MONK by Keena Kincaid. The Happy Monk tavern is everything to Johanna—home and livelihood. When the king sets his sights on her property in the midst of an uprising, Johanna must flee with her sometime lover, Giric—who happens to be a spy. How can she give up everything for love?    

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a ONE HOT NIGHT ebook.

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New Release -- A HEART BROKEN BY SARA BARNARD -- Giveaway!

Book Two

An Everlasting Heart

At last, the War Between the States is over! Sanderson Redding is finally home, and for Charlotte, life is good. Until the Army comes knocking. 

Sanderson's old captors have charged him with the murder of Lieutenant Lantz, who died mysteriously on the streets of St. Louis when the South surrendered. With help from the most unlikely sort, can Sanderson convince the Yankee jury of his innocence?

Left alone when Sanderson is carted off for murder, newly pregnant Charlotte is despondent. However, when the stress of their predicament threatens the life of their unborn child, Charlotte is more grateful than ever to have Minerva as her sister-in-law, and roommate.

When the judge sentences Sanderson to a suicide mission in lieu of hanging by the neck until dead, Charlotte knows she can't go along on this adventure. Between a hard pregnancy and a rash of hydrophobia that threatens the entire Arkansas countryside, Charlotte wonders if Sanderson will have a home waiting for him, if he survives the mission, and if he wants to come home at all. However, a freakish dog bite in the midst of the outbreak may well be the end of them all. 

EXCERPT

     “Don’t die till we get to have some fun, girl.” Samuel’s whiskey-ruined voice was hot in Charlotte’s ear. Somewhere behind her, Dean’s maniacal laughter pulsated with cruelty. The Bowie knife grew closer to her face, but with her arms lashed behind her, Charlotte could only watch in helpless terror as the promise of death drew nearer.

     “Sanderson!” she screamed, just before the icy blade met the skin of her neck.

     “I’m here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Sanderson murmured into her hair. His arm, muscled and tanned, tightened around her middle. His voice was thick with sleep. “Was it that dream again?”

     She sat up and traced the knife scar at the base of her neck. The air was crisp in their loft and a rash of goose bumps cropped up on her exposed skin. “It was one of them. The knife one. I always wake up before they kill me, but I swear,” Charlotte shook her head to clear the nightmare from her mind, “it gets scarier every time.”

     “They’ll get worse before they get better.” Sanderson propped himself up on an elbow and ran his hand down her thigh. “Mine are pretty bad right now, too. But when I wake up and look at you, I know that I’m finally home.” 

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ecopy of A Heart Broken by Sara Barnard.

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Have I got a story for you

A very fanciful news item made the rounds a few years ago: the discovery of the first gay caveman. When I saw the item, I figured the headline writers were just being salacious, as such writers are. However, the gay caveman was the conclusion of the lead archeologist.

A former newspaper editor of mine used to say, “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.” He was being sarcastic, of course. I can only imagine his words—most of them unprintable—if this story came across his desk.

The facts are that a man from the Corded Ware culture was found buried in a manner previously only seen in graves for females. According to the article, the society, sometimes called the Battle Ax or the Single Grave culture, typically buried people with gender-specific tools—weapons for men, pots and jugs for women.

So what does this mean? Well, apparently that the man was gay. Lead archeologist Kamila Remisova Vesinova said, “From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake. Far more likely is that he was a man with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transsexual.”

Far more likely? Far more likely that the archeologist either is looking for publicity or she forgot to check her biases at the door. Almost all societies did—and do—take burial rites seriously.

I’m not saying that the man in question wasn’t gay. In fact, we have no idea who he was, what he was, or why he was buried as a woman—and that is a great plot bunny. As a novelist, I could spin quite a tale about how the man came to be buried in such a manner. I actually made notes about a man who attacked the lord’s daughter and was buried in such a manner as an act of revenge. I haven't written the story yet, but it's fermenting in my mind.

What about you? If you were going to use this incident in a tale, what would be the story behind it? 

Keena Kincaid writes historical romances in which passion, magic and treachery collide to create unforgettable stories. You can find out more about her books here. Leave a comment for a chance to win one of her books.

Placer Gold Mining in California

When most people think of gold mining during the California Gold Rush, they have in mind placer mining. Placer gold is surface gold found in sand or gravel in rivers and creeks.

 In the early days of a gold strike when surface gold was readily available in gravel of stream beds, panning was the method of choice. This iconic picture shows a miner with a pan mining for gold. 

Panning Along the Tuolumne

Early miners, especially, if they could not find a gold pan, used tightly-woven Indian baskets. 

Gold Pan-Columbia State Park Museum, California

Panning for gold was the first method used in the California gold fields because it was inexpensive, fairly simple, and could be done by one person. This method used water to separate particles of gold from sand, gravel, and clay. A miner would shovel dirt into a pan, then swirl the pan under the water, until the gravel, clay, and most of the dirt was washed away. Since gold is heavier than these other substances, any gold in the original sample would remain in the pan. While this work was a simple and inexpensive method, it turned out to be extremely physically demanding. Miners had to work for hours in the sun, squatting near a stream, carefully performing precise movements so no gold would be lost.

Improvements were soon made to the process of panning for gold. First, the rocker was developed, an oblong box mounted on rockers and higher at one end.

Groups of three men usually worked together to pass dirt through a sieve, collecting the gold and gold dust that remained trapped behind the cleats nailed to the bottom. 

Rocker box-Columbia State Park Museum, California

Another variation was the sluice box, with cleats. The sluice box is a tool used in gold mining in which, a long trough style box with riffle bars or raised blocks on the bottom of the trough, trap pieces of gold as water, sand, and gravel wash through the box.

Rocker box with cleats-Columbia State Park Museum, California

These miners are shown standing among several sluice boxes.  

This method was easier than panning, as men could exchange jobs. Also, they were able to process much more dirt in a day, thus increasing the amount of gold found.

Since a rocker or cradle required at least three men, it was necessary for miners to find people with whom they were willing to share.

The long tom was an improvement on the rocker, and usually required 6 to 8 men. This was the start of developments that would move mining away from individual miners, and into the control of large corporations.

In the period of the California Gold Rush itself (roughly 1848-1853), perhaps 10-12 million ounces of gold were produced (worth many billions of dollars at today's prices). This was the era when individuals could hope to strike it rich.

 

Scales & Gold Dust-Columbia State Park Museum-California

Quite a few lucky miners did, but most barely made enough to live on. Eventually, many of the men drifted to other areas promising a boom, to other types of gold production, or other types businesses.

Sources:

Hayes, Garry, “Mining History and Geology of the California Gold Rush,” http://hayesg.faculty.mjc.edu/Gold_Rush.html

Columbia State Park Museum, Columbia, California

 
http://picturethis.museumca.org/timeline/gold-rush-1848-1860/mining-techniques/info

 Zina Abbott is the pen name used by Robyn Echols for her historical novels. Her first three novellas in the Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series, Big Meadows Valentine, A Resurrected Heart, and Her Independent Spirit were published by Prairie Rose Publications. Her novelette, He Is a Good Man, was published in the Lariats, Letters and Lace anthology.