Showing posts with label Western Heroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Western Heroes. Show all posts

8/15/2017

Best of the West: Meet Strong Woman and Adventurous Men

Today's Best of the West features a guest post from Western writer Frank Kelso
Western writer Frank Kelso

The Pioneer Women

In late June, I attended the Western Writers of America Conference in Kansas City, MO, which is the trailhead for the Santa Fe, the Oregon, and the California Trails. Kansas City takes great pride in its statuary and its fountains. Two memorable statues in Kansas City for me are the Pioneer Mother (http://bit.ly/2uvkSqz) in Penn Valley Park near downtown, and the Pioneer Crossing Park (http://bit.ly/2t2MXRK) in the nearby Shawnee Mission area of Kansas. Earlier in the year, we detoured east from I-35 to visit Ponca City, OK, to visit the Pioneer Woman Museum, home of an equally well-know statue of the Pioneer Woman.
These memorials pay tribute to the role strong-willed women played in developing the West, as we know it today. While each bronze is unique, all three emphasize the role of mother and child. The family produced a leavening effect on a wild, untamed, and uncharted land. The family reminded all of the fundamental fabric of society, the marriage of man and woman, who were to procreate and work the land.
The society of the mid- to late-1800s placed a multitude of restrictions on a woman’s role. However, the rigid societal structure weakened after crossing the Missouri border into the territories. The nature of the quest forced women to become an active partner, for survival, if for no other reason.
Each of us has our version of the strong-willed, determined woman standing beside her man, reloading the cap-and-ball rifles to ward off marauders. If the man fell, the woman picked up the rifle, continuing the fight to save herself and her children. The surviving woman, now a widow, faced a different life, then as now.
Statue of Pioneer Woman
Kansas City, MO
Life for a single mother in 1866 wasn’t all that different than in 1966. If a woman decided to remarry, she uprooted her family to move with her new man. In the process, the mother and the children experience a lot of anxiety about their new life. In my story, Tibby’s Hideout, Bess Newcomb says yes to a traveler who visited her twice a year while he carried trade goods to and from San Antonio. He wrote her wonderful letters. After accepting his proposal, Bess loads her family and their belongings into her Studebaker station wagon to move to Las Vegas.
Wait you say—“They didn’t have Studebaker cars in 1866. Where’d she get a Studebaker?” Studebaker of 1966 was the same company that built sturdy, reliable overland freight wagons and smaller station wagons in 1866. What about LasVegas? It wasn’t there in 1866. No, this is not the one in Nevada. In 1866, travelers on the Santa Fe Trail found Las Vegas, New Mexico, as the welcome last stop on the prairie before climbing into the mountains to reach Santa Fe.
As often experienced by new families, Tibby Newcomb wasn’t ready for a new father, or for moving from Comfort, Texas, and leaving his grandpa behind. Eight-year-old Tibby’s solution was to run-away. His Ma called him the “man of the house,” ever since he could remember. “Got her a new beau—she don’t need me anymore.” Tibby’s childish logic leads him into trouble.
Bess’s treatment of Tibby’s misbehavior may shock some of today’s readers. I remind those readers that in 1866 “Spare the rod, spoil the child,” was more than a sampler on the wall—they put it to practice. Bess gives Tibby a knuckle pop on the head when he says, “dang.” She yanked him up straight by the hair of his head for sassing her.
Tibby finds the ideal place to hide, expecting his mother to leave him behind with grandpa. It’s such a good hideout, a gang of rustlers uses it—much to Tibby’s surprise. A reluctant Tibby leads the rustlers to Bess. In her first story, True to the Union, Bess fought two battles to defend her home and children. Once again, Bess must step up when her new husband falls wounded. The new family survives the encounter, a little worse for the wear. HEA.
The women who settled the west, as portrayed by Bess, became determined and strong-willed to survive the harsh land. The same respect is due those women who ventured west to marry strangers. They were not “came later” or “moved here,” (as opposed to “born here.”) These women rolled their sleeves, pitching in to stand by their men. The memorial statues mentioned in the opening were created to honor all of those pioneer women.

But wait…there’s more!

Tibby’s Hideout is one of my short stories in the anthology of eight western romances called The Posse. It’s available on Amazon, but if you want a free ebook of The Posse, join my blog, Traveling the West, and I’ll send you a copy—free! http://authorfrankkelso.blogspot.com

Bess is the protagonist of a Chapter book series, The Pioneer Woman, I plan to release in the summer of 2018. Bess, her sons Tibby and Isaiah, and her new husband, Joe Robidoux, will have more adventures.

~~~

Frank has also partnered with John O'Melveny Woods to bring us California Bound, a Western adventure starring two unlikely heroes...


Purchase on Amazon

 During three years in a Union POW camp, Jeb and Zach dreamed of California’s Gold fields -- but the road to California leads through Texas, where Jeb planned to visit his sister.
A cross-border war rages along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas …Cattle rustled … Ranches burned … Innocents killed or kidnapped!
The Cortiña bandoleros raid Texas. After killing her family, Cortiña kidnaps fourteen-year-old Rebecca, Jeb’s niece. Cortiña’s hideout is an adobe-walled fort. A cavalry company can't take it without artillery. How can two men attack it and expect to walk away?
Texas Lawmen won’t … The U.S. Cavalry can’t … two Civil War veterans wade the Rio Bravo to rescue a stolen girl.



 Frank Kelso


Frank grew up around Kansas City, Missouri, the origin of the Santa Fe Trail. Historic sites, monuments, and statues abound highlighting the journey west, including the Wagons West, Pioneer Woman, and the Indian Scout located on the bluffs overlooking the wide Missouri. Writing Western themed books fit with his upbringing. A biomedical research scientist in his day job, Frank writes short stories and novels to keep family traditions alive.

Frank's website: http://frankkelsoauthor.com
Twitter: @authorfrankelso
John O'Melveny Woods

John has written television and movie scripts, on-line articles, and books since attending the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He is CEO of Intellect Publishing, LLC, a boutique book publisher providing both print and e-books. His books include, 10-Minute Win, Return to Treasure Island, a sequel based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic, Treasure Island, Jesse James’ Secret, The Lost Tomb of Alexander–A Seekers Novel, and The Crusaders, a memoir of growing up in the Southern California hippy/surfer culture in the 1960s-70s.

Links to John’s web pages:

 Is there a strong woman who had an influence in your life? Who is she, and what did you learn from her?


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7/21/2015

E.E. Burke's #BestOfTheWest: The Western Hero

Where is my Marlboro Man
Viggo Mortensen in "Hidalgo"
Inspiration for my Sheriff Garrity
Where is his shiny gun
Where is my lonely ranger
Where have all the cowboys gone

       Paula Cole isn’t lamenting the disappearance of range riders. She’s talking legend. Some call him the cowboy hero. A better term might be Western hero. 
      In my books, the Western hero is as likely to wear a black hat as a white one. He’s too complex to reduce to one characteristic. However, there is a common thread shared by these sexy alpha males. Earthy and natural or suave and sophisticated, they’re all driven by a personal code of honor. 
      Don’t confuse honor with being “good.” In fact, my Western hero can rationalize all sorts of bad behavior as a necessity. But deep down, he’s loyal to a fault and committed to the protection of those in his care--his “tribe” as I like to call them--which includes his ladylove, family, friends, even people who work for him. He may start out a loner, but he can’t stay that way for long because his nature is to lead and protect. 
      In Fugitive Hearts, Frank Garrity is the quintessential Western hero. But the sheriff is also a tortured man who believes his failure to protect a loved one has condemned him to a life without love. Here's a blurb and sneak peek excerpt.

“Sheriff…I just killed my husband.” 

Available for preorder
Hotel owner Claire Daines is a respected member of the community. Until she shocks the entire town by rushing into a saloon wearing only her nightclothes and confessing to very inebriated lawman. Is she a murderer? Is she crazy? Or is she covering up something worse?

For years, Claire hushed up her husband’s dangerous condition to guard his reputation. When tragedy strikes, she puts her own life at risk when she vows to keep another terrible secret. 

Sheriff Frank Garrity must get to the truth, although the tough, hard-drinking lawman hides his own secrets and would rather walk a lonely path than face his demons. But as Frank unravels Claire’s subterfuge and unlocks her heart, he’s torn between his desire to save her and his duty to bring her to justice.

Excerpt

After Claire rushes into a saloon in obvious shock and makes a startling confession, the sheriff takes her back to the hotel where she and her husband live on the second floor. He discovers her husband's body and determines the man died from a gunshot wound to the chest, fired at close range.

“Where’s the gun?”
“Gun?” She said it like she’d never heard the word before.
“Pistol, revolver. What you used to shoot him.”
“I don’t…remember where I left it.”
A terrible shock could do that to a person. Make them forget. He hadn’t felt anything like a gun when he’d carried her over here. He crossed his arms over his chest so he wouldn’t be tempted to check. “What do you remember?”
His question was met with a blank look.
Perhaps a more direct approach would dislodge a memory. “How did he get shot?”
She frowned as if thinking hard. “He…tried to take the gun away from me.”
Frank assembled a mental picture. “With the barrel pointed at his chest?”
“No…yes….” Confusion, then distress flickered across her features. “I don’t remember.”
Unease tiptoed up Frank’s spine. If they’d fought, she might’ve gotten scared and picked up a gun, could’ve pulled the trigger without meaning to. “Don’t remember…or don’t want to incriminate yourself?”
In the dim room, her wide eyes appeared almost black. He’d looked into them enough times to know they were warm brown flecked with gold. Normally, they snapped with keen intelligence or flashed with dry wit. Tonight they were dark with fear.
“Here, now, didn’t mean to scare you…” Unable to resist the protective urge, he cupped his hands on her shoulders. The physical contact seemed to shake her out of whatever state she’d slipped into and she twitched in response. He dropped his arms to his sides with a sharp reminder that he was supposed to interview her, not hug her. To keep his hands out of trouble, he hooked his thumbs over his gun belt. “Just tell me why you pointed a gun at your husband.”
Her throat worked convulsively, a moist sheen appeared on her upper lip. She raised her hand to her forehead, swaying.
Seeing what was coming, Frank caught her as her limbs gave way. He cradled the limp woman in his arms, cursing himself up one side and down the other for causing her to swoon by interrogating her with her dead husband lying there, barely cold.
He held her closer, protectively. The movement pressed her soft breasts against his chest. His body’s reaction was sharp and immediate—and inappropriate as hell.
He cast a frantic look around to find a place to put her. A door presumably led into a bedroom. He’d take her in there. Then he’d fetch the doc before he woke up the undertaker.
The bedroom was dark, but he could see enough to spot a bed and he settled her on top of the spread. She hardly made a dent in the mattress. After slipping his overcoat from beneath her, he snatched a quilt off a rack near the foot of the bed and draped it over her. “Mrs. Daines?”
Her long lashes fluttered. “Where’s Billy?” she asked in a fearful tone.
“Take it easy. He’s around here somewhere, I’m sure.” The orphaned boy she'd taken in wandered like a stray cat, but his whereabouts was the least of her worries right now. Frank tucked the quilt up to her chin. When she tried to push the covers away, he caught her hands.
Her hold on his fingers was surprisingly tight. That was fine if she needed to cling to him for a while longer. He understood better than she could know, the disbelief and denial, followed by useless remorse and unending guilt. He hadn’t pulled the trigger on the gun that had killed his wife, but he might as well have, and self-condemnation ate at his soul like an insidious disease.
She screwed her eyes shut, indicating she was awake, but perhaps hoping he’d go away. He wouldn’t get much useful out of her tonight, and wasn’t so hardhearted as to try. As it was, she would suffer nightmares, the kind he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy much less a sweet lady like Claire.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll send for the undertaker, and tell Doc to give you something to help you rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” He closed his calloused palms over Claire’s smooth hands. He couldn’t picture her holding a gun, much less firing one. Yet, she’d admitted to shooting…
No. She hadn’t only said she shot her husband, as in, by accident. She had said she killed him. That implied something different. Intent.
Frank shook his head at his suspicious nature. He was too used to dealing with liars and murderers. Claire was neither. She was a fine, upstanding lady and a respected woman in the community. What did it matter how she worded her confession, considering her fragile state? If she said it was an accident, there was no reason to doubt her.

E.E. Burke
About the Author

 Weave together rich historical detail, passionate romance, add a dash of suspense and you have books by E.E. Burke. Her chosen settings are in the old American West, and her current series takes place during the early steam railroad era. 
Her latest novel, Fugitive Hearts is the latest in the series, Steam! Romance and Rails. The series also includes Passion's Prize, Her Bodyguard and A Dangerous Passion. 
You can learn more about her books at her website, as well as at her Author page on Amazon. com

#BestOfTheWest Heroes and Book Release Party

 http://bit.ly/FugitiveHeartsParty
We'll be talking more about Western heroes at an upcoming Facebook Party on July 29. A stellar line-up of best-selling Western romance authors--all of them #BestOfTheWest guests--will join me to talk about their favorite Western heroes and help me celebrate the release of my new book. And, they'll be bringing presents! Free books, gift cards totaling over $100. There's even an steam train pocket watch up for grabs! 
Join me and co-host Angi Morgan, along with Kirsten Osbourne, B.J. Daniels, Becky Lower, Linda Broday, Cindy Nord, Kaki Warner, Beth Williamson, Kathleen Rice Adams and Rosanne Bittner. 

Let's kick off the celebration a little early today. I'll give away an Advance Reader Copy of Fugitive Hearts (eBook only). Just comment and enter the drawing.

What are the must-have characteristics of a "Western hero?"

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