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ROMANCE PARANORMAL GIVEAWAY

<h2 style=”text-align: center;”><a href=”https://authorsxp.com/giveaway&#8221; target=”_blank”>eBook &amp; Paperback Sweepstakes!</a></h2> <p align=”center”><strong>(2) Winners of eBook &quot;Gift Baskets&quot; of ALL ebooks<br /> Other Winners of individual ebooks or paperbacks</strong> (randomly selected)</p> <p align=”center”><a href=”https://authorsxp.com/giveaway”><img…

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Cowboy Neckerchiefs

A surprising fact I learned while studying bandanas, kerchiefs—whatever you wish to call them—is that, unlike the cheap neckerchiefs I’ve seen in local stores, usually blue or red with fancy western designs, those that real cowboys used were silk, not cotton. Silk is absorbent enough to draw moisture away from the skin. It’s also warmer than wool for winter wear. A good neck rag usually measured…

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CHOCOLATE: A VICTORIAN TREAT OR MORE?

Today, chocolate is a universal sweet loved by virtually everyone, but how long has it been around? The Victorians adored the hot drink, but did they invent it? The first London chocolate house opened in 1657, advertising the sale of “an excellent West India drink.” In 1689, a physician, Hans Sloane, developed a milk chocolate drink initially used by apothecaries. Later, the Cadbury brothers…

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THE SCOOP ON CIGARILLOS

Box of cigarillos Nineteenth-century men liked cigarettes but also enjoyed cigarillos. What were cigarillos? Short (3-4”), narrow cigars, usually without a filter, the same size and shape as cigarettes, and packaged similarly. They’re taxed differently these days, and some tobacco companies add weight to them so they qualify as “large cigars” under the federal tax code. Cigarillo (from Spanish…

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WOMEN EARNING A LIVING IN THE 19TH CENTURY

European and American women in the nineteenth century lived in an age characterized by gender inequality. At the beginning of the century, women enjoyed few of the legal, social, or political rights that are now taken for granted in Western countries: they could not vote, could not sue or be sued, could not testify in court, had extremely limited control over personal property after marriage,…

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THE HISTORY OF BEDS

Beds are made for comfort and health. Today’s beds are large, and their mattresses are made to be comfortable, firm, and good for the back. In past centuries, mattresses were made from cornhusks, straw or other lumpy materials that were stuffed into a cloth bag. Tightly strung ropes that had to be tightened regularly supported the mattress. By the mid-1800s, wooden slats were used. It was not…

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THE HISTORY OF HANDBAGS

Ever wonder about the origin of handbags and purses that have been essential to fashion history since people first sought something to carry around their possessions with them? The first written mention of such items comes from the 14th century, although we do know that Egyptian hieroglyphs show pouches carried around the waist. Bags were attached to “girdles” worn around the waist. They were…

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History of Polygamy Among the Mormons

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, claimed to have received many revelations from God telling him how to set up the church, and how the Saints should live their lives. Smith may have received the infamous revelation about plural marriage in the 1830s, shortly before he married his first plural wife, Fanny Alger, but polygamy at that time was reserved for church…

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The History of Beds and Mattresses

Beds are made for comfort and health. Today’s beds are large, and their mattresses are made to be comfortable, firm, and good for the back. In past centuries, mattresses were made from cornhusks, straw or other lumpy materials that were stuffed into a cloth bag. Tightly strung ropes that had to be tightened regularly supported the mattress. By the mid-1800s, wooden slats were used. It was not…

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HISTORY OF BICYCLES

Everyone grew up riding bicycles, right? Wrong. At least not successfully. I was a terrible rider, so nervous I kept falling into parked cars. At least, that was better than falling into the street and being run over by a car. In my latest book, Gage (Ridge), Cupids & Cowboys Book 7, my heroine rides a bicycle in 1900 Montana. As it turned out, she didn’t do so well either. My hero, Marshal Ridge…

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GHOSTS—A VERY SPOOKY SUBJECT

GHOSTS—A VERY SPOOKY SUBJECT

GHOSTS—A VERY SPOOKY SUBJECT Ghosts are a fascinating subject for all of us. I’ve always had an interest in the paranormal; reincarnation, psychic ability, ESP, the whole shebang. But my real enthusiasm for the supernatural came after I began writing. Before that, however, In 1971, I was in the process of getting a divorce and considering a move to Utah when a friend talked me into going to a…

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A History of Purses and Handbags Beaded drawstring purse Ever wonder about the origin of handbags and purses that have been essential to fashion history since people first sought something to carry around their possessions with them? The first written mention of such items comes from the 14th century, although we do know that Egyptian hieroglyphs show pouches carried around the waist. Bags were…

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DIPSOMANIA IN 19th CENTURY AMERICA

DIPSOMANIA IN 19th CENTURY AMERICA

Believe it or not, the Puritans believed in drinking. In fact, they brought more beer with them than water. Early Americans took a healthful dram for breakfast, whiskey for a lunchtime tipple, ale with supper, and ended the day with a nightcap. Continuous imbibing clearly built up a tolerance. By 1830, consumption had peaked at 7 gallons per year per person. By the late 19th century, dipsomania,…

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A surprising fact I learned while studying bandanas, kerchiefs (whatever you wish to call them) Portrait western cowboys riding horses, roping wild horses in Mexico and America. is that–unlike the cheap neckerchiefs I’ve seen in local stores, usually blue or red with fancy western designs–those that real cowboys used were silk, not cotton. Silk is absorbent enough to draw moisture away from the…

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A HOME BY ANY OTHER NAME

A HOME BY ANY OTHER NAME

Can you imagine living, cooking, and raising children in a hole in the ground? Bugs, spiders, dirt falling into your food? Your bed? No windows to let in the light of day or allow for a glimpse of blue sky? According to Wikipedia, “…a dugout, or dug-out, also known as a pit-house, earth lodge, mud hut, is a shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug…

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A HISTORY OF PURSES AND HANDBAGS

A HISTORY OF PURSES AND HANDBAGS

A History of Purses and Handbags Ever wonder about the origin of handbags and purses that have been essential to fashion history since people first sought something to carry around their possessions with them? The first written mention of such items comes from the 14th century, although we do know that Egyptian hieroglyphs show pouches carried around the waist. Bags were attached to what were…

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Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my Blog

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