Harvest, Autumn, and Lots of #Books! by @JacquieRogers

Harvest, Autumn, and Lots of Books!

by Jacquie Rogers

We were driving home from an early supper (we call it lupper) and I couldn't help but appreciate the harvest season.

The combine is unloading chopped corn stalks to be used for cattle feed.

Here's a partially harvested corn field.

The hops from this field are on their way to making your favorite beer!

Homedale beet dump.
The harvested sugar beets from Owyhee County
will be taken to the Nampa sugar factory for processing.

My dad didn't grow hops but he did grow lots of corn and beets, as well as barley, oats, wheat, and of course hay, since he had a herd of 150 milk cows plus about 400 head of heifers, steers, and dry cows.  Once he harvested the crops, then he turned out the livestock onto the field to eat the rest of the foliage and while the cattle grazed, they pooped, which fertilized and conditioned the soil for next year's crop.  In the spring, Dad disked it all under and prepared the soil for seeding.  I'm not sure if farmers still do that, but I hope so.

Speaking of which, here's a long shot of the farmstead where I grew up.  

Walker Farm, established in 1939, sold in 1978.  All the buildings are still there
but most of them are pretty rundown at this point, unfortunately.

Aurora Valentine, star of Aurora's Treasure, wouldn't have seen crops like this in 1885 even though the book is set during the autumn season.  Owyhee County only gets 8" to 10" of precipitation a year so all these crops are grown by irrigation.  The Owyhee Dam, which was the prototype for Hoover Dam (those techniques were NOT developed at Hoover Dam!!!) is just across the border in Oregon, and between that reservoir and the Snake River, northern Owyhee County is very fertile.  Lots of crops are grown, and they're high quality.

On the other hand, I haven't seen many dragons here, so she has me one-upped there.

A lust for adventure, a fear of the unknown, and an irresistible faery man...should she fly in the face of danger, or should she play it safe?

Aurora Valentine left the circus life for a new adventure--becoming a mail-order bride. But she dodged that bullet only to fall into an escapade even more dangerous, this time an ancient family curse that involves a mysterious pirate treasure, dragon shifters with more attitude than altitude, and a man so fine he makes her heart skip a beat. Only this man has wings.

Conal of the Sun Clan will do anything for his grandmother, including risking everything to recover the Golden Legacy in order to bring his grandfather back to her. And to do that, he needs Aurora's help to unlock the curse. Riding alongside beautiful Aurora isn't much of a sacrifice. But losing his soul to goblins is.

Can Aurora and Conal overcome the perilous curse to find their own Happily Ever After?

Happy Reading!

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Silver City and Orphan Train Brides by @JacquieRogers #western #romance

Much Ado About Silver City!
Plus our new release and other good stuff.

by Jacquie Rogers

I was talking with Sean Dwyer, author of a new book that will be released this fall, A Quest for Tears: Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury (check it out!) about how hard it is to explain to people the fun we have in Silver City, Idaho, every year.  In our modern world with instant access to entertainment, knowledge, and communication, we don't even know what it's like to interact with our friends on purely a personal one-to-one level.  We don't know how to make our own entertainment, nor are we versed in the fine art of conversation.

A suspicious bunch, for sure.

Honey Beaulieu agreed to
pose for photo ops.

The auction baskets raised nearly $800 for neurofibromatosis research.
Special thanks to basket chairperson Sherry Walker
and auctioneer Ken Walker.

The readers' event (the whole title is Jacquie Rogers's Much Ado About Silver City Readers' Event--a mouthful for sure!) is held every year the third weekend in July at the Idaho Hotel in Silver City.  The hotel was originally built in Ruby City in 1864, then moved a mile and a half up the road to Silver City.  Over the years, it has been expanded, revered, abandoned, and resurrected.  All restoration comes out of the owners' pockets so contributions are welcome.  They call it the Paint and Nails Fund.

The owners could use a few more contributions for paint!

All in all, we had a great time.  The Paxton Family provided the music, the Walkers ran the charity auction, and then, well, there's the melodrama.  In the photo below, Kim Garland played Tallahassee Slim, I wrote and sort of directed, Honey Beaulieu laughed at us all, Sean Dwyer was the Mojeeto Kid, and Diane Garland played Miss Libby.

Wine might have been involved.

On the home front, we're suffering under a preponderance of bounty.  We have tons and tons of apricots on our trees, most of which will unfortunately go to waste, and I've canned 52 half-pints of cherry jelly, put up enough apricot nectar for at least 50 half-pints of apricot butter.  Yesterday, we froze 21 pints of green beans and the day before we canned 14 quarts of beans.  Now the tomatoes and peppers are coming on and we have all those zucchini.  Holy moly.  I forgot about all the work involved in country living.  LOL.

Instant Pots speed up the fruit processing considerably.

And on the writing front, I'm still working on the fourth Honey Beaulieu book, Crack Shot in Whiskey Gap.  What with all the canning and appointments, I haven't made nearly as much progress as I'd like.  What I do have is a new release with Caroline Clemmons.  I love working with her--she's talented, funny, and just a little bit nutzoid.

I hope you enjoy our latest duet, Orphan Train Brides.  This one is about two women who were orphans and adopted from the orphan train by an abusive couple.  Caroline wrote Merry's book, A Family for Merry, and I wrote Polly's book, A Family for Polly.  See how they planned to save five orphans who'd surely have been put in dire situations, and in the process the sisters find true love.  Oh wait, that was a spoiler.  Oh wait, they're romances, so of course there's a Happily Ever After.

Orphan Train Brides is available now in

Kindle or Print

Check out Caroline's post for more info on this duet and also the other duets that we've written together.  And guess what?  One more is in the works.  

Happy reading!  I hope you enjoy reading Merry's and Polly's stories.  They both have fun adventures that you won't want to miss.  Also, please consider posting a review--you'll have our undying gratitude! 

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Moving, Wine, and Books @JacquieRogers #bookworm #Idaho

Chicken Dinner Paradise, Sorta 
by Jacquie Rogers

Summer's here and I nearly melted last week in Idaho.  The weathercaster said the temperature was 104, but my sister's thermometer nearly pegged at 109.  I might add that while Mr. R and I grew up in Idaho, we're now Seattle weenies.  That will change August 29th when we move into our new-to-us house.  No, it's not in Owyhee County where the Hearts of Owyhee books are set, but it's only a few miles on the other side of the Snake River.

We have a lot of work to do, and I mean a lot.  The kitchen has to be remodeled, and I don't mean redecorated.  The sink can stay in the same place but everything else will have to be moved.  Mr. R says he has a design in mind.  I'm hoping this doesn't take 20 years to get built.  If so, he'll be eating a lot of frozen dinners.

However, to do that remodeling, he'll have a 2,400 sq. ft. shop.  Okay, so we have to pull a few weeds before he can get into it.  It's been a year since anyone lived here so the yard could use some work.  I'm not so sure we should've bought a house on 1.25 acres, but be expecting watermelons for prizes next year. LOL.

The shed to the right could use a little work, too. Gulp.  At least the sellers left a riding lawnmower.  The neighbor says it doesn't work but to Mr. R, that's like waving a red flag in front of a bull.  He'll fix it.

There's some really good news--we have grapes!  Maybe I can try my hand at making wine.  Or not.  We're only a few miles from the Chicken Dinner Winery.  We're also only a few miles from a lake, and the grandsons just might like to go fishing.

Yes, I'll have time for some writing after the move and after our trip to Texas to see Caroline Clemmons and Oklahoma City for the Western Fictioneers convention.

My latest release is  a story titled A Family for Polly, and it's connected to A Family for Merry by Caroline Clemmons (read hers first, then mine) in a boxed set Under a Mulberry Moon.  So far, the reviews have been good.  Get your copy while it's only 99¢!

Before that book, I released the sixth book in the Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Mail-Order Brides.

ravenmyst33, Amazon Reviewer: "Jacquie Rogers has done it yet again! There isn't a book in this series that isn't full of fire, fun and love. The McKinnon family rocks from the parents all the way to the youngest son. But Bram? HAS to be my favorite. LOVE that cowboy!! Thank you, Jacquie for letting me fall in love in this world of mail-order brides, grooms, and in a wonderful setting. Hope that there are still a few stories left to tell in this series. I'll read every last one of them!"

Keep cool, and Happy Reading!

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#NewRelease MERCY: BRIDE OF IDAHO by @JacquieRogers #mailorderbride

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With Mercy and Patience...
by Jacquie Rogers

2016 is here and let me tell you, 2015 went out with a bang.  Mercy: Bride of Idaho debuted #1 on the Amazon Hot New Releases for Victorian Romance.  Awesome!

Mercy: Bride of Idaho

This book was an interesting journey for me.  In fact, I actually was on a journey--a book tour starting in Deadwood, South Dakota, and ending in Owyhee County, Idaho.  The phone rang (actually played the William Tell Overature) and it was Caroline Clemmons.  She told me Kirsten Osbourne had cooked up this crazy plan to have mail-order brides from all the states in the Union in 1890, a book to be released each day in order of admission.  

Patience:
Bride of Washington

Seemed like an ambitious undertaking to me.  My publishing schedule was full but this seemed like a fun opportunity and after all, I do enjoy mail-order bride stories.  Caroline and I had already written a duet, Mail Order Tangle (she wrote the first book, Mail Order Promise and I wrote the second, Mail Order Ruckus).  After a bit of discussion, we decided our brides would be sisters again, although this time Caroline's was the older one.  She wrote Patience: Bride of Washington, which has been burning up the charts, too.  It's an awesome book, so be sure to get it if you haven't already.

As she suggested, I linked my book to  my Hearts of Owyhee series.  The heroine (Jake O'Keefe) in the fourth book, Much Ado About Mavericks, is a strong player in Mercy: Bride of Idaho, and the book is set in Henderson Flats on a fictional ranch, the Circle ID.  This ranch would've been about six miles from Jake's ranch, and three miles from the farm where I grew up, so I know the area--the smell, the feel, the people, the climate, very well.

Another advantage is that Mercy's personality (and hair) is based on my daughter.  She's an eternal optimist and can find sunshine in the darkest of times.  I actually toned down the fictional Mercy a bit because I didn't think readers would find the real deal plausible.  I have to say, it was a joy to see this character bloom on the page.

But I didn't know much about 1890 in general.  The latest of my books is set in 1885, so I had quite a bit of research to do.  Here are a few tidbits;

Mercy and Patience are from Lawrence, Massachusetts.  Believe me, relocating to Owyhee County would've been a culture shock for Mercy.  But she'd have gotten off the train at Nampa, Idaho, and the depot was brand new.

Train Depot in Nampa, Idaho

Mercy and Patience think they'll be able to visit back and forth since Washington abuts Idaho.  So once they get to Idaho, the vastness of the land is a bit overwhelming.  The entire state of Massachusetts is only 10,555 square miles.  Owyhee County alone is nearly that size.

And here's a little about the book:

MERCY, BRIDE OF IDAHO 

American Mail-Order Brides #43 

One woman bent on saving her family. One rancher determined to save his own heart. Is her love enough to save them all? 

Mercy Eaton has come to Idaho to marry the man of her father’s choosing in order to help her family make ends meet back home. She just knows it’ll all work out. That's what she's told her sister and her traveling companions all the way from Massachusetts to Owyhee County, Idaho. Then she meets her groom. He's seventy years old. She nearly faints. 

Quill Roderick has no intention of marrying. Ever. As far as he’s seen, women leave—first his mother, then his great-aunt, then his first flame. Quill sees no reason to open his heart again, especially to some mail-order bride his crazy old uncle brought for him. But Mercy tempts him like no other with her unruly long red hair, sunshine smile, and the most alluring eyes he's ever seen. Can he keep his heart barricaded from this dangerous fireball, or are her kisses the master key needed to unlock his heart to a whole new world... Love. 

The book is available to read for free if you're subscribed to Kindle Unlimited!

Hearts of Owyhee series

Hearts of Owyhee

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Miners

Much Ado About Mavericks

Much Ado About Mustangs

Amazon Author Page

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Where the Heck is Silver City, Idaho? by Jacquie Rogers

It was 1863 in the Owyhee Mountains located in the southwest corner of Idaho Territory. The War Between the States raged in the East, but out West, men had dollar signs in their eyes, looking for that next bonanza. They could get rich raising cattle, or logging, but fastest of all, gold. And silver.

The mining boom town of Ruby City was formed--a hotel, several businesses and residents, and the Owyhee County seat. A few years  and a few floods later, Silver City sprang up just down Jordan Creek. Ruby City hung on for a while but after another big flood, and a few other things that went haywire, the Idaho Hotel and the county seat were moved to Silver City.

Silver City was born on mining. Silver mine tunnels numbered in the hundreds, and dotted the countryside as well as the city. Here's a pan view of Silver City I found on YouTube. There's even a mine under the church! Sixty million dollars worth of silver was taken in the 1900s, and if converted to today's currency, that would be a whole lot more for this little area. The silver lodes were the richest in Idaho Territory.

The bar at the Idaho Hotel

Historic Silver City Idaho writes:

During its heydays, Silver City had about a dozen streets, seventy-five businesses, three hundred homes, a population of around 2,500, twelve ore-processing mills, and was the Owyhee County seat from 1866 to 1934. Some of the largest stage lines in the West operated in the area, and Silver City had the first telegraph and the first daily newspaper in the territory in 1874. Telephones were in use here at least by 1880, and the town was "electrified" in the 1890's.

Never heard of it? Most people haven't, but it was truly the wild west in all manner of ways. It's located in Owhyee County, which is a large county in southwest Idaho. The newspaper they refer to is The Owyhee Avalanche, the longest operating newspaper in Idaho and one of the oldest in the West. I subscribe to it--it's a very high quality publication. There was never a shortage of news from the tough men who risked their lives in the mines every day for the promise of a life of luxury.

From The Owyhee Avalanche, October 17, 1868:

SHOOTING SCRAPE
Between seven and eight o'clock last Monday evening a shameful shooting affar occurred at Sommercamp's saloon, between two of our citizens. On account of the hitherto respectability of the parties and for the sake of their friends we suppress names. On the evening in question, we, together with the twenty-five or thirty others were in the saloon, when the two valiant shootists commenced banging away at each other with revolvers . . .

Silver City and the surrounding ore-rich area drew men from all over the world to mine the silver lodes. Many Chinese came to make their fortunes, and several did. Of course, as with the Anglo immigrants, most didn't. Still, the Chinese established a strong presence and the economy couldn't have survived without them. Not that there weren't a few problems along the way:

From The Owyhee Avalanche, October 17, 1868:

MORE SHOOTING
Last Tuesday night a Chinaman was shot and severely wounded in a Chinese gambling house on Jordan Street. It appears a Chinaman who was bucking at a game wanted to bet five dollars on jaw-bone, the dealer objected, the other fell back on his dignity and shot the almond-eyed gamboiler through the right shoulder. The next day we noticed Deputy Sheriff John Springer and a posse of mounted Chinamen hunting for the shootist. We learn from Dr. White, who is attending the wounded Chinaman, that he will get well.

And yes, there were Cyprians--the ladies of the evening. Men out-numbered women at one point by 200 to 1 so every woman, no matter what her status, was highly regarded. The women, however were not so impressed with one another.

From The Owyhee Avalanche, February 26, 1870:

FEMALE PUGLISTS
One evening this week be observed two frail females in the vicinity of Catalow's stable, engaged in commintting assault and battery upon each other. For some time the fur flew in all directions. They finally sank down in the snow through sheer exhaustion. Jealousy was the cause of the muss.

And, yes, confrontations with the Indians were frequent. Be warned, this next quote is even worse than the one about the Chinese. "Politically Correct" was not yet invented. But we must also avoid revisionist history--Anglos were, for the most part, of the opinion that Native Americans were sub-human, which is why I avoid the entire issue in my westerns. I write humor and there isn't anything the least bit humorous about the treatment of the Indians.

From The Owyhee Avalanche, September 12, 1868:

LO THEY COME!
Tho's H. Smith Esq. just in from Camp Three Forks, informs us that last week the military of that place gobbled up and brought into Camp six-teen Indians as prisoners. Under promise of bringing in four-teen more, three bucks, whose squaws were retained as hostages, were allowed to go out into the mountains. The miserable wretches profess a desire to give themselves up and stop robbing and scalping the whites--at least till they recruit and obtain a fresh supply of arms and ammunition.

Silver City was difficult to get to and from (travel can get a bit dicey even today), so the subject of roads was always prominent in the news. Keep in mind "highways" is a subjective term here. The road into Silver City from the east isn't two-lane all the way even now. It's a dirt road and depending on the season, you drive on the high side of the ruts in order not to high-center your vehicle. In those days, horses, stagecoaches, and wagons traveled the very same road.

From The Owyhee Avalanche, May 16, 1868:

THE ROADS
We are pleased to know that Mr. Abbott, Supervisor for the Road District No. 2, has commenced repairing the roads. As a consequence of the ground's thawing out and the melting of the snow, our highways in many places were in bad condition, but now the ground is becoming dry and the money now on hand in the road fund, with the taxes yet to be collected for that purpose will serve to put the roads in good order.

But most of all, people need entertainment, and the residents of Silver City weren't any different. There was a theater, several saloons, and lots of parties and receptions at the I.O.O.F Hall. In the dark of winter, entertainment was even more sought after.

From The Owyhee Avalanche, January 4, 1868:

ON WITH THE DANCE!
seems to be the motto just now--just what we expected, as soon as it became known on the outside that times were lively and money plenty in Owyhee, in comes a batch of hurdies to gobble up their share. It is an easy matter to find out where the hold forth --watch the crowds of suffering manhood as they emerge from cabins along the creek in the dusky twilight, or silently wend their way, in Indian file, down the mountainside; their steps are directed to Gabriel's large building, corner of Jordan and Second Sts., where, seated on a bench at one side of the spacious hall, are four coy and blushing damsels. . .

Such is the rich lode of Idaho history that I mine in my Hearts of Owyhee series.  The newspapers use interesting language--plain-spoke but flowery, and the terms are just plain fun.  And this week, I hope to make it to the Idaho Archives and collect even more.  More, more, more!

♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥
Where the Old West really happened!

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Mavericks

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