Partying with Author Ann Charles by @JacquieRogers

 

Partying with Author Ann Charles

On the Road Again (with Mr R, not Willie)

by Jacquie Rogers

I think I'm a wanderer at heart, which is a bit strange since I grew up in Owyhee County and stuck mighty close to home until we moved to Seattle, and then we had only a couple of vacations in 30+ years.  But now we have our little 17' Casita Liberty Deluxe and I can't be bothered to sit at home very long.  Our last trip was to Garden Valley, Idaho, where we visited with relatives and also saw a couple of well-performed plays at the Starlight Mountain Theater.  We definitely plan to make that a habit in 2023.

Tillie the Tank got her name when we parked by a 45' motorhome
and an observer noted that our Casita looked like the propane tank to the moho.

This year, we're getting ready for a trip to Deadwood, South Dakota, where we'll hang out with my critique partner Ann Charles and her wonderful fans.  She has four full days of events planned.  I'm not going as an author--it'll be nice just to be a reader and a fan.  Here's the schedule if anyone would like to join us.  Believe me, you won't regret it!

Click for easier reading.

She won't be doing a raffle so I'm bringing a ruffle basket for the party on Thursday.

Not saying if this basket contains both Chicken Dinner Red
and Chicken Dinner White wines.

On the way to Deadwood, we plan to stop by the Fort Bridger Museum.  We've driven right by it at least five times and even stayed at the RV park across the street, so there's no time like the present to go.  Pictures posted here next month.  On the way home from Deadwood, we plan to stop by Devil's Tower.  Same reason.  We just never seemed to have the time when we drove by it before.  This time we hope to stay a few days.  I say "hope" because the October weather in Wyoming isn't exactly predictable.  We'll also stop by Rawlins (Fry Pan Gulch in the Honey Beaulieu series) and visit a friend of my daughter's.  But like I said, it all depends on the weather.

Once we get back home, we plan to have a cider pressing party!  Caroline Clemmons's Hero gave us the coolest cider press, so I've told all my friends to bring a bushel or two of apples, some cheesecloth, and their muscles.  A party we will have. :)  That probably will happen after my posting day so you won't see the results until my December post (unless you're on Facebook or TikTok).

Speaking of parties, my next readers' party will be on July 15, 2023--not sure if it will be in Homedale again, or in Silver City.  I'll keep you posted.

Until next month, Happy Reading!

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Honey Beaulieu - Man Hunter series
Hearts of Owyhee series

Happy #4thOfJuly! Celebrating Our Heritage @JacquieRogers #western

Celebrating Our Heritage

by Jacquie Rogers

I love Independence Day, the picnics with family, and the ooohs and aaahs of the fireworks.  The 4th of July was the most celebrated holiday in the Old West for two reasons: 1) the weather is better in July than December; and 2) Christmas wasn't so commercialized in the 1800s.

This is a good day to remember our heritage and our history.  Of course, some of us are obsessed with days of yore anyway, but we'll ignore that.  One place that celebrates the actual Old West--life in the latter half of the 1800s, is Silver City, Idaho.  Very few boom towns survived to the 20th Century because most burned to the ground.  Those that were left either withered and died, or became tourist towns (e.g., Deadwood and Virginia City, Nevada).

Silver City did neither.  The citizens decided to restore the buildings as best they could (they get no funding for this--most have to work in the valley to be able to afford the restoration and upkeep).  It's a labor of love, emphasis on the word labor.  Old buildings are not easy to maintain, and if they need a plumber, well, the nearest plumber is two hours away, so everything costs considerably more than would in a normal suburban house.

The town has no electricity, but does have running water.  Many of the homeowners live there in the summer but these days, the road to Silver is closed from November to May, so only the winter watchman lives in town during those months.

A deer takes a stroll down a Silver City street.

The citizens of Silver City decided to let the other towns have the tourist attractions--but they wanted to preserve the city as it was in its glory.  Speaking of Old Glory, the flag has a huge role in Silver City life.  If a house has a flag displayed, then the residents are home and receiving visitors.  If no flag, don't bother to knock.  Same goes for businesses.  If the flag is out, the store is open.

The flag is flying in front of Pat's What Not Shop (white building)
but not on the Silver City Fire and Rescue store (on the right),
so you know Pat's store is open and the other is not.

The flag was out at the Idaho Hotel June 17 - 19!  The entire hotel and everything in it is a museum, really.  You can spend hours looking at all the artifacts, and the owners can tell you just about anything about each one.  Truly amazing to stay in a place like that.  Each room has 19th Century artifacts collected from town as well.

We had quite a party at the hotel.  In fact, we filled all thirteen rooms, and kept Jerri Nelson (hotel co-owner) hopping for all the pies we ate.  That woman really knows how to make pie, let me tell you.  Or let Shirl Deems tell you.  I think she had a slice of every kind--took her all weekend but she's tenacious.

From the left: me, Honey Beaulieu, Shirl Deems.
Shirl was the champion pie-eater as well as starring
as Mountain Granma in the melodrama.

The music was awesome!  The program starred Daria Paxton and her dad, Matt Paxton.  They even managed to get her mom, Brenda Paxton, to play the accordion occasionally.

Paxton music! Daria on the fiddle, Matt on guitar and vocals, Brenda on accordion

We also had a melodrama.  It was really silly and every single one of us messed up our lines, but we had a great time and the audience (which included walk-in patrons who weren't part of our group) loved it, so I guess it was so horribly bad that everyone thought it was great.  That must be in the "if you can't sing good, sing loud" category.  You can see the video in two parts on my facebook page in the next few days (a friend posted it but didn't mark it public).  You can also see it at the Pickle Barrel.

In the afternoon, we had a multi-author booksigning.  USA Today Bestselling Author Ann Charles dropped in to say hi to Honey Beaulieu.  Ann partied all day and signed books in the afternoon.

From the left: me, Honey Beaulieu, and Ann Charles

Authors Paty Jager, Charlene Raddon, and Kristin Holt came dressed for the occasion, as did Judith Laik.

Authors Paty Jager, Charlene Raddon, and Kristin Holt

Chelle Gluch
Tour Guide

Chelle Gluch took us all over the area.  She's an incredible tour guide.  We learned about the surrounding boom towns that are no more than foundations now, and also toured the cemeteries.  Jim Hyslop, a Silver City resident, gave a nice talk on the history of the town.  Dave Wilper took us all to church--he let us in and gave us a 30-minute talk on the history of the beautiful Our Lady of Tears Catholic Church.

The staff of the Idaho Hotel was incredible.  We had the place absolutely full but they kept everything humming along perfectly.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, should stay there at least once.  No, the road isn't that bad--just a little bump here and there, and two cars can even pass by each other on most of it.  But back to the staff.  They served above and beyond the call of duty, or even the call of Honey Beaulieu.

Some of the ladies who worked hard to make our event perfect.

We all love history and we celebrate the birth of our nation today.  All week, in fact.  The Great American Western Romance Week is here at Hart's Romance Pulse, July 3 to 9.  Check it out to find new books, enter to win prizes, and just generally have a good time.  Look for my post on this site July 6.

Happy 4th of July!

Keep up with Jacquie Rogers' latest news at the
Pickle Barrel Gazette!

Hot Work in Fry Pan Gulch  (Honey Beaulieu - Man Hunter #1) Hearts of Owyhee series

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Romancing The West | Pickle Barrel Bar and Books

I Love Books and Readers! 10th Anniversary Shindig #western #books #readersevent

Right up there at the top of my Grateful List is... READERS!  So I'm having a doin's to show my appreciation to all those who've bought and read my books.  And it's gonna be a fun one.

2016 is my tenth anniversary!  I can't believe my first book (now out of print) was published ten years ago this month.  Over the years, I've met some wonderful people--loyal readers who've been with me throughout my journey.  Truth is, we all traveled the road together.  Then there are the new readers who've joined the fun, and brought their friends along.  I ♥ you all.

So what do you do for your tenth anniversary?  Party!

Please join me and my friends at

Much Ado About Silver City

June 17 – 19, 2016

Silver City, Idaho

Much Ado About Silver City Registration Form

We're gonna have a down home knee-slapping good time with lawmen, robbers, madams, and all manner of characters.  You want cowboys?  We have the real deal.

Music?  We have the Paxton family.  Their playlist includes everything from Beatles music to Little Brown Jug.

You want authenticity?  The Idaho Hotel is a genuine for real western boom town hotel, and it's as authentic as you'll ever find.

You want books?  We'll have several other authors there, and a book signing on Saturday.
Special guest: Ann Charles!

Rooms: Book your room as soon as possible, because if they’re all booked, we get the run of the entire hotel! If no one answers the phone, call again. The owners do all the work themselves so they miss calls sometimes. 208-583-4104 Winter months (now): 208-863-4768.

Meals: You can bring your own food (campers might opt to do this) or the Idaho Hotel has a full service restaurant. If you have special dietary needs, please inform the owners at least two weeks ahead of time (but if you make a request, please order it during your stay). There is no corner grocery store, so if you don’t let them know, it won’t be available.

Camping: Chelle Gluch will coordinate the campers, so if you need help, let her know by Facebook message.

There will be time Saturday morning for trail rides and historical tours.

Trail rides: Book through Paul Nettleton. http://www.historicsilvercityidaho.com/sinkercreekoutfitters.html

Historic tours: Chelle Gluch will guide a tour of the surrounding area for a nominal fee. There may be other tour guides as well. Go to the Facebook event page for updates. https://www.facebook.com/events/1635700133371729/

Shopping: Yes, there’s shopping! You can find oodles of great items (including the Hearts of Owyhee series) in Pat’s What Not shop. http://www.historicsilvercityidaho.com/patswhatnotshop.html

Keep up with Jacquie Rogers' latest news at the
Pickle Barrel Gazette!

Hearts of Owyhee series

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Romancing The West | Pickle Barrel Bar and Books

Laramie Award: A Low Carb Celebration #ChantiReviews #glutenfree @JacquieRogers

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A Low-Carb Celebration

First of all, I'm celebrating this week because I just found out that the third book in my Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Miners, won a Laramie Award for Western Romance/Comedy Novel.  The Laramie Contest is sponsored by Chanticleer Book Reviews, and I'll be attending the conference in September, so if you're in Bellingham, WA, stop by and say hi.

What's a celebration without a fantastic dessert!  You know, a sumptuous mouthwatering dessert.  But, alas and alack, I can't eat grains of any sort, and that pretty well puts the kabosh on cake and pie.  Unless, you're really determined, which I was.  Besides, it was my birthday.

I love, love, love strawberries.  Who doesn't love cheesecake?  But hey, to watch my girlish figure--or more accurately, to find where my girlish figure is buried in all the fluff--I'm eating low-carb these days.  So no grains at all and low carbs.  Sounds kind of dismal, doesn't it?  Certainly doesn't sound celebratory.  Drat.

But one thing about being a resourceful cook, you can figure out all sorts of things, so I went looking for low carb cheesecake recipes.  I found on on the About Health website, added a little arrowroot flour, and used the pecan crust from the recipe in the back of A Gift for Rhoda, my new release, except I substituted stevia for the honey.  Yum!

Speaking of A Gift for Rhoda, it hit #11 on Amazon's western short stories bestsellers list.  Woohoo!  I got the idea for the story when a friend's son was picking out a gift for his girlfriend, only she didn't know she was his girlfriend yet.  That amused me, but also got the wheels turning, and I wondered what would happen if a mail-order bride was expecting her unwanted groom, but another man showed up bearing gifts.   First, I had to figure out why she didn't want the man who'd paid her fare to Idaho, then I had to conjure up the setting.  My aunt and uncle live in Garden Valley, Idaho, so that seemed like a good spot.  The hero, well, he just bounded into the story--I didn't have to do anything but listen because he really wanted me to tell his story.

What have I been reading lately?  J.R. Roberts' The Gunsmith: Trouble in Tombstone.  I like to read genres other than romance once in a while, so this one's it for this month.  There are 404 Gunsmith novels and every one I've read has been good.  I also read Meanwhile, Back in Deadwood, the latest by Ann Charles.  Violet Parker really gets herself in a mess this time.  I laughed all the way through, except when I was chewing my nails, and even then.  I recommend both these books.

Until next month!

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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