Authentic Romantic Historical Fiction

Month: January 2020

A windmill, you say? Don Pedro, what are you thinking?

Today a windmill popped up in my Work-in-Progress (WIP). I had no idea the subject would ever be written about, with my characters there in the wilds of New Mexico Territory in 1867, but it seems that my Male Main Character is quite proud of having one of the first such pumping engines in the territory on his rancho.

It so happens that back in 2015, I attended a convention in Lubbock Texas, and made a field trip to the American Windmill Museum. It was a glorious day to view the numerous spectacular windmills in the museum’s inventory, both indoors and out.

Did I take copious notes about windmills, in case I ever needed such knowledge? It appears that I didn’t.

I swear I took pictures, though. I know I took pictures in Palo Duro Canyon on my way home from Texas. Can I find said pictures?

No. They are nowhere to be found.

It appears that I have a gap between 2015 and 2016 in my digital record. What?!?

Photo by mhamilton456Instead, by way of illustration for this post, I offer this photo taken by mhamilton456 in 2016 of an outdoor display of some of the windmills at the museum.

I stood, uneasily, beneath that giant white wind turbine shown at center right, my stomach shrinking. The sound was intimidating as the blades whooshed through the air. I moved out from under it as quickly as I could.

The tour of the property was quite fascinating.  Notes or accessible photos would have helped my scene, but I have neither. I’ll just have to dredge deep into my memory, or refresh it by way of viewing photos on the Internet so I can write a passable description of the windmill for my scene.

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How Much Do You Know…

…about Rulon Owen? Take this little quiz (write down the letter answers for each number) and see how closely you’ve read the Owen Family Saga books in which he appears.

Gone for a Soldier1. In Gone for a Soldier, how much does Rulon have to pay Mr. Moore for officiating at his wedding?
a. One dollar
b. Two dollars
c. Five dollars
d. Ten dollars

2. What new skill did Rulon learn when he went off to earn money to pay for the wedding?
a. Smelting pig iron
b. Driving a team
c. Felling trees
d. Grinding charcoal

3. What illness struck Rulon that put him into the hospital?
a. Measles
b. Smallpox
c. Polio
d. Mumps

4. Who taught Rulon the skill of tracking?
a. Rod Owen
b. Vernon Earl
c. Garth Von
d. Ren Lovell

The Man from Shenandoah5. What secret does Rulon think he’s keeping from his family when he agrees to go west with them?
a. Mary is pregnant
b. He’s addicted to laudanum
c. His war wounds aren’t healing as they should
d. Roddy isn’t his son

6. How does Rulon use his skill of tracking in The Man from Shenandoah?
a. He finds the Great Bend of the Arkansas River
b. He finds a place where someone watched the Owen wagons pass by
c. He finds Ellen in a snowstorm
d. He finds the correct trail of the kidnappers

Spinster's Folly7. When Pa set out to build a barn in Spinster’s Folly, why was Rulon put in charge of the logging operation?
a. His axe was the sharpest
b. He’s the eldest son
c. He learned to fell trees in Virginia
d. Bill Henry was sick

8. Why did Rulon lose the trail of Marie and Mr. Thorne?
a. Tom Morgan walked his horse over the fresh trail
b. Too many horses had traveled over the tracks
c. He had forgotten how to track
d. A rainstorm washed away the tracks

Congratulations on finishing the quiz! The first person to use the Contact form (found under About) to send me the correct answers by Wednesday, January 15, will receive a free digital copy of the Owen Family origin story novella, “That Tender Light.” Along with your answers, specify the type of file you prefer: mobi or epub.

I will post the answers next Thursday.

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