A New Kind of Sheriff in Town

Hello there, Christina here today. I've been wanting to write this post for a while but really wanted to do it justice as it speaks of a legacy of strong women during a time when it would have been too easy for the so-called weaker sex to lie back and allow men to control their surroundings.

Have you ever dug into your family ancestry? I have. I do it all the time. I find it's a wonderful way to escape from the modern world and delve into the past. And every now and again I come across a real gem.

Allow me to introduce you to my great great great grandmother Estella Gates. She was a sheriff in Benzie County Michigan. She was, in fact, the first female sheriff in Michigan, elected in 1916 after having served as a deputy for several years under her husband, William Moore Gates.

I found one article that tells a few of her feats as sheriff.

"Oh! I didn't do so much. The people elected me sheriff. The work had to be done and I did it."

The article goes on to say how she stopped two murderers from escaping her jail cell and "jailed the most notorious of the river rats".



Another newspaper article, one from Oklahoma, claims this same woman was their first female sheriff as well. Eventually her and her husband moved to Texas before they returned to Michigan where she died of pneumonia at the age of 80.

I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but after speaking with second cousins who grew up under her tutelage, they say she was the sweetest and kindest lady they'd ever known. I can only imagine what it would have been like to spend my summers with Sheriff Gates. One has to wonder what kind of woman it took to keep the peace and what kind of man stood at her side while she did it. I've been told the pair were very much in love. Of course, I know their lives weren't always filled with roses as one of their sons, my great great grandfather, died a tragic death and caused a great mysterious scandal, but that's a blog post for another day and another time as the event continues to affect those still among the living.

Here are a few pictures from one of my cousins. As you can see, the picture of William Gates is a campaign advertisement. I think he kind of looks like Kurt Russell from Tombstone.

This is the gun Estella used during her time as sheriff. I'm sure she kept it handy after her service too. I was a little suprised at its size. I figured as well as Grandma was able to keep the peace in her once boisterous jurisdiction she would have carried something a little bigger. But then I guess a bullet is a bullet when it's well placed.

This next picture is of a nighstick, whether it belonged to her husband or to Estella nobody is real sure, but I thought you'd like to see it.

Looks like it's been well used. Maybe on a few hard skulls of all those lumberjack Estella had been known to keep under control.

By changing a few details here and there, Estella's life would make a wonderful historical romance. Just think, a female sheriff, rough and rugged lumberjacks, river rats, murderers and a hero who looks like Kurt Russell and is confident enough in his manhood to accept her chosen occupation.

Yeah, I think it's a story I'd love to read.

Do you research your ancestry? Have you ever come across really interesting tidbits?

Historical Romances Versus Romantic Historicals

Versailles helps to make Louis XIV a 'marquee' name.

By McKenna Darby

If you love writing historical romances but chafe at the conventions of the Romance genre (The hero and heroine must meet by the end of chapter one! The relationship is the plot! They must live happily ever after!), you may just be in the wrong genre.

As I discovered at the Historical Novel Society’s fourth U.S. conference, held June 17-19 in San Diego, Historical readers love romance just as much as Romance readers do. A quick glance at the titles advertised throughout the conference program and in the goodie bags proves it: Romance is the one word that comes up again and again in the descriptions of Clara and Mr. Tiffany, Rosedale in Love, The Gentleman Poet, In the Shadow of the Lamp, A Bride Most Begrudging, Pale Rose of England, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Captain Blackwell’s Prize and dozens of other titles.

What’s more, Diana Gabaldon, whom Romance readers think of as one of their own, was a presenter. Philippa Boyens’ name was everywhere. Sourcebooks and Avon, which RWA members know primarily as leading Romance publishers, were major conference sponsors. And many of the book covers are as sexy and provocative as anything you’ll find in the Romance section of your local bookstore.

So what sets romantic Historical novels apart from historical Romance novels?

What's Hot? What's Not?

Last month, I attended the Romance Writers of America National Conference in Orlando. What a wonderful opportunity to meet authors, editors, and agents and learn to improve my craft and navigate the market. The current market was a major topic of discussion - aside from the rapid changes in the publishing industry as a whole, the subject of popular eras and settings seemed to pop up everywhere. So, here's my question: which eras are your favorites and why?

Let's start with my favorite time period, the years 1861 - 1899. In America, these were the years of the Civil War, Reconstruction, major Western expansion, and the Gilded Age. My two historical romances with The Wild Rose Press, Destiny and Angel in My Arms (coming in November) are both set during the Civil War. I've had terrific feedback from lovers of Civil War romance happy to find a novel with a Civil War setting during this time in publishing. Once popular fixtures of romance, novels set during the years of Lincoln's Presidency are rather hard to come by. I'm perplexed as to the reasons for this apparent aversion publishers have toward Civil War romance...for that matter, toward just about any romance set in America. Have readers truly turned away from American-set historicals? What are your thoughts?

During the years 1861 - 1899, Queen Victoria had a firm and steady grip on her throne. The Victorian age was one of great progress in England, Europe, and America. I have to confess a preference for Victorian-era romances over the beloved Regency romances. Perhaps it's because women were coming into their own, able to explore roles forbidden in earlier history. Even though Victorian women didn't enjoy the freedom to break through barriers that women do today, women of that era made unprecedented strides toward their rights and their status as citizens. In addition, technological advances led to the potential for extensive travel and exciting adventures, while the Victorian sensibility in clothing, architecture, and furnishings was elegant and elaborate. Victorian-era clothing for women was exquisite and feminine, while Victorian architecture (Gilded Age in the United States) produced structures revered for their beauty and unique charm.

Medieval history holds an appeal all its own. Rugged warriors and brave heroines, fighting for a cause, bound by loyalty and love - these are the stuff of legends.

What eras and settings hold the most appeal to you? Have you ever ventured out of your romance comfort zone and read a book with an unusual setting or set during a time period that you usually don't enjoy? What are some books set during historical eras that you'd highly recommend. I'd love to see your thoughts!

Edgar Allan Poe - Beta Male?

Three roses and a half-bottle of cognac – a fitting toast to the man who created a literary genre, contributed to the development of short stories as a literary form in American literature, and created macabre images that have spawned countless nightmares, influenced literature and served as the inspiration for books, movies and songs. For sixty years, an unknown visitor (or perhaps, visitors), clothing positioned to obscure his identity, ventured out to Poe’s grave during the wee hours of the night to drink a toast and leave the flowers and liquor at his grave. Visitors from across the country journeyed to Baltimore to witness what had been an annual event since 1949. Unfortunately, this year, that toast did not come.

How fitting that the so-called Poe Toaster (and his conspicuous absence) should be shrouded in mystery. Edgar Allan Poe was known for his literary mysteries; he created the detective fiction genre decades before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle dreamed up Sherlock Holmes. His life clouded by tragedy and cut short at the age of forty under mysterious circumstances from a cause that has never been determined, I imagine the man whose stories of horror and mystery changed American literature would have richly enjoyed the aura of mystery surrounding a simple bottle of cognac and a few cut flowers laid on his grave.

This recent flare of interest in Poe piqued my curiosity. I’d always been fascinated by Poe’s works such as The Murders in the Rue Morgue and intrigued by the concept that a modern day pro-football team is named after a poetic work by a man who died long before football became a national obsession. I was aware his works inspired hundreds of movie and television works (he even has a page on the Internet Movie Database – not bad for a man who died in 1849), and have to admit to watching and enjoying several corny Vincent Price movies loosely based on Poe’s works – in some cases, it seems only the title was used. I knew his death occurred under mysterious circumstances, and I was aware he’d experienced tragedy and heartbreak in his life. But I’d never thought of Poe as anything other than a writer. Honestly, I’d never given a moment's thought to Poe, the man.

I won’t bombard you with details on Poe’s life. Suffice it to say his life might have provided ample fodder for a melodrama. Orphaned as a young boy when his actress mother died and his actor father abandoned his family, he was taken in by a family that raised him but never adopted him. Eventually disowned by his foster family, Poe foundered at college and in the Army, lost a brother to alcoholism, and buried his young wife after two years when she succumbed to tuberculosis. By the time of his death, he was believed to be drinking heavily and reported exhibited erratic behavior. Despite these woes, Poe harnessed his literary genius to create an enduring legacy.

He wasn’t a conventionally handsome man, but there was definitely a dark, penetrating quality to his eyes. Poe wasn’t tall (Army records list his height as 5’8” ), and he was definitely not the man to bet on in a bar fight. His nearly black hair could have been cut in a more flattering style. And in his few portraits, he is unsmiling and his face shows the effects of a hard life as he entered middle age. But still, there's an intensity there, especially in those brooding eyes. My author's active imagination supposes his moody genius would have made him quite intriguing. And possibly quite passionate.

A recent article at Romance University by author Tracey Devlyn highlighted the appeal of the beta male. While the vast majority of romance heroes could be considered alpha males, the beta male offers an undeniably unique, intellectual appeal. Edgar Allan Poe could be considered a beta male. Intelligent, prone to star-crossed romance, the type of man to use a pen rather than a sword – just the kind of man a strong woman could engage in a battle of wits and claim lasting love as her victory…intriguing possibilities abound. Of course, we can’t travel back in time (and honestly, if I could, it would be to Liverpool around 1961 in search of another beta male, a young Englishman known for his biting wit, touching lyrics, and beautiful melodies – John Lennon), but it’s fascinating to imagine what might have happened if Edgar Allan Poe had met a woman who was his intellectual equal. And equally fascinating to consider the plot possibilities of a hero with Poe’s moody romanticism. Hmmmm…do I feel a story forming???

Grabbing the Brass Ring

No, this post isn't about getting published or corraling an agent, despite the title. It literally is about the brass ring on a carousel ride. (Come on - this is a "historical" blog, right?)

My favorite carousel is the one in San Diego's Balboa Park.

This particular carousel was built by the Herschell-Spillman company in 1910 during the hey-days of carousels in the United States. It is wood (rather than its fiberglass counterpart today), with handcarved animals. Along with horses, there are also ostriches, lions, tigers, bears, and a dragon. Amazingly, it has all but two of its original carvings.

Carousels go by several different names: round abouts, flying horses, and merry-g0-rounds. Many of the first carousels built here in America were built by furniture craftsman--immigrants from Italy, Germany and France. The history of carousels, however, dates as far back as 500AD and possibly farther. In the 1100s, Arabian and Turkish soldiers used a similar device for combat practice and strengthening exercises.

The Balboa Park Carousel has something else that is hard to find on the west coast--the brass ring game. Although the eastern United States carousels more commonly have this game, only two carousels in the west have it. I'll admit I'm spoiled. I can't imagine a carousel ride without this game. It adds to the fun immeasurably--especially if you are competing against your brothers and sister. The object of the game is to grab the ring that extends from a holder. (Thus you must chose an animal on the outer ring of the carousel and one that doesn't go up and down.) Among the numerous iron rings there will be one or possibly two brass rings. The iron rings can be discarded by tossing them at a target --a clown or a bucket. But if you are lucky and grab the brass ring, a prize will be awarded at the end of the ride. Most often it is a ticket for a free ride.

Carousels have been used in many books and movies. Here is a small sampling, compliments of Wikipedia ~

Books:

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funk. The carousel in the story is magical.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. The carousel has the ability

to make its rider grow older or younger depending on the direction it travels.

Films:

The Lost Boys. Two young men go to California and find themselves fighting a gang

of teenage vampires.

Carousel. A musical (also on Broadway) where the main character is a carousel barker.

The Sting. The carousel is the front for a prositution business.

For many, the carousel is a romantic, nostalgic link to our rich history. I'm glad to see that many are being restored to their original splendor.

OMG! I'm finished...

Those are the words every author loves to say, but how long do you bask in the glory of "OMG! I'm finished"?

Well, I've been basking in it for about a half-day and I'm already looking at the calendar wondering when I can finish another one. Really, that's bad. I need to let my creative juices replenish the well that is bone dry. I need to play a little. Visit a few blogs. Socialize on my networking communities. Prepare for conference. Well, really what I need to do is get ready for the launch of my next book, but that's an entirely different blog...

I should probably go back through it. Right? I should consider writing an epilogue. Right? At what point can I let them go and accept that my characters really are living their HEA? This feeling of closure isn't comfortable to me right now. I don't want to let go. I like them. I like where they ended up and I want to stay and play a while. Let's face it, we went through Hell to get to the HEA, why can't we play there awhile?

As you can see from the brevity of this post...I'm all out of words...

So help me out here...At what point do you start brainstorming another book? Or are you one of those authors who has stacks of ideas filed away in your head?

Kimberly Killion
HER ONE DESIRE ~ RITA® Finalist
HIGHLAND DRAGON ~ Oct. 2009
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www.kimberlykillion.com