Carol Cox's Blog, page 2

Truth Be Told: Frontier Newspapers in the 1800s

Research is one of my favorite parts of the writing process, and I had such fun researching 19th-century frontier newspapers for my latest novel, Truth Be Told.

I was delighted to discover the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott features a printing press exactly like the one Amelia uses to print the Granite Springs Gazette.

There, I was able to get a closeup view of the way the press worked. Even the names of various parts of the press were intriguing—words like coffin, frisket, rounce, and tympan.

In case you’d like to brush up on your 1800s letterpress jargon…

A coffin is: the flat bed of the press where the typeset form is placed.

A frisket is: a thin metal frame that holds the paper in position during printing.

A rounce is: a crank on the left-hand side of the press (not visible in the picture above). Turning it rolls the coffin forward under the platen.

And a tympan is: a padded layer placed over the platen to cushion the paper being printed and equalize type pressure.

 

Every letter of every news story had to be set in a form by hand. Pieces of type were stored in type cabinets like the one you see here. Imagine not only having to find each letter as you needed it, but having to put every one of those pieces back after the paper was finished!

In the book, Amelia runs the press with the help of her able assistant, Homer Crenshaw. And printing a four-page weekly like the Gazette on a Washington Hand Press like the one pictured above was indeed a two-man operation.

After the pieces of type were set in the form—an ongoing process throughout the week—the inkman would use a brayer to transfer ink to the form while the pressman fastened a sheet of newsprint into position on the press, making sure it was in proper register.

The paper would then be laid down touching the type, and the pressman would crank the rounce, sending the coffin forward under the platen, where the pressman would haul on the lever to press the platen down, making an inked impression on the paper. The sheet of paper would be stripped out and hung to dry, and the process would begin again.

Working in a steady rhythm, the two could print 200 or so impressions—almost enough to distribute to the citizens of Granite Springs—in a couple of hours. The page form would be replaced with copy for the other two pages, and once the first set of papers were dry, the workers would repeat the steps until the second half of the paper was done. After a round of drying, that week’s issue would be ready to fold and deliver.

You can see a live demonstration of a Washington Hand Press similar to Amelia’s in the Gizmodo video, below:

What a difference between that process and the way I can press the “Print” button on my laptop and watch a 300-page manuscript roll out of my printer in just a few minutes!

Technological advances like this have affected our lives in so many ways. What are some of the “newfangled” ways of doing things you appreciate most? Are there any of the old-fashioned ways you wish hadn’t changed? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

 

Until next time…

The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by…

 

I’ve always loved those lines near the end of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken.” How exciting to think of new places to explore, new things to see! One of the joys of country living is having plenty of “roads less traveled” only a few minutes from home, and spring is the perfect time to get outdoors and investigate new territory. I thought you might enjoy coming along with me to look at some of the things I’ve discovered lately.

 

 

On the road less traveled, there’s no telling what you might find, so it’s best to keep your eyes wide open and stay alert. It would be hard to miss anything as obvious as this old cattle pen and loading chute situated in a meadow with the San Francisco Peaks silhouetted in the distance.

 

 

But some things aren’t so easily noticed unless you take a closer look. Like this Great Blue Heron striking a pose at the edge of a forest pond…

 

 

…or these tiny wildflowers nestled among the rocks.

 

 

Sometimes it’s only a tiny flicker of movement that catches the eye. At first glance, it was hard to see anything more than the cluster of fallen pine needles at the left side of this photo.

 

On closer inspection, I spotted this horned lizard trying to make himself invisible…

 

 

Here’s a close-up of the little guy, smiling for the camera.

 

 

It’s amazing how much is out there to be seen, but it’s easy to miss it unless we look closely. Not only these little marvels of nature, but people and situations God wants us to notice. May we keep our eyes sharp and our hearts attuned to His leading so we don’t miss out on anything He has in store for us!

 

PS – A heads-up for Abby, Angi, Jordan, Rebecca, and Tiffany, the necklace winners from my giveaway during the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt — look what arrived in my mailbox! And now they’re on their way to you! I’m so pleased with the way these necklaces turned out, and I hope you will be, too. Thanks so much to all of you who stopped by to comment during the scavenger hunt–what a blessing you are!!

 

Until next time . . .

 

Necklace Giveaway Winners!

I hope all of you who took part in last week’s Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt enjoyed it as much as I did! I loved the comments many of you left. It was so much fun, hearing your excitement in reconnecting with favorite authors and discovering new ones.

As you know, in addition to the scavenger hunt prizes, I did a giveaway of my own for five of these customized initial necklaces.

 

I loved these necklaces the first moment I saw them–not only because they’re so unique, but because of their tie-in to the newspaper setting in my latest novel, Truth Be Told.

Out of over 800 entries, here are the five names selected as the winners:

Abby Cross
Angi Griffis
Jordan Sims
Rebecca Dewey
Tiffany Johnston

Congratulations, ladies! I’ve sent an email to each winner, asking for their mailing addresses and the initial they’d like to have on their necklace, and will send out the customized necklaces as soon as they arrive.

 

I wish every one of you who participated could have won, but for those who didn’t, I’m sharing a fun recipe with you as a mini-consolation prize.

Spring weather is finally on the way…or so I tell myself as I reload the woodbox and watch our lilac bush trying to convince itself to burst into bloom. And warmer temperatures mean more time in the great outdoors. With that in mind, here’s a Trail Mix Recipe (courtesy of Taste of Home) that’s perfect for snacking on while you enjoy your favorite outdoor activities!

 

Trail Mix

Ingredients:

2 pounds dry roasted peanuts

2 pounds cashews

1 pound raisins

1 pound M&M’s® Brand Chocolate Candies

1/2 pound flaked coconut

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 6 quarts.

 

Simple, right? I love no-fuss recipes like this that only take a few minutes in the kitchen and leave lots of time for hiking, camping, or whatever outdoor pursuits you enjoy most!

Many thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway, and a special thanks to those of you who took the time to leave a comment here or on my Facebook page. I love hearing from you!!

 

Until next time…

 

The Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt – Stop #22

Welcome to the 2014 Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! The hunt begins on Friday, April 4, 2014, at noon (Mountain Daylight Time).

The hunt begins and ends at robinleehatcher.com. Enjoy as you work your way through the sites, gathering clues and entering bonus giveaways, until you’ve collected all the clues. The hunt ends Sunday, April 6, 2014 at midnight (Mountain Daylight Time). That gives you all weekend to finish, so there’s no rush! Take your time reading exclusive content each author has prepared for you. Be sure to collect a CLUE IN RED at each stop and write them down as you go. At the end of the hunt, you’ll enter the clues into a Rafflecopter form.

The hunt is open to international entries. The grand prize is a Kindle Fire HDX plus $100 gift certificate! Two runners-up will receive all 32 of our latest releases.

In case you find a broken link…

We have prepared a page with direct links to each author’s post in case a site goes down or a link gets broken. We’ll be working on getting all of the links prior to the start of the hunt, but sometimes there are still issues even after the hunt starts, so make a note of the URL for the Participating Authors & Stops page so you can check back and be able to complete the hunt.

And now it’s my pleasure it introduce you to Elizabeth Goddard. Elizabeth’s ministry of words offers her readers the chance to forget their cares and be whisked away to another time and place. I’m thrilled to be hosting her in this year’s hunt!

 

MEET ELIZABETH GODDARD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth Goddard is the award-winning author of over twenty romance and romantic suspense novels. She is known for writing action and adventure stories and intriguing locations. Connect with her on her Facebook page and check out her website to learn more about her and her books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Love in the Wind

 

Maddie Cramer is ready to set sail in her most important sailboat race of the year—in the middle of the desert, but when her bowman is injured, and Maddie has to trust his idea of a replacement . Nothing is more important to Grady Stone than his word and honor. He’s never let a friend down before—but then he meets Maddie.

 

Intrigued? I know I am! You can purchase Love in the Wind at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, or your local bookstore.

 

I love seeing scriptural truths woven into a story, and Elizabeth has some inspiring words to share about the way Hebrews 6:19 relates to Love in the Wind. I know you’ll enjoy what she has to say!

 

From Elizabeth:

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure, Hebrews 6:19.

Striving for security in all things is part of human nature. You want to provide a safe home for your children. A warm bed to snuggle in on a cold night. Well, maybe you want the bed every night.

But life is so much more than food, clothing and shelter. Life includes relationships and trusting others. To truly live and not simply exist means taking risks. It means possibly getting hurt. Carrying that hurt around can leave you drifting in an ocean of despair.

Matthew Henry says it best: We are in this world as a ship at sea, liable to be tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away. Our souls are the vessels. The comforts, expectations, graces, and happiness of our souls are the precious cargo with which these vessels are loaded. Heaven is the harbour to which we sail. The temptations, persecutions, and afflictions that we encounter, are the winds and waves that threaten our shipwreck. We have need of an anchor to keep us sure and steady. . .

That anchor is this hope we have in Christ. It’s a miraculous and palpable work in our souls—Only God can put it there.

In Love in the Wind, the fabric of who Maddie thought she was is ripped away. Then God anchors her like only He can.

Excerpt:

Trusting others had been too hard, and she reminded herself that her father wasn’t someone she could count on, in the end. She shouldn’t let down her guard like she’d done with Grady and Taylor. She shut her eyes—how had it come to this? How had she misjudged them?

When she opened her eyes, her gaze fell on the artwork decorating the walls. One familiar painting stood out—it was of a clipper anchored in a cove. The same print hung on the wall at Desert Sea Gifts, only the one at the gift shop included a Bible verse. What was it again?

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure, Hebrews 6:19.

Yes, that was the verse, but what was the hope?

And then she remembered: I am your hope.

The quiet answer calmed the waves battering her soul.

Drawing in a breath to steady her nerves, she reminded herself that she could count on God to be there for her always. The past was the past, and she wanted it to stay there. She needed to hoist her sails and go where God would take her. . .

I pray God anchors you in Him today.

 

THE SCAVENGER HUNT SKINNY

Thanks for stopping by! Before you move on to Stop #23 on Elizabeth Goddard’s site, to pick up your next clue, be sure to write down this Stop #22 clue: the truth

 

BONUS!

To celebrate the upcoming release of my new novel, Truth Be Told, I’m offering a special prize to five lucky winners.

When reporter Amelia Wagner takes over running her father’s newspaper in Granite Springs, Arizona, she vows to carry on the paper’s commitment to reporting only the truth. But Amelia soon learns that telling the truth can have consequences.

In honor of Amelia’s story, I’m giving away five of these custom newspaper initial necklaces. Aren’t they gorgeous? Each includes an initial and the description of a lovely word associated with that letter. (Peace for the letter “P” etc.) Winners can pick their desired initial, and anyone who enters via the Rafflecopter widget below is eligible to win.

To enter, just subscribe to my Mailing List inside the Rafflecopter form below (newsletters go out only a few times a year– I won’t deluge you, I promise!), and then earn bonus entries if you Follow me on Facebook or Twitter or subscribe to my blog.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Is One Week Away

Just a quick note to remind you to mark your calendar for the Spring Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt, which starts one week from today.

 

 

Trust me, you’re going to want to take part in our spring scavenger hunt, April 4-6. If you don’t win the Kindle Fire HDX plus $100 in Kindle credit, you could win one of two prize packs including ALL of these books, including my latest novel, Truth Be Told.

 

 

To enter, you’ll start at Robin Lee Hatcher’s site that first weekend of April (beginning at noon, Mountain Daylight Time, on Friday, the 4th) and follow the links to each of the other sites, gathering the clue on each one, and submitting the answer at the end. Easy peasey. (Don’t fret about the “how to’s” now–it will be obvious. There’s no reason to race through; you have all weekend.) PLUS, there will be additional prizes and mini-contests offered by some of the authors as you scavenge through!

 

Open internationally. If a reader outside the USA wins the Kindle and $100 credit, they will receive the equivalent in USD$.

 

So mark your calendars and save the date now. This is one you won’t want to miss!

 

Until next time…

Cruisin’ Arizona – Colossal Cave

 

 

When I was doing research for Love in Disguise, my family and I made a number of trips to Tombstone.Thankfully, they’re every bit as fascinated by the Old West as I am, so I didn’t even have to bribe them. Every time we drove past the signs for Colossal Cave Mountain Park, I felt a tug. Eventually, I talked my husband—the driver on most of these research expeditions—to pull off long enough to check it out…and I’m so glad I did! Not only did we have a wonderful time exploring, but our tour of the cave provided inspiration for several key scenes in the final chapters of the book.

 

 

 

The scenery itself is worth the side trip. The moment you step out of your vehicle at the visitor’s center, you’ll be greeted by panoramic views of the vast Sonoran Desert.

 

Keep your eyes open as you drive through the park, and you might spot mule deer, javelina, or coyotes. Bobcats and mountain lions also call this area home. In springtime, wildflowers bring a show of color to the desert floor. And, of course, there’s plenty of cactus, including spectacular stands of saguaros.

 

I could have spent hours enjoying the scenery, but the feature that called to me on this visit was out of sight at the moment—Colossal Cave itself. The cave has quite a history, being used by the Hohokam Indians some 1100 years ago and “rediscovered” by Solomon Lick while tracking stray cows in 1879.

 

Although the cave has been open for tours since 1923, it’s likely there are still areas that have yet to be discovered and explored. Peering into the maze-like passageways that branched off from the main path, my creative juices went into overdrive, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to wander through the cavern on my own, without a guide.

Limestone formations in the cave take on fantastic shapes, and it was fun to give names to the different figures, kind of like seeing pictures in the clouds. What does this one remind you of? Seeing formations like this one made it easy to imagine Ellie spotting a likeness of Althea Baldwin, showing her the way out of the mine.

 

According to the park’s website, the cave also serves as home to almost half the bat species found in Arizona. We did not encounter any bats the day I was there. Just for the record, I was okay with that.

 

Then there are the stories about the cave being used as a bandit hideout. According to local legend, back in the 1880s, bank robbers eluded the sheriff and holed up in the cave. When the sheriff tracked them down, he decided to wait in front of the cave until they poked their heads out again. Unbeknownst to the lawman, the cave had a back entrance, which the robbers used to make good their escape. What a great—if mostly fictional—story! It gave me a fun, new twist to use with the silver thieves in Love in Disguise. I could hardly wait to grab my laptop and start jotting down notes.

 

Next time you’re in Southern Arizona, you might want to budget in some time to visit Colossal Cave. If you’re traveling along I-10, take exit 279 and follow the signs for about 7 miles to discover one of the state’s lesser known treasures.

 

Have you ever visited Colossal Cave? If so, I’d love to hear about it! Or if you’ve enjoyed exploring a cave elsewhere, please share your experience with us. I’m always looking for additions to my list of places to visit someday!

 

Until next time…

 

 

 

 

An Unexpected Adventure

I’m blogging on Writes of Passage this morning–

 

I love the times when life flows along according to plan, and I know what I can expect from day to day. The past week does not count as one of those times…

 

 

Click here to read the rest…

 

 

When the Past Meets the Present

I’m blogging over on Writes of Passage today:

 

In a post several months ago, I made a brief mention of the time I saw a bear during a camping trip to Colorado. Something happened recently that brought memories of that trip back afresh, and I thought you might enjoy hearing “the rest of the story”…

Click here to read the rest!

Until next time…

Monuments and Milestones

I’m blogging over on Writes of Passage today:

 

Do you enjoy reading historical markers along the highway as much as I do? My whole family loves discovering the often obscure tidbits of information we find on them, and we make it a point to stop and look at as many as we can while traveling.

I’m looking for some great ideas on ways to mark special events in our lives, and I’d love to hear from you!

Click here to read the rest and join in the conversation!

Cruisin’ Arizona – Picacho Peak

If you’re a student of the American Civil War, names like Fort Sumter, Shiloh, and Bull Run will all be familiar to you. But what about the Battle of Picacho Pass?

 

If you’ve ever traveled between Phoenix and Tucson, you’ve surely noticed Picacho Peak. The distinctive formation rises in a narrow cone some 1500 feet from the desert floor on the west side of Interstate 10, and has served as a landmark for centuries. If you look at it from the right angle, it bears a striking resemblance to a howling dog with its head thrown back, nose pointed at the sky.

 

 

Back in 1861, the area we now know as Arizona was part of New Mexico Territory, an enormous tract of land with its capital in Santa Fe. That was fine for the people who lived in the northern part of the territory, but those living in the southern section felt overlooked by a government that was centered so far away.

 

Over time, public sentiment built up so much that a new territory calling itself Arizona seceded from New Mexico and set up its own capital in Mesilla, less than 50 miles north of El Paso. If you compared that to the outline of present-day Arizona, you wouldn’t see many similarities, since the boundary ran east-to-west below the 34th parallel, dividing the original territory into northern and southern halves.

 

The new territory fit neatly into the plans of the recently formed Confederate government. Acting under orders from Confederate president Jefferson Davis, troops set out to invade the Southwest. If they succeeded in taking over land routes through New Mexico, Arizona, and California, access would be opened to the seaports of southern California, allowing the South to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

 

By February of 1862, Captain Sherod Hunter and his company of Arizona Rangers were on their way to establish a Confederate post in Tucson when Union officials in California got wind of the plan. Worried that Confederate troops might travel along the Gila River all the way to California, the Union officers sent troops to Arizona.

 

A contingent of Union soldiers encountered the Confederates near present day Sacaton and were captured by the Rebels without a shot being fired. Knowing more Federal troops would soon be on their way, the Confederates stationed scouts in the pass near the base of Picacho Peak, along the route between the Gila River and Tucson.

 

 

When the Union soldiers learned the Confederates were waiting in the pass, they sent out detachments of cavalry to capture them. But instead, the tables were turned on April 15 (some say April 16th), during an hour and a half of brutal fighting in the dense mesquite thickets.

 

By the time it was over, three Union troops lay dead, and three Confederates had been taken prisoner, giving the victory for the engagement to the South.

 

Only a handful of men took part in this fight, making it a minor episode in the War Between the States as a whole, but it holds a place in U.S. history as the largest Civil War clash to take place in Arizona.

 

Next time you’re traveling along Interstate 10 between Tucson and Phoenix, why not take time to pull off at Exit 219 and stop at the visitor’s center, where friendly volunteers will point out the spot where it all took place. Then you can spend some time enjoying the beauty of the desert landscape while walking through the site of a Civil War battle…in Arizona!

 

Until next time…