Hearts of Julesburg -- a tale of the Wild West by Donna Schlachter

Today, in America, there are plenty of opportunities for women to perform work once considered for men only, but not so much in 1861. Particularly in the Wild West. But that doesn’t deter Annelise Harper. Her new persona, Andy Harper, is physically able to keep up with her male counterparts in most areas. Since folks didn’t bathe often in those days, she manages to keep her secret until…

Well, that would be a spoiler, wouldn’t it?

My main character, Annelise Adams, an orphan, decides the Pony Express is her answer to her longing for adventure. But, of course, they don’t hire girls. So she cuts her hair, dresses like a boy, and is hired.

Did women actually ride for the Express? Rumors hold that several did, either disguised as boys or young men, or in their own right. Calamity Jane, for example, is believed to have ridden alongside the roughest and toughest of male riders, dressed in her trademark skirts.

The town of Julesburg, Colorado, was named after a scoundrel who lived there, owned most of the town, and ruled with an iron fist. Jules was not a nice person, and eventually he committed enough crimes that he skedaddled, just ahead of a new law that decided to take back the town.

It’s no wonder then that Clint Baker, an ex-convict, heads there. He has nobody and nothing, except that he served his time for his part in a bank heist in another state. And now here he is, trying to prove the old Clint is dead and this new man is somebody worth knowing.

But his past keeps haunting him, in the form of his cellmate, who wants to drag him back into the life.

Can he resist the lure of easy money? Or is he really on the straight and narrow?

And, in case you’ve not read any of the other books in the series, the Pony Express began in April 1860 and ceased operations in October 1861. That’s right. Such an iconic part of American history lasted about eighteen months.

During that time, following a trail that covered some 2,500 miles from Independence, Missouri to San Francisco, California, the company employed hundreds of men and young boys, riding thousands of horses, who lived in one of the 250 homestations or waystations along the route.

Each rider was assigned a particular route that covered a hard day’s ride east or west, and they traded out mounts every fifteen to twenty miles, depending on the terrain.

 

Unlike the romantic movies, television shows, and novels written about the Express, the job was difficult, tiring and tiresome, and sometimes dangerous. Nothing stopped the mail from getting through. Not floods, snowstorms, bandits, wild animals, or native uprisings. Surprisingly, not a single rider was killed or died, although many horses perished from the hard work, or were stolen or simpy went missing.

Perhaps the sense of adventure engendered by the Pony Express is what keeps it in the minds of folks. Maybe the fact that the Express united a country at a time when mail otherwise took months to travel the southern route, or go down around South America and come up the other way.

Ultimately, the company closed, being in debt some $600,000, when the telegraph connected the east and west coasts, but before that, the Express helped families stay in touch, carried President Lincoln’s acceptance speech, and allowed businesses to expand from sea to shining sea.

My latest Pony Express book releases tomorrow, September 29th, and it’s titled Hearts of Julesburg. As the name suggests, the story is set in the rough and tumble town of Julesburg, Colorado, in 1861.





You can pre-order the ebook here: https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Julesburg-Pony-Express-Book-ebook/dp/B0C7FDMC4





About Hearts of Julesburg

Can a young woman who wants more adventure, and a young man running from his past, slow down long enough to allow God to intersect their lives?



About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She is taking all the information she’s learned along the way about the writing and publishing process, and is coaching writers at any stage of their manuscript. Learn more at https://www.donnaschlachter.com/the-purpose-full-writer-coaching-programs Check out her coaching group on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604220861766651





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Pony Express Artifacts ... and Stuff

A footnote from history by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Do you like to wander museums and wonder about the people who owned or used the things on display? I've been that way for years. Learning about the Pony Express for the next novel took me to some out-of-the-way museums in Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. Today I thought I'd share some of the things I saw that provided me a tactile connection to people in the past. 

This quilt is on display in Washington, KS and is said to have been made and used by Sophia Hollenberg. The table and pitcher and bowl to the right are also attributed to the Hollenbergs. Sophia and Gerat Hollenberg ran Hollenberg Station, still on its original site and a fascinating place to visit. Thinking of the woman who lived here and who saw literally thousands of covered wagons pass by on the way west, I wonder ... what was that like?

Here is Hollenberg Station today ... walking from the visitor's center to the station, visitors cross the California-Oregon Trail. I imagined creaking wheels and maybe even a child laughing as they trotted along beside the family wagon, heading out after camping between the station and Cottonwood Creek. 

The Hollenberg's first station was a log cabin. This is the kind of stove Mrs. Hollenberg cooked on. (My family would have had to endure a lot of second-rate fare while I figured this one out!) 

Pony Express Riders were issued tin horns to blow as they approached a station. But the horns weren't really necessary, as sound carried far, and the horns were soon abandoned. This one is on display at the Washington County KS museum.   

This wagon attachment is on display at the visitor's center attached to Hollenberg Station in Kansas. Do you know what it is?

What small museum have you visited and loved? Tell us about it!

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Stephanie Grace Whitson has been writing novels since 1994. Thomas Nelson published her debut novel, Walks the Fire, in 1994. In May of this year, Messenger by Moonlight will tell the story of Annie Paxton and her brothers Frank and Emmet. Annie dreams of living in the "big city." When her brothers sign on to be Pony Express riders and get Annie a job as a cook at a remote station in Nebraska Territory .... well. You can imagine, right. Learn more at http://www.amazon.com/Messenger-Moonlight-Stephanie-Grace-Whitson/dp/1455529087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454988553&sr=8-1&keywords=Messenger+by+Moonlight            

To learn more about Stephanie and her books, visit www.stephaniewhitson.com or www.Facebook.com/stephaniegracewhitsonofficial