Featured Author: Her Wild Texas Heart by Elysa Hendricks

MEET ELYSA HENDRICKS...

Elysa Hendricks is 5'6" tall. She has brown eyes and curly hair. She's an author, a wife, a mother and a daughter. Everything else is subject to change without notice. Oh, and she loves hearing from readers and other authors. You can reach through herWebsite or Facebook page.

About the Book...

In a lawless west Texas border town, a woman has two choices: death or dishonor. Doctor's apprentice and former Comanche slave, KC O'Connor finds a third--she buries her femininity and longing for love beneath a boyish disguise. But the arrival of an injured greenhorn shatters the shell around her hidden heart.

Read an excerpt...

Peaceful, Texas 1870

The smoke filled air of the cantina made Christopher Goodwin's eyes burn. His growing sense of unease prompted him to try the questionable liquid forced on him by his unwelcome companions. Reluctantly, he finished the whiskey in his glass and grimaced in distaste as the rotgut seared a path to his belly.

"Gentlemen, please, as you can see I've nothing left with which to wager. Perhaps we can call it an evening. I, for one, have to rise early tomorrow to proceed on my journey." Christopher kept his voice steady, but couldn't stop the slight tremor of his hands as he stood.

He glanced from the men surrounding him to the unsavory group's leader, Rico. The man's beady eyes stared back. Rico's short, fat form reminded Christopher of a well-fed rat.

The men grumbled. The sound made Christopher think of a pack of wild dogs closing in for a kill. Apparently, winning all his money wasn't enough to satisfy this group. Fear gripped Christopher. Fear, not for himself, but for Christina sleeping in the room above the cantina. Only he stood between her and this pack of animals masquerading as men.

Rico grabbed Christopher's arm. "No, my gringo friend. You must stay. Sí? Drink with us. Miguel, get our friend a drink."

Reviews for HER WILD TEXAS HEART

"HER WILD TEXAS HEART (previously published as Rawhide Surrender) is a romantic tale that takes you into the untamed Wild West, with characters that are brought vividly to life in the descriptive narrative. All of the characters come across as believable in their actions for this time period. There are several side plots that blend smoothly in with the main plot. HER WILD TEXAS HEART is an adventurous story with light and dark moments. I found it an entertaining read. With every page I turned I became more involved in the story. If you are a lover of Western Historicals I am sure you will find this an enjoyable read."

~ Carol Durfee, Romance Communications

"HER WILD TEXAS HEART (previously published as Rawhide Surrender) is an engrossing book set in the Old West. I was soon caught up in this story of strong characters - KC fighting her past and Christopher fighting his present. Some of the details were explicit, more than I needed to know, but didn't detract overall. For lovers of romantic westerns, this is a must-read." 4-1/2 Stars!

~ Scribes World Reviews

"HER WILD TEXAS HEART (previously published as Rawhide Surrender) gallops into our imagination and lassos our affection for two strong characters and their gritty new love. This book's a lusty silver."

 ~ Bridges Romance Magazine

BUY LINKS:  Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Guest Author Sarah Richmond Takes Your On a Tour of Placerville

Author Sarah Richmond and her husband take a self-guided tour in a gold mine.

More information can be found at www. goldbugpark.org

I'd like to welcome to History Undressed my good friend and crit partner, Sarah Richmond! Sarah writes sweet historical romance, set in the West. Her book DULCIE CROWDER GETS HER MAN, comes out with Avalon in December of this year. Take it away Sarah!

Okay. You weren’t expecting a blog on setting. For historical writers especially, setting is most definitely one of your characters. How better to undress a setting but with details?

Placerville, CA, one of the communities

 that sprung up because of the gold rush.

While researching for those important details for “Dulcie Crowder”, I found myself in Placerville, CA in El Dorado County, where gold was discovered in 1848 at Sutter’s Mill near Coloma. Placerville used to be called Hangtown because of a white oak tree in the center of town where justice was carried out. (The stump of the hanging tree remains-- taking pride of place in a bar on Main Street).

A replica of a nineteenth century Mercantile can

be found at the County Museum. Notice the

hand bill for Mark Twain. Candy jars.

Their web site is www.co.el-dorado.ca.us

The Historical Society (524 Main Street) is housed in the Fountain & Tallman Soda Works, yes, a soda factory. The Museum is one of the few buildings to survive the fire of 1854. The docents there are knowledgeable and eager to answer any questions. They will teach you how soda water was made.

On display are a number of photographs of local personalities.  I was surprised at how small the people were in the nineteenth century. The woman’s shoes and dresses on display look like they would fit today’s sixth grader.

Placerville reconstructed after the 1856 fire.

Notice the bell tower to call their volunteer

fire department.

The Placerville Historical Museum is another treasure trove of information. The county museum is next to the El Dorado Fairgrounds where I went to visit the gun show. I found an antique dealer who showed me an old Sharps Rifle and how to fire it. The rifle has two triggers: a set trigger and one to fire. My hero had to have one. He sends for a Sharps from back East and has to show off to the heroine how the new rifle works.

A wagon built by John Studebaker.
He also made wheelbarrows.
The museum also houses steam engines.

The Museum has a number of displays depicting scenes from the gold rush era including a General Store. The miners paid for their merchandise with gold dust. Sometimes the dust fell through the cracks in the floorboards making the ground underneath the store a good place to mine for gold. John Studebaker, famous as a manufacturer of automobiles, became wealthy making wagons and wheelbarrows during the gold rush.

The website for the Placerville Historical Museum is

http://homepage.mac.com/placerville/gold/Welcome.html

and islocated at 524 Main Street, Placerville.

Gold Bug Park was another stop. There’s a small museum and visitors can explore a gold mine on a tour or self-guided tour. The mine was wet and cold. Imagine being down in the mine with a lantern and pick ax and hearing that bell being rung signaling a dynamite blast. How chilling to wonder if the timbers would hold the tons of earth overhead and to fear the way out might be blocked by a cave in.

I made a quick trip to the nearby Joshua Handy Stamp Mill where the sound of the ore crusher could be heard day and night. Can you imagine the noise? That was later, after 1860 when placer mining became less productive. Maybe the next book?

These are some of the tidbits I learned while in Placerville. I hope you enjoyed the trip. You can read more about Dulcie Crowder at SarahRichmond.com

Cheers,

Sarah Richmond

DULCIE CROWDER GETS HER MAN

Avalon Books

December, 2011

Sarah Richmond.com

After her father’s death, Dulcie Crowder leaves their El Dorado claim and travels to Hangtown. Her aim is matrimony and she sets her hat for the handsome deputy, Tom Walker. When Tom balks, she knows why. He wants a woman he can be proud to walk beside, so Dulcie tries hard to transform herself into a lady.

 

 

 

Tom has vowed to bring law and order to the hardscrabble gold rush town and knows Hangtown is no place for a wife and family. As Dulcie tries to turn his head and win his heart, he notices. So do the hoards of other lonely men in their community.

 

 

Dulcie finds out her father was hung for murder and Tom is the one who put the noose around his neck. She has to dig deep for forgiveness and wonders if the citizens of Hangtown will ever accept her as one of them. The Vigilance Society is ready to run her and other strangers out of town. There’s an election coming up and the head of the Society is standing for Sheriff.

When Dulcie discovers corruption in the judiciary during the trial of a friend, she naturally turns to Tom. The deputy looks for evidence but Dulcie has other ideas on how to catch a varmint. As they both work for justice, will she jeopardize her chances of getting her man?