I'm on the road again making presentations and signing Cat's Cafe books! Monday, March 20, I'm off to Springfield to present a program about the Melotte Morse Stained Glass Studio museum-quality restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass in the Dana-Thomas House and to sign copies of Cat's Cafe. It will be a good… Continue reading Ralls Melotte author~ On the road, and a video
Category: Ralls’ posts
The author’s life ~ Mounds of snow on Monday
When I see you, and you ask me why I'm not farther along in Book Two, which I'm confident some of you will (!), I'll mention this, the latest delivery of deep, drifting, lake effect snow on my beloved Wisconsin town ... driveway ... deck ... I've been shoveling snow for what seems like weeks,… Continue reading The author’s life ~ Mounds of snow on Monday
The author’s life — Thank you to the Museum of Idaho
Photo of Museum of Idaho, from Visit Idaho My great thanks to the Museum of Idaho for the wealth of its resources and the helpfulness of the team there. They helped Cat's Cafe, Eagle Rock Trilogy Book One come to life in the most realistic way, and my early research for the trilogy a complete… Continue reading The author’s life — Thank you to the Museum of Idaho
The author’s life ~ Talks in towns … or, it could snow
The forecast was for Kewaunee and nearby towns on Lake Michigan to be "walloped" night before last. We were. Sideways snow, wind roaring past our upstairs windows. A proper Wisconsin snowstorm. https://videopress.com/v/NW8CtZhe?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true And within several hours, I was to spend a pleasant evening talking to a group and signing books in Algoma. That program was… Continue reading The author’s life ~ Talks in towns … or, it could snow
Saloons in the 1870s Old West ~ And an update: Books and Talks!
Patrick’s Saloon in the historical novel Cat’s Cafe, Eagle Rock Trilogy Book One, wasn't the highly polished, rich mahogany, mirrored saloon depicted in film and television westerns -- at least not in the beginning. Western towns in the 1860s and '70s were thrown up faster than they could be properly built. Only a few buildings… Continue reading Saloons in the 1870s Old West ~ And an update: Books and Talks!
Four Women Who Tamed the Wild West
Welcome to Eagle Rock, Idaho Territory, 1870s Determination and ingenuity brought irrigation to the desert, education and Christianity to pioneer families and Native American children in a Mormon enclave, women's suffrage to the West, and civilization to the small town of Eagle Rock where four remarkable women, based on real life late 19th-century women, lived.… Continue reading Four Women Who Tamed the Wild West
2023 “IRL” and Virtual Presentations
Ralls is scheduling "In real life" presentations in south central Wisconsin and central Illinois, as well as virtual presentations via Zoom that can be tailored to your group's meeting schedule. All in-person meetings will include time for book signing as well. Contact Ralls to discuss fees and schedules at rcm011447@gmail.com. Presentation list, author information Cat's… Continue reading 2023 “IRL” and Virtual Presentations
Cat’s Cafe Review in Illinois Times
Photo of landscape south of Idaho Falls taken in 2021 by Ralls Melotte somewhat similar to what it might have looked like in 1879 but without the barbed wire fence. Photo of early combined bank, dry goods store and post office in Eagle Rock, now Idaho Falls, probably around the mid 1880s. Courtesy of the… Continue reading Cat’s Cafe Review in Illinois Times
Cat’s Cafe, Ch. 20
This photo can be found in the current issue, dated December 16, 2022, of Socialstudiesforkids.com in an article explaining the significance of Samuel Morse's invention of the telegraph. He was issued a patent in 1840 for his original design which looks quite different from the one shown below that was probably in use by the… Continue reading Cat’s Cafe, Ch. 20
The first reviews are in!
It takes weeks to get even a paid review. But my first two are finally in and they're good. Interestingly, they don't actually fully agree. One dinged me on the dialect and footnotes, the other really liked it. Until I can actually contractually release the reviews, here are some snippets from each. "... depicts historical… Continue reading The first reviews are in!