Book signing at the Springfield, Illinois, Barnes & Noble Bookstore Early Experiences with Book Marketing As mentioned in my last post, in mid-April I spent a week in Springfield, Illinois. I gave a presentation on the restoration of the stained glass at the Dana Thomas House, a book signing at Barnes & Noble and a… Continue reading A Busy Spring for a New Author
Tag: #Americanfrontier
Ralls Melotte author~ On the road, and a video
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
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
Cat’s Cafe, Ch. 5
View of the Mormon Temple in Idaho Falls beyond the Snake River Dam. Numerous Mormon temples can be found in many cities throughout Utah and Idaho as well as almost every state in the Union. Photo taken in 2021 by Ralls Melotte Joseph Smith (Jr.) as a young man. Photo found in the Library of… Continue reading Cat’s Cafe, Ch. 5
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!
Cat’s Cafe, Characters
My brother Rod just finished my book and said he really liked it, but would like it even more if he could look at a "cast of characters" while he was reading. This is for you, Rod! A little late, but better than never. Listed in order of appearance*indicates a true historical individual Edgar Potts… Continue reading Cat’s Cafe, Characters
Books in hand!
After years of research, writing, editing and preparation MY BOOKS HAVE ARRIVED! Early release paperback and hardcover copies (printed prior to receiving the professional reviews) of my historical fiction novel Cat’s Café are available now; hardcover copies, paperbacks and digital copies should be available at bookstores and Amazon after Christmas. I am so happy! So,… Continue reading Books in hand!
Cowboy cooking, chuckwagon style
Photo from Chip Schweiger's Cowboy Lifestyle, used with permission Carl Clancy in the upcoming historical fiction Cat's Cafe lived in the family chuck wagon in the hills above Eagle Rock. He became quite a good cook for himself, and for the seductive Fannie Smiles. Carl Clancy in Cat’s Café grew up as the youngest member… Continue reading Cowboy cooking, chuckwagon style
Saloons in the Old West ~ Beer moves west
Known by such colorful names as “John Barleycorn, purge, hop juice, calobogus, wobbly pop, mancation, let’s mosey, laughing water, mad dog, Jesus juice, pig’s ear, [and] strike-me-dead,” according to NotesFromTheFrontier.com, most of the beer in the late 1870s was a dark, tepid, low-quality, low-hop, home brew that was quick to go flat. Eventually, keg beer… Continue reading Saloons in the Old West ~ Beer moves west