The trail end…

Well- that’s the wrap! The latest release in the Wagons West series brings the romantic sagas and adventures of the Woods and Miller families wagon train to a finale. With all the obstacles of dramatic rescues, being closed to love after loss, matchmaking gone wrong (doesn’t it usually?), love rejected by society, and marriages of convenience- naturally they needed a bit of my help to open to love. 😉  I’m curious to know which is your favorite? (Feel free to share in the comment section, or find me on Facebook under Linda Ford, author)

Here are a few items you may find in the series:

A tiny Bible

A goat

A mountain drawing

A nurse

Baked beans were a staple on the trail. Beans were easy to carry, dried, and kept well. It’s difficult to find a true recipe because we now have so many things to add that pioneers wouldn’t had. But here is a recipe I gleaned from Recipes on the Oregon Trail.

Baked Beans Recipe:

  1. Prepare 4 cups of beans by rinsing and place in large pot, covering with water and letting stand overnight for at least 12 hours. Drain, then put in pot with 1/2 lb. of salt pork.
  2. Cover with fresh water. Simmer on low fire for 3 hours.
  3. At the start of the 4th hour add these ingredients: 1/4 cup of dark molasses, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp. ground pepper. Stir and simmer an additional hour. Add more liquid if needed.

As you can see the basics are the same as today. These were often served with biscuits that were reasonably easy to bake in a Dutch oven over hot coals. The ladies and many of the gents got quite adept at making biscuits while on the trail.

The entire WAGONS WEST SERIES is available in print and ebook format. For quick link click on icon.

   
Watch for further releases and more info. For the latest news, sign up to my newsletter. (Orange button on left column).

 

 

They’re ready to set out.

Linda Ford Posted on by

I have started a new series–Wagons West. 

Come and join the Woods and Miller families as they leave their lives in Manitoba and head west to the territories to join the Woods’ son who is a Mountie. The year is 1887. They could travel part way by steam-powered train but have decided against it because of the eldest son, Bertie, who hasn’t been right since he had scarlet fever when he was five. The man loves animals and is good with them. He is strong and helpful, but strangers frighten him. Sometimes, when he’s afraid, he runs off. Sometimes he hides. Moreover, he is terrified of trains. No, he’ll be happiest if he’s shepherding his animals along the trail. He has a tame goat, two cats, and a three-legged dog.

While this series contains portions of Canadian history—the Northwest Mounted Police, the early railway, and other bits and pieces—there has been no attempt to present an accurate timeline. It is, first and foremost, a work of fiction. I have taken many creative liberties for the sake of an entertaining story.

I could find no evidence of such a wagon train but I’m sure there were some. So, I made it up. Just as I made up the various river crossings, the little towns along the way, the many challenges they faced and indeed, the very people who made this journey. It is wholly a work of fiction though you will discover truth within the pages. Truth about the beauty and challenges of the great country of Canada, truth about the heroes and heroines who faced such challenges and overcame them and most of all, truth about the power of love and the never-failing faithfulness of God.

I needed a way of keeping track of everyone so I drew a picture, thus proving I’m no artist. Lol. Hey, it gets the job done.

Wagon Train Song, the first book is out, available in both print and e-book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVG55QKF

Book #2, Wagon Train Hope, is available for preorder. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CW1FTLLP

Watch for further releases and more info. For the latest news, sign up to my newsletter. (Orange button on left column).

Goodbye 2023. Hello 2024

Linda Ford Posted on by

How was your 2023? Full of surprises–some unwelcome? Challenges? Disappointments? I suppose we’ve all had our share of those. Too often we get stuck looking at the negative when there is always something(s) to be grateful for. I know if I gave it some serious thought and started to list my blessings, there would be pages of them. Everything from family to health to friends and especially, God’s love. So my challenge to myself in 2024 is to remember to count my blessings. Like I read somewhere: Gratitude helps us see what there is instead of what there isn’t.

Among the many things I’m grateful for is my writing. It is my safe place. A place where I pretend I have some control. My office is quiet (mostly). Yes, there are days when it’s a struggle to find words, to find motivation, and simply to get my characters behaving the way I think they should.

2023 has seen the release of 9 Mail Order Brides stories. They’ve been fun to write (and, to be honest, sometimes frustrating.) The last in the series releases Jan. 9, 2024.

I have begun a new series. Watch for news and information on that.

To you, I wish a blessed, happy, gratitude-filled 2024.

New Season–my favorite

Linda Ford Posted on by

Summer is over.

We had a busy summer here but then what summer isn’t busy here? Here are a few highlights of how I spent my summer.

We are developing an acreage next door complete with house, outbuildings, etc. It’s a LOT of work. Dare I believe the end is in sight?

 

 

The garden was bountiful. Something I am always grateful for despite the work involved.

We had visitors and attended a couple reunions. That’s always enjoyable.

There was a Grade Nine graduation for two granddaughters who were lovely to behold.

 

A tornado touched down nearby, destroying several homes and leaving behind an unbelievable swath of destruction. Such powerful tornados are relatively rare here. Thankfully. Our community rallied around the disaster zone and with hundreds of volunteers cleaned up the debris in about a month. I am so proud to be part of such a supportive community.

 

We lost a few friends and relatives. It’s always hard to say a final goodbye.

Now fall is upon us. My favorite time of year. I’m hoping to get back into the writing grove. Montana Mail Order Brides series is still releasing and I’m happy to announced I am working on a new series. I’ll have more news about that in the new year.

My 100th book.

Linda Ford Posted on by

I recently released my 100th book. Did I ever think I’d reach this milestone? Absolutely not. (I’m as surprised as you are. lol) I couldn’t have done it without the help of many people. Friends (you know who you are), editors, fellow writers (again, you know who you are), my readers–especially my readers, and so many others.

My kids put on a wonderful surprise celebration. (I was so honored). A meet-and-greet at our local library with so many surprise visits, tea at the Banff Springs Hotel (about as special as one can get), and a nice video tribute. You can see the video here 100th book release tribute- LINDA FORD AUTHOR – YouTube

What is this book you ask? It’s Mail-Order Bride Substitute which was a challenge to write because of things going on in my family at the time. I hope my hard work has created a good story to read.

Once Upon A Time

Linda Ford Posted on by

Once upon a time there was a young girl who lived on the prairies—the flat prairies of which any number of jokes had evolved. ‘My dog ran away last week and I can still see him.’

She’d been to visit her grandparents which meant traveling through the mountains. One time it was on a train when she was five. She was terrified when she looked down from the train when it crossed a trestle and she could see nothing holding her up. Of course, that girl was me. Several trips were made through the mountains via car. They were both awe-inspiring and a little frightening. One road we took was switch backs and blind corners when you couldn’t see what was coming. It was only wide enough for one vehicle. If we met someone coming from the other direction—usually a big truck—my dad had to back up to the nearest wide spot that allowed the two vehicles to pass. Imagine! He backed up on a very curvy, narrow road. (I still get tense at the thought.) And yet, I love the mountains.

My first job out of highschool was working at a remote resort in the mountains. I spent my days off in Banff and thus began my life-long love affair with that town. To this day, I try and make an annual trip to Banff or at least to some area of the mountains.

 

So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that many of my books are set in the mountains, mostly in Alberta and Montana.

How to Find a Wife in the Wild West–even if it was mostly tame.

Linda Ford Posted on by

I have a new series being released over the next few months: Montana Mail-Order Brides.

In the west there were lots of men but few women and most of the latter were married. Men in all walks of life wanted to build homes in the new land, but without a wife, their homes were lonely bachelor shacks. Some of these men wrote back home to friends and family seeking a young woman willing to move west and marry them. Those without friends and family to appeal to, advertised in eastern newspapers and would begin correspondence with a suitable candidate.

Women answering these ads weren’t finding spouses at home or were wanting to leave home for some reason such as strict parents, a scandal or simply wanting adventure.

Many of these marriages went well especially if each party had been honest in how they presented themselves. But of course, there were others that went badly.

Enterprising individuals or those with a concern for proper representation of each party became involved in arranging these marriages. At least one organization arranged to bring prospective wives via ship to California. Unfortunately, these plans often went awry.

In my upcoming series, you will meet the four Shannon brothers on their ranch in western Montana plus men who worked with them. You will laugh and cry at the situations these men found themselves in when the woman they brought west to marry didn’t turn out quite the way they expected.

You can begin the series with Montana Mail-Order Bride Mommy which release Jan. 4, 2023 and is available for preorder now.

https://www.amazon.com/Mail-Or…

A history lesson on books

Linda Ford Posted on by

Talking about books—and weren’t we? —makes me think how things have changed. I think of books going from scrolls that were read in the temple to books being hand copied by monks to the invention of the printing press and now? E-books, free books, libraries galore.

Can you imagine living when books weren’t unavailable? Even when there were books to be had, the pioneers were limited in what they could find which was usually a small collection shared amongst neighbors. Compare that to my childhood when I went to the pubic library and brought home a dozen books at a time.

As I said, it got me to thinking. So I researched more about books (information that is readily available, thanks to Google, etc.)

To have a book you need something to write on. Apparently the Chinese were the first to create a product by using a number of things including mulberries, hemp, bark and even fish to form a big pulp, that could be pressed and dried to form paper. Or maybe it was the Egyptians and the paper they made out of the papyrus plant.

Hand written texts were copied by monks and then someone realized they could carve every letter backwards on wood, use ink and stamp the words on paper.

Then Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press making possible mass production of printed material. Thank you, Mr. Gutenberg.

Now we have digital books. Print-on-demand. And an endless supply of reading material to select from. What an age we live in.

I read somewhere that books are one of the most important inventions of all time and I tend to agree. We have the Bible in our language and in our own homes. What a blessing. We learn about our world, we are uplifted and entertained through the power of the written word.

You can get the series here:

Glory, Montana (10 book series) Kindle Edition (amazon.com)

 

Peace, reflection and creativity.

Linda Ford Posted on by

I grew up in a small town. I guess it`s something that sticks with you in so many ways—saying hello to people in the street, talking to the check out girl, helping someone across the street. One thing that has really stuck with me is the enjoyment of walking in town.

My small town may or may not have looked like this photo. 🙂

 

I now live a few miles from town and usually walk along our country road. It`s a great time to think through story problems and meditate, but I love walking along the sidewalks of town.  I like the smells—lilacs, petunias, fresh cut grass, pine trees, poplars and barbecued steak. I enjoy the variety of flowers I see—petunias, daisies, roses, and many I don`t recognize—in a rainbow of colors. I enjoy seeing how people have individualized their yards—an elephant planter with his back full of pink flowers, a riot of flower-filled planters spilling down some steps, a peak-through trellis to a little outdoor room, a yard completely done in pink or white.

Then there are the little surprises—the log cabin serving as a garden shed/garage. The owners had it out on their farm and took it apart log by log and brought it to town with them. There`s the wagon wheel set in a high board fence through which I catch a tease of a lovely patio burgeoning with flowers. There`s the house with birds inside the window, or the one with the cat lounging on the back of the couch watching me pass.

Of course, there are a few things that jangle my nerves. One yard has plastic flowers `growing` in the flower beds. Ugh. Another house owner says she doesn`t have time for yard work. She`d sooner be golfing. So she`s turned it into a California-desertscape with a gravel lawn.

Besides the yards in town, I also have access to the Olds College botanical gardens and the wetlands project. I don’t get there nearly often enough to see the many changes throughout the seasons.

The sights and smells and sounds flood my senses and make me want to go home and write. So I get a two-fold benefit from the walk—brain stimulation and body exercise.

Question for my readers and friends: what do you find that sends you into creative mode and/or relaxes you?