Pioneer Farm - #SaturdaySnapshots

Recently I went on a field trip to the Pioneer Farm and Ohop Indian Museum (near Eatonville, Washington) with my granddaughter's school. Even with nonstop rain, we had a great time! Here's what we saw.
(Click on photos for a closer look.)

Imagine studying with children of all ages
in a one-room schoolhouse.

Native-American women told about local plants and
animals and how they were used by their ancestors:
for sleeping mats, medicine, food, clothing, tools.

A rapt audience learns about life in pioneer days -
churning milk into butter, making biscuits, spinning
wool into yarn, and hundreds of other chores. 

My granddaughter thought washing
clothes was fun. 

How do you sew without electricity?
Foot power!

A blacksmith demonstrated his art.

Not so sure about milking that giant cow!

Most fun of all? Jumping into a pile of hay.

More info: Pioneer Farm Museum

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Náápiikoan Winter - #BookBeginnings on Friday and The #Friday56

    Readers who enjoy stories set in the era of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada and the western U.S. will love Náápiikoan Winter by Alethea Williams. Told from the point of view of Native Americans, as well as through the eyes of an indentured employee of the Hudson's Bay Company and others, this epic adventure kept me enthralled. The story is even more meaningful because it's based on a real person's experiences.
    Although at first the unfamiliar Native American names slowed down my reading, I soon became comfortable with them. Their inclusion adds color and authenticity to the story. (The author includes a list of "connections.") The author's meticulous research shows up in her portrayal of the characters and their way of life. No wonder Alethea Williams has won so many awards for her writing!

Disclosure:
The author provided me with a free ebook copy of Náápiikoan Winter. I have featured other fine books by Alethea Williams on my blog before: Willow Vale and Walls for the Wind.

Book Beginning:
     Isobel, a light sleeper, woke in darkness to the sounds of her parents' habitual nighttime dispute.
     "Will you do nothing? Stupid, lazy bitch! No better than a dog in heat - you breed bastard children from different men and leave them to raise themselves. You're like a mangy cur bitch on a leash of gold. I wish I'd never set eyes on you!"

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
All the chiefs stood, extending a hand, and Saahkómaapi and the Orator grasped each in turn. Then the Piikáni approached the Whites, a short line of oddly-dressed, stunted and pale men who reminded Saahkómaapi of the tobacco spirits, in Piikáni legend dwarfs no more than one foot tall. Every one of them looked wan and sick, the mature one’s faces matted with hair just like dogs, exactly as the Káínaawa messenger had described them.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Length: 295 Pages
Amazon Link: Náápiikoan Winter
Author Website: Actually Alethea

Synopsis (from Amazon):

At the turn of a new century, changes unimagined are about to unfold.

THE WOMAN: Kidnapped by the Apaches, a Mexican woman learns the healing arts. Stolen by the Utes, she is sold and traded until she ends up with the Piikáni. All she has left are her skills--and her honor. What price will she pay to ensure a lasting place among the People?

THE MAN: Raised in a London charitable school, a young man at the end of the third of a seven year term of indenture to the Hudson's Bay Company is sent to the Rocky Mountains to live among the Piikáni for the winter to learn their language and to foster trade. He dreams of his advancement in the company, but he doesn't reckon the price for becoming entangled in the passions of the Piikáni.

THE LAND: After centuries of conflict, Náápiikoan traders approach the Piikáni, powerful members of the Blackfoot Confederation. The Piikáni already have horses and weapons, but they are promised they will become rich if they agree to trap beaver for Náápiikoan. Will the People trade their beliefs for the White Man's bargains?

Alethea Williams is the author of Willow Vale, the story of a Tyrolean immigrant's journey to America after WWI. Willow Vale won a 2012 Wyoming State Historical Society Publications Award. In her second novel, Walls for the Wind, a group of New York City immigrant orphans arrive in Hell on Wheels, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Walls for the Wind is a WILLA Literary Award finalist, a gold Will Rogers Medallion winner, and placed first at the Laramie Awards in the Prairie Fiction category.

Partially based on the works of Canadian trader, explorer, and mapmaker David Thompson, Náápiikoan Winter spans a continent, examining the cultures in flux at the passing of one era and the painful birth of another.

                

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The Blessing Way - Teaser Tuesday and First Paragraph / First Chapter / Tuesday Intros

Last week, my Teaser and First Paragraph selections were from The Bearwalker's Daughter, and that reminded me of the excellent mysteries written by Tony Hillerman. So this week I reread and again enjoyed The Blessing Way. Hillerman's books provide a fascinating glimpse into Navajo beliefs, superstitions, and way of life, all of which play a part in his stories. They take place in the Four Corners area of the American West (where the borders of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet), and the weather and rough terrain of that region are significant elements in his stories. The Blessing Way is Book #1 in the Navajo Mysteries Series.

First Paragraph:
Luis Horseman leaned the flat stone very carefully against the piñon twig, adjusted its balance exactly, and then cautiously withdrew his hand. The twig bent, but held. Horseman rocked back on his heels and surveyed the deadfall. He should have put a little more blood on the twig, he thought, but it might be enough. He had placed this one just right, with the twig at the edge of the kangaroo rat's trail. The least nibble and the stone would fall. He reached into his shirt front, pulled out a leather pouch, extracted an odd-shaped lump of turquoise, and placed it on the ground in front of him.

Teaser (from Page 43 in my book of three complete Hillerman novels):
Here the cliffs closed in, rising in sheer, almost smooth walls nearly four hundred feet to a narrow slit of sky above. Here in this slot of eroded stone darkness came early.

Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Book Length: 304 Pages (mass market paperback)
                       171 pages (in my 3-book volume)
Amazon Link: The Blessing Way

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The Bearwalker's Daughter - Teaser Tuesday and First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros

I rarely read stories with a paranormal slant because of my skepticism of anything magical. 
But my attitude changed when I devoured The Bearwalker's Daughter. Maybe it was the Native American connection or the author's beautiful descriptions of the setting, or maybe it was the compelling story and characters, but this book captured my imagination and held my attention until the very end. I'm looking forward to reading Through the Fire, Book 2 in the Native American Warrior Series. 

First Paragraph:
Autumn, 1784, the Allegheny Mountains of Western Virginia, the Scots-Irish Gathering
     A change was coming as surely as the shifting seasons. Karin McNeal heard the urgent whispers in the wind. She stood on the porch oblivious to the vibrant music pouring from the room behind her and the rain-spattered bluster whipping her long skirts.

Teaser (from 9% on my Kindle):
     Howling wind gusted around the eaves of the house and through the tiniest chinks in the walls. Did Karin detect warning or invitation in the murmurs threaded through the gale? Both, she thought, shivering under the covers.

Read more on Beth Trissel's website: Longer Excerpt Here

Genre: Historical / Romance / Paranormal
Length: 224 Pages
Amazon Link: The Bearwalker's Daughter (Native American Warrior Book 1)
Beth Trissel's Website/Blog: One Writer's Way

Synopsis from Goodreads:
      A Handsome Frontiersman, Mysterious Scots-Irish Woman, Shapeshifting Warrior, Dark Secret, Pulsing Romance...The Bearwalker's Daughter
      Karin McNeal hasn't grasped who she really is or her fierce birthright. A tragic secret from the past haunts the young Scots-Irish woman who longs to learn more of her mother's death and the mysterious father no one will name. The elusive voices she hears in the wind hint at the dramatic changes soon to unfold in the mist-shrouded Alleghenies in Autumn, 1784.
      Jack McCray, the wounded stranger who staggers through the door on the eve of her twentieth birthday and anniversary of her mother's death, holds the key to unlock the past. Will Karin let this handsome frontiersman lead her to the truth and into his arms, or seek the shelter of her fiercely possessive kinsmen? Is it only her imagination or does someone, or something, wait beyond the brooding ridges--for her?
      (The Bearwalker's Daughter is a revised version of romance novel Daughter of the Wind)
Publisher's Weekly BHB Reader's Choice Best Books of 2009

Share the first paragraph (or
a few) from a book you are
reading. Link up here:
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Hearts in Ruin - Teaser Tuesday

HEARTS IN RUIN by J. C. Conway is classified as a sweet contemporary romance, but I'd call it fiction with romantic elements. Although there's plenty of sexual tension between the hero and heroine, there is equal focus on their archaeological dig. Conway did a great job of creating a strong female character in Andrea, a doctoral candidate. I enjoyed getting to know her. His hero is interesting too and not a stereotypical macho male. Both characters are intelligent, likable people. I always enjoy learning something while reading fiction, and I found this story to be fascinating.

Teaser from 10% on my Kindle - (Andrea is speaking):
She paused; then she shook her head. "I can't hang my doctoral thesis on a crackpot theory. I need something solid."

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 173 Pages
Amazon Link: Hearts in Ruin
Other Books by J. C. Conway: Amazon Author Page

Synopsis from Amazon:
      Everything Andrea has worked for is being threatened … and she’s not going to just stand still and take it! Passion, lies, and betrayal clash in the wake of a plot to destroy an ancient truth. You’ll love Hearts In Ruin, the hot new romance from the pen of author J. C. Conway. 
      Andrea had one goal in life, a quiet career as a mainstream archaeologist—nothing more nothing less—and she's one ancient secret away. When she is teamed with maverick prodigy Daniel Fuchs at his controversial pre-Clovis dig on tribal land, she soon realizes his wild theories may sidetrack her career. Her smartest move is to expose him and that is exactly what she plans to do. Except…he’s hot, sexy, and there is a chance his theories may be right. 
      As the dig deepens and outside forces mount, Andrea and Daniel find their careers and their shaky relationship on the brink of ruin. Who can she trust? To survive professionally and emotionally, Andrea must decide between what is expected and what she believes, because time is running out and the developers' bulldozers are poised to level the site. 
      Delve into the mystery and excitement of an archaeological dig in the New Mexico desert and experience the drive, determination, and passion surrounding the quest to unlock the Paleolithic past in this contemporary, romantic suspense. Hearts In Ruin…no shovel required to join this adventure to discover an ancient truth! 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.

Loving Chloe - Teaser Tuesday

Back in February, I read and thoroughly enjoyed HANK AND CHLOE and featured the book on my blog (here). So when a friend asked if I'd like to borrow her copy of the sequel, I jumped at the chance. Although LOVING CHLOE stands alone, I recommend reading HANK AND CHLOE first, mainly because the characters are so interesting, as are their stories. The Arizona setting and Native American connections are essential to both books and give them added meaning and depth. 

Here's my Teaser from Page 121.
Was the baby all right? She tried to remember if it had cried, but of the birth in the Johnsons' living room she recalled only bits and pieces: Corrine's soothing voice, her hand on Chloe's calf, the television on some game show, Hank's face pressed close to her own, as she struggled to push out of her body what felt like a full-grown horse.

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction
Length: 347 Pages (Trade Paperback)
Amazon Link: Loving Chloe

Synopsis from Goodreads:
When thirty-four-year-old Chloe Morgan appears on Hank Oliver's doorstep in Cameron, Arizona, she arrives with more than her old white German shepherd, Hannah, and a rambunctious young horse in tow. Chloe is pregnant with Hank's child, and she's as tough-talking and vulnerable, skittish and tender as when last we saw her in Jo-Ann Mapson's acclaimed first novel, Hank & Chloe. As Chloe and Hank settle somewhat uneasily into domesticity, a local Navajo legend named Junior Whitebear returns home to collect his father's ashes and renew his own spirit after years spent in the art-world fast lane. When Junior arrives at the reservation, he doesn't expect to find a son he fathered unwittingly nine years ago; nor is he looking to fall in love with Chloe and to deliver her baby girl. Both events change his life, and the lives of those around him, forever. A passionate love story, Loving Chloe explores the emotional complexity of a love triangle with sympathy, humor, and compassion.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.