by Kristin Holt | Aug 23, 2016 | Articles
Victorian Americans needed ice–for home use, through delivery businesses, on a commercial scale (to keep food from spoiling at the grocery and in railroad transportation). Ice houses were built all over the United States from the independent family’s ice house on their property to the enormous commercial Swift & Co. Ice House storing 60,000 tons annually. Ice harvesting occurred in January and February and kept in storage facilities until the following winter by applying ingenuity, science, and hard work. Men used saws, horse-drawn sleighs, and the strength of their own backs to harvest the cash crop each winter. This article contains vintage photographs, newspaper ads, and science info of the Victorian era.
by Kristin Holt | Jul 30, 2016 | Articles
It’s Release Day! Cowboys & Calico may have been a short-term offer, but all novellas within are still for sale wherever each author’s books are sold.
This article presents the opening scene of my novella, Courting Miss Cartwright, in whole. Enjoy this peek inside!
by Kristin Holt | May 26, 2015 | Articles
Queen Victoria reigned from age 18 to age 81; June 1837 until her death in 1901. Anything that falls within this time, whether those English-speaking countries were her subjects or not, is referred to as the Victorian Era. The United States definitely had a Victorian Era–and the sheer quantity of significant historical occurrences, inventions, developments, social happenings–is astounding. This overview sheds light on this favored backdrop (Victorian Era American West) for fiction.
by Kristin Holt | Nov 18, 2014 | Articles
Fans of Mail-Order Bride Romances adore reading about courageous women who left home, headed west, and risked everything for a brighter future. We admire brave men who sent for a bride with no more courtship than letters could provide. We enjoy the conflict, hurdles, and challenges the characters face before earning their happy ending.
Did any of this stuff happen in real history?
Yes.
Did real life mail-order bride arrangements become love-matches?
Sometimes.
