Heidi Vanlandingham’s new title, The Woodworker’s Mail-Order Bride will release next week on Wednesday, May 17th. It is available for preorder on Amazon. In this article, Heidi shares her inspiration and how she chose a setting for Rebecca and Anthony, and the conflicts that would threaten their fledgling marriage.
A vintage newspaper article from 1897 retells the harrowing experience of Sharkey, owner of the Copper Queen Mine outside Salmon, Idaho–a shootout, Old-West style–between himself and a 6-foot rattler.
Victorian-era American schools, even in the Old West, were so much more than one-room schoolhouses. High schools were prevalent and seen as preparatory for University. Though western one-room school teachers are often portrayed as predominately male, female teachers were preferred–and the reasons might surprise you.
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.
