Draft Horses

I'm getting one tomorrow.................

Good Bye to Summer........

   SUMMER, WHERE DID YOU GO?

  I HARDLY KNEW YOUR FACE AT ALL.

                  
 DID I NOT TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK.

                                     
OR DID YOU HIDE YOURSELF FROM ME?                                                               
 Gini

Special Sale: VICTORIAN DREAM only 99 cents!

VICTORIAN DREAM

  

   August 8 through August 21 

                   yours for only 99 Cents...

 

          It seemed to take forever to write, 
          won't you please download a copy at...

                                                                   
The Wild Rose Press                                                          
    http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=242_176_138&products_id=5135

All Romance Books
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Amazon
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Nook 
 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/victorian-dream-gini-rifkin/1114882918?ean=2940016331034

Kobo
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                              Reviews and excerpts.

   Beautifully written. This charming and emotion packed story is a must read: Darlene at Still Moments Magazine.

   Nicely spiced with an underlying sense of mystery and danger. The attraction between Trelayne and Walker is nicely developed, and the author does an excellent job of putting you inside each character’s heart and mind. Night Owl Reviews

          VICTORIAN DREAM

                 1851 England & America.

     Trelayne St.Christopher, a cosseted young English woman, dreams of falling madly in love, just like the daring women in her purloined novels.

     Emotionally scarred by the death of his wife, Yankee sea captain Walker Garrison bans romance from his personal manifest, shipbuilding is his only passion.

   When one of Walker's crew turns up dead he sets sail for England. But, after meeting his new partner's daughter, protecting Trelayne and not falling in love with her may prove impossible.

                

Excerpt: One   

   “That’s some hat you’re sporting,” Walker said.

    His unexpected comment took her off guard, leaving her confused. “You don’t like my new hat?”

   “I didn’t say I didn’t like it, just that it was really something.”

   “That’s a bit vague. Something can mean good or bad.”

   He canted his head and studied her more thoroughly. “It’s unique, I’ll give you that.” He flicked a finger at the bright bow and scarlet ribbons cascading down one side of the creation. “And unexpected.”

  “Do you like surprises?” Trelayne ventured.

  “Not generally,” he admitted. “But I do like discovering new things, taking my time, savoring each revelation, wondering what will come next.

   Capturing her left hand, he toyed with the buttons on her glove. Entranced, she waited restlessly, conjuring naughty images of what he might try to discover next. One by one, he slipped the buttons free, splaying open the soft leather. Cool air slipped beneath the material as he rolled down the top, exposing her skin.

   The pulse in her wrist jump beneath the pressure of his fingers. Raising her hand to his mouth, he whispered something, but she couldn’t catch the words, only the feel of his breath on her bare skin. He lowered her hand, and little by little peeled the kid leather away, turning it inside out, sliding the softness over her knuckles, down her fingers, off the tips. She wished he would undress the rest of her just as completely and slowly—oh so slowly, one little piece of clothing following another.

   “Your fingers are cold, Trelayne,” he said, cozying her bare hand between his strong warm ones. “But I’ll wager there’s fire in your heart.”

   Speechless, she strangled the moan threatening to escape her. There was fire in more than just her heart, and it was near to burning out of control. Was it proper for a woman to ravish a man? For that was exactly what she wished to do.

   A hint of smile lingered on his mouth, but his eyes darkened, and there was nothing humorous about the way his gaze made her feel.

   She wished to speak, but words escaped her. Rarely at a loss as to what to do or say, she tried to recall what she’d been taught in deportment about keeping up lively conversation and witty dialogue. Nothing came to mind to cover a situation in which her body ruled her mind. All she could think about was what it would be like to kiss this man, make love to this man, be naked beside this man.

   “Fires can be dangerous,” she murmured.

   “Yes,” he agreed. “Especially the ones that burn long and slow and incredibly hot.”

   Illustrations from the books she read in secret seared across her mind—scandalous, wonderful imaginings.

   He leaned in closer. She swore he was about to kiss her, could feel his breath and the tiniest tickle of his mustache as his mouth hovered oh so near her lips. Then he straightened, his expression one of confusion, even consternation. He looked like a man delirious with fever, just come to his senses.

   “We should find the others,” he suggested, releasing her from the spell she was under.

    It was the last thing she wanted. Couldn’t he tell, didn’t he know?

   “Out of all the wonders here tonight,” he reassured, “spending time with you is what I shall remember most.”

   

Excerpt: Two

 “Have I missed the first waltz?” Walker asked, escorting Trelayne to the center of the room.

   “No. I’ve allowed none to be played, and my poor guests are near to the point of exhaustion from quickstepping about the room.”

    He gave a chuckle, taking a step backward, his gaze gliding over her from head to toe. “You appear to have held up beautifully.”

   As they stood before one another, a hush blanketed the room. It was one tiny moment, filled with a lifetime of anticipation. Coming to her senses, she caught Penelope’s attention and nodded toward the orchestra. Her friend rushed toward the musicians, nearly tripping on the hem of her dress. The lilting strains of Tchaikovsky soon swirled through the air like a welcoming breeze, and her guests issued playful hurrahs and hurried to find their partners.

    Captain Garrison, male elegance infused with animal-like grace and strength, swept her into his arms—and into a dream come true.

   When he solidly placed his hand at the small of her back, a tingling sensation shot straight up her spine to the roots of her hair. The resulting effect was more potent than wine. She was dizzy with desire, giddy with happiness. She must remember to breathe.

   They stood so close, only their clothing and the heat of their bodies between them—a glorious temptation, just beyond reach. Teasing and taunting, it was a fleeting taste of what she yearned to partake of fully.

    “I’ve thought a time or two about holding you in my arms,” he admitted, in a husky voice. “It feels even better than I imagined.”

   “What other thoughts have crossed your mind?” she dared to ask, finding the courage to stare up at him.

   His eyes crinkled at the corners, but his gaze held passion as well as mirth. “Things a man ought not discuss with a lady.”    

A COWBOY'S FATE EARNS 5 STARS

     Thank you Darlene at
                       Still Moments Magazine. 

So excited to receive a 5 Star rating for.....

Between The Pages 

A fun and entertaining story with a picturesque setting. You’ll bounce around the wagon with the charming main characters as they travel the bumpy terrain. Romance, drama, and adventure rolled into one. I was disappointed when the story ended because I wanted the journey to continue. A must read.

Rating 
5 Stars

Leadville, Colorado

 Leadville, the name sounds dangerous, 

and the town was.

  Leadville, where fortunes were made and lost in a heartbeat. And where heartbeats were often cut short by mine cave-ins, gun fights, starvation, and cold weather. 

   Despite being occasionally called Cloud City, it was a rough and tumble place, with flashes of cultural enlightenment and high living.  

    The characters in my new book “A Cowboy’s Fate”, take an 1800’s road trip from Denver to Leadville, so I thought it only fitting to post a few historical facts about the notorious town, and to acknowledge some of the famous folks who walked the dusty streets.

  The town definitely had its ups and downs. In 1860 gold was discovered, but that played out quickly. Then in 1877 silver became the magnet drawing thousands back up the mountain. 

  During its peak, Leadville bragged over 30,000 residents. It became the second largest town in Colorado. With 100 saloons and gambling places, multiple daily and weekly newspapers, and 36 brothels. It was even slated at one time to be the capital.

                             
   Hardscrabble miners, and ruffians of every nature “settled” the town, but the wealth amassed soon drew all manner of folk to the city, both the famous and infamous. They made the daunting trip by foot, by mule, and finally by train. 

The Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railway still follows the headwaters of the Arkansas River route.
                                       
   And the French Gulch Water Tower is still standing, amidst terrific views of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest snow-capped peak.

               
    At the Top of the Rockies, or the Continental Divide, is Fremont Pass discovered by John C. Fremont in the 1840’s. Depending on which side of the divide you are on, the water and runoff from snow melt either flows toward the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic. 

                          
  The ridge of mountains starts in Alaska and runs all the way through South America. The highest spot in the United States is located in Colorado.

   About 14 miles northeast of Leadville is the town of Climax, home to the once largest molybdenum mine in the world. Being a romance author, the town moniker, gives one pause, and despite claims it was named Climax because it is the highest, or turning point of elevation, it conjures visions of a more sensual nature. 

    One of the most famous stories associated with Leadville is the saga of Baby Doe Tabor, and it reads like a tragic soap opera. 

   
    Horace Tabor and his first wife Augusta worked in Leadville as shopkeepers, and postmasters, bringing much needed comforts to the miners. Horace struck it rich at the Matchless Mine, but Augusta, a rather no nonsense woman, did not adjust well to high living and extravagance.  

                              
                                                                          Augusta Tabor

  After sticking by Horace for 25 years, their marriage was on the rocks as Horace spent his money lavishly, mostly on his own entertainment—drinking, gambling and frequenting brothels. In 1880, Augusta moved away, to live in Denver

                                       
    Meanwhile, back in 1854 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt was born. Having a mother who thought her daughter could surely get by on good looks alone, Lizzie was excused from learning domestic chores as she dreamed of being an actress. 
                       
     In 1877 Elizabeth (Lizzie) married Harvey Doe and they followed Harvey’s father to the Fourth of July Mine in Central City, Co. Lizzie donned men’s clothes, creating quite a scandal, as she helped in the mine. But the gold played out, and after moving to an even less charming lifestyle in the town of Blackhawk, Harvey became a remorseful alcoholic and womanizer.

     In 1880, Lizzie divorced Harvey, although the paperwork was not filed until 1886. Then, promising to marry one Jake Sandelowsky's, a shopkeeper, she moved to Leadville.

 the soon to be jilted Jake Sands (Sandelowsky)

    By now, she had already acquired the name Baby Doe, and when Horace Tabor saw her, he was enchanted. 
                         
  He left Augusta for good, and Baby Doe gave poor Jake the heave-ho. 

   Baby Doe wanted to get married, but Augusta refused to grant Horace a divorce. In 1882, the desperate couple found a judge in Durango who granted a divorce, but there were some “irregularities” and fast page shuffling. Undaunted, the couple married secretly in St. Louis, both were bigamists: his divorce was questionable and hers not yet recorded.

    Tabor built a grand theater in Denver, and an opera house in Leadville. 

    The Leadville structure was touted as being the best between Chicago and San Francisco. 

John Phillips Sousa performed there, Jack Dempsey boxed on the same stage...the stage which still features a trap door Houdini allegedly used during his famous disappearing act. Susan B. Anthony and Oscar Wilde also tread the boards.

                                                                            Oscar Wilde

    Infamous characters like ...Doc Holliday, Frank and Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Tom Horn, Bob and Cole Younger and the Daltons passed through Leadville. And stories of Wyatt Earp shooting a marble off the piano at the famous Pastime Saloon (still in operation) are a part of what has made Leadville one of the last remaining authentic early western towns.
                                  

   With the repeal of the Silver Act and the panic of 1893 the Tabor’s fortunes were wiped out. Horace died first, in Denver. Baby Doe returned to Leadville, and although she found religion, she could find no investors for the Matchless Mine. 
                               
   Out of sheer guts and determination, she survived another 35 years, visited only on occasion by her two daughters. 
                

   During the winter of 1935, after a severe snow storm, she froze to death, surrounded by her ramblings and journal entries. Some called her a madwoman—she was definitely a woman from which legends are born, and Leadville claims her as their own.

                                   
                                                      Molly Brown

   Unlike Baby Doe, Molly Brown’s fortune from the Little Johnny Mine remained as unsinkable as the lady herself. She and her husband left Leadville in 1894, relocating to Denver.

              

  In 1895, in an attempt to draw tourists to their town to bolster their flagging economy, Leadville constructed a mammoth ice castle. It opened January 1^st 1896. Encompassing 58,000 square feet, it was dubbed the Crystal Palace. The palatial building included an ice skating rink, a merry-go-round, a toboggan run, and several social enterprises, including gambling, restaurants, and dance rooms. 

  
 Unfortunately, Leadville had a very early thaw in March, which destroyed the most magnificent ice palace in history.

  
  Today, one of the winter attractions in Leadville is ski-joring, where they close off main street, build terrifying ski ramps, and pull fearless skiers behind a horse running at full-gallop.     

  For those who prefer summer sports, there is
 pack burro racing....up a mountain. 

                                

     And for those of you who love the paranormal, the Delaware Hotel and Evergreen Cemetery offer several restless spirits such as Madame Molly May who is buried under a tree (and I mean under it). She was said to return to walk the halls of the brothel looking for her jewelry and checking on her "girls". 

   Leadville is the highest incorporated town in
North America. It got its name, not from the lead bullets shot by gunslingers, but because the sand in the surrounding area is 65% lead. 

   I know my characters, Cody and Britania lived a long and happy life in Leadvill. A town where, if you're lucky, dreams can come true. 

See how they got there....
Download "A Cowboy's Fate" at 

http://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Fate-Gini-Rifkin-ebook/dp/B00KLLIB2C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402245057&sr=1-1&keywords=a+cowboy%27s+fate+gini+rifkin

A COWBOY'S FATE available now!

        She believes in the Tarot cards. 

       Four-of-a-kind is more his style.

       Either way—the cards never lie.

     Be my "street team" 
and pass the word!

   Only $3.99 for a  

sizzling hot romance. 

click here to order

http://www.amazon.com/A-Cowboys-Fate-Gini-Rifkin-ebook/dp/B00KLLIB2C/ref=pd_ybh_1

Join Cody and Britania 
on their "road trip" to Leadville 
 as they fend off wild animals, 
 face down a dastardly villain, 
and discover a passionate love for one another. 

 Colorado, 1880

      Kicked out of England for offending the Royal Family, Britania Rule heads for Leadville, in the Colorado backcountry. Passing herself off as a highborn lady, she pursues her dream of opening a parlor of spiritual enlightenment.

 Cody James, her guide, thinks he must be half-crazy to hire-out to a female. But his luck at the gaming tables has run dry, and she’s his meal-ticket out of town. Betrayed by the only woman he ever loved, and shot and left for dead by a man he once called friend, Cody declares himself a loner.

   Traveling side by side, they deny their desire for one another, but the Tarot cards say otherwise—and their hot night of passion confirms the prediction. Will love be waiting at the end of the trail? Or could Cody’s past destroy their future?

Excerpt:

    Cody burst out laughing, this time even harder. 

   Glancing around the back of the wagon, the reason became clear and Britania gasped in alarm. One of her trunks had burst open, spewing lacy be-ribboned undergarments hither and yon. These were not items worn by the type of lady she pretended to be. They were outrageous dainties, a jezebel’s delight, couture de jour for a whore.

  “Oh, bloody `ell.”

   She clamped a hand over her mouth wishing she could call back the words as her upper-class accent gave way to East End twang. On hands and knees, she scurried around gathering up the incriminating garments and stuffing them back into the trunk.

     Using only thumb and forefinger, Cody carefully disengaged a pink rosebud-covered corset dangling off the back of the wagon. “Interesting choice of underclothing, Miss Rule. Can’t say as I’ve seen such pretties outside a bordello.” He offered up the garment, the garters taunting and swinging back and forth in front of her nose.

   “They were gifts, if you must know,” she said, wresting it from his grasp, “going away presents from my girlfriends. And since I nearly met my death a moment ago, I would think you would be more worried about me, rather than the contents of my wardrobe.”

   “Sorry,” he said, his tone indicating he wasn’t—his half-smile reinforcing the point.
                                                 

      Please tell your friends about Mom's new book, and ask them to forward to their friends too. She said we could buy oats and animal crackers with the money! 

                            Thanks, Rosie

VICTORIAN TEA TIME 2014

The Berthoud Historical Society 

hosts another successful Victorian Tea 

at the McCarty/Fickel house. 

The tables were set with love
and great care. 

Twenty nine wonderful guest 

graced us with their presence, 

as they shared a variety of 

delicious pastries, Black tea, 

scones with cream and lemon curd, 

mini-cupcakes, three types of 

sandwiches, and a fresh 

springtime fruit garnish. 

    Each place setting also included 
a little box of tea 
as a festive party favor. 

A teapot judging contest added 

to the fun and excitement. 
Thank you Shirley 
for judging the entrees.

Prizes were awarded 
to the top three winners. 

     Guests were served 
by our beautiful volunteers, 
dressed in fabulous period costumes. 

Virginia (our fearless leader), 

Gini, Janice, Sandy, and Meda.

Lew Ann, (not pictured) your being there 

added to the fun and your help 

was so appreciated.  

And it's always nice 

to have a man around the house. 

     John keeps the kitchen running smoothly, the tea flowing, and the dishes sparkling clean, as well as helping to set up, and making sure the house is warm and running smoothly, all in between coming to the rescue for any emergencies.  

    Our other male counterpoint, Dick, worked hard too. He logged many a mile between kitchen and table, setting up, and doing several other jobs saving the girls lots of time and effort. Much to my dismay, he managed to elude the photographer. Sorry, Dick. 

  My books were available for those yearning for a romantic read. My thanks to the Society for allowing me to tout my wares. 

I think it's safe to say, 
a good time was had by all,

 and we received many compliments. 

                       When it was over, 
                 we were a wee bit exhausted. 

                       But we can hardly wait
                              to do it again. 

Until next time, good bye 

from the McCarty/Fickel house.