OLD SAN ANTONIO

By Caroline Clemmons

There are several towns in the Southwest that are (in my opinion) unique—Santa Fe, New Orleans, San Francisco, and San Antonio. Choosing a favorite among them is difficult, but San Antonio wins. I have many happy memories of visits to this central Texas city. However, research for a recent release provided surprises.

San Antonio is located in south central Texas about 200 miles southwest of Houston and 150 miles north of the Mexican border. Spanish explorers first visited the site, then a camp of the Payaya Indians (which the Spaniards interpreted to have the name Yanaguana), on the Feast Day of Portuguese Franciscan friar Saint Anthony of Padua.

The year 1691 has been recognized as the beginning of a network of trails (caminos reales) that came to be known as the San Antonio-Nacogdoches Road or Old San Antonio Road. With stretches most likely developed from existing Indian trails, the road developed into a main artery for commerce and immigration.

But, San Antonio was not founded until 1718, when its first mission and first presidio known as San Antonio de Béxar were established at San Pedro Springs. The Mission San Antonio de Valero, later called the Alamo (Spanish for “Cottonwood”), was one of five founded in the area. The other missions are Concepción, San Juan, San Jose (called the Queen of Missions), and Estrada. Concepción Mission is the oldest continually functioning stone church in the United States. This Mission Trail has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rose Window at the
San Jose Mission

Here is one of the truly surprising facts I encountered: In 1731 settlers from the Canary Islands laid out the town of San Fernando de Béxar near the presidio. Why did I not know this? I grew up in Texas and love Texas history. During its early years the settlement suffered from raids by Apache and Comanche tribes. By 1837 when it became a county seat of the Republic of Texas, it had been renamed San Antonio.

When the Alamo was built it included a large compound surrounded by walls. At that time the mission did not have the arch facade it now has. The arch was added when the mission was restored. At one time, there was speculation about demolishing the chapel. Fortunately, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas negotiated the mission's restoration.

Although I have never stayed at the Menger Hotel, I have wished I could. Our youngest daughter stayed there when she was in San Antonio for a conference. She was a bit disappointed that she did not encounter one of the ghosts rumored to be residing there. <g>

Early photo of the Menger Hotel

The Menger Hotel was built in 1859 by William and Mary Menger and has been in continuous operation since then. Their opening was so successful that they immediately added fifty more rooms. Mary cooked food served in the dining room. She received acclaim for her delicious food. One of her specialities was mango ice cream, flavored with mangoes growing in the hotel courtyard. 

During the Civil War, it was used as a hospital but did not close its doors. After William's death in 1871, Mary and her son Louis William continued. They sold not too long afterward so that Louis William could concentrate on the family brewery next door. Over the years the hotel has sold several times and gone through numerous renovations to retain its status as a luxury hotel.

Vendors in the plaza

One of the places I enjoy in San Antonio is the River Walk. I also love the river taxis one boards at the Casa Rio Mexican Restaurant. Of course, I could eat Tex-Mex food every day given the chance, so I look forward to eating at Casa Rio when we visit. The plans for what would become the River Walk were designed by Robert Hugman in 1929. I admit I am grateful for his vision.

1839 sketch of the Alamo

On February 23, 1836, Texas soldiers garrisoned in the Alamo began their fateful stand against the larger Mexican army under the command of Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna, who ordered the siege and ultimately the final assault that took place on March 6, 1836. The battle of the Alamo, which Alamo historian Stephen Hardin has characterized as the “most celebrated military engagement in Texas history,” immortalized San Antonio’s converted first Franciscan mission and its Texan defenders as symbols of sacrifice, and generations would recognize the rallying cry of “Remember the Alamo.” 

Facts about San Antonio abound. Due to museums, sports, theme parks and events it’s a popular tourist destination.

One of my favorite songs about San Antonio is “San Antonio Rose” by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would enjoy reading a fictional book with historically correct facts 

about San Antonio, AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA, a Pinkerton Matchmaker Series romance, is available from Amazon in e-book and print and is in KU. The buy link is https://www.amazon.com/Agent-Magdala-Pinkerton-Matchmaker-Book-ebook/dp/B07V3G4QHY

Legendary Texas Hotels & New Western Romance Series

A few months back I conceived an idea to write a western romance series revolving around historic Texas hotels, some no longer in existence, others still welcoming guests today. Due to life events such as having to tear apart my office before installing new carpeting, then unpacking and re-shelving my collection of books, I haven't gotten very far with the first book in this new series.

Bookshelves on one side of my office

However, I thought I'd share a little about the story and other settings I'm considering for future books. The working title for book one is Pirate's Bride. Set in Galveston a few years before the catastrophic 1900 hurricane, it's about a time traveling Spanish pirate (he calls himself a privateer) who is whisked two hundred years ahead in time to atone for a wicked deed he was forced to commit. He lands unceremoniously in the lobby of the posh Tremont House Hotel, practically at the feet of the heroine. I blogged about the Tremont a few months ago, so I won't repeat myself, but if you like, you can check out its dramatic history here: http://tiny.cc/bamv9y

Tremont House, 2nd incarnation; courtesy of Rosenberg Library

The heroine of this tale is the widowed daughter of a wealthy Texas businessman, and she has a young daughter who enchants the pirate hero. As you might imagine he's in for some mighty shocking sights in this world of the future, and he faces obstacles on his quest for redemption, greatest of all his growing affection for the beautiful heroine and her precocious daughter.

Two other hotels I plan to feature in this series are the Menger Hotel in San Antonio and the Paso Del Norte Hotel in El Paso. The Menger is the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi River. Opened in February 1859, the hotel featured wrought iron balconies and a stained-glass-roofed lobby. It was a huge success, bringing a touch of sophistication to the Texas frontier. It is also said to be one of the most haunted places in the Lone Star State. Hmm, maybe a ghost or two will appear in my book staged at the Menger. LOL

2005 photos by Ted Ernst; the 1865 historical photo hangs in the Cavalier Room of the Menger Hotel.

The Paso Del Norte Hotel opened in El Paso on Thanksgiving Day 1912. Standing one mile from the Mexican border, it allowed guests to watch skirmishes in Juarez, its sister city, between government troops and rebels during the Mexican Revolution. Revolutionary Poncho Villa took refuge in El Paso, another historical tidbit that could play into a fictional plot.

Paso Del Norte Hotel ca. 1913; illustration in public domain

So, what do you think of my idea for a series of hotel romances? And can you suggest other historic Texas hotels I might like to use as a setting?

Review for The Gift of the Inn—A WWII Christmas Story—ebook give-a-way

Golden Keys Parsons was my critique partner, a dear friend, and teacher. She was taken from her family and friends in February 2017 in a car accident on I-35 in Waco, Texas. The Gift of the Inn was her last book, and I'd like to share it with the readers of Sweethearts of the West.

Despite her best efforts to go through the motions and the good fortune to have a husband stationed stateside rather than in the midst of the brutal combat unfolding in Europe and the Pacific, Christmas Eve is a less than festive time for innkeeper Naomi Lockhart. It's been especially hard since she, her husband, Quenton, and their daughters restored her parents' Colorado boarding house and turned it into a charming inn. Residing in the setting of the tragedy and haunted by a heartbreaking and terrible loss, Naomi can't help but relive the Christmas Eve so many years ago when her infant child disappeared without a trace. 

Gracie brushed aside comments about how little she resembled her parents for most of her life without really understanding why they made her feel so odd. A slip of the tongue by her grandmother brings the discovery that the people who raised her are not her birth parents and acts as a catalyst for the start of a search for her real identity. After a whirlwind romance with a young, Europe-bound GI and subsequent elopement in defiance of her affluent, traditional parents, Gracie flees Texas for Colorado, following one of the few clues that she has about her real identity. She finds herself alone and working as a waitress in blizzard-prone Colorado Springs, Colorado at the end of her pregnancy. Snow bound, she struggles to bring her child into the world as she becomes ever more confident that the innkeeper from across the road, who acts as a midwife of necessity, may hold the answers she seeks. 

Meanwhile, her wounded husband desperately tries to reach her side. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, this final novel from beloved writer Golden Keyes Parsons is an engaging story of love, loss and reunion.

My thoughts on this book. I love this book! Yes,  Golden was my good friend, but The Gift of the Inn also endeared me to a different time in life and our history. Like myself, Golden lived in the post WWII years and grew up with many of the same experiences as those detailed in the book. Golden's characters and descriptions drew me in, and I was in my childhood again trying to walk against the deep and blowing snow while we were in Stephenville, Newfoundland. Being a Texan, I recognized the San Antonio streets and landmarks where Gracie and her friends gathered. 

Golden's research for this book is top notch. I learned so much about bombardiers, the conditions during flight, and how the French resistance helped American soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. I highly recommend this book.

Drawing:  Friday evening I will pick a winner from the comments to receive an e-copy of The Gift of the Inn. To be eligible leave a comment with your email address or just your email address.

Happy Reading and Writing.

Linda LaRoque
www.lindalaroque.com

The Mesquite Tree—The Bane of Texas Land Owners—Part 2

Reference: The Ubiquitous Mesquite. Texas Almanac - The Source For All Things Texan Since 1857.
All photos courtesy of Google Images.

Uses by Early Native Americans

Southwestern Indians had many uses for parts of the mesquite tree and "used all of it's parts: beans, bean pods, leaves, roots, trunk, limbs, bark and gum." Cabeza de Vaca and several companions, ship wrecked on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1528, lived a nomadic life, much of the time as an Indian captives. "In his Journal, he recorded the natives pounded mesquite-bean pods with a wooden pestle in a dirt hole, mixed the resulting meal with some of the dirt and added water to make a kind of mush."

They made a drink called atole from ground beans and water. Allowed to ferment, it produced a mildly intoxicating beer.

Trunks and limbs were used for shelter and fencing.

They also used it for medicines, fuel, dye and glue, clothing, recreational equipment and other tools and implements.

Uses by Early Settlers

Used it for fences because it was plentiful and resisted rotting, corrals, picket fences, wagon wheels, and ribs for small boats. Railroad crews used the logs and roots for boiler fuel.

When coffee was scarce during the Civil War, Texans made ersatz coffee from roasted mesquite beans, okra seeds wheat, corn or acorns. Boiled dried mesquite leaves became tea and honey from the flower pollen and was much prized.

Mesquite thorns were used for pins.  

Tannin was extracted from mesquite and worked fast enough that leather wasn't lost to decomposition. Dr. Park received a US patent on Dec. 5, 1985 for his method of using mesquite.

"In 1880, the first streets to be paved in San Antonio—Alamo Plaza and surrounding streets—were surfaced with hexagonal creote-treated mesquite blocks. When soaked with rain, the blocks swelled enough to push some of them up above the surface of the street, making for a rough ride. Even so, the city council in late 1891 voted to pave streets around Military Plaza—including parts of Market, St. Mary's, Trevino, Flores, Dolorosa and West Commerce—in a similar manner."

To see examples of the original wooden streets, visit
http://www.expressnews.com/150years/culture/article/Early-roads-built-with-wooden-blocks-6135750.php#photo-7661350

Today

Though ranchers are still trying to get rid of mesquite, 250 Texans can't get enough of the wood. They are artisans and value mesquite for it's beauty and the ability to work it into a high sheen.

"Mesquite has a swirling grain, radial cracks, mineral deposits in the bark, and often many insect holes, which make working it a challenge. Finding a large intact piece is almost impossible. But mesquite is dimensionally stable. As most hardwoods dry, they shrink more in one direction than they do in the other. Mesquite shrinks the same percentage in both directions. It has a surface hardness of 2,336 pounds per square inch, equal to that of hickory and almost twice that of oak and maple, and density of 45 pounds per foot, greater than oak, maple, pecan and hickory."      

Here are some examples of mesquite wood products.

Turnings and Carvings.

                          

Furniture
  

Flooring

To view more examples of mesquite flooring and products, visit 

http://www.mesquitewoodproducts.com

http://www.buffalo-lumber.com/partners/mesquite-flooring.htm

http://www.mesquitefloors.com

Also, do a Google search as there are many suppliers available.

Thank you for reading today. I hope you'll leave a comment.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

Linda LaRoque's Musings

Linda's Website

Juana Navarro Pérez Alsbury - Alamo Survivor

By Anna Kathryn Lanier

A couple of years ago, I attended the re-enactment of the Battle of San Jacinto. This is the battle where the Texas forces defeated Santa Anna to win the Texas Revolutionary War. While there, Professor Mary L. Scheer with Lamar University in Beaumont gave a talk on Women of the Texas Revolution.  She also had her book, Women and the Texas Revolution for sale. Of course, I bought one.  It is a selection of essays on women and events during the Revolution.  One such essay written by Dora Elizondo Guerra is “Two Silver Pesos and a Blanket: The Texas Revolution and the Non-Combatant Women Who Survived the Battle of the Alamo.” Most people when asked about women and children who survived the Battle of the Alamo will tell you only one woman and child did, Susanna Dickinson and her daughter.  However, it is a known fact that at least six other women, all Hispanic, and their six children, were also in the Alamo during the thirteen day siege and final battle. 

 

Evidence of these six women comes to us via interviews done with the survivors themselves.  The most inclusive interview comes from an 8-year-old eyewitness, Enrique Esparza. He, along with his three siblings and his mother, Ana Salazar Castro Esparaza took refuge inside the Alamo because his father, Gregorio Esparaza was an Alamo defender. In 1901, at the age of 73, Enrique gave an interview with the San Antonio Light.  He recalled “within the Alamo courtyard were also the other refugees who were saved—Mrs. Alsbury and child and sister, Gertudes [sic] Navarro; Mrs. Concepción  Losoya, her daughter and two sons; Victoriana de Salina and three little girls; Mrs. Susanna Dickinson and baby…and an old woman Petra.” (I know, if you add them up, there are ten children, not six. However, other sources site six.).

Mrs. Alsbury was Juana Navarro Pérez Alsbury, 24 years old.  She and her unmarried sister, Gertudis, 20 were the daughters of politician, businessman and rancher José Angel Navarro. They were also the nieces of landed, political activists José Antonio Navarro and José Francisco Ruiz, both signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence.  Their mother died when they were young and both girls went to live with their aunt Josefa Navarro Veramendi and her husband, Juan Martin de Veramandi, governor of Coahuila y Téjas. Josefa and Juan’s daughter Ursula, cousin to Juana and Gertudis, married James Bowie.

Juana married Alejo Pérez in 1832 and the couple had a son, Alejo. Her husband was a merchant and “was given a permit in August 1833 to transport goods to and from Monclova.” He died in 1834 or 1835 during a cholera epidemic.  A few months later, Juana married Dr. Alexander Alsbury. (I have discovered various dates for 1) Alejo’s death and 2) the marriage of Juana and Alexander….which is said to have taken place in either 1835 or 1836).

At the time Santa Anna marched in San Antonio, Dr. Alsbury was out of the town on a military mission.  Therefore, it is believed that James Bowie, a cousin-in-law, had Juana, her son and her younger sister take refuge inside the Alamo.  It has been reported that it was most likely Juana who nursed Bowie when he took ill, as she was a relative.

On her experience of the siege and ultimate battle, Juana gave this report:

                As the firing approached their room, her sister Gertudis called out to the soldiers not to fire. They instead broke into the room and searched for loot, stealing Juana’s personal belongings.

                A rich Texan in the room tried to protect the women and was killed, as was a Tejano who ran into the room seeking cover.

                Looting began in earnest. One officer removed them from the room and another officer moved them from being in the way of cannon fire.  Then her ex-brother-in-law (brother to her first husband and a sergeant in the Mexican army) found them and moved them to safety. The firing went on until noon.

At the conclusion of the battle, the women and children were marched out of the Alamo. As they were taken to the main plaza, they were jabbed, demeaned and prodded by the soldiers who viewed them as traitors. They stayed the night at Don Ramón Musquiz’s house and were taken before General Santa Anna the day following the battle. After questioning the women and forcing them to pledge allegiance to Mexico, he personally awarded each woman “two silver pieces and a blanket.”  

Because of her family connections, Juana fared better after the war than others. As the daughter and adopted daughter of two prominent Hispanic families, she inherited land, cattle, and homes. Unlike most of the female survivors, Juana did not lose her husband. Although the Texas Revolution did cause a loss in social status, her Spanish legacy of legal and property rights remained intact. Her signature appears on numerous Bexar County land documents and in the state archives on legal petitions to the Texas legislature. 

Dr. Alsbury was very much involved in the revolutionary activities in Mexico, along the Rio Grande and in south Texas.  In 1842, Dr. Alsbury was marched into Mexico along with the other captives of Adrian Woll’s San Antonio invasion.  Juana followed the Texan prisoners as far as Candela, Coauila where she waited until Dr. Alsbury was released from Perote prison in 1844.  The couple made their way back to their home in San Antonio. However, the call to fight returned and Dr. Alsbury fought in the Mexican War. He was killed, presumably in Mexico, sometime in 1847.

As gender roles were not affected by the Texas Revolutionary War and women still had to sustain themselves through family ties, Juana remarried after Dr. Alsbury’s death. Her third husband was her first husband’s cousin, Juan Pérez.  In 1857, she petitioned the state for a pension for replacement of the items she lost in the looting of the Alamo, as well as her service there. The petition was granted.

Juana died in 1888, at her son’s ranch on Salado Creek in Bexar County. Alejo Pérez,  only eleven months old (and thus the youngest survivor) at the time of the Battle of the Alamo, was a long-time San Antonio city official. He served in the Confederate Army 1861-1864 and was twice married.  Between his two wives, Maria Antonia Rodriguez and Florencia Sappo Valdez, he fathered eleven children. When he died in 1918, he was the last known Alamo survivor.

Works Sited:

WOMEN AND THE TEXAS REVELOUTION by Mary L. Scheer

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/alamo/peopleevents/p_jnavarro.html

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fal49

http://www.thealamo.org/history/the-1836-battle/women-and-children.html

http://hotx.com/Alamo/esparza.html#juana

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txsaghs2/LibraryHoldings-PDF/FamilyWall/A48story.pdf

http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=Alejo+de+la+Encarnacion+Perez&cnty=bexar

Anna Kathryn Lanier

www.aklanier.com

The Alamo

I flew into Texas two days ago and had every intention of making this a long and interesting post with all sorts of information I’d discover while visiting the Alamo (and other historic places) this week. However, too many other things have taken over my schedule. Therefore, here are a few pictures. 

The Alamo, built in 1718, was San Antonio’s first of five Spanish missions built along the river and was made famous when Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie gallantly fought in the 1836 Battle for Texas Independence.

The Alamo

A huge oak tree growing in the square at the Alamo

A miniature replica of the great battle

The River Walk

I'm sorry that my pictures do not do this wonderful city justice. It is full of history and culture.  This is my first trip to San Antonio, and I have decided I must return when I'll have time to explore all the wonderful places I'm only hearing about this trip.


Cheers,
Lauri

SAN ANTONIO AND IT'S RIVER WALK

San Antonio is one of my most favorite cities in Texas. The history of San Antonio is well documented as is the river that winds it's way through the city's core.

Wikipedia tells us:

The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in Midtown San Antonio, approximately four miles north of Downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about ten miles from San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is 240 miles long and crosses five counties: Bexar, Goliad, Karnes, Refugio, and Wilson.

The river was named after San Antonio de Padua by the first governor of Spanish Texas, Domingo Terán de los Ríos in 1691.
On June 13, 1691, Governor Terán and his company camped at a rancheria on a stream called Yanaguana They renamed the stream "San Antonio" because it was Saint Anthony's Day.

The most famous mission located along the historical river is San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Álamo, and its complementing fortress is Presidio San Antonio de Bexar.
Four other major 18th century Spanish missions along the river are Mission Espada, Mission Concepcion, Mission San José, and Mission San Juan Capistrano.
The Presidio La Bahía and its mission, Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga in Goliad, Texas are also located along the southern portion of the river.



The waterway is also host to the San Antonio River Walk, one of San Antonio's primary tourist destinations and the centerpiece of the city. The River Walk, also known as Paseo del Río, is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath the streets of Downtown San Antonio, Texas. Lined by bars, shops and restaurants, the River Walk is an important part of the city's urban fabric and a tourist attraction in its own right.

 

 

Strolling along the River Walk is the highlight of any trip to San Antonio and a favorite destination for me and my family when we visit. I love it so much that I knew someday I wanted to write a story including it somehow. On this past November 1, I released my short story, A SANTA FOR CHRISTMAS, that takes place on the River Walk. It's a story of hope and magic for the child in all of us.

 

Blurb for A Santa For Christmas:

 

 Merry Hernandez has lost both her father and her brother in the last year to unfortunate circumstances, and, due to a bad economy, stands to lose her business, Very Merry Events, as well.,. No one is spending unnecessarily for parties they can plan themselves. While that is bad, she regrets most not participating in the  Riverwalk Christmas Pageant in San Antonio, Texas, where her father always played Santa and handed out toys to the children. Will the handsome stranger and his father be able to help her fulfill her dreams?

Sam Claus has journeyed to Texas with his father to help him make a young woman's Christmas wish come true. Due to the older man's illness, Sam doesn't see a way to help Merry Hernandez. Throughout their evening together on Christmas Eve, too many circumstances occur that he can't explain. Will Sam be able to turn the tide of events in her favor?

Will Sam and Merry realize their special connection and reach their Happily Ever After?

 

A SANTA FOR CHRISTMAS is available on Amazon, http://tinyurl.com/oqjdq9f

I hope you're able to read my short story and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. While you're there, I've also released a short story for New Years Eve that I'll talk about next month called, LILAH BY MIDNIGHT. http://tinyurl.com/opgrccg.

Thanks for stopping by today,

Carra

Find me on my website: http://carracopelin.com
Facebook: http://facebook/carracopelin
Twitter: http://twitter/CarraCopelin

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/mfynmj2



What Started My Love For Cowboys and Ranchers?

r

My Early Hero
Second Only 
To My Dad

Welcome to Sweethearts of the West. We hope you'll visit us often.

My name is Caroline Clemmons and I write contemporary, historical, and time travel romances set in Texas. During my early years, I was one of the thousands of young girls in love with Roy Rogers—that’s before I realized that Dale Evans had already stolen my singing cowboy. Later, my family drove through ranch land on trips from Lubbock, Texas to visit my grandmother in southwestern Oklahoma. Even when we happened by a roundup near the road one day, my dad didn’t stop to let me watch. He was a very nice man, but strictly a Point A to Point B traveler with no detours. I drove the poor man nuts chattering on and on about cowboys anyway.

My up close and personal introduction to ranching was at the Hicks family’s Mayan Ranch located on the Medina River near Bandera, Texas. This is a first class guest ranch, and my daughters and I fell in love with the ranch and the area. My husband, not so much, but he’s a good sport and let us have our fun. And the Mayan is a great place to have that fun, true western style. The Hicks are a large family, and the Mayan is an efficient, family-run enterprise. Bandera bills itself as "The Cowboy Capital of the World." I’m willing to believe the claim. In addition to genuine working ranches, there are numerous guest ranches in the area. (Doesn’t "guest" sound better than "dude" ranch?)



Mayan trail ride

  The Mayan Ranch caters to everyone from returning cowpokes to city slickers. Did we ever fall into the latter group! On arrival we were shown to our lodgings—a two-bedroom cedar board-and-batten cabin nestled among the trees and furnished in picturesque western style. As Texans say, "We were in high cotton." The Hicks family provides first class everything. Meals are all you can eat in the dining room, a cookout on the patio, or a hayride to breakfast by the river.

Small Band at the Mayan

Entertainment includes parties each night, swimming, dances complete with instructors, daily trail rides, cowboy singers and musicians, and a trip to their Old West town, Hicksville. I was hooked on ranching life! Of course, ranching is so much easier with the Hicks family and their employees taking care of all the work!


Lost Maples State Park--my photo

Is it any wonder that so many of my western stories take place in this setting? Nearby is the picturesque Lost Maples State Natural Area with the only native maple trees in the state. Inhabited by prehistoric peoples, the area was a hot spot for Comanche and Apache Indian renegades as well as both Indian and anglo  rustlers. I took advantage of that setting for the rustlers in my latest release, THE TEXAN'S IRISH BRIDE.

Lost Maples in the fall

Bandera is within easy driving distance from the unique city of San Antonio. On a trip to attend a San Antonio RWA chapter conference one year, my youngest daughter and I took a side trip through Bandera and Lost Maples to refresh my memory for THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE, available from The Wild Rose Press. From Bandera, we wound around through Medina—stopping for apple cider, Fredericksburg, and Kerrville on our way home. Not a direct route, it’s true, but very scenic. This would be a wonderful area in which to live, but land prices are rising by the minute.

Bandera Texas--Cowboy Capital of the World!

What better place to locate the ranch owned by my book’s hero, Dallas McClintock, than on the Medina River near Bandera? Dallas raises cattle, sheep (yes, they can coexist on one ranch), and breeds and trains horses. It’s his horse breeding that creates the story, for Dallas has been to deliver horses to a buyer and is on his way home when the story opens. He hears screams from the heroine, Cenora Rose O’Neill, and rushes to her rescue, killing her two attackers while receiving gunshot wounds. Instead of a reward for saving his daughter, Sean O’Neill traps Dallas into marrying the lovely Cenora. Not a great hardship except that Dallas is not ready to marry anyone, much less a girl he doesn’t know. Even worse, he inherits the other four members of Cenora’s unruly family and their numerous problems, as well as the new crises they create or him. And that makes for lots of turmoil.

Here are a couple of reviews:

"There were no down times in this book. The action was almost non-stop." 5 Hearts from The Romance Studio

"What starts as a clash in cultures becomes a fantastic story…Just when you thought a happily ever after was just around the corner, another corner appears." Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews


THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE is available in print or download at www.thewildrosepress.com/caroline-clemmons-m-638.html, as well as at Amazon, DigiBooks, and other online sources.

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