Tomorrow we fly for USA!

Tomorrow we head for USA, Veterinary School Reunion and Conference PLUS head for Utah to go over the Pony Express Trail in Utah with Patrick Hearty!
Can’t wait!
Will be blogging from there!

See below… PatrickHearty sent this to me… It went via Pony Express horses and 600 riders in the mochila a few weeks ago from St Joseph, MO to Sacramento CA…  and it made it to me in New Zealand!  Thanks Patrick!!!!

Regards from New Zealand!

Lizzi Tremayne

A 2013 Pony Express Commemorative Letter! In NZ!

A 2013 Pony Express Commemorative Letter! In NZ!

The Pony Express Mochila is Headed for Ft. Laramie!

June 20, 3:54pm PDT (today in the States, for those of you in NZ!)

“The mail just left Lingle,WY at 4:45 pm, mountain time, headed towards Ft Laramie.”

Patrick Hearty The Pony Express Stations in Utah
Patrick Hearty & Joseph Hatch
The Pony Express Stations in Utah

Well done to all of you out there riding!  You might get a bit tired, but it’s not quite as dangerous as it was ‘back in the day’.

There were quite a few deaths (few riders, fortunately) amongst the Pony Express riders, but it was not for want to trying!

Hold on to that mochila!

 

Here’s an excerpt from my novel… Only Patrick Hearty and I have seen it so far, so hope some of you like it! They’ll be going through Lookout Pass soon!!!

Lookout Pass - Pony Express TrailThanks to Roger Douglass  (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2329088)

A little taste of “Express Desire“:

“Lookout Pass,” Aleksandra reminded herself as she passed the summit, looking north to see the distant white tops of the Onaqui Mountains and thought again of her papa and the fossil he’d fossicked for her from one of its rocky ledges. Beginning her mile-long descent at a trot on the handy little horse, she was absentmindedly fingering the fossil inside the medicine bag hung about her neck when she felt the first arrow whizz past her head from her right.

She felt her heart stop.

Aleksandra dropped to the left side of the Palouse’s neck into a Cossack hang, lying flat against his side.

She threw the reins at him and shouted to him.’Yah! Yah! Let’s go, Scout!’

He needed little urging to run full tilt down the steep and treacherously rocky trail as the yells of Indian warriors filled the narrow valley. The arrows came hard and fast from the southwest, like a mad bunch of hornets.

Smart, she thought, with a hint of a wry grin. The Indians had placed themselves between the trail and the setting sun, so Aleksandra could see little of her attackers in the glimpses she stole from beneath Scout’s neck of the world whizzing past. With the ground only three feet from her head, the scent of sage filled Aleksandra’s nostrils as the horse crashed through a clump of brush.

Briefly considering climbing back into the saddle to pull a gun from her saddlebag, she knew it would be akin to suicide; though she knew her full weight hanging off to one side had to put the stallion off his best, she trusted far more in the pony’s speed and ability. She just tried to stay out of his way and not hinder him needlessly, keeping as still as she could, tucked down on the side of the skidding and leaping beast. Praying the cinch would hold, she sent fervent thanks in the direction of the company selectors for choosing fast and handy local ponies. How I would love to have my bow and arrows, she thought, but it might just be better just to get Scout and I through alive to Doc Faust at Rush—

The Palouse interrupted her musings as he threw up his head and reared, angrily trumpeting and shaking his head for a moment, nearly dropping Aleksandra, then resumed his headlong rush down the hill. When he carried on, she heard whistling sounds with every breath and turned her head forward to see where the noise was coming from.Then she saw the arrow.She felt herself break into a cold sweat…

The storyline…

Aleksandra, trained in the Cossack arts from infancy by her father, finds herself alone and running to prevent her Pa’s killer from obtaining a secret which could allow world domination by the Czar.  Disguised to most as a boy rider in 1860′s Utah Territory for the Pony Express, she finds in her “Californio” boss a strength to match her own and together they create a team that can overcome the odds.

I hope you liked the excerpt of “Express Desire,” soon to be completed!

 

To follow the mochila on its way West, see the XPHome Site:

http://bit.ly/TiWr4k

Regards,

from

Lizzi Tremayne

The Pony Express Re-Ride Continues!

Yesterday’s post detailed the Pony Express 20th Anniversary Re-Ride. I have posted some handy links for you to follow the ride’s progress!

Thanks to Pony Express History –18253400.nhd.weebly.com

The  Re-Ride continues!

The “mochila,” (the leather pad with the mail pockets, below), which is transferred between riders on the  Pony Express) has made it from Elwood, Kansas to 140th and 75 hwy. one mile north of Sac & Fox casino, this afternoon.

Credit to Ryan Long, Deseret News, http://bit.ly/18XS9dh

For your information, here’s the map of the whole route!

http://dinosaurcowboys.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/pony-express-map.jpgThanks, Union Pacific and http://bit.ly/11K21Oh

To follow the mochila on its way West, see the XPHome Site:

http://bit.ly/TiWr4k

Thanks to Tom Crews!

Photos from the Start at Patee House (below)  and Chasing the Pony Express are on Susan Mires’ Facebook page (Thanks, Susan!):

 http://on.fb.me/19OPPF5

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-missouri/StJoePateeHotel-600.jpg Thanks to Kathy Weiser, owner/editor, Legends of America, http://www.legendsofamerica.com

 A GREAT Website for the Nostalgic & Historic Minded!

Newscast about the upcoming ride:

http://bit.ly/11XPhHZ

For those of you who asked for more information on my upcoming novel,

Express Desire,  it is in an earlier blog post:

https://lizzitremayne.com/2013/03/05/my-historical-history-or-why-i-think-i-have-to-write-this-novel/

Enjoy!

Regards from Lizzi Tremayne

20th Anniversary of the Pony Express Re-Ride is ON!

Contents

Who’s excited!

I wish I could be in the States right now!

The Pony Express Re-Ride began today, from St. Joseph to Old Sacramento!

Pony_Express_Map

Patrick Hearty is my Utah contact for my  NEARLY- completed novel Express Desire.

 

Patrick Hearty The Pony Express Stations in Utah
Patrick Hearty The Pony Express Stations in Utah

Photo above: Patrick and Joseph’s book. Photo to right: Joseph L. Hatch, left, and Patrick Hearty talk about the history of the Pony Express. (Thanks to Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)

Patrick will be riding the trail next week from Traveler’s Rest (just south of Salt Lake City)…..

Travellers rest stationHere is the Traveler’s Rest (or Absalom Smith) Station, with the front torn down, but the pic shows the first part built.  Thanks to the University of Utah for the photo, (http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/ref/collection/USHS_Class/id/13504)

 

to Simpson’s Springs (somewhere out in the Utah Salt Desert!).

Simpson's Springs Station A painting of Simpson’s Springs Station

 

He will  ride on horseback from approximately 5 am on the 23rd till 2 pm on the 24th! That’s about 74 miles, all up, through what was one of the most dangerous portions of the trail ‘back in the day.’

(Speed? Right around 8 mph, a little slower than they used to average.)

Righto, I digress….

Lookout Pass, just perfect for ambush with its narrow canyons, is in Patrick’s stage of the trail.

Lookout Pass - Pony Express Trail Thanks to

Roger Douglass  Photos taken at Lookout Pass on the Pony Express Trail about 5 miles west of Vernon, Utah  (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2329088)

It is in Lookout Pass that Aleksandra, my heroine, is ambushed by Paiute Indians and… (but that would be telling!)…. you’ll just have to read the book!

INDIAN ARROWE AND ECHO STATION PE STATION KEEPERS

“Mose Wright described the Indian arrow-poison. The rattlesnake – the copperhead and the moccasin he ignored – is caught with a forked stick planted over its neck, and is allowed to fix its fangs in an antelope’s liver. The meat, which turns green, is carried upon a skewer when wanted for use: the flint head of an arrow, made purposely to break in the wound, is thrust into the poison, and when withdrawn is covered with a thin coat of glue. Ammonia is considered a cure for it and the Indians treat snake bites with the actual cautery. . .”

Yep, it gets messy, but then, it often did.

 

The “Pony”, as the Pony Express was called, only actually ran for 18 months or so, a bit less because Indian attacks caused it to shut down for about a month and a half…  (Why, you say? Well, when all the stations for over 50 miles are burned down, stock stolen and station tenders killed, it’s pretty hard to maintain a route!)

Thanks to  David David Gallery / SuperStock (http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/849-10005)

then the new trans-continental telegraph line took over its major communication function, and it ended basically the same day.  But it did serve an important function in keeping California in the Union and preventing its secession to the South! More details in the story!

Thanks to Trips into History (http://tripsintohistory.com/2013/04/23/the-pony-express-battles-the-paiutes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-pony-express-battles-the-paiutes

My son and I will just have to see the trail next month without the galloping ponies and small great men (and women, these days, no doubt!) flying down the trail!

Somehow, I don’t think we’ll be going at quite that pace on Patrick’s horses!

 

For more details on the Re-Ride itself, please visit the XPhome site, (XP is for Express!). Tom is staying busy keeping the site updated from the reride as I write!

http://www.xphomestation.com/2013%20Re-Ride.html

 

Hope all of you out there riding the trail are having the time of your lives!

Thanks so much for reading! Feel free to Follow and Like!

 

Regards from New Zealand,

 

Lizzi Tremayne

Por qué Xavier tenía que ser español, or Why Xavier had to be Spanish….

Español….   …  ranks behind only China in total number of language speakers, and far ahead of English speakers.. One good reason to include it in my nearly-completed novel…

Another one… it is the language of love…

Xavier, born of his Spanish Californio family is, despite his challenges, able to speak this language of love… In what other languages are the words for “I want you” the same as for “I love you”?

Enrique Iglesia… The best music to Latin dance to and to feel…  for me…

So, you see,….  Xavier needed to be Spanish…

Oh, you ask… (deafening silence…) why include Polish characters and language in the same novel?  Hmmm… they aren’t even on the language-frequency chart…   People who can survive what they have been subjected to for the past several centuries and come out with their incredible optimism and zest for life deserve to be heard… and remembered. And no, my Polish is extremely poor, but I know where to find help!!!!

Gracias por leer… Thank you for reading…

Hasta luego, que le vaya bien….

Lizzi Tremayne

Utah and California, Here We Come!

Contents

Looking forward to our trip to the States in July!

We will be visiting many sites from the novel Express Desire, soon to be completed!

Pony_Express_Map

First, the Rancho de las Pulgas, which was the old 1795 Spanish land grant which belonged to the family of my novel hero Xavier Arguello, which today comprises most of the cities of Menlo Park, Atherton, Redwood City, San Carlos, Belmont and San Mateo (that part of the city which lies south of San Mateo Creek).

Map of the Rancho de las Pulgas ca. 1857      1853 Pulgas

Map of the Rancho de las Pulgas ca. 1857

Rancho de las Pulgas,  the Old Spanish land grant of my hero Xavier’s family in California

I was born in Redwood City, close to the home the Arguellos lived in, at the corner of Cedar and Magnolia streets in the city of San Carlos. We will see the marker on this site as well!

Later, I grew up in the redwoods in nearby La Honda. We will visit there, too.  I’ve written about it in a previous post, Stagecoaches, the Peek a Boo Inn, etc! La Honda 3 La Honda 2 La Honda

We will then journey to Sacramento, where the current Old Sacramento served as the western terminus of the Pony Express. The Pony Express statue shown here is located at the corner of J and second streets and is kitty-corner to the Museum (which I don’t think I’ll be able to stay out of, either…  My poor son…)

oldsac_pony_express_statue

From here, the mail went aboard riverboat to San Francisco, except for the few times when the steamer was missed, then the riders had to ride all the way to San Francisco!  Here is a monument to one of the steamers who carried the mail!

 pony express steamer 1pony express steamer 2

Thence East, following part of the trail!

We will wind up in Utah, where we will be hosted by the infamous Heartys, supporters of the Pony Express movement in Utah, (Patrick Hearty is the Past President of the Utah Pony Express Assn and Co-Author of The Pony Express Stations in Utah, a man to whom I am indebted for his assistance with my book, along with his lovely, long-suffering wife from whom I’ve stolen much time for Patrick to answer my multitude of questions!). We will go over the Utah portion of the trail, backtracking to Nevada,

Simpson's Springs Station Simpson’s Springs Station marker…

 

And this rather desolate looking Pony Express Trail Marker below shows the site of Rush Valley Station, where Aleksandra, my heroine, found shelter after she was first attacked by Indian arrows…

mmm.. don’t think it’ll look much like this in July! The Oquirrh Mountains & Lewiston Peak are shown in background. Great pics, thanks, Acidman 1968, wherever you are! Tried to contact you! Contact me please? Thanks!

from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17004731 Credit to Acidman 1968!
from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17004731 Credit to Acidman 1968!


Then Patrick is taking us along the trail on horseback through Hickman Canyon!

E Hickman Canyon

Hickman Canyon

After we leave the Heartys,  we’ll return to CA the long way, through City of Rocks, where the baddie Vladimir finds himself in the story

after a ‘shortcut’…

City of Rocks gooding_city_of_rocks01.gif

By then we’ll have run out of time!

We will be hustling back to the Bay Area to fly out a few days later!

Thanks so  much for reading!  Hope to see many of you over there or when you come to visit in New Zealand!

Regards,

Lizzi Tremayne

Horse and Carriage Driving Workshop Today

Happy Saturday… We’ve had some drizzle for about 3 hours now, not a lot, but it’s not running off either!  Hope all of you in NZ are getting some rain as the drought is not helping anyone!  (Yes, to those of you in faraway places, it hasn’t rained properly for more than a month or two here, which spells disaster for many farmers and stock / horse owners in NZ who  tend to depend upon grass to feed their stock).

A great group of RWNZ C2C writing ladies just left after another fantastic potluck lunch!  Blue Mist Shemaya (“Maya”) and Blue Mist Montoya (“Toya” –Of course, from The Princess Bride!) and I shared a few hours of horse information, behaviour and terminology they can use in their writing, from haltering in paddock through grooming, harness, carriages, gigs, harnessing through to long-reining (driving without a vehicle) my new pair!  Several of the ladies loved the feel of sitting up high in the Glinkowski Polish combined drive carriage and were impressed by its attributes!  They asked great questions and although few of them had been near horses before, several of them took advantage of the boys’ lovely temperaments and petted and fed the appreciative horses.  It is very exciting to finally have Toya and Maya working together after all these years of dreaming about it! They will be in the carriage together next Saturday with Kevin’s help, all going well!  I will post new pics when they come from the ladies! The bays  loved the attention (and, of course,  the 3 bags of carrots the ladies brought with them)!   Now it’s writing time!  I’ve a novel to complete!

Have a great weekend, All!

My Historical History, or WHY I think I have to write this novel!

Several of you have asked me why I am writing a novel…  Well, for those of you who don’t know me very well, let me introduce some of my history about history………..

I love the Old West.

Bit of a long history, suffice it to say I grew up on Highway 84 in La Honda, CA…
…where the Younger Brothers used to hang out after big heists…
…where the Stage ran through…
…and the Peek-a Boo Inn (yes, it is what it sounds like…), the eleven bars and three churches and one store were the standard, back in the day…

Then I went away to university, finished vet school…(had to be a hoss-doc, didn’t I?)…
…and lived in Placerville, CA on the Pony Express Trail…

So, I guess I was rather steeped in the Old West…

Well, things led to things and I made my way to New Zealand, where I’ve lived for the past 22 years…
…and have nearly finished my first novel…
…an 1860 fictional historical suspense with romantic elements…

… The Story…
…Aleksandra, trained in the Cossack arts from infancy by her father, finds herself alone and running to prevent her Pa’s killer from obtaining a secret which could allow world domination by the Czar.  Disguised to most as a boy rider in 1860’s Utah Territory for the Pony Express, she finds in her “Californio” boss a strength to match her own and together they create a team that can overcome the odds.

I expect it to be completed by the end of March. I have an agent back East who is interested. I have been extremely true to the historical aspects, other than altering dates of a few incidents, and placing my heroine and hero into the scene, (not to mention having a FEMALE rider, which is not historically documented).  I have the support of a leader within the Pony Express movement, so am running with it.

I want to give the history and land of the 1860’s Old West to people, especially to those who might never otherwise pick up a historical work. It might just make history buffs of them!

It’s about preservation and roots and …  real heart and guts.

By the way, there’s a fantastic book on the Utah sites of the Pony Express Stations by Patrick Hearty and Joseph Hatch. It’s called The Pony Express Stations in Utah, and if anyone’s interested, let me know and I’ll get you Patrick’s contact!  Patrick’s been unstinting in his assistance to me during the writing of my novel, as have so many other people!

We are heading for the states and the Pony Express Trail in July.  It would be fantastic to be able to do book signings on the trail.  Can it be published by then?  I’m putting it out there!  Going for it!

Good writing, all!

Regards and have a great day!

Lizzi

Writing and a Ride in the Gig, anyone???

Good Morning, All!

Cranking on novel. Express Desire is coming along nicely. Should be done soon… Plan to have it published before I go to States in July to ride along the Pony Express trail with Patrick Hearty, Past President of the Utah Pony Express Association as well as meet up with all the fantastic people who have helped me write this book!  Book signings along the Pony Express trail, anyone????  (Thanks for the great idea, Mum!)

Need to finish it this month. Time to rock!

Great to get onto Zen Doe’s great blog yesterday, The Wind Horse Blog http://windhorseblog.wordpress.com/   and meet up with this lovely lady and spectacular, heartfelt writer. Highly recommended, all!  Thanks, Annibel, for all your encouragement!  And you are working on your blog today, are you not, Milady?

Well, writing and planning on driving two horses today, probably in the gig, maybe the carriage… Get it done!

Have a great day, All!!

Hugs,

Lizzi

Happy Yule or holiday to you all!

Hope you and yours have the best and safest of holidays.

Writing going very well, and plan to write extensively on my two week holiday!

Hope to be nearly done by the end of it!

Happy Apocalypse Day!  Have you seen Bob Mayer’s new book?  The Green Beret Survival Guide to the Apocalypse, Zombies & More… available on his website.  http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-or-is-it/

 

Wishing you all the best!

Happy Writing!

Smiles and hugs,

Lizzi

 

Writing On-Track!

Archery at SCA event last weekend

made from wool redyed with walnut hulls and trimmed in ancient recycled muskrat fur (Thank You, Dave Smith, aka Redbeardl, for the furs!)..

Hello All,

thanks for your patience!

Having recovered from final assignments (Aced all of my courses, the old girl can still study!), I have reviewed all research from last year and am making progress on Express Desire…   Have written 3000 words in last 3 writing days.  The week before that did some editing of all previously written and shortened it by probably a thousand words…  oh well, am convinced it’s better that way!

Outlining my first book storyboard today so can get it started!  Very exciting, Thanks Bob Mayer and Jen Talty!

Horse getting used to archery, some days better than others. Made new archery butts yesterday. loud. good.

On track.

Have a great week, All!

Regards,

Lizzi

At the feast at St Catherine’s Faire, Auckland with Chantelle and     … ……. plus Archery with Anne Dugmore.

At the Feast with Chantelle and more archery, with Anne Dugmore

Writing of Express Desire Resumed, Completed Grad Dip Teach. Thanks to All!

Having finished my Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Sec.),  I have now resumed the writing of Express Desire…  It’s coming together and have goaled to complete it by beginning of February.

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped me and inspired me through this past year. You know who you are, but Elliot, Stu, Dave, Nick, mum, Christine, eric,  Jen,  Sasha,  Jason, Julie, Lena, Maya, Toya, Serena, Gary, Graham, Nicki and all the rest: Thanks so very much, couldn’t have done it without you. Love you all.

Have also discovered that just over a year following my back injury, I can ride still. And drive…  So have resumed putting both horses into work riding and driving and starting horseback archery as well.  All is good in life.  15th C Re-enactment is now a wonderful part of my life. My new friends are tremendous and I appreciate them to the fullest!

My best to you all out there!

Lizzi

Carpe diem.

great definition of steampunk

Several people have lately asked me what “steampunk” literature is.
Rose Anderson, Author of  Dreamscape and Hermes Online, just posted this great definition of Steampunk on a listserve:
Steam grew from speculative fiction, think Jules Verne with his gadgets and machines being way ahead of their time, also Sherlock Holmes science, HG Wells philosophy etc. It’s a subculture too and this is where the punk part comes in. It’s as if the Victorian/Edwardian past has come to the future but retains much of the look of the past. It takes all modern conveniences etc and does them over with sheet metal and rivets and steam turbines and gears power it all. But more than that, it’s an ideology. It rejects the mass produced aspects of our culture and celebrates handcrafted. I know quite a few people who are into it and every one of them says it’s the romanticism of the Victorian age superimposed on the ugly realism of today. It’s fascinating really, an anachronism of sorts.
This site has the best description I’ve ever seen. http://ageofsteam.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/the-punk-in-steampunksteampunk-ideology/
More soon!
Lizzi