Linda Weaver Clarke: 'Melinda and the Wild West'

A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho is an instant classic!

We enter the “Make Believe World” when we open a book and begin to read. In that little corner is a world that can fill us with wonder, where dreams can come true, where we can go on an adventure, learn about history, or fall in love all over again.

A historical/romance novel is on the market for ages 14 through adult. Melinda and the Wild West was a Semi-finalist for the Reader Views “Reviewers Choice Award.” Debra Gaynor from Reader Views wrote: “From the first page I was captivated by this book. I had to continue reading, rushing to turn the page, I had to see what next adventure would catch up with Melinda. The plot is interesting: mixing history with fiction, adventure with romance. Ms Clarke, this is a piece to be proud of, well done!”

In 1896 Melinda Gamble—a very elegant, naïve young woman from Boston—decides to give up her life of monotonous comfort for the turbulent uncertainty of the still untamed Wild West. Driven by her intense desire to make a difference in the world, Melinda takes a job as a schoolteacher in the small town of Paris, Idaho, where she comes face-to-face with Butch Cassidy, a vicious grizzly bear, and a terrible blizzard that leaves her clinging to her life. But it’s a rugged rancher who challenges Melinda with the one thing for which she was least prepared—love.

Page One Literary Book Review wrote: “Linda Weaver Clarke displays an easy and excellent style of writing, blending adventure/romance/history/humor and courage. Melinda and the Wild West is an instant classic and should put this author on the literary map all over the world.”

When a rugged rancher and a determined schoolteacher meet, they tend to butt heads and clash with each encounter, but at the same time there seems to be an underlying interest in one another. In this story, Melinda is trying to help a rebellious student through acceptance and love, and at the same time, she is trying to understand her own heart.

“Melinda and the Wild West is a tender love story. Clarke’s characters are well developed and her setting is compelling. But what separates this book from others is Clarke’s historical accuracy and meticulous attention to detail.” -- Betsy Brannon Green, Best-Selling Mystery Author

Melynda Gascoyne, The Amherst Bee Newspaper: Buffalo, New York, wrote: “For anyone who likes to read classic-styled romance novels that also have a drop of history, this is the book for you. From one of her students coming to class with skunk oil that explodes, to her encounter with a black bear, there’s always something for the imagination in the book. It is very easy to picture the scene you are reading. Clarke was able to write about love in a soft fashion, not full of the same type of sexual writing of most romance novels. I was impressed with the eloquence in which Clarke spun her story. It was dramatic in some spots and yet contained simply placed bits of humor. I would recommend this to anyone.”

“I absolutely loved this book,” wrote Allison King, Allison’s Attic Book Reviews. “Now, I may be biased that I adore late 1800’s and anything to do with Wild West areas, but this story just amazed me. Creating a story based upon an independent, educated and strong woman character, brings to light the type of women that helped make this country what it is today. Melinda learns to keep her guard up when she needs to, but letting it down can bring happiness into your life. The themes of family, love, communication and friendship can be found throughout the book. If you want to read a book that makes you smile at the end, this would be one of those books.”

Book Trailer:

To read an excerpt, visit: http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com/melinda.html.

To purchase a book for $14.95, visit Publisher Direct Bookstore. You may also visit Amazon.

Linda Weaver Clarke

http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com/

http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com/

He Called It Macaroni

Yankee Doodle went to town,
A-Riding on a pony;
Stuck a feather in his cap,
And called it macaroni.

Macaroni? He named his feather after pasta?

I'm American, and I've sung this song all my life. But I never understood what Yankee Doodle's feather had to do with spaghetti.

The verse sounds odd to our ears, but made perfect sense to English people in the mid 1700's, when the song was written.

At that time, a "Yankee", from the Dutch Jan Kees, or John Cheese (see dictionary.com definition here), was an inhabitant of New England, a pejorative name bestowed by the urbane New York Dutch on their rustic, Puritan Connecticut neighbors, and by extension, to all Americans.

The word "doodle" first appeared in the seventeenth century, from the German word for "simpleton" or "fool".

From my last post, "macaroni" was an extreme of English male dress, circa 1760. The style's most salient characteristic, a large, ungainly wig, caused "macaroni" to become a synonym for foppishness. Put the two words together, and "Yankee Doodle" was a derisive term for a backwoods American fool so unsophisticated he thought decorating his cap with a feather was the height of fashion.

Historians generally credit Doctor Richard Shuckburgh, a British Army surgeon, with creating the song sometime during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The date is in dispute, given in various places as 1755, 1756 or 1758.

The New York State archeologist, Paul Huey, believes he has narrowed the date to June, 1758. At that time, a large British force had mustered at Fort Crailo near Albany, New York, to prepare for the attack on Fort Ticonderoga. The ragged, ill-equipped and ill-trained New England militiamen who joined the expedition provided a stark contrast to the well-dressed, well-drilled British soldiers. Dr. Shuckburgh wrote the first set of lyrics mocking these ragtag troops. The tune apparently comes from the nursery rhyme Lucy Locket.

Something about the song resonated in colonial America, and Yankee Doodle took on a life of its own. Many sets of lyrics exist. If you’re curious about all the verses (and there are a lot of them), you'll find a list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Doodle

Everyone sang Yankee Doodle. British soldiers often sang it as a marching song. The American colonists sang it, too, but with different lyrics.

As the tension between England and America escalated, the Americans took up the ditty, complete with feather and macaroni, as a badge of honor. By the time of the Battle of Concord and Lexington (1775), the Americans had claimed the song as their own.

Yankee Doodle lives on to this day.

Archibald MacNeal Willard's most famous painting, The Spirit of '76 (c. 1875), (picture above) is popularly called Yankee Doodle.

Yankee Doodle Dandy, a version of Yankee Doodle, is the tune to a famous song-and-dance sequence in the 1942 James Cagney film of the same name.

And last, but not least, Yankee Doodle is the state song of Connecticut. I'm from Connecticut (yup, a real Connecticut Yankee), and I didn't know that.

Today is the Fourth of July, Independence Day in the United States. On this Yankee Doodle-est of days, here's one Yankee Doodle saying "Happy Fourth of July" to all my fellow Yankee Doodles.

Thank you all,
Linda
Linda Banche
Enter My World of Historical Hilarity
http://www.lindabanche.com