A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Writing of “A Love Returned”

Keli Gwyn here. I’ve had four novels published. They’ve ranged from 70,000 to 100,000 words. Novellas are much shorter. Those in the Seven Brides for Seven Texans Romance Collection are roughly 25,000 words. Telling a satisfying story in so few words isn’t easy.

Sometimes things an author really wants to include in a story have to be cut, which happened to me while writing “A Love Returned.” I had to omit a bit of history I found fascinating. I have a hunch you might find it as interesting as I did, so I’m sharing it here. Think of it as one of those bonus features on a DVD. This one would fall under the heading: deleted material.

When Erica invited me to write a story for the collection and came up with the idea of Houston having spent time in California, I got excited. I love the history of the Gold Country I call home and was eager to include some of it in my story.

I dived into the research, something I greatly enjoy. I knew California’s gold was used to help finance the Union’s efforts in the Civil War and that men from the Golden State did head east to serve in one of the armies. What I didn’t know was whether or not any fighting actually took place here. Even though it seemed unlikely, I wanted to find out for sure.

I’ve been surprised by my research findings many times. This was one of them. While there wasn’t a full blown battle, a single armed skirmish did take place in California in the Gold Rush town of Volcano, about forty miles from where I live.

Several of Volcano’s residents were members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a sizable Confederate militia in California. In 1862, members in the town of Volcano, which was producing a lot of ore, made plans to seize large shipments of gold bound for the Union and send it south instead.

A pro-Union group known as the Volcano Blues got wind of the planned robberies and petitioned the arsenal in the port city of Benicia for artillery. They received a 737-pound brass cannon that had been made in Boston and used during the Mexican era.

It’s hard to know what actually took place after that, but most sources agree that the cannon, renamed “Old Abe,” was smuggled into Volcano inside a hearse. From there, the accounts vary.

According to folklore, the Volcano Blues set up the cannon on the main street, loaded it with gunpowder, nails and scrap iron, opened the windows of their businesses and fired a single shot. Supposedly, the concussion broke the windows of shops owned by the Confederate owners who hadn’t opened theirs. Since glass was quite expensive, that would have been a considerable loss.

While that colorful tale is more exciting than the truth, more accurate accounts say that the cannon wasn’t actually fired. Its mere presence was enough to quash the Knights’ plans. Had it been fired with the makeshift ammunition it was purported to contain, the blast could have killed a number of those standing nearby.

Old Abe, seen below in a 1925 public domain photo on file with the Library of Congress, is on display in the town of Volcano. The hearse, which dates to about 1850, is owned by the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation. The most recent information I could find says its undergone some renovation and is in storage.

Although I wanted to use this real life event in “A Love Returned” as a way to show Houston’s loyalty to Texas and its fight for states’ rights, I didn’t have room. Since I couldn’t use this bit of history, I chose not to mention Volcano by name.

In my mind, though, Houston’s hardware store was in Volcano, he was a member of the Knights and he was one of the merchants whose windows would have been blown out if Old Abe had actually been fired. I’m sure if Coralee knew all that, she wouldn’t be as inclined to doubt Houston’s loyalty to her beloved Texas. What do you think?

Questions for You

If you were to take a visitor on a tour of your town, which historical sites would be must-sees?

What interesting facts about your town excite you?

What is your town famous for?

The E-x-p-a-n-d-i-n-g Giveaway

Each day this week, I’ll be adding a new item to the prize package, making it BIGGER and better than the one before.

Yesterday’s prize package included three tasty Texas treats: a Texas Millionaire, a Texas Longhorn and a pecan praline. The winner is ablst nlki I. Congratulations! Please send me an email me at keligwyn (at) keligwyn (dot) com with your mailing address, and I'll get the package on its way to you.

Today’s prize package includes the same three items plus one more. I’m adding the first book in the Lone Star Cowboy League continuity series from the Love Inspired Historical line that Erica, Gabrielle and I write for: Stand-in Rancher Daddy by Renee Ryan.

To enter one of my giveaways this week, all you have to do is leave a comment with the answer to one of the questions I ask in that particular post by midnight EST on the date that post is published. I’ll choose the winner using random.org and will announce the winner’s name in the following day’s post, so be sure to check back to find out who won. (I’ll ask Erica to include Friday’s winner in her Saturday post.)

We’re saving our biggest and best prize for the final post in three weeks, when Erica will announce the winner of our Kindle Fire giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a Kindle Fire loaded with other books written by the authors of the Seven Brides for Seven Texans Romance Collection, including my three Love Inspired Historicals and two by Gabrielle. You can enter the giveaway below, if you haven’t already done so.

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