Status

Hi, Mr. KK here again. The KATHLEEN KIRKWOOD SAMPLER EDITION is now available!

The SAMPLER contains the first 4 chapters (about 20%) of HIS FAIR LADY, A SLIP IN TIME and SHADES OF THE PAST, and is now up and available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for 99 cents and Kobobooks for free. I've already put in a request for Amazon to match the Kobo free price. I haven't figured out how to do that with B&N yet (I think they do it automatically by checking what others are selling it for). Our son Scott will create the Apple version (it requires a MAC to do it, which we don't have) and it will also be free. But, he's backlogged pretty heavily right now, so it'll probably be a couple of weeks before he gets it up on iTunes.

The release of HIS FAIR LADY and KATHLEEN KIRKWOOD COLLECTION #1 (containing both editions of A SLIP IN TIME and SHADES OF THE PAST) are just around the corner.  Please check back in the coming days.

Kathleen Kirkwood Sampler

HI, Mr. KK here again. Anita has been kidnapped away by an unexpected formatting issue with HIS FAIR LADY. While she's chained to her desk, working out the kinks, let me give you an update on the sampler. Unfortunately, the Vintage Photography blog will have to wait a few more days.

We finished putting together the 3-book sampler. It contains the first 4 chapters (about a fifth) of each of the released Kathleen Kirkwood e-books. We created a new cover for it and we hope you like it.

We'd like to offer it for free. But, most vendors will not allow us to select a price less than 99 cents. So, we're planning to list it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for 99 cents, and on Apple and Kobo for free, which is allowed. Hopefully, Amazon and B&N s will match the free price. If they don't, at least readers will be able to sample each of the books for a value of roughly 33 cents each.

The sampler will be released in the coming days in coordination with the release of HIS FAIR LADY.

The two-book collection edition of SHADES OF THE PAST and A SLIP IN TIME is also nearly finished and will be available in the coming weeks.

His Fair Lady Cover Flat

Hi, Mr. KK here with a quick post on HIS FAIR LADY. Anita finished her changes to the manuscript and it is now in our editor's hands. We expect to get any changes she recommends by the end of the weekend. So, if we don't encounter any unforseen surprises, we'll be on-time with the September 1st e-book releases.

We finished the cover flat for the print version (the e-book covers were done some time ago). Here it is:



Cover Artist: Delle Jacobs, Cover Flat: ByDand Publishing


We'll need an extra few days to get back a physical proof for the print version, so it will probably be available late in the Labor Day week.

We also have a sampler coming out soon. We're putting it together now. We envision putting the first 20% of each of the three Kathleen Kirkwood books in a single e-book release to sell for 99 cents. We'd prefer to give out individual samples for free. But, the vendors won't let us price an e-book below 99 cents. So, we decided that, if you're stuck paying 99 cents for a sampler, we'll put all three samples in a single 99 cent e-book. That way, each sample costs you 33 cents. We'll put up a post here when it's ready.

Contact us through Anita's email if you have questions - kathleenkirkwood@aol.com.

Have a good day!

Getting There . . .

Oops! Time moved faster than I did this week and here we are at Monday. Please check back in a couple of days for the promised blog on “Vintage Photography.”

Meanwhile, final edits on HIS FAIR LADY are claiming my attention today but those are nearly complete. Mr. KK will take over the technical aspects, bless his heart, so LADY will be ready for a September 1^st release.

Speaking of Mr. KK, he’s been working on a few projects as he waits for me to finish my revisions. He’s created a "Kathleen Kirkwood Cover Collection" desktop background. It can be viewed at www.bydandpublishing.blogspot.com. He is also considering a photo collection of all of the ByDand Publishing covers to use as a Windows screen saver collection. We welcome your comments.

Mr. KK & son, Scott, have also convinced me to combine both SHADES OF THE PAST and A SLIP IN TIME into a Special Collection #1, which will be titled “Romancing the Unexplained”. Below is a preliminary cover that we’re working on. Looking to the future, we envision a second Kathleen Kirkwood Collection, with two new Historical Paranormals, PIRATES’ MOON and WHEN SPIRITS TOUCH.

Congratulations to the winners of my Goodreads giveaway for copies of A SLIP IN TIME. The “Pony Express” is heading out with those today. Thanks to all who joined in the fun. A new giveaway will be offered soon at www.goodreads.com.

See you later in this week with a look behind the scenes at “Sherringham” and the challenges of early photography.

Apple edition of A Slip In Time

Mr. KK here again. This is just a quick post to let you know that the Apple version of A Slip In Time (for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch) is now available from the iTunes store. Here's the link to the iTunes book:

Apple Version of A Slip In Time

We've started getting Shades of the Past ready for the iTunes store, but it will be a couple more weeks before it's available. We'll also do an Apple release of His Fair Lady, which should be available by mid-September. Check Anita's Web Site for availability of these new versions. Her web site is at:

Kathleen Kirkwood Historicals Web Site

Finally, I just wanted to let you know that we've copied all of the publishing posts that I put up on this Blog Site over the last few months to the ByDand Publishing Blog Site. Anita will determine if she wants to keep them available here too. Here's the link to the ByDand site:

ByDand Publishing Blog Site

Have a good day!

RIDING SIDE SADDLE

While revising SHADES OF THE PAST, set in the English countryside in 1882, a startling thought occurred to me. My heroine, Vanessa, undoubtedly rides sidesaddle and I had not accounted for that. At various times, Vanessa is tossed from her horse, required to mount hastily, and, in one scene, purposely casts herself off her horse’s back, lest the villain trap her.

How secure is she atop her sidesaddle? I wondered. Surely, with both legs on one side of the horse, it’s a simple matter to dismount. (Wrong.) Just what is going on beneath Vanessa’s skirts and how does the design of a sidesaddle differ from one ridden astride?

The answers proved challenging to pin down at first. Understanding what a “leaping horn” is and how a lady was to arrange her legs and position her feet was another matter entirely. The Internet came to my rescue with such wonderful resources as the “Side Saddle Lady Museum” with its historical overview of sidesaddles and riding habits; and the “American Side Saddle Association” offering specific instructions on how to mount, ride and cue a horse with both legs on one side, plus how to safely dismount—not a straightforward task with two fixed pommels and leaping horn in the way (not to mention the lady’s gown that could get snagged in the process!).

Photo by Thyl Engelhardt (Deutsche Wikipedia)
GFDL http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html

Once upon a time, sidesaddles possessed only a single pommel, aiding m’lady little should she start slipping from her perch. In the 16^th century a second pommel was added, giving the rider more security and control over her horse. Now, while sitting squarely on the horses back, she could place her right thigh in front of her, through the two pommels, and wrap her leg around the near-vertical left horn. The greatest advancement, however, occurred in the 1830’s thanks to the Frenchman, Jules Pellier. His design added a third lower pommel, the “leaping head” which was slightly movable and curved over the rider’s left leg (while her foot rested in the stirrup).  With this added security she could join in the hunt at a full gallop and leap fences as well.

As the American Sidesaddle Association explains, “Side saddle riding can and should be more secure than astride ... If you press your right calf against the saddle, and the left thigh up into the leaping head, you are locked tight into the saddle, much like a scissors grip. You would be surprised how stable this position can be in an emergency.”



 Ester Stace, 1915, Sydney Royal Easter Show, clearing 6’6” and setting a world record

Source: Walcha Historical Society via Wikipedia Commons

So how does one mount a sidesaddle? The stirrups (which hang on the same side) are shorter and there is the problem of pulling the saddle off center while mounting. A groom is of great help, as is a mounting block. In my heroine’s case, she had neither at her disposal. While I chose not to specifically show her mount by a stand of trees, I envisioned an old tree stump served her purposes.

Dismounting was the greater challenge as, beneath Vanessa's skirt, she needed to free both feet from the stirrups. lift her right leg over the larger pommel and then free her left leg from the leaping head, all without notice of the villain before she cast herself off her horse and onto the ground. It was a tricky piece of business but, heroine that she is, she managed it.

Enjoy the following links giving full explanations and information on the ins and outs of riding sidesaddle, plus sources and patterns for period riding habits. Particularly enjoy, Belle Beach's Riding and Driving for Women, published in 1912 and free for download as a pdf from Google. Belle Beach was an accomplished horsewoman in her day and gives a thorough and excellent treatment of the subject of riding sidesaddle in her volume, plus also of how to drive a carriage.

American Sidesaddle Association:
http://www.americansidesaddleassociation.org

Side Saddle Lady Museum:

http://users.tinyworld.co.uk/sidesaddlelady/Side%20Saddle%20Lady%20museum.html

Wikipedia: Sidesaddle (comprehensive and good graphics)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidesaddle

International Side Saddle Organization

http://www.sidesaddle.com

The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3292329/A-bit-of-glamour-on-the-side.html

Riding and Driving for Women by Belle Beach, free PDF from Google Books

http://books.google.com/books?id=NhNDAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

The above link will open the full book. Hover cursor over red box “EBOOK Free” – this drops down a window showing PDF is available plus download is good for “Web, Tablet/Pad, eReader, Smartphone”

Kobo and iBookBuzz

For those who have asked, we have created Kobo versions of A Slip In Time and Shades of the Past (His Fair Lady will join them in September). And, we've added links to our website that take you directly to the Kobo ordering page for each book. Here is the website URL:

www.kathleenkirkwoodhistoricals.com

Also, if you have a chance, check out the August iBookBuzz Monthly Contest featuring four selected Historical Romance novels, including A Slip In Time. It's an honor to be in such wonderful company!

www.ibookbuzz.com

Have a great day!

KK

Green Chile Cheeseburgers: Food for the Writer’s Soul

Good morning! I was due to take back the reins from Mr. KK today and resume “Notes from Sherringham” plus new ones from “Dunraven Castle.” These are an “author confidential” of sorts, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses into the creation of SHADES OF THE PAST and A SLIP IN TIME. Following up on July 19 post for the Scottish dessert, Cranachan, oats seemed a good topic. Lord Muir has a staunch opinion on how to properly eat one’s oatmeal, and then there is Cook’s penchant for sending the hunting parties out with cold porridge bars in their pockets for lunch. Instead, I find myself fixated on Green Chile Cheeseburgers today ― a much spicier alternative and not at all Scottish.  Allow me to explain.

Recently, as I was working on the revisions for A SLIP IN TIME, significant health issues arose in our family. Mr. KK gallantly stepped in and took over the blog posts to free my time. “Notes from Sherringham” gave way to “Cover art Mondays” and other technical articles for Indie publishing. I hope you enjoyed them. With TIME now released and the worst of the storm passed (hopefully) on the health issues, Mr. KK and I set off on a road trip to see family up north. While traveling through New Mexico we discovered a new culinary delight at McDonalds no less ― Green Chile Double Cheeseburgers! We became instantly enamored and on our return home last night set out to learn how to duplicate them. To our surprise we learned that Green Chile Cheeseburgers have been a New Mexican specialty dating back to 1945, and that the state’s Department of Tourism even offers a map and restaurant locations to find them.  Many are along old Rt. 66.



www.newmexico.org

Next trip through New Mexico, Mr. KK and I will set forth with map in hand and sample variations of this famous burger from border to border. This is soul satisfying food, my friends, fit for the Muse. Now, as I nudge hubby off to the side of the blog with thanks in my heart and the reward of a Green Chile Cheeseburger in hand, I’ll take back the reins here.  So what is ahead?

Currently, I’m revising and re-editing HIS FAIR LADY, originally published in 2001 and winner of the 2002 Golden Quill Award. This is a 12^th century medieval  Pygmalion, of sorts, set in the time of Richard the Lionheart and King John. If all progresses smoothly, this will be a September 1^st release. Meanwhile, “Notes” from Sherringham and Dunraven will continue with such articles as how to ride side saddle, vintage photography, Highland life and the theory of “time slips.”

Looking ahead to the holidays, I’m considering offering “Special Editions” of SHADES and TIME, each with the extended “Notes” material included at the back. Book club questions are another possibility to include, or to add to the website.

What do you think? I would love to have your input as these efforts are for your enjoyment. Meanwhile, if you enjoy green chilies or are adventuresome, here are some videos and sources on New Mexico’s famous state burger and Mr. KK’s tips for making your own.

Video: Introduction to Green Chile Cheeseburgers | A Hamburger Today

Culinary - New Mexico Tourism

The Amazing Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail

Mr. KK’S TIPS: Roasted green chilies are available at the grocers in cans, chopped or whole. It appears the chopped version is the popular choice for this burger but whole works too. These chilies are mildly spicy, so fear not. (These are NOT jalpeños, which would be a different story entirely!) Warm your green chilies or at very least have them at room temperature. Use an ample amount, placing them either directly on the burger (at the end of cooking is fine) and adding the cheese on top, or placing them on top of the finished cheeseburger (cheese under the chilies). The cheese and chilies will melt to a delicious, gooey mess. Enjoy.