Texas Bluebonnets

GOOD NEWS! Last summer’s drought, plentiful winter rains, and the wildfires of last year have set the state up for an abundant crop of bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas. For those that don’t know, the bluebonnet is to Texas, what the shamrock is to Ireland.

It is still early, but from the bluebonnets I have seen that have already bloomed, the plants are healthy and thick with pods. It looks like bluebonnets will be plentiful in the Hill Country of Texas, more so than in years past. Get your camera ready, load up the kids and the dog, and head to the Hill Country.

There is help to plan your outing; check out www.texaswildflowerpictures.com which is a very informative site for updates on Texas wildflower conditions. If you have an extra special photo of your trip to share, please send to www.Facebook.com/authordavidbowles and I will post it on my author’s page. While there, I would appreciate your liking my author page, and friending it.

Dawn at the Alamo

On March 6, 176 years ago, 189 brave men attempted to fight off 2400 of Santa Anna’s Mexican soldiers at the Alamo in San Antonio de Béxar. The only survivors were the women, children and a slave named Joe. The Mexican attack started two hours before sunrise and was over by 8 a.m.

Col. Travis had given his men the opportunity to flee the fortress two nights before. He drew a line in the sand with his sword, as he explained there were no reinforcements coming. They were doomed, Santa Anna sent word there would be no quarters if they did not surrender. Travis asked the soldiers “who are with me, cross the line.” All but one did, Moses Rose lived to tell the story of the brave men of the Alamo.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!

 

 For more information, go to www.thealamo.org

 

My 7 Links

I have been nominated by Lillie Ammann of A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye to participate in My 7 Links Challenge. I’m to pick older posts for specific categories to add to the bank of posts from the past that deserve to be seen again. Some of the categories were difficult to choose, and I wavered among several choices. Leave a comment if you have other favorite posts that you would like to see get more recognition.

My Most Beautiful Post

I shared the importance of the spring house in my family’s history and included an excerpt from my first novel, Spring House, in The Spring House: Most Important “House” in My Family’s History.

My Most Popular Post

A Real Spring House has had more than 1100 page views in the last year, second only to my homepage. The post tells of my experience in trying to get a picture of a spring house on the cover of Spring House without having anything to show the cover artist what a spring house looked like. Considering how the picture was drawn from my verbal descriptions to the artist, the original cover turned out amazingly close to a real spring house I later visited. I later updated the cover of Spring House, and the picture of a spring house on the new cover is even closer to the real thing.

My Most Controversial Post

I haven’t written any real controversial posts, but the mistake I confessed in  Oops! A Lesson Learned could have led to controversy if I had persisted in my error and had given out wrong information.

My Most Helpful Post

I learned so much about writing family history working on my first book Spring House that I wanted to share some of what I learned with readers. 23 Tips for Writing a Family History will help anyone who wants to tell their family story, whether they are writing fiction based on history or documenting history for current and future generations.

A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

The second most popular post on my blog is Nicholas Fain: Forgotten Patriot. Not only has the number of visitors to that post surprised me, but the comments made on the post have surprised me even more. There are more than 100 comments on the post (including my replies), and most of the comments are from descendants of Nicholas Fain.

A Post That Didn’t Get the Attention I Feel It Deserved

I get a lot of questions about how I fill in the gaps in history to keep my stories historically accurate. In response to a specific question from a reader, I explained in Writing Historical Fiction: Imagination and Logic and thought there would be more interest among readers in this subject.

The Post I’m Most Proud Of

Austin’s First Daughter, about my ancestor Elnora Van Cleve Brown, got press coverage and helped the attendance at a memorial dedication for her.

The second part of the challenge is to nominate up to five other bloggers to participate in the My 7 Links Challenge. I’m going to nominate only four, but if you would like to participate, leave a comment, and I’ll nominate you.

• My cousin, Ann Winkler Hinrichs, A Sentimental Life
• Christian author and writer’s group friend, Allison Pittman, Meet Me at the Crossroads
• Author and editor, Helen Ginger, Straight from Hel
• Writer and writer’s group friend, Al Bates, Al’s Lighthouses

Ghost Town of Helena

The Karnes County Historical Society knows how to have a party. Lulubelle, Daisy, and I attended the Annual Indian Summer Festival at the Old Helena Courthouse and Museum which is always on the fourth Saturday in October. Lulubelle made new friends; fellow authors Barry Harrin, Jane Tennant, Cathy Passmore, and Robert Thonhoff, and I signed books and answered questions about the Old Ghost Town of Helena, Texas.

The first county seat of Karnes County was established in Helena in 1852. Helena was a bustling community until the railroad bypassed it in 1884. Then Helena became one of Texas’ official ghost towns. There were numerous hangings in the tree in front of the courthouse. Author Barry Harrin wrote a book “The Toughest Town on Earth” www.helenatexas.com. The few remaining mortals have reported some strange happenings and a paranormal crew reported ghostly activity. I saw nothing out of the ordinary on my nights on the grounds. However, I made them a deal, that I would not bother them, if they didn’t bother me.

“Thank you” to our Karnes County friends for their hospitality and especially to photographers Joe Baker and Sue Carter.

Deadline for Spicewood Cemetery Photo Album

Just a reminder, the deadline for the Spicewood Cemetery Photo Album is July 23, 2011!

You can view the photos and order online at:

www.seeyourphotos.net

Event name: spicewood ceremony

Passcode: 20060896

Enter your email address and your first name. It will direct you to the photos from the event. There are many beautiful pictures and your opportunity to order prints will end on July 23.