#NewRelease--Summer Flames by Vella Munn--#Giveaway

Vella writes for many reasons, often because she’s fascinated with why people do the things they do.

Case in point: for several years now her youngest son has spent much of his summers (he’s a teacher) fighting fires. He grew up surrounded by Oregon forests which she believes has a great deal to do with his determination to protect the wilderness. Yes the money is good but that doesn’t make up for the taxing physical work and occasional danger. When asked why he takes the risks he does, he simply says it’s a job that needs to be done and he can do it.

Vella gave her son’s dedication and passion to Kade Morgan, the hero of Summer Flames. Like Vella’s son, Kade lives and breathes evergreens and wildlife. Neither of them has any interest in city living and willingly spend countless hours in the mountains. The mountains speak to them. Own them even. The more Vella thought about what drives Kade, the more she wanted to introduce him to a woman who feels passionately which is why she brought Chera James into Kade’s world.

Hopefully, Vella says, readers of Summer Flames will fall in love with Kade as Chera did.

BLURB:

School teacher Chera James wants only one thing from rugged forester Kade Morgan: permission to explore the acres of wilderness he owns. Walking the pristine land that holds her own family’s roots stills the restlessness that has long consumed her, but it also holds the key to grant funding that can mean a huge difference to her professionally.

Kade is all man…fiercely independent, and willing to sacrifice everything—even his life—to protect his mountain. Danger lurks everywhere—and Kade realizes they’re not alone in the woods…someone else is there, watching them. It’s life or death—can he trust Chera? Or is she part of the set-up to take everything he’s worked so hard to build?

Every moment Chera spends with Kade makes her blood race and her heart beat like a wild drum. But trust doesn’t come easy. Kade wants the truth, but Chera makes him forget the rules of survival he’s always followed. Now that she’s come into his life, will they both be consumed by SUMMER FLAMES?

EXCERPT:

    Fire! Five desperate minutes ago she'd seen flames heading away from the narrow logging road at the bottom of the mountain. The flames were licking their way toward summer dry brush and evergreens.   

    "Lady! What the devil–"

    "Fire!" she screamed up at the man who suddenly appeared. "There's a fire. It–"

    Twin vises clamped around her upper arms and she was pulled within an inch of a big, broad male chest sheathed in overworked flannel.

    "Where?" he demanded.

    Although he continued to grip her so tightly she was rapidly losing circulation in her arms, she managed to jerk her head in the direction she'd come from. "On the flat. Just after the turnoff to this road."

    "What–"

    "We don't have time to talk," she interrupted. "We have–"

    He released her and spun away, yelling for everyone to jump into their rigs and haul down the mountain. As the men responded to his command, he whirled back around.

    She saw his leathered hand snake toward her but didn't have time to do more than think about shying away before he again imprisoned her. He began dragging her with him.

    "Wait!" She planted her heels. At least, she tried to. In truth, she felt like a small dog being pulled behind an impatient master. "What are you–"

    "You're coming with me."

Be sure and leave a comment for Vella Munn to be entered in a drawing for a free copy of Summer Flames.

BUY LINKS:    Barnes and Noble Nook       Smashwords           Kobo

The People and the Forest -- Spring Is Here by Jae Hall

Cat, Blackie and Kamisha

May is here and that means five birthdays in my family.
So starting today May 1, Happy Birthday to Carl, Scout, Venice, Migel, and Frank. I know we'll be celebrating on the ranch with cake and maybe a pizza or bbq.

The forest provides a wide variety of foods and medicines, so it's time to gather even more plants for future use.

I was going to spotlight chaparral, but due to my camera dying, I haven't taken enough good photos. Also the toxic bloom is raising cane with my allergies. I'll save that special herb and it's uses for later in the summer so this  blog is about a variety of spring topics, and of course plants.

I've been out gathering  and it's always fun to take the family out and learn something new. A plant we call Princess Pine has been used in our family for many generations. The tea can be used for arthritis and kidney illnesses. Always use caution and test for allergies.

Hunter picking Princess Pine

Scout

Great Grandma Betty and Scout 

Hunter and Scout

Princess Pine

Dogwood

Dogwood Tree

A tree that has beautiful blossoms in the spring is our wild Dogwood tree. This year due to a very mild winter, lack of water and impending drought, our Dogwood is blooming early.

Pussy Ears

We generally take a day drive up into the mountains at the end of May to gather Dogwood blossoms along with other wild flowers. We use them to decorate our family graves for Memorial Day. This year everything is blooming 4-6 weeks early so our flower supply will be limited.
Here are a few of our annual flowers that are currently blooming in the northern California  forests.

Mule Ear Daisy

Trillium

Siskiyou Lewisia

Miners Lettuce

Copper and blooming Chaparral

Red Bells

Lupine

 Spring Colds and flu have hit many hard around here.

Young Western Red Cedar

Mature Western Red Cedar

Cold and flu season has depleted my supply of  Western Red Cedar.

Cedar is our go to for chest congestion and respiratory illnesses. Always remember to identify plants correctly before using. We only use the Western Red Cedar. Other varieties may have similar or different properties and uses.

These photos are of  young Western Red Cedar and a mature tree.

I gather the green foliage and dry for a tea. We use it in place of, or in conjunction with, commercially produced flu remedies.
I gather the berries for decorations and jewelry. Again. know your plants and if possible go out with someone knowledgeable.

After 30+ years,  I'm still not used to the idea that my husband no longer fells timber and there will be no summer long camp-outs in the forest. The time I've spent living in the deep forest and taking pictures of trees and plants has contributed to the background information in many of my stories. Spending weeks away from modern conveniences is at the top of my fun list.

Some of my photos of my husband cutting down danger trees near roadways and tourists camps have become a part of on my book covers.

My children are also in the forest/logging industry and work to keep the forest healthy as our family has done for countless generations.

At the end of the day we all give thanks that we are able to spend our life out in nature passing down generations of knowledge and skills, enjoying good company, and watching the sun set on yet another great day in the northern California forest. It's our Shasta tradition.

Jae Hall lives in far Northern California with her husband, the Shasta tribal Chief, family, cats, dogs and over a dozen horses. She is the co-author of Arcadia Publishing history books Western Siskiyou, Gold and Dreams, and Shasta Nation. Through PRP is the novel TimberBeast and she has Indie published the second book in her TimberBeast series, DutchMan.
More fiction and non-fiction books are coming soon.

People and the Forest--Gathering Ichnish, A Tribal Tradition. by Jae Hall

Lomatium californicum. Also called Ich-nish

Getting ready for this blog I thought about wide variety of native plants and the stories connected with them.  

Then the warm weather turned cold and my camera came out. Our mountain tops were shrouded in clouds and snow furies. I knew the plant and the story that needed to be shared.

I gather many plants with my family through the year, but spring time is special. It's not only Ich-nish (Ick niche) Season but it's also Coyote Weather, and the Story of Coyote and Coyote Weather is told in my family as it has been told for thousands of years.

In the Shasta Language Lomatium californicum is called Ich-nish.

It's a species of plant related to the carrot and the parsnip which is known by the common names California rock parsnip, celery weed, and California lomatium. This plant is native to California and Oregon, where it is found in low elevation mountains and hills. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomatium_californicum )

Gathering among the Oak trees

As with all wild plants, please know what you are picking and eating. Most plants in the carrot/celery family are extremely toxic. There is no such thing as too much caution. I recommend if you are in Northern California/ Southern Oregon and do decide to gather this plant that you go with someone knowledgeable.

Ichnish is used by several tribes in the Southern Oregon/Northern California area. Some use the root as a part of their traditional medicine and religious ceremonies. It can be used for smudge and many Shasta people use it to protect their homes from evil spirits.

I'll focus on the edible aspects of the plant.

Bags of Ichnish Spring 2015

For most people it is simply a delicious herbal seasoning and only the leaf is used. It is a great addition to common seasonings like pepper and garlic. It tastes somewhere between celery tops and cilantro with a twist. The older the plants the hotter the leaves. I often add it to soups, stews, and any roasted meat. it also spices up deviled eggs, omelets and salads. It grows only in the spring and is only available for a few weeks so gathering and drying enough to last our family for the year is important.

Book By Mary Carpelan

When the late winter gets warm and the Ichnish starts to grow we watch the mountains for the distinct green color of the growing Ichnish. 

I'm going to share a Shasta Legend that has been handed down for many many generations. This story takes place during the 3 days of the spring equinox and the Sun and all the landmarks in this story line up perfectly on a map for those 3 days.

My sister-in-law, Mary Carpelan wrote and illustrated this ancient family story in a children's book called Coyote Fights the Sun (currently out of print) 

I'm using common names for places and please forgive some of the photos. It's hard to get clear pictures without getting power lines, houses and  other modern items in the shots.

  

The Shasta Legend: Coyote Fights the Sun

Winter was turning to spring and Coyote thought of eating fresh Ichnish. He was foolish and decided that the food they had stored to get through winter was no longer good enough. He had his daughters throw it out.

He looked outside and saw that the skies were clear. Calling his two daughters he told them to go up the mountain (Quartz Hill) and  pick some Ichnish.

His daughters were hungry too. They went up the mountain to gather in the Ichnish patch. It was growing tall and they began to fill their bags quickly so they could get home before dark. The kept their eyes on their work and didn't pay attention to the weather.

They didn't notice that the clouds started coming over the Marble Mountains and came across Quartz Valley.

The storm rolled up the ridges and covered Quartz Hill. Soon there was a terrible storm and several feet of snow covered the hill. Coyote's daughters realized too late that the sun was gone and they were trapped.

 When the storm was over and Coyote was able to climb Quartz Hill he found that his daughters had died in the storm. He was very angry. He blamed the Sun for going away and allowing the storm to take his daughters. He vowed to kill the Sun. He took his bows and arrows and climbed up on Quartz Hill to the Ichnish patch. He waited all night for the Sun to come up, but the Sun came up across Oro Fino over Chapparal Hill!  

Still angry Coyote walked all day and climbed to the top of Chapparal Hill. The next morning the sun came up over Duzel Rock. 

Now Coyote was really mad. The sun was teasing him. He walked all day and climbed to the top of Duzel Rock and waited for the sun to rise. But the sun came up over the Lime Stone Bluffs in Shasta Valley. 

Again he walked all day to the Lime Stone Bluffs. He was determined to kill the Sun.

 The next morning the Sun was now across the valley and came up behind Mount Shasta. Coyote looked down the bluffs and saw a big lake between him and Mt. Shasta. He dove down to swim across and get ready for the next morning. But the lake was really fog. Down he tumbled until he landed on a rocky ridge and was turned to stone. 

Coyote is still standing on the ridge south of Gazelle California.

He waits each morning hoping to get his chance to kill the Sun.

So when Sun shines brightly in February and March we don't go up the mountain to look for Ichnish. We call it Coyote Weather because Coyote is a trickster and the warm weather is not Spring. It is a false Spring that goes away as the late March and early April snowstorms come over the Marble Mountains and cross Quartz Valley to wrap our Ichnish patch on Quartz Hill in cold and ice and snow.

Jae Hall

Find my page and book TimberBeast at http://prairierosepublications.com "Kelsy is an environmental spy running from her troubles. Fox is an timber faller living his dream. They meet in a forest full of  danger, romance and the Timberbeast." What could possibly go wrong?
On Facebook at www.facebook.com/TimberBeastSaga

At twitter JaeHall @kelsyfoxx

Find my  PRP Firestar Press novels and Arcadia history books at  www.amazon.com/Jae-Hall/e/B00DPOQHSW