LAND OF STARS: The Texas Wyllie Brothers (Wilderness Dawning Series Book 2) Read online

  These earliest settlers also included the real-life Steve, Samuel’s brother. In Feb 1830, in Nacogdoches (Mexican Texas), Steve submitted a Land Grant Application for land in East Texas. The application, written in Spanish and available from the Texas General Land Office, states that an Estephen Wiley (Stephen Jr.) applied for a land grant, but there is no evidence that the grant was ever made. Steve would also eventually move to Wilson County in central Texas where, in 1853, he registered the first Wiley brand in the county. He died at an old age in Wilson County and was buried in the Old Holstein Cemetery, which is no longer in existence. It was located near the Clear Fork and, ironically, washed away during a flood.

  In treating Watson, Baldy used malaria pills containing quinine. The pills were not actually available for another eight years. In 1832, John S. Sappington developed a pill, using quinine taken from cinchona bark, to cure a variety of fevers, such as scarlet fever, yellow fever, and influenza. The anti-fever pills helped to save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives. The cause of malaria, mosquito bites, would not be discovered until 1897. Quinine is still one of the most effective antimalarial drugs available today.

  The character of Taynay was inspired by an actual black slave on a Louisiana plantation named Gordon. He managed to escape to a Union camp where his back was photographed and became a symbol of the evils of slavery. In July 1863, these graphic images appeared in an article about Gordon published in Harper’s Weekly. Gordon joined what was called the United States Colored Troops soon after their founding and served as a soldier during the Civil War. According to Dr. Clyde C. Robertson, Director of the Center for African American Studies for Southern University of New Orleans, a tree is the word used to describe the intricate keloid markings on the backs of slaves who had been whipped.

  In this book, Taynay sings a spiritual referring to Gilead as a place of forgiveness. According to Wikipedia, Gilead is the name of a geographic place in the Bible. Gilead may mean ‘hill of testimony’. It is now within the Kingdom of Jordan. For more information, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Is_a_Balm_in_Gilead

  The El Camino Real that Rebecca describes as running through Nacogdoches is a National Historic Trail and one of the most important trails in Texas. When Davy Crockett gave his famous quote, “You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.” El Camino Real is how he got to Texas and the Alamo. To see a map of the trail through Louisiana and Texas see https://www.americantrails.org/resources/texas-trail-looks-to-connect-austin-to-san-antonio?sfns=mo

  Jim “Killer” Giller’s character was based upon the real-life James Brown Miller (1861–1909), also known as “Killin’ Jim,” “Killer Miller,” and “Deacon Jim,” was an American outlaw and professional killer of the American Old West, and is said to have killed twelve people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Miller_(outlaw)

  The character of the Mexican solicitor in Nacogdoches was based on José Antonio Navarro, a leading Mexican participant in the Texas Revolution. Three of the fifty-nine men who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence were of Mexican descent, including José Antonio Navarro, who since the 1820s supported the idea of rapid settlement and economic development of the state of Coahuila and Texas by Americans.

  For more information on the Caddo Indian Mounds near Nacogdoches, TX, visit https://www.thc.texas.gov/historic-sites/caddo-mounds/caddo-mounds-history

  Finally, the dessert recipe Rebecca selected from Seventy-Five Recipes for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, the first baking and dessert book ever published in the United States, can be found at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Seventy_Five_Receipts_for_Pastry_Cakes/3tOptqiU66YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Indian%20Pound%20Cake

  The instructions include some interesting ways to measure ingredients. For example, “The weight of eight eggs in powdered sugar.”

  I am constantly amazed at how fascinating history can be, and when paired with an active imagination, writers like me can have fun bringing history to life for readers like you! Thank you for purchasing and reading my books, sharing them with family and friends, and recommending them to book clubs, libraries, and on Amazon.

  If you are interested in reading my other novels, they are listed on the next pages. The first series—AMERICAN WILDERNESS SERIES ROMANCES—are novels about each of the older Wyllie brothers, Stephen (the father in this book), Captain Sam, William, Edward, John, and their adopted Scots brother, Bear. And the second series—WILDERNESS HEARTS—are stories about their grown children, though the Wyllie brothers are also major characters in each of the books in the second series. My third series—WILDERNESS DAWNING—includes this book and RED RIVER RIFLES.

  I hope you will long remember LAND OF STARS, Wilderness Dawning Series – Book Two. If you enjoyed reading this story, I would be honored if you would share your thoughts with your friends. Regardless of whether you are reading print or electronic versions, I’d be truly grateful if you posted a short review on the book’s page on Amazon. Reviews are so helpful to both authors and readers. It helps the works of authors to stay visible on Amazon, and it helps readers find books they will enjoy.

  If you would like to contact me directly, please send me a note through my website http://www.dorothywiley.com under the ‘Contact’ tab. Under that same tab, you can also sign up for my Newsletter to receive special offers for free or discounted books.

  To receive notifications of my new releases follow me on Amazon at www.amazon.com/author/dorothywiley and on BookBub, which is a free website for book lovers. You can follow all your favorite authors and me at https://www.bookbub.com/search?search=dorothy+wiley.

  Thanks for your support and your Amazon review!

  Blessings,

  Dorothy

  Also by Dorothy Wiley

  All of Wiley’s novels, in her closely related series, are available in both print and eBook, and many in audiobooks at www.amazon.com/author/dorothywiley

  AMERICAN WILDERNESS SERIES

  Book One — the story of Stephen and Jane:

  WILDERNESS TRAIL OF LOVE

  Book Two — the story of Sam and Catherine:

  NEW FRONTIER OF LOVE

  Book Three — the story of William and Kelly:

  WHISPERING HILLS OF LOVE

  Book Four — the story of Bear and Artis:

  FRONTIER HIGHLANDER VOW OF LOVE

  Book Five — A story of Sam and Catherine and the entire family:

  FRONTIER GIFT OF LOVE

  Book Six — the story of Edward and Dora:

  THE BEAUTY OF LOVE

  The story of the Wyllie family continues in the second and third series—

  WILDERNESS HEARTS SERIES

  Book One — the story of Daniel and Ann:

  LOVE’S NEW BEGINNING

  Book Two — the story of Gabe and Martha:

  LOVE’S SUNRISE

  Book Three —the story of Little John and Allison

  LOVE’S GLORY

  Book Four—the story of Liam and Polly

  LOVE’S WHISPER

  WILDERNESS DAWNING SERIES

  Book One—the story of Samuel and Louisa

  RED RIVER RIFLES

  Book Two—Part One - the story of Samuel and Louisa

  continued and Part Two - the story of Steve and Rebecca

  LAND OF STARS

  About the Author

  Amazon bestselling novelist Dorothy Wiley is an award-winning, multi-published author of Historical Romance and Western Romance. Her first two series, the American Wilderness Series and Wilderness Hearts Series, are set on the American frontier when Kentucky was the West. And because nothing stays the same on the frontier, not even its location, her third series, Wilderness Dawning—the Texas Wyllie Brothers, continues the highly-acclaimed Wyllie family saga but brings some of the family to the new edge of the West—Texas. All of her novels blend thrilling action with the romance of a moving love story to create exceedingly engaging page-turners.

  Like Wiley’s compelling heroes, who from the onset make i
t clear they will not fail despite the adversities they face, this author is likewise destined for success. Her novels have won numerous awards, notably a RONE Award Finalist, a Laramie Award Finalist, a Chatelaine Finalist for Romantic Fiction, an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-finalist, a Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal, a USA Best Book Awards Finalist, and a Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choice. And Wiley’s books continue to earn five-star ratings from readers and high praise from reviewers, including several Crowned Heart reviews from InD’Tale Magazine.

  Wiley’s extraordinary historical and western romances, inspired by history, teem with action and cliff-edge tension. Her books’ timeless messages of family and loyalty are both raw and honest. In all her novels, the author’s complex characters come alive and are joined by a memorable ensemble of friends and family. And, as she skillfully unravels a compelling tale, Wiley includes rich historical elements to create a vivid colonial world that celebrates the heritage of the frontier.

  Wiley attended college at The University of Texas in Austin. She graduated with honors, receiving a Bachelor of Journalism, and grew to dearly love both Texas and a 7th-generation Texan, her husband Larry. Her husband’s courageous ancestors, early pioneers of Kentucky and Texas, provided the inspiration for her novels. After a distinguished career in corporate marketing and public relations, Wiley is living her dream—writing novels that touch the hearts of her readers.

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & THANKS

  With every new book I release, my gratitude to my loyal readers grows. I enormously appreciate all your kind reviews, thoughtful notes sent to me through my website, and caring Facebook comments. Believe me, you are the primary reason I keep writing!

  As always, I want to thank my real-life hero, my husband of forty-two years, a 7th generation Texan! Thank you for showing me what “forever and ever and ever” love is and for being the kind of man who treats women with respect and kindness. I would never have been able to write about these fictional characters without you and your ancestors as my inspiration. And I would never have been able to write love stories without experiencing love so richly with you all these years. I pray that God will give us many more years together.

  Many thanks to the beta readers of this novel, including award-winning historical romance authors Amanda Hughes and Deborah Gafford, reviewers JoAnne Weiss and Jane Miller Weyhrauch, and readers Marlene Larsen, Lori Ratterman, and Deb Meyer Christensen, for their helpful suggestions and proofreading. Your help and encouragement were invaluable.

  And my thanks to my cover designer, Kimberly Killion, with the Killion Group, www.theKillionGroupInc.com .

  If you’d like to contact me, please send me a note through my website http://www.dorothywiley.com under the ‘Contact’ tab.

  All the best,

  Dorothy

  P.S. Don’t forget to write a short review, please! You can find this novel and all of my other books on my Amazon author page at www.amazon.com/author/dorothywiley