Hello, Posse!
I am starting this blog very late in the day for me here. I was up working until about 5 am this morning, but I think I am finally finished with all the updates for the Into the West Saga Serial books! Yee and HAW!! I am so happy. It has been two weeks of basically non-stop work to get everything looking the same. I have to wait until Amazon has time to process all the changes before I can do one more check to make sure everything is alike across all the webpages for ebooks, paperback, and hardcovers and make sure they match what is on my own website too.
This was a much bigger project than I expected it to be, but I'm so glad I did it. I want everything looking perfect leading up to the release of the last installment in this serial, Into the West: Family Ties. I am determined to have that ready for Christmas!
I still need to order one copy of all the print books to make sure they all look good in reality. They look great on the computer, but that does not always carry over to the printed version. I hope to get those ordered this week and can do a final check on them be the first of November. I should be well into writing Into the West: Family Ties by then. The book is already set up and ready to go, now I just have to write it.
In the meantime, how about a great western movie to keep us entertained?
Today's flick is Belle Starr, The Bandit Queen! Belle Starr's story has been told a few times on the big screen and at least once on the small screen. Elizabeth Montgomery (Best known for starring in Bewitched) played Belle in a made for TV version in 1980. Today, we are focusing on the 1941 version starring Gene Tierney and Randolph Scott (Who doesn't like a Randolph Scott western?).
This American Western also features Dana Andrews and Sheppard Strudwick with a supporting cast of familiar character actors from the time period. The story is based on the life of Belle Starr, a notorious American outlaw from the 19th century. By the time this movie came out in 1941, Belle's story had been used as a basis for four movies including one silent movie titled Court Martial starring Betty Compson in a 1928. The success of this film is credited with why more films were made based on her life.
The story follow the live of Belle Shirley (Tirerney) starting efore she became the outlaw Belle Starr. Belle hides a rebel leader, Captain Sam Starr (Scott) in her home. When Yankees discover her deception, they burn her family home to the ground. Belle vows to keep fighting against the Yankees, even as she is put in jail for her transgressions. Sam is grateful for everything Belle tried to do for him and breaks her out of jail.
With no where to go, Belle joins Sam and his group of rebel fighters. The gang does their best to thwart Yankee interests in the South. The gang begins a campaign of raids against enemy troops as well as banks, railroads, and anyone else who they consider against their cause.
Belle begins to become known as the queen of the bandits and not only earns recognition from the gang, but from Sam as well. The couple marry, but their honeymoon does not last long. Belle is a firm believer in the Southern cause, but Sam begins to change his ways and Belle starts to question his real motivation.
The real Belle Starr lived her life with very little attention until her story was featured in a novel in 1889, Belle Starr, the Bandit Queen, or the Female Jesse James. 1889 was also the year Belle was murdered. Her death is considered an unsolved mystery. Many stories have been told over the years about who could have killed Belle Starr with suspects ranging from her own son to an intoxicated man who was offended because Belle refused to dance with him. Her death will remain a mystery, but her life will undoubtedly continue to inspire western stories.
Movie Snack Recipe
Since Belle is such an interesting and unusual character from the old west, I thought it only fitting to find a snack recipe that would just as interesting and unusual (and hopefully, tasty as I haven't personally tried it yet). We can thank Better Homes & Gardens for their Deep-Fried Deviled Eggs recipe (<--- click for recipe). I think we will be trying this later in the week. I want to make Tempura tomorrow and do not want to be too heavy on fried foods this week. But I have to say, this looks amazing! I can't wait to try it.
But for now, I need to get bak to work on the Into the west Saga Serial books! I am working on creating a companion puzzle book that will be a free download this Christmas for my website members. If you haven't joined up, it's easy and FREE to join. Just click on Exclusives in the menu on the top of any page of my website. Then select Members Only int he drop down menu. Then sign up when prompted. There are no strings attached, you can quit at any time. You've got nothing to lose and free stuff to gain!
But right now, you know what time it is, Posse! It's time to grab your snacks and settle in for another great western movie.
Enjoy!
Stephen
Scene from Belle Starr (1941)
Who was Belle Starr? (Jerry Skinner Documentary)
Note: you can tell the captions must have been autogenerated and the program does not do well with some American accents. Some of them are quite funny.
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