Vanner Horse in Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek

Vanner horses are specially bred to pull the wagons of the Romani people, mostly in the British Isles.

Milosh is Walthere Amaya’s horse in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek. Walthere passionately loves his horse. Milosh looks like the picture on the book cover. (Photograph © March 15, 2014,binkski, I-Stock)

Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek

To learn more about vanner horses, follow these links below. The horses at Stillwater Farm at Cashiers, North Carolina, are beautiful beyond imagination. You can read about the owners and their horses on Facebook and at their website. On you tube there are videos that will take your breath and warm your heart.

Stillwater Farm featured on Facebook

Amazon video

One of many videos on youtube

Vardo Resurgence: Painted Wagons Come Back

Do you ever watch the television shows about tiny houses? Living in a tiny house is a special art in that a tiny house dweller needs to make the surroundings aesthetically pleasing so the surroundings don’t look crowded and messy. It is a science in that the dweller must provide the essentials in an efficient way in a very small space.

The Romani people (Gypsies, Travelers) mastered this skill long ago. They knew how to make their traveling wagons all that. These homes are called vardos or vardoes. Although few people live in them throughout the year, these magnificent little dwellings are making a come back.

A vardo is a wagon that people live in. Sometimes it’s called a van or a caravan. The word caravan is confusing because it can mean a group of travelers or a single wagon.. 

Here are some interesting links with some amazing pictures of vardoes.

https://paleotool.com/vardo-links/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vardo_(Romani_wagon)

http://gypsywaggons.co.uk/

Our new novel,  Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek depicts Romani people living in these little portable homes in the early twentieth century.

It's here!

Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek, the latest novel in the Covington Chronicles, is now available in Kindle form. Paper copies are coming soon.

Please go here and check it out. We'd love to know what you think. In fact we're requesting reviews.

Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek

Sarah's Front Porch

Sarah Walker Gorrell, my talented co-author, has featured the Covington Chronicles in her blog, The Front Porch, which she calls ramblings of a southern Mississippi woman from her front porch. It's a privilege to work with Sarah, and it's an honor to be featured in her blog.

From her porch she sees nature in its beauty as the seasons change She will make you hear the birds and the panther. Sarah has a fresh attitude about life, and she makes the mornings start better for her readers.

This blog is a great one to follow.

Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek, the Latest Covington Chronicle

A family in distress receives help from a surprising source. Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek uncovers the heart and soul of the Romani people, who have suffered injustices throughout time.

Travelers is a continuation of the story of Trudy’s friend Jeremy Smitherlin as he finds himself functioning as the adult in his home because his parents have emotional and physical illnesses. Jeremy first appeared in The Dream Bucket as the slimy boy who dipped Trudy Cameron’s braids into his ink well.

He struggles to be perfect so he can win approval. The more he tries to do the right things, the more he irritates Caleb, his papa. Jeremy wants his mother to live, but she moves closer to death. Travelers (Gypsies) settle on Cohay Creek, which runs through Caleb’s farm. Walthere, the captain of the Travelers, and his wife Rosalie become friends of the family. Some of the residents of the little town of Taylorsburg don’t trust the Travelers and aren’t happy that the Smitherlins have allowed Gypsies to live so close to town. This unrest causes additional problems for Caleb, Jeremy and the Travelers.

The beautiful and sexy Ruby Felty adds intrigue to the story with her love of good-looking men. Although Jeremy would like to live an innocent, carefree life, evil adults slam him into a grown-up world. He learns about gunfights, adultery, drunkenness, physical abuse, and sarcasm.

Sometimes, despite all his problems, Jeremy has adventures that are fun, such as ice cream at the Covington dining room and soda at a store in Soso or wading in the ice-cold water near the Spillway at Gitano, Mississippi.

The old Slave Cemetery and the Mayhew house, based on an actual home near the creek, both still exist.

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Sarah Walker Gorrell and I hope to have our book available before this month is over.  We're all ready to go, and we're very excited. Right now we're waiting for Hurricane Matthew to move away from our publishing house so we can send it. 

When I look at the horrendous suffering and loss of the people in the path of this giant storm, I am sorry even to mention this little delay we are going through. We grieve for those going through this loss.