Do you
have any idea how hard it is writing a western novel? I haven't read a Louis
L'Amour book since I was a teenager, and my plots for historicals are usually
set in England like the gothic stories I used to love by Phyllis Whitney and
Victoria Holt.
On the other hand my interest in pioneers stems from my
ancestors who crossed the plains in handcarts and covered wagons. And I love
stories about children surviving on their own, like the ones in Seven
Alone, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Hatchet.
During family hikes and car drives through the Rockies, I
started to imagine a story about an orphaned brother and sister who were forced to take up adult responsibilities. How would they
manage? How would it change them?
Next, the research started. It entailed much
more than watching old episodes of Bonanza and Rawhide. Many readers are sticklers about what kind of weapons and ammunition were
used at what time, how buffalo really react when shot, and so on, so preparing to
write the novel took months of work, but it was fascinating as one topic led to
another. I hope the final version of the novel recaptures the flavor of a
tumultuous chapter in America's history, a time when the West was
changed forever.
