Fiction writers play a lot of “What if…?” games in efforts to spark story ideas. In my case, the idea for my new novel, Last Stand at Bitter Creek grew from an article I wrote for Wild West magazine about America’s first train robbery. A few months ago, (You can read a blog I posted earlier this year regarding the historical incident).
Years later, when I decided to write a historical action-adventure novel, I re-read the article in hopes of finding a starting point for the story.
When a bullet shattered the window of the Southern home, and drilled into the abdomen of the Confederate officer having dinner, he staggered into the bedroom to hide his coat, which carried the only insignia of his rank. Minutes later, Maj. Douglas Fraser, the commander of the Union detachment at Rector’s Crossroads in Virginia, entered the Southern home, declared the wound mortal, and left the Rebel soldier for dead.
A broad range of new technology prompted historians to label the American Civil War as the first modern war. Although high-tech innovations — especially advanced weaponry – helped soldiers function in a more effective manner, it also resulted in an increasing number of deaths.
A man who forged a reputation as a gunman and gambler will be remembered in Austin –but for his achievements as the city’s marshal in 1881. Born in England, Ben Thompson and his family moved to Texas, in 1852, when he was nine. At that point, Thompson began to pursue a life of high adventure, punctuated by a series of triumphs and tragedies.
There’s not much left of Canyon Station, Arizona. Just a few crumbling foundations, bordering a road crowded with rocks and weeds. In 1873, Canyon Station served as a stagecoach stop where two bandits made off with more than $72,000 in gold coins, allegedly Army payroll.
As a Colorado peace officer, David J. Cook brought more than 3,000 outlaws to justice and built his reputation on getting results. Cook worked as a counterespionage agent for the Union Army during the Civil War, tracking down Confederate spies, and investigating various crimes, including gold smuggling.
What is the purpose of life? This is a question, I believe, that most of us have asked ourselves from time-to-time. And the answer — at least from one source — is surprisingly simple. Sometimes, we need a helping hand to achieve a fresh perspective and understanding on what we should be trying to accomplish.
The Union spy dipped a toothpick in a shallow bowl of lemon juice, and scrawled the hidden message across the vellum paper. His fingers stiffened from having to write at such a methodical pace. And, he had no way of knowing whether his words were legible without destroying the secret dispatch.
IF you want proof that the imagination has no expiration date, consider the talent of 96-year old author Herman Wouk, who has a new novel coming out in the fall. THE LAWGIVER, which will be published by Simon & Schuster, is a story about a group of people making a film about Moses in the present day, with references to Skype and Twitter. The book was featured at the London Book Fair.
The chuck wagon served as much more than a mobile kitchen on long cattle drives across the American frontier. To meet the northern demands for beef, cattlemen moved large herds across overland trails on drives that required lots of cowhands, who had to live in the open for months at a time.
In addition to sharing meals, the chuck wagon became a central gathering place for cowboys to socialize, get medical help, or have clothes and equipment repaired.