Chiggers and Cherokees

Chiggers and Cherokees

by | Dec 16, 2015 | Featured On Front Page

My editor, Pam Strickler, and I at a WWA conference              In 1983 I attended my first Western Writers of America conference in Amarillo Texas.  My Ballantine editor came with me because WWA had awarded Ride the Wind the Spur Award for best Long Historical Novel...
Fiction as Autobiography: Chapter One

Fiction as Autobiography: Chapter One

by | Nov 28, 2015 | Featured On Front Page

          When trying to imagine the experiences of dead and imaginary individuals from times long past, reference books can go only so far.  I have to get off the academic bus and strike out into my own malpais of memories.             That isn’t as far fetched as it...
Irreverent Sir-Reverence

Irreverent Sir-Reverence

by | Nov 13, 2015 | Featured On Front Page

“Irreverence is the champion of liberty and its only sure defense.” Mark Twain  (1835-1910) American history is taught in our schools.  Historical sound bites are repeated on Washington’s birthday, Lincoln’s birthday, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving. Like most...
Shock and Ew-w-w-w

Shock and Ew-w-w-w

by | Oct 24, 2015 | Blog, Featured On Front Page

In 1979,  Ballantine Books gave me a contract to write a novel about the Comanches, a culture and tradition completely unknown to this Anglo-American East Coast native.  That first venture into historical research raised an unexpected question.  In 1836 what made the...
Shooting the Puppy

Shooting the Puppy

by | Oct 1, 2015 | Featured On Front Page

  Thanks to Vivian Waters for taking this photo at the National Military Cemetery at the Presidio outside of San Francisco.  Sarah Bowman is honored there for her courage under fire at the Battle of Ft. Brown in March of 1846, and for her bravery in caring for the...

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