I retired in 2005 to write about Texas. But being an ex-reading teacher, I also still love getting up in front of a classroom full of kids and sharing with them the importance of reading for life and the rich history of their state. I also work hard to make sure every one of my stories has a relevant theme to present to students.
My first book, The Road to a Hanging, is foremost about a man’s freedom. My classroom discussions focus on three important elements of freedom. (1) Freedom cannot be legislated (2) Living free is often harder than the struggle to become free (3) An individual’s freedoms must be defended everyday.
In Ride the Desperate Trail, the reader explores the social and cultural indoctrinations of whites, native peoples, blacks and Mexicans in the frontier West. The theme of the novel can be summed up in one sentence; “No man can escape his own times.”
The last book in the trilogy, Ambush at Mustang Canyon, explores the Red River uprising and the devastating effects of assimilating a defeated culture into the victor’s culture.
View a sample trailer for The Taken.