A special hello to every reader,
This year will probably bring very special challenges to each and every one of us as we struggle to deal with the events of the past few months. Reading and writing has always been a way for me to journey into another world and meet new people engaged in dealing with the trials of their lives. Their adventures somehow make it easier to deal with the real world.
With everything turned upside down and sideways, it may be necessary for all of us to change the way we look at life and the way we deal with it.
As a writer, I must continue to write and hope that what I write will do some good for those who choose to read my books and articles.
I have a romantic suspense making the rounds in New York and am working on a western historical that takes place in Victoria, Kansas. The history of that area is rich and unusual, and I find there's enough material for three books about the Victorian men and women who migrated to this country, not to become its citizens, but to transplant their way of life to the western plains. They weren't very successful, and the grand experiment eventually failed, but for about seven years they struggled to make it work. And from that struggle emerged many stories. I am trying to tell a few of them. I'll let you know how it goes and when they will be published.
Meanwhile, I'm working on a non-fiction history of Springdale, Arkansas for Arcadia Books. Springdale has a unique history, in that it is smack in the center of the Western Cherokee lands that were traded to the Cherokee for some of their land in Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. It also sat on the border to Indian Territory. Many good stories have come to light as I research this very special "western" locale.
Did you know that Ft. Smith, Arkansas, some forty miles south of Springdale was one of the bawdiest, wildest west towns on the frontier. With Indian Territory just across the Arkansas River, and Judge Isaac Parker sitting on the bench and issuing warrants to his marshals every day to bring 'em back, dead or alive, and dealing with the bawdy houses run by the likes of Pearl Starr, daughter of the infamous Belle Starr, this was indeed a wild and woolly town. Pearl once owned a home in my hometown of Winslow, up in the Boston Mountains, and it was often used as a hideout for the infamous Starr gang.
See my monthly articles at readthewest.com for more history about this area, and take a look at my website there.
I'll try to update this newsletter and perhaps as I get better at offering an interesting letter you'll come back for more.
Until next time, happy reading and writing,
Velda awa Samantha Lee and Elizabeth Gregg