I've loved to write ever since I kicked the slats out of my crib and picked up a crayon. One day, when I was still a pre-school teacher at the YWCA, I was driving to work in my 1976 ugly blue Pinto (nicknamed the Pinto Bean). I didn't have to pick up my friend and co-worker, Dorothy, that day because she was off. So I had the radio on. The radio was practically the only thing on this car that was fully functional. On the celebrity news report was a mention of a movie called The Accidental Tourist. While waiting at the red light, the idea of a man falsely accused of bank robbery and murder jumped into my head. Suppose he was this cowboy and it's in the old west and he sees himself as becoming an outlaw by accident? I was so excited by this idea. The second I got into my classroom, I grabbed crayon and paper and started jotting down my ideas. Later, at naptime, surrounded by 22 snoring 3 and a half to 5 year olds, I found an inkpen and paper and began to write, sitting under the spa window for a bit of light. The first draft read too quickly. I realized that my main character, Chess Cates, needed help in this story. So cousin Otis Purdue was born. This story has had more writes and rewrites than I have fingers and toes!
Then after about the sixth printing of the manuscript, thinking it was ready to go, I discovered some minor little problems with it and dove back in again to rewrite. The manuscript travelled more in a year than I have in my whole life. First it went to Florida, then to Montana, then to New York, and lastly to Maryland. It found its place at Frederick, Maryland at a publisher named Publish America. They gave me the chance I had always wanted. I will forever be grateful to those at PA. Now---if I can just sell the book to a lot of people....I do have an enormous family, but my book sales need to improve nevertheless. If you have read ACCIDENTAL OUTLAW, ISBN number 1413704573, thank you. Please let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.
An adventure-filled time-travel western. Given a 5-star editorial review in 2020 by the InD'tale Magazine. "The weaving in of actual historical connections between the characters is fascinating. Fans of this genre will love the originality with the a
An adventure-filled time-travel western. Given a 5-star editorial review in 2020 by the InD'tale Magazine. "The weaving in of actual historical connections between the characters is fascinating. Fans of this genre will love the originality with the a
