AuthorsDen.com   Join | Login    
Where Authors and Readers come together!

SIGNED BOOKS    AUTHORS    BOOKS    SAMPLE CHAPTERS    AUDIOBOOKS    eBOOKS    STORIES    ARTICLES    POETRY    BLOGS    NEWS    VIDEOS    SUCCESS    TESTIMONIALS

Featured Authors:  Susan Smith, iMiller Caldwell, iJeff Ovall, iDavid Clure, iBrendan O'Brien, iKalikiano Kalei, iJames Harvey, iMel Hathorn, iShannon MacLeod, iDonald Beaulieu, i

  Home > Western > Stories
Popular: Books, Stories, Articles, Poetry      Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z     

Penni Lynn Smith (Weston)

 Follow Me  

· Contact Me
· Success story
· Books
· Poetry
· News
· Stories
· Blog
· Messages
· 78 Titles
· 219 Reviews
· Save to My Library
· Share with Friends!
·
Member Since: Jan, 2004

Penni Lynn Smith (Weston), click here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.


How Accidental Outlaw Came To Be
by Penni Lynn Smith (Weston)
Saturday, March 27, 2004

Rated "G" by the Author.

       
Recent stories by Penni Lynn Smith (Weston)
· Mother Is My Christmas Angel
· How Fast The Years Blow By
· It's Now 25 Years
· Copper Pots And Gold Legend
· And Justice For All
· A Star Song
· All Hallows Eve
           >> View all 17


     This is how it all began...
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.

Want to review or comment on this short story?


Need a FREE Reader Membership?



Popular Western Stories
  1. Simon Bullnose Walker
  2. A Real Country Cowgirl
  3. Ride 'Em Tough - Revised Version
  4. The Cattle Drive
  5. Life Everlasting
  6. Ride 'Em Tough
  7. Where is Roy Rogers when we really nee
  8. Stampede
  9. Visitor In A One Horse Town
  10. OATERS

Free Book Review Program
Select a book to read and review today!

Gold River Canyon by Mr. Ed

Renowned Arizona lawman Jacob Golden is having terrible nightmares. He dreams he’s locked in a battle to the death with a demon from hell that consumes human flesh. Golden’s a man who fears little, yet this haunting vision terrifies him to  
Member BookAds

44:15 El Camino del Diablo by Tom Leftwich

In this collection of Western fiction, I’ve endeavored to bring the reader a little laughter at the expense of my characters, even though they are at times engaged in life threatening adventures. Learn to say something nice to all of your enemies l  
Member BookAds

Gold River Canyon by Mr. Ed

Renowned Arizona lawman Jacob Golden is having terrible nightmares. He dreams he’s locked in a battle to the death with a demon from hell that consumes human flesh. Golden’s a man who fears little, yet this haunting vision terrifies him to  
Member BookAds