Blog Hop Part 4: Why?

Why do I write what I do?

That's the last question for the four-part blog hop (for previous questions and answers, just scroll back to the beginning of the week).

Now, to the answer.

I "fell into" writing mysteries set in the West because that's where my more recent (past couple generations) of family history resides.

Aside: Go back a couple more generations on my mother's mother's side, and there's the Hasbroucks of Newburgh, New York ... their house "lives on" in history as one of George Washington's headquarters during the Revolution: http://www.nysparks.com/historic-sites/17/details.aspx.... and ain't that appropriate to the 4th of July! I even have a faded photograph of the Hasbroucke House with my G'ma Elsie's handwritten explanation of the family connections on the back. (Tried to photograph it, but too much reflection, oh well.)

Hasbrouck House (George Washington's Headquarters). Happy July 4th!

Sidestep over to my father's father's side, and you quickly bang into the DuPonts... here's a snap of my Granddad Parker and my dear Uncle Walt from the DuPont archives: http://digital.hagley.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p268001coll8/id/5936/rec/4).

I came to Leadville and found its history so fascinating I just never left.

Just like old photographs, the truths and stories of the past fade over time and eventually turn into dust. I'm doing my very small part to bring bits and pieces of the past to present awareness through fiction. And have fun at the same time!

Don't let them fade away...

Looking back, looking forward

A little late with my "usual" Monday morning blog... but here it is, and it's still before noon, so hopefully this counts as on time.

It's been a hectic two weeks, during which I spent most of the time with my rear glued to the chair, banging out some deadline-driven projects for clients. I emerged late last night, triumphant, but ready to stand and stretch for a while. How did I feel about meeting all those deadlines? Rather like:

Right this instant (Monday morning), I'm sitting in "the Silo" at UC Davis, looking at all the students studying away (well, some are studying, anyway), and thinking how YOUNG they all look. I'm also reflecting back over my UC Berkeley days, when I learned that sobering life lesson: Sometimes you can try really REALLY REALLY hard... and you still won't get an "A." And, sometimes, the idiot sitting next to you who never studies and is constantly goofing off and mouthing off isn't an idiot at all but some insanely brilliant 15-year-old pipsqueak who aces every physics class without even trying.

(Did my mom tell me life isn't fair? Yes, she did. And it's a lesson I'm still learning at 60+ years.)

I'm also reflecting back on my dear Aunt Dorothy, born in 1909, who died some time ago. In the 1990s, when I became seriously interested in family history, I was always pestering her with questions about her parents (my grandparents), her aunts, uncles, etc. (Her mother was Inez Stannert, my paternal grandmother who was raised in Leadville, so here's the Silver Rush connection.) 

I guess sometimes I overdid the relentless-interviewer style, because, at one point, she asked me in exasperation, "Why are you so interested in all that old stuff? It's all in the past!"

Surprised, I said, "Don't you think about the past?"

She responded, "No."

I couldn't understand this. I mean, here was a woman who lived through World War I, the Depression, World War II, had been a career woman (legal secretary, back when it was quite a feat for a "mere female,") ... and she didn't reflect on the past?

Curious, I asked, "What do you think about?"

Her prompt reply: "The future."

Oooookay. 

That gave me pause, as my aunt was well into her nineties at this point.

I asked cautiously, "What, in particular, about the future?" (At least I didn't say WHAT future ... which was my first thought but which would have been terribly insensitive to blurt out, so thank goodness I didn't.) 

I think I'd tired her out at that point, because I remember she simply shrugged and looked away ...

Okay, this is getting way maudlin.

So, like my dear Aunt Dorothy, let's look to the future...

This coming week, I'll be off to Ridgecrest, California, to talk with the California Writers Club "Ridge Writers" group on March 6 about how I came to write a mystery series set during the Colorado Silver Rush.

Also, a little tootle of the BSP horn: I am Poisoned Pen Press's "Author of the Month" for March! They've bestowed this status upon me in recognition of Women's History Month, and my fictional endeavors in the area of women's history in the West. This just makes me smile, big time. 

And to wrap up this rambling post, I'd like to turn and tip my hat to the past, saying: This is for you, Aunt Dorothy... A true woman of the West: strong, tough when you had to be, always looking forward and never giving up or giving in.

Here's to you, Aunt Dorothy!

Leadville enthusiasts, rejoice!

On Saturday, I got a book in the mail that made me say YAY!!

Leadville historian Gretchen Scanlon's A HISTORY OF LEADVILLE THEATER arrived from Leadville's The Book Mine bookstore, and I couldn't be happier.

I know Gretchen has been working on this a long time, and I, for one, have been chomping at the bit for its arrival.

Here's the blurb from the back:

When the West was wild, the glitziest streets in Colorado ran through Leadville, where opera, variety and burlesque lit up Magic City theaters. Theatrical legends Buffalo Bill and Oscar Wilde graced the Tabor Opera House, while revolutionary Susan B. Anthony reached a rough mining audience from a stage atop a bar. Thomas Kemp spared no expense on the risqué Black Crook at the Grand Central Theater, complete with a grand waterfall, a trapdoor and dragons. Follow Leadville historian Gretchen Scanlon through these theatrical glory days, from the glamorous productions and stump speeches to the offstage theft and debauchery that kept the drama going even when the curtain fell.

You can find the book at all the usual places on-line, but I'm going to make a special plea that you  strongly consider ordering from The Book Mine in Leadville (phone: 1-719-486-2866) or your favorite indie bookstore. Show them you care! :-)

It's Christmas in February for me!

A Story Forms: Point-to-Point or Dot-to-Dot

Being somewhat at loose ends for a post this week, I turned to the Historic Colorado Newspapers online to see what was up with Leadville in February 1880. Here's what the Colorado Miner (Georgetown, Colorado) had for Saturday, February 21, 1880, in a little column titled "Colorado. Points Pertaining to People and Places":

• Leadville reports for one week arrivals by the various stage lines at 832, and the departures at 501.
• D.W. Fuller, a Boston capitalist, fell from a bucket as he was ascending from a mine at Leadville, and was instantly killed.
• The State Bank of Colorado filed articles of incorporation yesterday.  The bank will do a general banking business in Leadville. The capital stock is $100,000 divided 1,000 shares at $100 each.
• At a ball of the Union Veterans Association in Leadville, a vote was taken to decide who was the handsomest lady in the room. The decision was rendered in favor of Mrs. Judge W.R. Kennedy, formerly Miss Lou. De La Mar, of this city.
• A man named W.E. McIvor was found dead in his bed in a cabin near Leadville, with his face badly torn and eaten by mountain rats. It was thought he was from Georgetown, but this is probably a mistake.
• An installment of 32 bunko-steerers, among whom were several noted highwaymen, reached Leadville on Monday last. Another hanging bee would be in order and do good.

Fairest of them all? - At the Ball, by Berthe Morisot

While typing these random bits into the post, I felt a story forming... completely fictional, of course. This is how it unwound in my mind:

 What if the Boston capitalist's fatal plunge down the shaft was not an accident? Maybe he came to Leadville because of the incorporation of the State Bank. Maybe he goes to the Union Veterans ball, and recognizes the judge's wife when she is named "fairest of them all." Maybe there is something dark in her past, something her husband knows nothing about, but the Boston capitalist does. He uses that knowledge for a little leverage. (Question to self: Leverage for what? Something to do with the bank incorporation, perhaps? Or something completely different, perhaps to do with the mine?)

Maybe the judge's wife, who is not the "shrinking violet" she appears to be, hires one of the "noted highwaymen" to neutralize said capitalist, so her secret remains hidden.

But what about McIvor, dead in the cabin? And, is it really McIvor or could it be someone else? In which case, where is McIvor? And are mountain rats really to blame for the lack of an identifiable face on the corpse?

I do believe there's a story here, built out of imaginary connections, from dot-to-dot until the picture is clear. Perhaps morning (and some caffiene!) will provide further insight.

A title would be nice as well!

From Film to Book

I sat down to write this post, thinking "movies," mostly because The LadyKillers (a group blog I help administer and also post for every other Saturday) has a movie-related theme this coming week. What follows is my real-time, step-by-step journey of serendipity.

It all starts when I wonder: what movies have been set in Leadville, Colorado? Doing a very perfunctory search, I find mention of two: Silver City (2004) and Under Siege 2 (1995).

Attempting to cast my net a little wider, I come upon a list of Movies Filmed in Colorado. What I find interesting is how few “westerns” appear in the list and how many sci-fi/magic/fantasy/horror movies there are! The westerns were mostly filmed back in the 1950s and 1960s: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, True Grit (the version with John Wayne), How the West Was Won, The Searchers… and then, way back in 1926, The Great K&A Train Robbery. 

Intrigued, I dig a little deeper into this last one, which was a western starring Tom Mix. Apparently much of it was filmed in Glenwood Springs, and John Wayne (! see True Grit, above !) worked as a property assistant on the film and appeared as an extra. By my calculations, Wayne would have been 19 years old when the film was released.

It then occurs to me that some of these films might be fun to watch for the scenery. Hmmm. I surf over to Netflix.

Well, really, what was I thinking? A silent film from 1926?

So, I wander over to YouTube and end up spending 10 minutes watching The Great Train Robbery (1903).

Very interesting, but not the “filmed in Colorado” movie I was looking for. In fact, I noodled around and found out The Great Train Robbery was filmed in Milltown, New Jersey. While noodling, I also discovered that there is a 1905 parody, by the same director, titled The Little Train Robbery, which was acted out by children, and features a “bandit queen!” And it is also on YouTube!
 

I drag myself back to my pursuit of The Great K&A Train Robbery. I would like to know where the real robbery took place, now that I know it was based on a “true incident,” but I’m not getting very far and it’s getting very late now. I discover that there are a few copies  of the book (copyright 1897) listed on amazon.com. Gah! I turn to Google books. There it is, as an eBook … FREE! I click DOWNLOAD, and now I have it… if only in electrons.

I still don’t know where the robbery took place, but will find out.

Although this is the end of one journey, it looks like it might also be the start of another. Sometimes it's fun just to wander and see where the roads lead.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Leadville 1879

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas 1879 is of particular interest to me, being that this is when the tale of Silver Lies begins. According to The History of Leadville and Lake County, Colorado, the Tabor Opera House, newly opened but a short while before, was clipping along with performances of The Long Branch, The Rich of New York, The Two Orphans, and more. In addition, Thomas Kemp’s new variety theater, the Grand Central, opened on December 10th. The December 11, 1879, edition of the Leadville Chronicle had this to say:

Although this immense building yet lacks much of completion both outside and in, it was thrown open to the public last evening as announced. Hundreds of our citizens visited it for the first time on this occasion . . . . it is without doubt the largest and best arranged variety theatre in the entire West . . . . The place is already brilliantly lighted with gas, and we are informed by Mr. Kemp that only about one-half of the number of jets have been put in. Although well lighted, the heating of the place was a miserable failure. It was simply bitter cold in the boxes, on the stage and every nook and corner, save within a few feet of the stoves in front, and audience, actors and management shivered and trembled as if with ague. Many left the house before the entertainment was over solely on this account. It was simply a huge game of “freeze out,” in which the clerk of the weather held the winning hand. Mr. Kemp promises to remedy this by putting in more stoves to-day.

I found a number of things intriguing in this passage: The numbers of people (!hundreds!) that showed up on opening night (a Wednesday). The gaslights, already installed. The intense cold. The description of the cold is a reminder to me that, even in those public places crammed with people, the chill of a Leadville winter was difficult to overcome.

More about the Grand Central in my next post.

The color purple, Leadville, and 1879 travel

The time rushes ever closer to the official release of Leaden Skies. I've received my box of author copies, and my gosh, the dustjacket has quite a lovely tint of lavender (... it's just about the color you see here to the left. Somehow, that tint doesn't come through when viewing the cover online). Looking beneath the dustjacket, the bookboards are the same, with Leaden Skies on the spine in gold script. (I wonder: Am I the only one who peels off the dustcover to check the "real deal" underneath? Anyhow...) All I can say is, Wow! (In a good way, of course.)

So, now, I'm thinking of things Leadvillian. You can check out my News page for a bit about the Lake County Public Library choosing the entire Silver Rush series as their "One Book, One Community" read this summer ... I'm so excited about this, I can't think of much else. But I will. So.

Let's get down to history.

Maybe it was the cover of Leaden Skies, but I was compelled to open up the (purple-covered) reprint I have of Tourist Guide to Colorado in 1879 by Frank Fossett. (I have the original 1879 book as well, but it's too fragile for casual reading. And it's not purple.) Leadville appears in the index more frequently than any other location, including Denver. One of the first mentions is on page 14, in a discussion of the railroads in Colorado, with Denver as the starting point:

To the southwest the Denver & South Park conveys the traveler to the weird beauties of Platte River Cañon, and up through the mountains to where the tide of humanity on its way to Leadville halts to take a fresh start, by stage or footpath...

No foolin' about that tide of humanity. And the toss-away remark about "a fresh start by stage or footpath" provides no clue to the perils and inconveniences involved. The following description of stage travel, provided by Eugene Floyd Irey in his Ph.D. dissertation, A Social History of Leadville, Colorado, During the Boom Days, 1877-1881, pretty much sums it up:

At all seasons the narrow roads were crowded with teams and wagons moving in both directions In the midst of the confusion the traveler found himself in a coach carrying 12 passengers inside and eight outside, lurching either up or down a steep mountain grade. In the summer the entire road was buried in dust and in the winter the blasts from the surrounding mountains brought suffering to all and death to the unprepared.

"Death to the unprepared." Sounds like the title to a book. Or perhaps a short story. Hmmm.

Next time, we'll explore what one seasoned traveler in 1879 recommended as proper dress for a winter journey to Leadville ...

Another favorite Colorado publication . . .

. . . Having featured the Leadville Herald Democrat newspaper yesterday, I thought I'd mention another regional publication I enjoy and subscribe to: Colorado Central. Published monthly by Martha and Ed Quillen of Salida, Colorado Central always delivers. At least, for this "flat-lander" (because that is what I am, living, as I do, a whole whopping 480 feet above sea level).

Besides allowing me to keep up-to-date on what's what and who's who in the Central Colorado region (which includes Leadville, Salida, and a whole lot more), Colorado Central is one of those lovely publications where one is rewarded for reading the small print. For instance, in the Credits section of the December 2008 issue, "Other" reads:

Proofreading by Matt Gonzales and Sally Gonzales. Everything else is the fault of Martha and Ed Quillen, though mostly Ed because he was on the road a lot, and suffered much distraction from various political campaigns.

The masthead on the cover also features different tag lines for every issue that bear careful scrutiny:

(For December 2008) The Monthly Magazine for People who wish the days were a bit longer.
(For August 2008) The Monthly Magazine for People who wonder how summer could pass so quickly.

In the table of contents, the one-sentence descriptions of the articles and regular departments often display the same sense of . . . dare I say, playfulness? For example, from the December 2008 issue:

• The non-lure of the wild
  It's hard to understand how modern kids could resist playing outdoors, but they do.
  

• Keeping Track
  An election prediction gone awry, mining and renewable energy, windmills and zoning, cartoons, and news and comment from all around.
  

• Agenda
  We wonder if anyone reads this line. [! I do! I do!]
  

• After all these years
  The redemptive power of higher forms of craziness.
  

• Water Update
  Keeping up with what's wet.
  

The magazine's website has an archive where you can sample past issues. (Sliding in a little under-the-radar BSP: If you'd like to see what Ed thought of Iron Ties, the second in my mystery series, see the August 2006 issue.) I suggest you go check out Colorado Central. Publications like these are rare, and better than gold. Or should I say, silver?

What's in a name? ...

... Looking back on my noodling/thrashing around with titles for my Silver Rush mysteries, I've realized that, in all cases, my first attempts have never quite "hit it."

The first book in the series, Silver Lies, started life as Dead in Leadville. Then ... after some thrashing around ... it became Silver Lies in Leadville. That was quickly shortened to Silver Lies.

The second in the series, Iron Ties, started as Iron and Blood, inspired by a quote from Otto von Bismarck:
"The great questions of the time are not decided by speeches and majority decisions. . . but by iron and blood."
Ooooo, I still love that quote. It's perfect for the book. But, Iron and Blood? What is this, a vampire book or ...? Iron Ties was suggested by a reader, and it works.

But.

I could see where this was heading, and I was a little nervous. Silver, Iron. Lies, Ties. Uh-oh. Elements (metals, in particular) and -ies of some kind. How long could I keep this going?

So, for the third, I tried to make a break, and lit on Lead into Temptation for starters. I liked it because (again) of a quote:

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." And temptation and evil are core elements of this third book.

But... there were problems. The word "lead" (the element or the verb?) worked into my love of wordplay, but in a title ... confusing. And perhaps too "romance-y" sounding. So, we had to start considering other possibilities. From Lead to Leaden (no confusion on pronunciation there) and ... oh no, here we go ... Leaden what?

Dies, cries, sighs, eyes ...

No, no, no, no ...

Well, it rains a lot in the book. The weather is a curse, but also a blessing (read the book when it comes out, you'll see). Gray gray skies. There we go: Leaden Skies.

So, the die (-ie?) is cast; I've accepted that the "-ies" have it.

Guess I'd better buy a rhyming dictionary.

A new start...

... Okay, let's just ignore the fact that I haven't blogged on this in nearly a year. A lot of water is under the bridge, and it's now 2009.

These are likely to be ultra-short posts, as I have a deadlines looming for a draft of an employee handbook and an edit of a (non-fiction) book on photography.

Tomorrow, I'll do a quickie blog on my upcoming Silver Rush mystery (title: Leaden Skies; publishing date: July 2009).

Until then, here's a photo I took a few years ago (no leaden skies here) in the mining district of Leadville.