With the release of Christmas with the Outlaw over the
holidays, the Oak Grove Series that I wrote with Lauri Robinson came to its conclusion. I loved writing this sweet series set in Kansas, diving into the history of the land and the people there so that the stories would come alive with authenticity. I thought I'd share some of the behind the scenes facts that helped drive and layer the plots of each book.
For example ~
Book #1
FACT:
A year
after the 1878 setting of the first book in the series, I learned that a prominent
issue in the state legislature was prohibition. Carrie A. Nation, was living at
Medicine Lodge, KS at this time before she began her famous crusade against alcohol.
By 1880, an amendment to the state constitution was in place that prohibited
the manufacture, sale, or gift of liquor. And by 1881, Kansas had become the first
state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
FICTION:
So, in Mail-Order Brides of Oak Grove (set in 1878) when twin sisters,
Mary and Maggie, were “railroaded” into the fledgling town as obstinate
mail-order brides-to-be, it was only natural for them to try to escape their predicament.
As daughters of a snake-oil salesman, and in the midst of the brewing
controversy (pun intended,) they resurrected their past livelihoods and began
making their meade-based family health elixir.
Book #2
FACT:
Flooding of the Smoky Hill River often occurred
in the spring and eventually dams were built along the river to try to control
the worst of it. While bridges were slowly being built along the more populated
areas of the river (Salina), Oak Grove still had a ferry crossing. In the
spring of 1879, the heavy rains brought intense flooding that destroyed the
crops and land to the south of the river. In soddies, it wasn’t unusual for the
roof to cave in. (For more on this, see Homesteading on the Prairie, a previous post of mine.)
FICTION:
In The Prairie Doctor’s Bride, it was this torrential rain
and flooding that necessitated that independent, isolationist Sylvia Marks leave
her soggy soddie and brave the river so that she and her son could survive. It also
forced her to leave her comfort zone and look to others for help. Eastern-educated
Doctor Nelson had a lot to learn about women and life on the prairie, and
Sylvia was just the one to teach him, if he’d only put aside his prejudices.
Book #3
FACT:
In 1873, George Grant transported four Angus bulls from
Scotland to Kansas and showed them at the Kansas City Livestock Exposition.
Breeding these bulls with Texas longhorns produced a much heartier breed. (For more see my post From Longhorns to No-Horns.) In 1874 four Kansas Railroads shipped 122,914
head of Texas cattle to the east. Mennonites from Russia introduced Turkey Red
wheat to the state. And the Native Americans were forced to move to the
reservation in Oklahoma Territory. In 1878, the last Native American uprising in
Kansas occurred in Decatur County.
FICTION:
In Wedding at Rocking S Ranch, Raymond Wolf is looking out
for the ranch of his best friend. The ranch had once been an encampment of his
mother’s people – the Wichita. He is studying the breeding of the Texas longhorns
with Angus cattle. When his best friend’s widow arrives in the autumn with news
that she intends to sell the ranch, Wolf’s life is suddenly upended. Amid the arduous
work of branding and driving the cattle to market, they discover that the truths
they have believed were an illusion, and that what matters most is far more
important.
BOOK #4
FACT:
Newspaper work is dangerous! Missing fingers and long hours.
(See The 19th Century Newspaper Office) It was fun gathering facts about small-town newspaper offices and touring Midway Village ~ a nearby living history museum. I was able to speak with the docent there who just happened to be a small-town newspaper man!
FICTION:
In Christmas
With the Outlaw, my novella in A Western Christmas Homecoming, Abigail White is
a straight-laced, just-the-facts, unemotional journalist. It’s safer for her
heart that way. When a man from her past stumbles into her newspaper office to
hide from the law, suddenly she is confronted with an emotional crisis. Should
she be true to her journalistic sensibilities and report him to the sheriff? Or
will her heart win out? She must learn that not all is what it appears on the
surface of a person’s life.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Researching my stories always gives my plots more layers ~ even though often I disappear for hours down the "research rabbit hole" chasing trails that are down right fun, but don't lead anywhere productive. But then...sometimes they do!
HAPPY 2019!
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