What inspires a story? Every story has a different answer—which is why I decided to write a Story Inspiration page for each of my books. So far I’ve shared 8 of these Story Inspiration pages here on my blog, and now it’s time for a new one!

RESCUING RAVEN – STORY INSPIRATION PAGE

Being an avid fan of the Dances with Wolves movie (starring Kevin Costner and Graham Greene) and the Deadwood TV series (starring Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant), I’d always wanted to write a story set in South Dakota or the town of Deadwood. After registering for the 2018 Wild Deadwood Reads (WDR) author-reader event, an intriguing opportunity arose—join 16 authors (who would also be attending the event) in writing a new story for a limited-edition anthology called Wild Deadwood Tales. The anthology would be available for 2018 only, it would be showcased at WDR and Deadwood’s annual Professional Bull Riders (PBR) event, and all proceeds would go to the Western Sports Foundation (WSF).

The WSF and the PBR connections had many of the anthology authors choosing to write stories about modern day bull riders, but I’m a historical fiction author—who now had her chance to write about Deadwood in 1876!

Why 1876? That’s the year the town of Deadwood was born. Prior to 1876, the site was a gulch with dead trees. Then gold was found in the Black Hills and white settlers flooded in—illegally taking permanent residence on the Lakota’s sacred land that had been forbidden to whites by the U.S. government’s 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty.

1876 is also the year of the Battle of the Little Big Horn—which was followed by General Crook’s march (from Montana Territory into the Dakota Territory) in pursuit of the Lakota Sioux. But General Crook only took enough rations for a few days—which resulted in the Horsemeat March (also known as the Starvation March) when his men had to eat their horses to survive. Near Deadwood, General Crook and his men fought the Battle of Slim Buttes and stole not only the Lakota’s winter food preserves but their horses (to replace the ones they’d eaten).

Al Swearengen arrived in Deadwood early in 1876 and opened the Cricket Saloon, a barebones establishment that he built before his fancier and much more well-known Gem Theater. Not long after his arrival, his relationship with his first wife, Nettie, became extra complicated when a very attractive saloon girl named Kitty Austen came to town and became Al’s employee and more.

All of this history created many complications for Raven (a Lakota woman born in the Black Hills) and Charlie Jennings (a white man from Oregon) who were perfect for each other even if their two worlds were not.

MORE INSPIRATION TO COME 

CLICK HERE if you’d like to read the opening of Rescuing Raven.

I hope you enjoyed reading what inspired me to write Raven and Charlie’s story. Charlie is from the 1st novel I wrote (and the 2nd that I published), Between Heaven and Hell. But in that story (set in 1850) Charlie was a young boy and now (in 1876 in Rescuing Raven) he’s grown (with the guidance of his Aunt Hannah—who was a scout on the Oregon Trail) into a uniquely brave man.

WANT TO READ MORE OF MY STORY INSPIRATION PAGES?

• Between Heaven & Hell – inspired by the Oregon trail, Native tattoos of guardian spirits and more.
• Following Faith – inspired by Marguerite Henry’s San Domingo, the Medicine Hat Stallion, Native legends and more.
• Choosing Bravery – inspired by The Revenant movie, Oregon’s Cascade Volcanic Arc and more.
• Between Love & Lies – inspired by Dodge City, the Time-Life Old West book collection, the longhorn cattle tick and more.
• Between Home & Heartbreak – inspired by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and by the names Eldorado Jane, Eldora, Dorothy, Dory, Dority and more.
• Adella’s Enemy – inspired by the Hell on Wheels TV series, cutthroat railroad races and more.
• The Calling Birds – inspired by the Fourth Day in The 12 Days of Christmas song, stubborn/determined people and more.
• Robyn: A Christmas Bride – inspired by O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi, My Fair Lady and more.

Wishing you happy reading ❤

UPDATE: To read all of my Story Inspiration Pages, click here.