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An Interview with Author Cornelia Allen

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Cornelia Allen was raised in rural New Mexico and became a woman of many talents and adventures from time spent in various occupations including farm fieldworker, national park ranger, biology teacher, medical practitioner, and eventually the Dean of Education at two colleges. She is now an author who loves writing about characters inspired by the interesting people she has met in her journeys. Cornelia’s debut release, Then Came July (The Rick Mora Novels Book 1, August 2023), is an action-adventure romance set in The Land of Enchantment. Look for Cornelia on Facebook and her Amazon author page.

What is your elevator pitch for Then Came July?
When her clinic is firebombed, the severely injured young doctor clashes culturally, philosophically, even physically with the hard-nosed investigator. But as they begin to see themselves through each other’s eyes, they learn what real love means.

What makes this novel unique in the romantic action/adventure/suspense market?
These are real people, very successful, conflicted and wounded, with a dark side in his case, but strong enough to change, to take the opportunity when offered. Shakespeare said that there is a tide in the affairs of man that when taken at the flood leads to victory. My characters grab that flood tide.

Tell us how the book came together.
I always had heroes. From Horatio Hornblower of fiction to our own Elfego Baca. But I have been feeling a lack of real, relatable heroic characters in current fiction. Not superheroes, but those who struggle to reach some shining star. Hence, my Enrique (Rick) and July. They strive and fail and try again. I wanted a book cover that showed their conflicting views, but with some give to it. I was incapable of pulling that off, so I hired an illustrator from Outskirts Press, and liked their idea. I used an editor who ran through the book twice, but I did most of it for lack of funds. Initially, I thought that traditional publishing would not work for me because I had been very ill, and did not expect to live long enough to see the book hit the shelves. But I have zero interest in marketing, so self-publishing doesn’t work either. Damn! I’m stuck! Ah, well!

Who are your main protagonists? Did they surprise you as you wrote their story?
Rick and July came to me. I didn’t have to seek them. Like with other friends, I learned more about them over time. And there is still more to learn. I sort of point them in a direction, and they run with it. The one thing that remains steady with them now is that they have each other and their joint family. They will do anything to maintain the relationship. Not that they don’t fight with each other, get exasperated, misunderstand each other. They do, but it never changes their love for each other.

What is the main setting for the book, and how does it impact the story?
I am a New Mexican. My stories are set in the deserts and mountains, the cities and countryside that I know. Urban or wilderness, they are a part of the story. The very first scene is of July impatiently waiting at a stoplight on Lohman in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and daydreaming about getting her toes into some cool water at Dripping Springs in the Organ Mountains just east of town.

Is there a scene in Then Came July that you’d love to see play out in a movie?
There are many! One in particular is just after Rick and July, hesitatingly reaching a new and unexpected relationship, have had a major fight and are struggling with a new level of understanding. They are sitting in the dirt of a little road in a meadow, watching the night coming on, and there is a coyote family nearby watching also, watching them in silence. It is poignant because Rick is sometimes called the coyote cop, in recognition of his prowess as a hunter of the bad guys. And it fits because he is also a silent observer, a woodsman in his natural environment, and it relates to a life-changing incident when he was a child. This scene touches my soul. The two coyotes in spiritual harmony, so to speak.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
How I would wake up with some new knowledge of what July and Rick were doing that day. I laughed a lot.

According to Amazon, this is a second edition of Then Came July. What changes did you make to the original book? Also, Then Came July looks like it’s the first of a series. Do you plan second editions of these books as well?
I did not, initially, write for the market, just for my own and my family’s entertainment. So, I tried out different endings. There really have never been first editions, only potential editions sent to friends via Kindle. I think of those as drafts, and had no idea that Amazon would not let me remove them.

In my very diverse family, there are cowboys and farmers, lawyers and various medical folks, military and preachers, scientists and engineers. In one way or another, they have all contributed to the characters and their stories. All I have to do is listen, and imagine.

What inspired you to become a writer?
Spring of 2024, I decided to become a writer, not just a storyteller for friends and family. I realized that I had a chance when an award-winning screenwriter, who has a new movie coming out this Fall, offered to write (in his spare time) a TV pilot based on Then Came July. I am collaborating, and it is lots of fun.

It appears you began your writing/publishing career later in life. What has your mature self brought to the writing table that your younger self never could have?
Patience with myself. I have the attention span of a gnat, so focus is a lifelong challenge.

What’s the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
Michael McGarrity and Craig Johnson both said, in one way or another, to keep on trying. Standard advice to the admiring masses, I suppose. Nevertheless, I took it to heart.

What writing projects are you working on now?
A YA coming of age story that incorporates some of my own adventures growing up in the mountains of New Mexico in the 40s and 50s. For a few years, I taught college freshmen, and it was a revelation to me how little they knew, and a revelation to them that we ancients were not quite as backwards as they thought. I loved that job and made some good friends. One youngster’s great-grandfather had been a lieutenant in Pancho Villa’s Army. My dad rode as a hunter with Pershing’s troops, chasing Villa’s Army into Mexico. We bonded over the differences. Oh, wait! I think I may hear a manuscript approaching!

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
Age really is not so much a barrier as it is an opportunity. I am only 80. There is still much to do.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.



Author Update: Rachel Bate

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Author Rachel Bate is a retired elementary and special education teacher who writes stories that encourage children to follow their dreams and to care about others and our planet. Her fifth children’s book release, Hatch Chile Willie (Mascot Kids, June 2024), is “an engaging, magical book celebrating New Mexico’s prized state vegetable.” You’ll find Rachel on her Amazon author page and on Facebook. Read more about her work in SWW’s 2023 interview.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Hatch Chile Willie?
Hatch Chile Willie is a magical tale with the setting taking place in Hatch, New Mexico. The tale celebrates the state’s prized vegetable, Hatch Chile. The story whimsically narrates the relationship and beautiful bond that builds between a Hatch Chile farmer and a Spanish flamenco-dancing musical half-red and half-green pepper named Hatch Chile Willie.

Who are the main characters in the book and why will readers (young and old) connect with them?
Farmer Pablo and Hatch Chile Willie are the two main characters in the story. Farmer Pablo is a hard-working Hatch Chile farmer who recently lost his Esposa, missing her very deeply. In the beginning of the story, Farmer Pablo rests in his rocking chair after a hard day of work, suddenly a musical half-red and half-green chile pepper magically appears in his greenhouse. My book explores the unique friendship and bond that develops between Farmer Pablo and Hatch Chile Willie, which I truly feel will resonate with both young and old readers alike.

Why is New Mexico the perfect place for the story to play out? Do you incorporate recognizable New Mexico landmarks or icons?
The tiny town of Hatch, New Mexico, located in the heart of the Rio Grande farming community, is considered the Chile Capital of the world. I included the annual Hatch Chile Festival, occurring every Labor Day weekend, as one of the settings where the story transpires. At the end of the book, I devoted two collage pages of photographs that I captured while attending the 2023 Hatch Chile Festival. I also researched and included fun details about Hatch chiles grown in Hatch, New Mexico, for children to read about, enjoy, and discuss following the tale.

What topics or themes does your book touch on that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?
I think an interesting theme that may be used in a classroom setting are the cultural influences of the tale pertaining to New Mexico. Teaching about the prized vegetable of Hatch Chile and how many farmers, workers, etc. create many useful and delicious products from the Hatch Chile that you can find all over the world (may be an early introduction to Economics!). I also included a little flamenco dancing that Hatch Chile Willie performs for Farmer Pablo with his basic step of “Toe, heel, heel, toe, stamp!” Hatch Chile Willie also enjoys singing Spanish music with homophones used in his amusing riddles to the delight of Farmer Pablo.

How did the book come together?
The idea for my story transpired from a road trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico, for a book signing event, traveling with my husband and our German shepherd, Bliss. As we were nearing Las Cruces, I was gazing out the window and immediately became inspired by the luscious green valley of the tiny town of Hatch, New Mexico. It was from that moment that my story evolved, taking most of the summer to write. After completing my story, I collaborated with the illustrator, my sister Rebecca Jacob. I always let her create illustrations based on what story I write. This is the first book that Rebecca used watercolors for the illustrations which created a playful and visually engaging storyline, especially with Hatch Chile Willie.

What makes this book unique in the children’s market?
I think what makes this book unique in the children’s market is the inclusion of Spanish words throughout the story with a Spanish English Glossary at the end. The book also celebrates the unique culture of New Mexico, with Hatch Chile Willie being both red and green, a flamenco-dancing chile pepper, an enchanting magical character as enchanting as the landscape of New Mexico.

Do you have a favorite character, image, or page spread from Hatch Chile Willie?
Throughout the book, illustrator Rebecca Jacob truly captured the playful character of Hatch Chile Willie that I imagined in my writing. I enjoyed creating Hatch Chile Willie as an inspiration to cheer up Farmer Pablo after losing his beloved wife. I feel that having a special friendship in difficult times gives us that extra needed push and empathy that we need to move on and confront certain hardships in life.

What do you love about this book?
I love the characters, the magical experience, and the heartwarming tale of friendship that I strove to create for all readers to hopefully enjoy and reread numerous times.

Of the five picture books you’ve released, which one did you enjoy writing the most and which was the most challenging?
Of the five picture books that I have written, I feel Desert Bliss, my first children’s book, was the most enjoyable yet challenging to write. It was a very new and thrilling experience for me to finally sit down, create, write, revise, publish, and finally fulfill my lifelong dream of writing books for children.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat has a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Kendra J. Loring

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Kendra J. Loring is passionate about working with rescue horses in her therapeutic riding business. Her debut graphic novel, The Saga of Henri Standing Bear: A Rescue Story (Enchanted Equine Adventures Book 1, April 2024), is dedicated to horse rescues and the people who work so hard every day to save them. You’ll find Kendra on her website for Enchanted Equine Adventures and on Amazon.

Who is Henri Standing Bear and what do you admire most about him?
Henri is a horse who works as a lesson horse at the business I own, Enchanted Equine Adventures. I love how sweet he is with people, despite his old trauma and injuries.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
I hope the readers of his book see the value in rescue animals and get motivated to help all rescue animals! I hope they see Henri’s trauma as a small part of his story.

When did you decide to share Henri’s story? What was the “kick in the pants” to get started on the manuscript?
I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’ve been a writer since college in the 1990s. And when one of my favorite people put out a kid’s book, I knew it was time for me to do it! Bobby Bones’ Stanley the Dog: First Day of School was the inspiration for me getting Henri’s book together finally.

What challenges did this work pose for you?
Deciding whether or not to self-publish was a big challenge for me. It was a huge decision. I am glad I did publish on Amazon, but I can see the benefits of having a marketing team to help promote the book, also.

Tell us how the book came together.
It didn’t take as long to write the story as I would have thought, because most of it is actually true. Finding an illustrator was as easy as asking my mentor at WESST to help me locate someone in Albuquerque who does art. WESST is a great recourse for local small business owners. The editing took a bit longer because neither of us had done a book before.

It must have been exciting to see how illustrator Emina Slavnic interpreted your story. Do you have a favorite image or page spread from The Saga of Henri Standing Bear?
I love the images of Henri as a foal out in the Gila Mountains. And since we lost Acheron last year, I really like the images of Henri and Ash playing! I even made the image into a coffee mug for my mom, who loved Acheron like a grandchild.

What was the most rewarding aspect of working on this project?
I love seeing how much Henri has affected other people’s lives. He truly is a super horse!

What topics does The Saga of Henri Standing Bear touch on that would make it a good fit for the classroom?
I love Henri’s story. I think it shows the reader how strong and resilient rescue animals are. It shows how much horses can give back to us. And it gives hope when everything looks hopeless.

Why write a children’s book as opposed to telling Henri’s story in memoir or novel form?
I always saw his story as a graphic novel, with Henri as the super hero. As a riding instructor, I get to chat with all kinds of different kiddos (teens and pre-teens) about books. They overwhelmingly wanted a graphic novel about horses. Once we have the first three volumes done, we will bind them into one big graphic novel.

What did you learn in writing/publishing the book that you can apply to future projects?
I learned how to separate writing, illustration, and formatting of a graphic novel. I knew nothing about the illustration or the formatting until I got involved in this book. I’ve learned a ton about it during this process and I am confident about how to move forward with book two.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
The name Henri Standing Bear is from the Longmire book series. Henry in the books is Sheriff Longmire’s best friend. Lou Diamond Phillips plays him perfectly in the TV series. Henry has this side-eye look that he gives Longmire when they are doing something they shouldn’t be, and our Henri does the same look! So, I went ahead and got permission from Longmire author Craig Johnson to use the name in my book. He said he would be honored!

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat has a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Stephen McIlwain

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Stephen McIlwain is a practicing attorney who discovered writing fiction is good for his soul. Decades of experience in criminal defense lends insight and authenticity to his debut legal thriller, A Snitch in Time (August 2023), set in Albuquerque, New Mexico and based on a true case. Look for Steve on Facebook and his Amazon author page.

Tell us a little about yourself.
I am an almost retired lawyer who has been practicing law for more than 50 years. When I started practicing law, Richard Nixon was in the White House, and his first term at that. The last 20 years of my practice have been almost exclusively criminal law working for the Public Defender Department for eight years and as a contractor lawyer for the Public Defender for the past 12 or so years. I am married (55+ years) and we have three children with five grandchildren.

Please give us a little background regarding A Snitch in Time.
The book has as its main component a homicide in Albuquerque with appendages from various other cases and an addition of fiction.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I have enjoyed writing for quite some time. When I was in high school, I wrote a humor column for the school newspaper that I enjoyed immensely. I have liked all the writing courses I have taken. I have done a great deal of legal writing (briefs, motions, memoranda and the like), but discovered a few decades ago that fiction writing could be cathartic and therapeutic and was good for my soul.

Life experience can pepper our writing. Did you find this happening when you wrote A Snitch in Time?
Nearly all the legal material in the book is from my life experiences, so the “peppering” of my writing is extensive, and occasionally some situations practically wrote themselves.

Do you share any traits with your characters?
Ted Griego and I are close to being indistinguishable except that he is a better lawyer than I.

What is your elevator pitch for A Snitch in Time?
The book is about a double homicide committed during a home invasion. In the course of the police investigation, two innocent but clueless young door-to-door magazine salesmen are swept up in the investigation by two inept detectives and charged with the murders after the detectives extract a false confession from one of them. A separate detective works with a defense lawyer to uncover facts that eventually solve the case. Sometimes I need a slower elevator.

Is there a scene in your book you’d like to see play out in a movie?
The seemingly unrelated murder committed at the beginning of the book is a good scene as well as the detectives’ interrogations that result in the false confession.

Have any of your ideas stemmed from actual cases?
All my ideas for legal fiction have their genesis from actual cases.

How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?
When I held the book for the first time, I was speechless—too many instantaneous emotions to isolate just one. I still pause when the word author precedes my name such as it does at the top of your list of questions.

Is there an underlying structure that guides your writing process or is this something you discover as you work?
I have certain points that I want to include in the story, but I just let the story proceed and those points find their way into the writing without much help from me. The closest thing I do as an outline is create a timeline to keep track of what’s going on. If you would permit a digression, I’ll add that I have an unpublished book about growing up in Indiana that I have been rewriting for 30 years. There is one character who insists that he must write his part of the story and that my job is only to be his scrivener. I read an article about this happening to authors and remember one in particular: That writer had a character at a cocktail party and was having a challenging time getting the character to leave. The character finally convinced the author that he didn’t want to be at the damned party in the first place.

Do you have another legal thriller in the works?
I am nearly finished with a book that is a thriller but not a legal thriller. I have a few ideas swimming around in my head about more legal thrillers.

Su Lierz writes dark fiction, short story fiction, and personal essays. Her short story “Twelve Days in April,” written under the pen name Laney Payne, appeared in the 2018 SouthWest Writers Sage Anthology. Su was a finalist in the 2017 and 2018 Albuquerque Museum Authors Festival Writing Contest. She lives in Corrales, New Mexico, with her husband Dennis.



An Interview with Author Jeff Otis

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Jeff Otis is an award-winning author and humorist whose short stories have been published in several anthologies. He branched into novel-length work with a science fiction debut, Raptor Lands: The Story of the Harrowing Return of the Dinosaurs (March 2024), that reviewers call “a captivating read” and “a thrilling adventure filled with dinosaurs, intricate plot twists, and a mix of compelling characters.” You’ll find Jeff on his website at JeffOtisAuthor.com and on Facebook.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Raptor Lands?
Cantor, a paleontologist, and Kumiko, a geneticist, team up with a brilliant computer scientist named Arthur at Los Alamos. Together they determine which dormant genes in chickens and eagles were once active in dinosaurs and what those genes did. Then they activate them inside bird embryos. No mosquitos in amber. Cantor and Kumiko want to study dinosaur behavior and have no interest in making money. They move from Berkeley to New Mexico, where they set up a ranch with different areas allocated separately to the five big dinosaurs they brought with them (hence the name Raptor Lands). All the dinosaurs are of a type that lived 125 million years ago. But something went wrong. The dinosaurs were meant to be small. They aren’t.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I had to balance the sub-plots around the main plot. When a sub-plot changed, it was like removing a specific thread from a rug and replacing it. That’s what I get for being a pantser. But the action and dialogue are fresh, gripping, and sometimes humorous. The book took two years to write, but it was spread over six years. Since this is my debut novel, there were challenges inside challenges.

Tell us a little about your main protagonists. Who (or what) are the antagonists in the story?
The main protagonists are Cantor, Kumiko, and their son, George. George is a special kid and his parents worry about him. He starts off as a bit of a bumbler with emotional problems. Later he shines. Without giving too much away, the antagonist (a powerful and dangerous oligarch) uses fear and money to cause errant genes to be placed in some of the dinosaurs, making them extraordinarily vicious. The meaner and bigger the dinosaur, the more money billionaires will pay. It’s a status thing. The dinosaurs were characters with their own personalities. One dinosaur named Mako was definitely an antagonist and some of the most intense actions centers around him.

Why did you choose New Mexico as a setting for the book?
I write what I know. I know a lot about dinosaurs, evolutionary biology, some genetics, humor, and New Mexico. The best place for a dinosaur ranch is away from people and cities. It had to be New Mexico.

Is there a scene in Raptor Lands that you’d love to see play out in a movie?
There is a chapter where two hapless and uniformed guys break into the ranch to steal a male and a female offspring that are about the size of a turkey. They are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Moms don’t like it when you steal their children. It would be chilling to see this on the big screen.

What makes this novel unique in the speculative fiction market?
It isn’t another Jurassic Park, but the genre is similar. The characters are unique, and I don’t know of another dinosaur novel that lets the reader get to know the dinosaurs like this one except Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker.

What was the most rewarding aspect of putting this project together?
When I’m writing, I’m in my own world. My characters become real. Their adventures, fears, loves, anger are all real to me. I never have writer’s block. Every day I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen to Cantor, Kumiko, George, and other characters.

What lessons did you learn in writing/publishing your first novel that you can apply to future projects?
Agents are difficult to get and trying to find one involves an incredible amount of work. Never bore your audience. Keep them on the edge of their seats. Be sure readers are invested in your characters. Show don’t tell. Edit. Edit. Edit.

Besides being an author, you’re also an oil painter. Does painting affect your writing creativity?
No, but I did use 25 of my own drawings in the book. I’m also illustrating my second book.

What advice do you have for writers who are still striving for publication?
Hang in there. Keep trying. Expect rejection and don’t take it personally.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m almost finished with a book involving love, loss, technological breakthroughs, and the tragic paths people take. In addition, I have completed two books in a YA series.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat has a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update 2024: Robert D. Kidera

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Robert D. Kidera is a podcaster, a baseball nerd, and the author of the award-winning Gabe McKenna Mystery Series. Book six of the series, BURN SCARS (Black Range Publishing, May 2024), finds Gabe “caught in the crossfire between two cartels warring for control of fentanyl trafficking in New Mexico.” Look for Bob on his website RobertKideraBooks.com and on Facebook. Read more about him and the Gabe McKenna books in his 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 interviews.

When readers turn the last page of BURN SCARS, what do you hope they take away from it?
I hope my readers feel it has been time well spent and that they have enjoyed reuniting with Gabe McKenna and his friends (and enemies). The story has a serious purpose, as it asks how much one should be willing to risk righting the wrongs of this world. I want that question to resonate with my readers and perhaps spur them to examine that challenge for themselves.

The fifth book of the Gabe McKenna mysteries, A LONG TIME TO DIE, concluded the series in 2021 with a wrap up of the story arcs. What made you come back to the series and give readers another look at your main character’s life?
Writers can only write the stories they have. Last year, I took a respite from the Gabe McKenna series to write a standalone novella, CHANDLER IS DEAD, and have been working on a historical fiction novel, HELL SHIP, for the past three years. But this new Gabe story popped into my head, and I developed it because I enjoy telling stories about Gabe McKenna and had many requests from my readers for a new novel in the series.

Tell us about the journey from inspiration to completed book for this sixth in the series.
BURN SCARS took me sixteen months from concept to realization. Raymond Chandler once said that stories must marinate before they can be written well, so when the story idea occurred to me, I gave it a good think before going to the keyboard. In each of the Gabe McKenna books, I feature a different one of Gabe’s friends as his main “sidekick.” This time, I chose his personal lawyer, Erskine Pelfrey III, an unassuming man who could walk into an empty room and get lost in the crowd. I had a lot of fun developing their relationship and bringing Erskine into the story as one of the heroes.

You’ve described Gabe McKenna as a guy to be counted on, one who has a basic honor and decency to him, even if he does tend to go off recklessly from time to time. And as a former boxer, he can be knocked down, but not out. Who are some of your other returning characters?
Gabe is at a different stage of his life in this story. He’s pushing sixty, a bit unsettled and ready for a rest. But his previous deeds have left him with enemies unwilling to forgive and forget. He also needs his friends much more in this adventure, and it takes the cooperative effort of Gabe, Erskine, Onion, Sam, C.J., and even a couple of federal agents to carry the day.

New Mexico is the main setting of the series. What areas of the state do you take readers to this time?
Aside from Laguna Pueblo, where Gabe is living when the story begins, the action centers around a small settlement town of Marquez in Sandoval County and at a remote mesa that straddles Guadalupe and Quay Counties and, of course, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. There’s a brief detour north to Colorado. Gabe travels in this story by horse, SUV, private aircraft, and even a jazzed-up motor home.

What are some of the more interesting facts you discovered while doing research for the book?
I delved into more of the mining history of New Mexico, but most of the research I had to do dealt with the current scourge of foreign drug cartels operating in our state. It’s a far more complicated and deep-rooted problem than people generally realize and not much of it gets into the news.

Amazon categorizes BURN SCARS as Vigilante Justice, Noir Crime, and Organized Crime. If you didn’t have the limitations of Amazon categories, how would you characterize the book?
I don’t like the Amazon categories because they suggest your story and characters can be pigeonholed or understood simplistically. BURN SCARS is my longest book to date, and as the sixth entry in an ongoing series, the characters, their actions, and motivations have become more nuanced and complex. I advise disregarding categories and letting the story and its characters unfold for you in surprising ways.

What’s on your to-read pile? Who is your favorite fictional character?
Atop my read pile right now are books by New Mexico authors: The Wide, Wide Sea, which just came out, by Hampton Sides; Joe Badal’s Everything to Lose, the only one of his books I have yet to read; and Anne Hillerman’s Lost Birds. My favorite fictional character? Philip Marlowe, like Gabe McKenna, a hero neither tarnished nor afraid.

Which creative medium would you love to pursue but haven’t yet?
Audio. Now that I am producing two podcasts, I am exploring sound as a persuasive medium. Audible has turned several of my novels into audiobooks, but I am excited at the chance to produce audio versions of all my novels on my own. I’ll start that project later this year and into 2025.

What writing projects are you working on now?
Once BURN SCARS is out the door, I’m returning to HELL SHIP, the historical fiction novel I started a few years ago. In MIDNIGHT BLUES, I killed off an elderly World War II vet named Phil Friganza. I miss the guy. So, I’m making him the hero of this story and bringing him back to life, so to speak. I’m also going to be working on the audiobooks I mentioned and transitioning my podcasts from audio to audio with video and posting them on YouTube. I’ve been asked if there will be any more Gabe McKenna novels. Well, you never say never again.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat has a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Authors Chris Allen & Patricia Walkow

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Chris Allen and Patricia Walkow are both award-winning authors and editors of fiction and nonfiction who discovered each other’s work as members of Corrales Writing Group. Their individual articles, essays, and short stories have been published in a variety of venues that include newspaper columns and anthologies. Chris and Pat’s first novel collaboration is Alchemy’s Reach (2023), a murder mystery with a touch of romance. You’ll find Chris on Facebook and her SWW author page. Look for Pat on PatriciaWalkow.com, Facebook, and her Amazon author page. For more about Pat’s work, read her 2016, 2020, and 2023 interviews for SouthWest Writers.

What is your elevator pitch for Alchemy’s Reach?
Detective Jennifer Murphy’s life is torn asunder when lightning splits the sky and a rifle shot splits the air. Only her dog, Fi, understands what happened.

What formed first in your minds that grew into the story idea: a character, a setting, a what-if question? How did you proceed from there?
The idea for Alchemy’s Reach came from a true event, a mass murder, that happened in southeastern New Mexico in 1885. We set our story in the present day in that setting and created characters that had ties to that prior event. A strong female character and giving the reader a sense of place were important to us. Our main character, Jennifer Murphy, is a deputy sheriff in Lincoln County where she lives on a ranch of rolling hills she and her younger brother, Ethan, inherited from their parents. We wanted the reader to understand how independent Jennifer is, how competent she is. We also wanted to highlight the sights, scents, and sounds of Lincoln County.

You two have collaborated before on writing projects. How did you divide the responsibilities of writing/producing this book? What was the greatest challenge in the collaboration process?
We previously collaborated to write short stories with both current and previous members of the Corrales Writing Group. Each of those stories has been published. Alchemy’s Reach is the first time it was just the two of us.

As with any collaborative effort, it is important for all parties involved to be committed to the project. It means working to reach common ground regarding what the story is about. Although we did not have major differences regarding our story in Alchemy’s Reach, we learned to give a little, get a little, and in the end, create a third voice that belongs neither solely to Pat nor to Chris.

As we discussed our story, one of us would volunteer to write a part, and the following week we’d review it, revise it, and then assign the next chapter. Sometimes one person wrote several chapters in a row; sometimes we simply wrote one at a time. There is also administrivia involved when authoring a book. For example, Pat developed a timeline for the story; Chris kept the character sketches up-to-date. Regarding research of the physical location or anything else related to our story, we would decide who would do what. It was pretty painless, but that goes back to our agreeing on what the book was about in the first place.

How did the book come together?
It took us about two years to write the book, mostly during the pandemic. We presented each chapter to our critique group — the Corrales Writing Group — for review and revision. Often, this was accomplished by Zoom. We edited the book ourselves multiple times by reading it as well as having the computer read it to us. We sent the book to five or six beta readers for their comments and suggestions.

We have both published through KDP but were each involved in other writing projects, so we decided to seek a publisher. We received two publishing offers and decided to go with a vanity publisher, which was a mistake. The chosen publisher provided the cover art and did some additional editing. We thought that though it cost some money, it would free us to attend to our new projects. We signed a contract with Austin Macauley for an e-book, paperback, and audiobook, and the audiobook is still pending. Not all the reviews we read about this company were positive, yet not all were negative. We took a chance. With our own experience publishing books, we learned we are far better at it than the publisher we chose, and we will not choose that route again.

Tell us about the main characters in Alchemy’s Reach.
Jennifer Murphy: Co-owner of Montaña Vista Ranch and Deputy Sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico. She is our main character. Loves both her job and the ranch. Ethan Murphy: Younger brother of Jennifer Murphy; co-owns the ranch, does not like ranch life; takes odd, dangerous jobs away from home. Pablo Baca: Ranch manager, hired long ago by Jennifer and Ethan’s father. Pablo has known Jennifer and Ethan since they were born. Rose Baldwin: Office administrator for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. She has been like a second mother to Jennifer and Ethan all their lives. Fi: A black Labrador Retriever. Ever faithful. Belongs to her and Ethan…but mostly, Ethan. Jeff Reynolds: Owner of the local hangout (bar and restaurant) called The Rusty Keg. Sheriff Cooper: Jennifer’s boss and sheriff of Lincoln County. Detective David Chino: Mescalero Apache and New Mexico State Police Detective. Joe Stern: Klamath Native American and friend of Ethan.

Why did you choose New Mexico as the setting for the book?
The inspiring event occurred in New Mexico, and since it is such an exotic and beautiful state, we chose to set the story here. The mass murder that occurred at Bonito City provided us with some background genealogy for our main character, Jennifer Murphy, and her brother. In Alchemy’s Reach, the fictional town of Alchemy was flooded when Lake Fortuna was built. In real life, Bonito City was drowned when Bonito Lake was created. The lake still exists today, and it has recently been dredged, removing years of silt.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
We worked well together, and the discussions of character and plot inspired each of us to be more creative. Building on each other’s ideas led to improved scene development, better character development, and twists in the plot which, as individuals, we may not have thought about. No matter what problem we encountered, talking it out and coming up with alternatives always worked.

What kinds of scenes did you find most difficult to write?
Chris: Really none posed any issues.

Pat: No type of scene presented a problem. As always, we had to ensure we were consistent with what came earlier in the book. An example of that would be:  how come my character has blonde hair in Chapter 1 and all of a sudden, we are saying she has black hair in Chapter 26?

What is the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
The input from Corrales Writing Group has been invaluable. Even if we don’t feel a specific critique is appropriate for our styles, we find the members’ comments often spur us to review our work and make it better.

What writing projects are you working on now?
Pat: I’ve sent my novel-in-progress, The Far Moist End of the Earth, to beta readers.

Chris: I am currently working on two books, both science fiction, with my husband Paul Knight. One book, The Music of Creation, is out for review by a publisher. The other, The Mirror of Eternity, is going through the critique process with Corrales Writing Group.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat has a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Authors Sue Boggio & Mare Pearl

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Sue Boggio and Mare Pearl are novelists whose collaborations weave family, friendship, and hope into award-winning literary fiction. Their newest novel, Hungry Shoes (University of New Mexico Press, September 2023), is described as “an emotional journey through the scar tissue of complicated lives” and “a celebration of compassion, hard-earned wisdom, and the joy we can create.” You’ll find Sue and Mare on their website at BoggioAndPearl.com and on their Amazon author page.

Sue and Mare, you met in 1963 as youngsters and formed an immediate friendship that’s followed you throughout your lives. At what point did you both decide you wanted to write novels together?
In the 1980s we lived across the country from each other. We wrote letters that included one of us starting a story and mailing it to the other to continue the story — back and forth until the story became too long and fat to fit into an envelope. At that point, one of us would come up with an ending. In 1988, Mare moved to Albuquerque where I lived and we decided to educate ourselves about the craft (and business) of novel writing. Along with reading books on the subject and subscribing to industry periodicals, we joined SWW and attended meetings and all the great SWW conferences in the 1990s. In 2001, we were finalists in the novel competition with Sunlight and Shadow, published in 2004 by NAL/Penguin, and we were on our way!

Your latest novel is Hungry Shoes. What was the inspiration for this story?
Hungry Shoes was inspired by our long careers working at UNM Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Center, and our dedication to milieu therapy. Milieu therapy means the environment the kids are immersed in is a 24/7 intensive therapeutic process. Hungry Shoes shows how powerful milieu therapy was when we worked in such a program in the 1980s and 1990s. We’ll never forget the young people (and colleagues!) we had the privilege to work with and wanted to honor them in a fictionalized version of that inspiring world.

Was there anything surprising that you discovered while writing this book?
One of the challenges in writing Hungry Shoes was finding the best way to include pertinent scenes from Maddie and Grace’s pasts to show how and why they ended up needing inpatient psychiatric care. This required us to stretch ourselves in determining the structure of the novel, and how to handle time. Instead of the usual straight chronological stream of events, we inserted those past scenes into the present-day arc of their hospitalizations. The past scenes show particular times of chaos, abuse and neglect each girl experienced through their seventeen years of life. Showing these past arcs was much more powerful than telling them, say in therapy sessions. This gives the reader much greater insight and empathy when the girls’ experiences are addressed in their present day scenes. The scenes from the past are purposefully placed to connect with and inform what’s happening in the present-day arc of their three-month hospitalizations. It took a lot of trial and error before we arrived at the structure that finally worked the best, and the surprising discovery was that we were able to pull off what we envisioned!

Tell us how and why you chose the title Hungry Shoes.
In the early 1980s, a boy from Zuni Pueblo in my (Sue’s) care used the term to describe worn-out shoes that separate at the toe creating a mouth. (A lot of kids needed shoe glue to hold their shoes together until new ones could be obtained.) After learning the term was used commonly in Zuni Pueblo, I tucked it away as a title for a future book about milieu therapy. There is a scene in our book showing how the expression was used and its metaphorical representation of kids who have been abused, neglected, etc.

Why will readers connect with your main characters Maddie and Grace?
We created Maddie and Grace to have different issues, and be distinct from each other, but we wanted both of our lead characters to have the capacity to respond to therapy even after tough lives, and be intelligent and strong, and be able to form a genuine bond with each other that facilitates both of their healing journeys.

Maddie is more impulsive and expresses her pain and emotions directly. She’s more prone to “act-out” while Grace holds her pain more inside of herself. When the reader discovers what each girl has experienced via the scenes from the past, along with discoveries made in therapy, they are able to understand and connect with them. We also made sure to make them more well-rounded than their past wounds. We show them caring about their peer group members and staff, we show their humor and tenderness and bravery as they strive to get better.

What message do you hope to convey to readers of Hungry Shoes?
Our message is that there is an inpatient treatment model called milieu therapy that can (and did!) help kids turn their lives around if we as a society are willing to fund the necessary ingredients, which are:

Time enough to trust the adult staff to disclose their issues and connect with them as a source of support. Time for their families to learn new ways of parenting via family therapy and parent education (length of stay needs to be weeks/months instead of the current usual 3 days that insurance will cover.)

Staffed with highly-trained and well-paid professionals in a multi-disciplinary team approach offering a varied menu of therapies and individualized programs (art, music, recreational, etc.).

Physical environment that is designed for children while maintaining safety (i.e., playgrounds, flowers, grass, trees—natural beauty—supervised playtime and structured activities) instead of a stereotypical locked hospital ward.

Hungry Shoes shows all of this better than can be briefly described.

As coauthors, how do you manage expectations with each other? What is that process like?
We’ve been creating together since we were ten years old. It is instinctual by now to play to each other’s strengths. We’re each other’s greatest fans so our collaboration is based on mutual respect and trust. Before we start a project, we discuss EVERYTHING and keep notebooks as we define our themes, design settings, create characters and their arcs. We each choose POV characters and divide up scenes to write each week. (In the case of Hungry Shoes, I wrote Grace’s POV scenes and Mare wrote Maddie’s.) We get together weekly and read our scenes aloud to each other for feedback and to decide what scenes should come next. We always know our novel’s ending but how we get there allows for discovery along the way. A first draft takes about nine months. Then we do an entire read through out loud together before tackling rewrites and editing, first individually, then merged into one manuscript that Sue edits with continual input from Mare until we’re ready to share it with our first readers and eventually our agent for more revisions.

Not every difference of opinion is contentious, but as authors we bring our own ideas to each story. How do you navigate those differences?
We are constantly discussing different ideas, testing them out on each other. If one of us likes something the other doesn’t, we talk it through some more, but we give each other a lot of freedom and autonomy to run with an idea to see how it works—especially if it concerns our own POV character. Often a third option better than either of us thought of previously will be born from our discussions—the magic of collaboration. One of our bylaws is the good of the project comes before either of our egos. Honestly, it’s easier and a more natural process than you might imagine. I (Sue) write novels on my own in between our joint projects and it’s twice the work and half the fun.

Do you allow an underlying structure to guide your writing process or is this something you discover as you work?
It can vary depending on the needs of a particular project but we use structure and pacing techniques that we’ve learned from studying screenplay writing. (Hungry Shoes began as a screenplay.) We use index cards detailing each scene and mount them on a big story board, moving scenes around to find the best progression. This visual is key to our process, especially merging two writers’ scenes into one seamless narrative.

What writing projects are you working on now?
At age ten, it was the Lennon/McCartney collaboration that incited our creative journey as partners. Countless books have been written about The Beatles, so we wanted to write a novel capturing their lifelong impact on the lives of two young fans, Sadie and Max, called And Your Bird can Sing. After family tragedy leads to not only physical distance but total estrangement, Sadie and Max try to navigate adulthood without the one person they counted on always being there. Through the best and worst of times, Beatles music is the soundtrack of their lives. When life offers them a rare second chance, they come face to face after 26 years apart. At age 40, is their connection still alive? Or has it receded into their pasts, a pleasant childhood memory forever lodged in an era that has vanished as surely as the miraculous band itself? Our agent is currently beginning submissions of And Your Bird Can Sing—fingers crossed!

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
Thank you so much for this opportunity to talk about our work! You can email us via our website: www.boggioandpearl.com. We enjoy attending book club discussions in person or via zoom.

Su Lierz writes dark fiction, short story fiction, and personal essays. Her short story “Twelve Days in April,” written under the pen name Laney Payne, appeared in the 2018 SouthWest Writers Sage Anthology. Su was a finalist in the 2017 and 2018 Albuquerque Museum Authors Festival Writing Contest. She lives in Corrales, New Mexico, with her husband Dennis.



Author Update 2024: Melody Groves

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Melody Groves is the author of nine historical western novels across two series, five nonfiction books about the West, and numerous magazine articles. Her two newest releases, Lady of the Law (Maud Overstreet Novel #2) and Showdown at Pinos Altos (The Colton Brothers Saga #7), were both published in 2023 by Wolfpack Publishing. You’ll find Melody on MelodyGroves.net and her Amazon author page. Read more about Melody’s writing in her 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022 interviews for SouthWest Writers.

Melody, 2023 was quite a year for you. You published two books in 2023 and won the Spur Award for the biography Before Billy the Kid: The Boy Behind the Legendary Outlaw. And in April, you took the leap from Vice President of the Western Writers of America (WWA) to President of the organization. Before we get into your latest publications, can you please tell us about your journey with WWA and what that means to you?
Also in 2023, Trail to Tin Town was in the hands of a new publisher (Wolfpack) who released the eBook and paperback versions of the book. And I won the Will Rogers Gold Medallion for an article in Wild West Magazine about Billy the Kid’s mom. It was quite the year!

The journey to where I am now was a crazy and circuitous one. I joined SWW about a million years ago and attended every meeting, took many classes, met publishers and accomplished writers. At one SWW meeting, I met Tony Hillerman and his friend, Luther Wilson, who was the head of UNM Press. Wilson published my first book All About Rodeo—because I got the chance to talk to him, while Hillerman was swarmed!

Then, two SWW members gave me a mighty nudge to join Western Writers. By that time, I’d had several articles published, plus the rodeo book, so it turned out I was eligible! I joined and am so glad I did. Just like in SWW, I went to all the annual conventions, read WWA’s magazine Roundup, asked a ton of questions and eventually was published again because of being face-to-face with publishers and editors at the conventions.

WWA members are of a like mind — all love Westerns and want to be multi-published. We want to keep the genre alive. When asked to run as Vice President, I was terrified and honored. There are over 700 international members, and I knew someday I would be president. It was a six-year commitment — two as vice president, two as president, two as past president — but I agreed to take it on.

After nine months as VP, I was thrown into the presidency after the president quit. The WWA board and members couldn’t have been more supportive. Everyone jumped into action, and I think the organization is stronger because of the initial chaos. It took a while for me to think straight, but with a new executive director (he and I work together well), I’ve been able to address some issues. I’m ready to move forward with this new year.

For those who are new to you and your work, can you give readers some background regarding your writing career and what that path has looked like?
I wish I could say I planned out my career and moved forward with purpose. Instead, I simply knew I wanted to write, and my favorite genre was Westerns (probably from growing up in southern New Mexico). I was the newspaper editor in junior high, on the staff in high school, and a journalism minor at NMSU (Go Aggies!). Writing was a natural fit. I took time away from writing to raise children and to teach in Albuquerque Public Schools. In addition to teaching Gifted (I have an MA from UNM), I taught 6th grade language arts/literature. I had students write during the first 15 minutes of class. So…to model appropriate behavior, I did, too. Sometimes, that 15 minutes grew to 20. My first novel was written in class. I left teaching over 20 years ago to write novels and nonfiction books, and now have 15 — soon to be 18 in June — with my name on them. I’ve written tons of magazine articles as well.

Lady of the Law is the second book of the Maud Overstreet Series. What was the inspiration for this series, and do you see it taking on the same lifespan as the Colton Brothers Saga?
I have no idea what the inspiration for this series was. It was another case of a character sitting on my shoulder, talking to me constantly, wanting her story told. She wouldn’t shut up, so I wrote the first book, She Was Sheriff. I did the sequel, Lady, because publishers like more than a one-hit-wonder, and because the story wasn’t done in the first book. I don’t see it running much past book three — which I haven’t started on yet. It’s in the queue, though.

Does Maud, in Lady of the Law, embody any of your real-life traits?
Funny you should ask. Yes, there’s a lot of me in her. I didn’t plan for it, but when the subconscious takes control, the writing flows naturally. I hope Maud comes across as honest and likeable (ahem).

Showdown at Pinos Altos is the seventh novel in the Colton Brothers Saga. Please tell us a little about this latest book.
I didn’t mean for it to be part of the series, but here it is. This is a book I’d written several years ago, put in a top drawer, pulled it out last year, submitted it for publication, and wham, there it is in print. It features the youngest of the four brothers and is set in the Black Range in New Mexico. I enjoyed writing it because I used to go up into that area when I was a child, camping with my parents.

I had read that during your years with the New Mexico Gunfighters Association that you “loved being the ‘bad’ guy.” Which comes easier for you when writing: good guys or bad guys?
Bad guys I find easier to write. I think it’s the writer’s inner demon coming out. The problem with bad guys is each needs a good trait—one thing to make them loveable, or at least identifiable to readers. It’s easy to go overboard making the villains really bad, so I find I have to scale back on making them especially gritty.

It’s important to give characters little quirks. Is this something that should be applied to both minor and major characters within a novel, or can it be overdone?
Quirks. I’d say yes to any character—except how minor is a minor character? If he/she is a “walk on,” then I don’t worry about quirks. But if they’ve got more than a couple of lines and somehow affect the storyline or main character, then yes, make them more “rounded” by adding quirks.

Your novels take place in several states. How do your settings impact the stories and the characters?
A setting in a Western is considered one of the characters. That is something that identifies the genre. Consider deserts—a cowboy rides through cactus and sand dunes—he’s got to survive which is a story by itself. Settings are crucial in Westerns, not so much in say, a bodice-ripper.

When researching for a book, do you travel to the location you’re writing about, or are you able to intuit much of what you need to make each story come alive?
Almost always I travel to the location, or I’ve already been there. You learn so much by exploring the area. For example, in Lawrence, Kansas, researching Kansas Bleeds, I would have gotten it all wrong if I hadn’t traveled there, talked to tourist information people, etc. The topography has changed since the Civil War. It’s important to get flora and fauna correct and you can’t do that well sitting at home with Wikipedia. If writers can’t travel there, I’d send for brochures or call the appropriate agencies. They’re happy to put writers on the correct track (been there, done that).

Now that you have several novels under your “cowgirl belt” or should I say “hat,” what marketing techniques have served you best?
Marketing is tough, especially in a niche market. I find standing there selling works best. I go to several Western events each year and my books sell well there. I attend the Tucson Book Festival and sell at the Sandia High School Arts & Crafts Fairs. I do surprisingly well there, too. I’m not sure if buying ad space in magazines is fruitful. The best technique is television. Radio, I believe, is second. If you can get an interview on tv, that’s money in the bank. I’ve done tons of radio interviews and I’m not sure if it generated more sales or not. It was fun, though, and that’s what life is all about.

I’m curious as to how much of a role you play in your book cover designs? How did you feel when you saw your first book cover come to life?
Ah, covers! I try to influence the design, but I don’t always get a choice. I’ve been fortunate for several of my books to even design the cover, but some publishers (I’ve had 7) want to do it themselves. As for my first book cover, frankly, I was disappointed. It was my rodeo book and I thought too dark. They wouldn’t use the photo I wanted because you could see the bull rider’s face and I didn’t have a signed release from the rider. But the book has sold well despite my chagrin. (Cover tip — ask for orange somewhere. Studies show covers with orange sell best. Who knew?)

Can you give us a hint as to what writing projects are forthcoming?
In June, look for my three books in a new series tentatively titled Nolan Brothers Ride Again, about three brothers in 1871 Texas who have their trials and tribulations. Each book features one of the brothers. This was a three-book deal with the publisher, the first two are done and submitted. The third book is due end of April, and they’re telling me the books will be published in June. Keep fingers crossed. I’m excited about this project as I’ve never written a story set in Texas.

How can readers discover your work?
My work is all over the internet. Actually, I am. I have a new website that makes it easy to purchase my books. Unfortunately, a couple titles are hard to find through Amazon as the publisher went out of business. I’m in the process of finding a new publisher for those. Some of my books are in libraries, which is exciting, and local bookstores.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I’d like to give some advice — if you want to be a successful author (your definition), you’ve got to talk to writers and publishers face to face. Go to conventions, meetings, conferences, on-line events. I know putting yourself out there is scary and tough, but that’s where you’ll find success — meeting people. It’s money and time well spent.

Thank you for reading this. I’m always happy to help. Questions? Send me an email to melodygroves@comcast.net.

Su Lierz writes dark fiction, short story fiction, and personal essays. Her short story “Twelve Days in April,” written under the pen name Laney Payne, appeared in the 2018 SouthWest Writers Sage Anthology. Su was a finalist in the 2017 and 2018 Albuquerque Museum Authors Festival Writing Contest. She lives in Corrales, New Mexico, with her husband Dennis.



An Interview with Author Donald Willerton

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Donald Willerton is the award-winning author of the ten-book Mogi Franklin mystery series for middle-grade readers plus four novels in various genres for adults. His most recent adult release is Death in the Tallgrass: A Young Man’s Journey Through the Western Frontier (July 2023) that has been described as “a beautiful, smart, engaging, enraging book…gentle and thoughtful and fierce.” Look for Don on his website at DonaldWillerton.com and on his Amazon author page.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Death in the Tallgrass?
The novel centers around the kidnapping of a 10-year-old boy, Sam, by Comanche warriors in 1870. Sam is declared dead soon afterwards. Lucy, his six-year-old sister, goes on with a wealthy but rocky life until her son, Harry, in 1904, discovers that the family history may have been a lie and Sam may have lived. Following what he thinks are clues to Sam’s life, Harry goes on a wagon trip that begins in Las Vegas, New Mexico, crosses Texas, turns around at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and retraces its route until it ends on the Goodnight Ranch, east of Amarillo, on the rim of the Palo Duro Canyon.

This is real country. My childhood home was close to the book’s Beale Wagon Road where it crossed the Canadian River; I have photos of wagon swales almost two hundred years old. I picnicked in the same riverbed where Kit Carson led his troops to the First Battle of Adobe Walls in 1864, and I have stood in the meadow where the Second Battle was fought in 1874. I helped harvest wheat in Oklahoma (west of Fort Sill), climbed in the Wichita Mountains, and have driven through the original Goodnight-managed JA Ranch in the canyons of the Palo Duro. I’ve taken the hair-raising road down the Canadian River Escarpment east of Las Vegas to get to Conchas Lake.

As my young, smart, arrogant, rich Harry Bonner rides on that wagon trip, I hope it’s obvious that falling in love with the country is as fundamental to his growing up as it was to my growing up. My passion for Texas sunsets and rain clouds continues after a lifetime.

What challenges did this work pose for you?
My biggest challenge was learning to stop putting in historical anecdotes about the history of the areas and characters mentioned in the book. I wrote long historical passages only peripherally related to what was happening, and at one point, had to delete thousands of words to clear out the clutter to regain my story. That’s one problem with research — sometimes reality is more interesting than fiction.

Another challenge was developing an authentic-sounding spiritual mysticism surrounding Sam’s life during his seven-year Comanche captivity. That mysticism brings Harry in touch with his uncle and drives home the cruel and unjust life that he fought against, which is key to the plot. In some instances, authenticity took precedence over accuracy, but it’s all close to being real.

This is a departure from your middle-grade mysteries and your three other novels — two that move through history to tell their stories (one with a haunted house as a main character) and a third book that is a contemporary morality tale. What inspired the idea for your newest release?
Three years ago, I read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I was dazzled by how rationally a character could unexpectedly go out one day on a walk to the Post Office box and not return until 400 miles later. Along the way, he finds redemption, forgiveness, and the love he had so desperately missed in his life. Joyce’s story gave me the construct of a journey allowing disparate stories to be blended with the main action while preserving the emotional cohesion of the characters. Tied in with echoes of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, I had a solid time period and context to make my story about Sam, Lucy, and their dysfunctional family work.

Tell us about your main characters and why you chose them to tell your story.
I created the characters of Sam and Lucy in my seventh middle-grade mystery novel, The Lady in White, about 12 years ago. They existed only as ghostly apparitions, but were key in giving my middle-grade readers the spookiness I desired. For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about a ten-year-old boy who grows into a seven-foot Comanche warrior. Sam and his sister reappeared in a more real form in Smoke Dreams, along with the haunted house, but their lives were, again, revealed only in backstory. After failing at writing a sequel to Smoke Dreams, I found a story framework that allowed them to be flesh and blood. My other main characters are Harry, the son of Lucy who sets off on a quest to trail Sam after his capture, and Alice, the lady wagon master who is the trip leader and is responsible for most of Harry’s growing up.

How did Death in the Tallgrass come together after your initial inspiration?
I had the history of the kidnapping from the middle-grade novel, the desire to feature Sam and Lucy in a larger context, and the construct of a journey to build words around, but it was not until I imagined the wagon trip that the basics of the story fell into place. It permitted me to use dreams, backstory narration, and remembrances to characterize the missing thirty-four years of Sam while I described the daily action of Harry and Alice. It took about two years to write and rewrite, including two early submissions to a publisher that I withdrew (ever wake up one day and discover that what you’ve written sounds simply awful?). I finally found my center for the context, actions, crises, and emotions, and produced a workable draft I was happy with. I decided to self-publish, probably because I was too embarrassed to submit a third time.

Through Reedsy, I hired an editorial reviewer who confirmed the strength of the story and its goodness, and the characters with the depth I had intended. He also corrected many errors and story conflicts. After incorporating his suggestions, I hired (again through Reedsy) a copy editor who did an excellent job of helping me clarify, delete, simplify, and resolve all of the loose ends to make the story feel right and complete. I did not finalize the last chapters until after having done both edits, but, by then, I knew exactly what they needed to do. My cover came from a media artist who responded to an internet request through Reedsy. Given a list of my ideas and only a brief description of the novel, she sent an initial design that nailed it on the first try. I was lucky.

Why did you choose Death in the Tallgrass as the title of the book?
I had several initial ideas, but my first official title was The Biggest Cowboy in the World, which I thought was clever, eye-catching, and was drawn from the novel’s text. An early reviewer (an honest, true-to-God, steeped in history, Texas cowgirl with family ties going back to Charlie Goodnight) thought it was silly and would alienate Western-loving readers. She suggested using “tallgrass” in the title which was a common descriptor of grass in the Great Plains. I liked the word, read some about the preserved areas of grasslands in the Plains, and added “death” to make it dramatic.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Editing, to me, is using the authority to change anything I want, with a heavy emphasis on deleting whatever I can’t explain. With my latest book, both editors were so affirming of the storyline that I was overwhelmed by their encouragement. Afterward, editing was like polishing a jewel — every change made it better, and I fell even more in love with what I had written.

Of the fourteen books you’ve written, which one was the most challenging and which was the most enjoyable to write?
The most challenging was The King of Trash. The story addresses the problems of ocean pollution and of homelessness, but by the end of the book, I could propose no meaningful solution for either. Even though the novel has a satisfactory ending, I feel a sense of lost opportunity.

The most enjoyable novel was The Lost Children, the second of my Mogi Franklin Mysteries. Beginning with a naturally endearing incident of three children mysteriously disappearing in 1891 in Ouray, Colorado, I added an old mining story out of the Gold Rush days of California that gave the tale a unique and gripping solution. In the end, combining the emotions and the facts gave me a story that grabs the heart of the reader.

Do you prefer the creating or editing aspect of writing? How do you feel about research?
I like editing. It allows me to identify and confess all the errors I find, and to feel redeemed when I correct them. Research is a natural requirement to make my writing credible and authentic. I’ve never had trouble being appreciative of non-fiction.

Do you have a message or a theme that recurs in your writing?
I’ve always written my middle-grade mysteries as a combination of history, geography, and adventure, hoping the readers will learn about the Southwest as well as being entertained. My adult books have been less deliberate, but I hope my characters show their need to live by grace.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’ve begun a Dan Brown-ish type of mystery involving the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and the Shroud of Turin.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
An audiobook (my first) is being produced for Death in the Tallgrass. I’m anxious to hear how it sounds, and how it is received by listeners. I hope those who listen will leave reviews.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kat has a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



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