Westward Bound!

 


When I write a western historical romance I do a lot of research. I mean, I have no firsthand knowledge of living in the west in the 1800s so Google is my friend! 

I love every minute of poking around in the old-time facts and fancies. Just so much to learn—and it gives me such an overwhelming sense of respect for how things were done back in the day. 

A Wylder Christmas features Violet Bloom, Wylder's schoolteacher. Researching one-room western schools, curriculum of the time, and even the yearly school calendar was enlightening. So much has changed, but the dedication of teachers has remained the same. Truly inspiring!  

I'm currently writing the story of one of Violet's sisters (she has three!) and am learning about homesteading. Again, I'm amazed by the trials homesteaders faced and the way they lived while building. They were hardy, brave people who withstood a ton to carve a living from an unforgiving landscape. 

Curious about the time and conditions? The National Archive has some interesting material. One word of caution: If you're like me, you might lose a few hours poring over the vintage material! 

Have fun! 

Comments

  1. Laura StricklandMarch 31, 2021 at 7:45 AM

    Great post and a wonderful resource in the National Archive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarita LeoneMarch 31, 2021 at 2:11 PM

      Thank you, Laura! I love researching and can get lost in archives for hours! :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Western Music by Laura Strickland   When I’m writing, I’m usually also listening to music. It serves as a magical elixir for me, one that transports me to the time and I place I’m creating on the page.   Music summons a mood, with which I then strive to infuse my writing. It’s no different when I’m penning my Wylder West stories. For my first book, A Walk on the Wylder Side, I dug deep into some of the music to which I listened years ago, from artists such as Neil Young, The Eagles, and The Farm Dogs, to mention but a few. But what is true Western music? It’s not really the Country/Folk songs of the Seventies, love them as I do. Turns out, like the West itself, it has a nature all its own. Just like our town of Wylder, Western music is a combination of what the people who settled the West brought with them: Latin, Celtic, Anglo, African, and everything in between. All this was influenced by the way of life these settlers founded out West, which wasn’t easy. Cowboys on the t
Read more

The Music of Dance to a Wylder Beat by Marilyn Barr

Image
       To manage my sensory processing disorder, I have a few tricks to quiet my distracting senses while I write. One is to light a scented candle which corresponds to the character narrating the scene I am writing. Nartan Sagebrush’s candle scent is “Tobacco” while Olive Muegge’s scent is “Orange Clove”. Another trick is to play the couple’s song on repeat while writing. It drowns out the birds outside my kitchen window and helps my mind focus on the core issues of the story. The core issue of Dance to a Wylder Beat is the need for community. Nartan’s secret Shamanic dancing and Olive’s paranormal secret keep them on the outskirts of Wylder society.                     Listen to this haunting song here - https://youtu.be/k750IIdKq08                 In the late 1870s, the Arapaho nation’s way of life was being destroyed by the Us Government. Their nomadic existence was at odds with the settlements, like Wylder, popping up along the railway line. The Arapaho followed the migratory her
Read more
Image
    Welcome to Wylder!   When I first heard about The Wild Rose Press’s new series, Wylder West, I felt excited. There’s nothing like a submission call to get an author all worked up. And the idea of having a part in creating a fictional town set in the late 1880s Wyoming Territory really sparked my imagination. I had no idea, then, what Wylder, Wyoming might become. What happens when you gather a group of authors who love to write and let them lose in a fictional town? I’ll tell you what: storylines begin to burgeon. Characters of every description take shape. Heroes face off against villains, heroines pull at your heartstrings. Trials and tribulations clamor for attention. But that’s not all. Businesses come into being. A saloon here, a rooming house there, a gunsmith’s, a mercantile, a whorehouse… Streets take on names, ranches spread out on every side through the country all around. And pretty soon you know who lives and works where. It’s as if you’re walking those dust
Read more