Writers, why do you write what you write? Readers, why do you read what you read?
I have found in my own daily dates with the keyboard (and more recently, pen and spiral notebook -- old school, I know) I seem to be trying to right some unrecognized wrong that time forgot to fix.
For instance, did you know that in addition to being just .99 and part of PRP's Christmas in July, The Bank Robber's Lament is based loosely upon the tale of my very own biological gun-toting and bank-robbing grandpa?
That's right. Funny how I now make my forever home in the same state, Oklahoma, where he skillfully relieved several banks of over $27,000 in the 1960's . . . quite a haul for that day. In addition, he led the Feds on quite a chase and stirred up a fracas, both at home and on the run. But those are stories for another time. My grandfather was eventually caught and did some time at Fort Leavenworth and after his release, took his own life.
Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot tolerate unhappy endings and I also don't like that I never had the opportunity to meet a man who spoke Classical Greek, was an Army veteran, painted beautiful pictures, wrote glorious letters, and robbed banks.
In The Bank Robber's Lament, I try to right the wrongs that my grandfather will never let be righted, at least not in this lifetime. Like I said, I try. I know I can never do his actual story justice, but this one has it all -- bank robberies, jail, romance, realization, a little girl who needs him, and the final showdown between good and evil . . .
Now that you know the backstory, here is the blurb! You may find just a bit more meaning in it than most do now that you know, well, everything. With his troubled past never far from his mind, the once-handsome Smith heads out to lose himself in the anonymity offered by the American West. When he arrives in Gabriel's Settlement, Texas he succumbs to the lifestyle of quick money and adventuresome living offered by a gang of wily bank robbers. It isn't until he crosses paths with Johanna Johannsen and her daughter Sadie that Smith discovers he isn't the only person in Texas with a looming past, and some people's devils are much closer to home than his own. When he learns of the Dalton Gang's plans to stick up the bank in Gabriel's Settlement, Smith must make a choice. But is he strong enough to face his past and be the man his own father couldn't be?
Happy Fandango Day! I hope everyone is having a high old time, kicking up their heels, meeting new and amazing authors and scooping up awesome works at incredible prices. In case you haven't found the link to the PRP Fandango, here it is again :-)
Thanks again for stopping by!
Thanks again for stopping by!
Sara, what a sad true story. At the same time, what a gift that story has given to you and the rest of us. History plays a big part in what I write, whether my own or others. I look forward to the Fandango and reading the story that should have been. Doris/Angela
ReplyDeleteThank you Doris! The story that should have been . . . Now that would have been an apt title! I began writing his real story a couple of years ago, but can't seem to find it now. Maybe someday :-) I look forward to seeing you at the fandango!!!
DeleteGreat post, Sara. History DOES play a huge part in what I write. I had a great great grandfather with a very sad story--different that yours, but sad in its own way. He was taken from his Indian village as a young boy--they used to round the children up and take them, and give them to white people (many times preachers' families) to assimilate. He was one of those children. I don't know how old he was when he was taken. I don't know if he ever got to see his family again in his life. The family that "adopted" him was the Walls family, the father was a Presbyterian minister. They changed his name to David Walls. I don't have any idea what his real name was. He went to medical school in Missouri, from what I have learned. But he never fit in. You can't hide being full blood Indian! So I thought, how could he ever have a medical practice in white society? That's when I decided to write the story ONE MAGIC NIGHT. I had to give him the happy ever after ending I knew he'd missed out on in real life. Makes you wonder how many of us do that in our writing, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting about your grandpa!
I love that you gave him a happy ending in One Magic Night :-) It is nice to be able to give them a sense of justice in the only way we are able. I did that also in A Heart on Hold...wrote it when Jerry was on his last deployment to Afghanistan. Threw everything imaginable at my hero and heroine and loved being able to control the ending when I knew that I couldn't in real life.
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