Vacations for writers are always rewarding when combined with
research. The family vacation in 1977 that ignited my love of the historic west
was mapped on poster board that had us following a route from Rochester,
Minnesota through several states. Forts and battle sites were dots on our
trail, along with wagon ruts, Register Cliff and Chimney Rock, but Ft. Laramie
was the starring interest. I didn’t know it then, but the celebrated fort would
invade several of my books. Original buildings including the cavalry barracks, Old
Bedlam, and the Burt house would become specific sets in my historical fiction
and time travel suspense.
For much of the 19th century, the
strategically-located garrison was a fueling station and protectorate for
pioneers heading west. By mid century
alone, over 50,000 emigrants stopped at the oasis. The railroad began to
cork the wagon flow in 1869 but the fort flourished for 20 more years until it
closed in 1890. Our 1977 counterpart of
a pioneer conestoga was an orange Volkwagen camper with a tiny frige and seat
cushions that converted to beds for two adults, two young children and a
Schnauzer. Armed with cameras, notebooks and tape recorder, I was a kid in a
candy store. A writer with a book in gestation. A gestation that would last decades. (A long story-involving moves, more children,
horses, and a manuscript stored in a freezer.)
Hubby and I returned to Ft. Laramie
after our nest…and barn emptied in 2014. The Ft. Laramie National Monument had
improved greatly between visits. An 1876 bunkroom re-created in the Cavalry
Quarters became a key site in Book two, The
Accidental Stranger. Was it also coincidental that our tour guide was a
distant cousin of one of my neighbors back home? By this time I was deep into Ft. Laramie
history, intrigued by documentation of a young female ghost that appeared at
the post every seven years, riding a black horse. The story is included in The
Accidental Wife.
I was also corresponding with the
great grandson of one of the post commanders and Sandra Lowry, the long-time fort
archivist and librarian. I finally met Sandy in person during my second tour,
before she took a medical leave that would end sadly. Happily, I had already
dedicated The Accidental Wife to her,
providing her a bit of immortality with a minor character in both books named Stella Lowry. She was amused by the
coincidence since her mother in law’s name was
Stella Lowry.
Historic
locations always make me feel I am walking lockstep with ghostly figures who
lived centuries ago. The “coincidences” associated with Old Ft. Laramie weren’t
lost on me. After my stepmom died two years ago, I found old photos of her and
my late father taken at Ft. Laramie on their 1954 honeymoon. I recognized one
of them was taken in front of the old Burt House where the heroine of my novel series
slips back in time at a re-created tea party. My stepmom loved The Accidental Wife, but never mentioned
that she had actually been to Ft. Laramie as a new bride. Yet another
coincidence…or ghostly sanction to finally
give birth to a story that had to be told?
Click HERE to sign up for my newsletter to receive book news, mentioned recipes, and freebies.
JUNE SALE: Both Golden Quill eBooks selling for .99 this month only.
********* Cj Fosdick Buy Links **********
********* Cj Fosdick Buy Links **********
