I learned over a month ago that my “blended
genre” novel, a historical western suspense published in August of
2011,
Double Crossing, *WON* the 2012
Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America. SAY WHAT?
Once I verified it wasn’t a joke, I
felt very honored and blessed. Like someone said, “You’ll always have the
Spur.” Thanks to Jacquie Rogers, I know more about real spurs and how they were used in
the Old West. Back when I started promoting my book, I posted this quote on my
website from Louis L’Amour. It seemed appropriate in my case.
“If you write a book about a bygone period
that lies east of the Mississippi River, then it’s a historical novel. If it’s
west of the Mississippi, it’s a western, a different category. There’s no sense
to it.”
Did I set out to write a “western” in the
typical sense? No. In fact, I didn’t even think about it being a western.
Historical, yes. Suspense, yes. Even a hint of romance and inspirational, yes.
Oh, and since the “setting” moves across America via the transcontinental railroad from Evanston (north of
Chicago) to Sacramento, California, I still
didn’t consider it “western” except in the setting and details.
Sure I entered the Spur contest, but I
figured my chances equaled a snowball’s chance in H-E-double hockey sticks. Life is
full of surprises! Not only has the award fired me up for the sequel, Double or Nothing, I'm thinking I need to write a few more western-style yarns. But I have plenty on my tin plate right now. So in Albuquerque, I’ll mingle and “jingle” Spurs
with other finalists and winners at the WWA Convention. And lo and behold, this
year Loren Estleman is being honored with the Owen Wister Award for “lifelong
contributions to the history and legends of the American West.” Say what?? Another Michigander?
My first thought was, “He wrote westerns?” (Please forgive my being
a total igno-ra-moose.) Long ago I read his novel, Billy Gashade, set in Detroit – fabulous in its historical detail.
Estleman is prolific in writing about Detroit, with his Amos Walker detective
mystery series (among other books.)
But westerns?
You learn something every day. And you bet
I've trawled his whole back list. I bought several to get his autograph, too,
for myself, family and friends. I also found out one of the “bennies” of
winning a Spur was automatically jumping to active status in the Western
Writers of America – after joining, of course, which I did. Once I got the “booklet”
they sent, I looked through it (being a total greenhorn) and realized as a Spur
winner, I’m joining esteemed company. Me?
First, a bit of history. WWA came about in
1953. They started handing out awards right away. The first woman to win the “Medicine
Pipe Bearer Award” for best first novel was Charlotte Hinger for
Come Spring in 1986. The following year
Elaine Long won for
Jenny’s Mountain,
and Ann Gabriel in 1989 for
South Texas.
Then came a dry spell (mostly men winning or no winner chosen) until 1996 when Allana Martin won for
Death of a Healing Woman. In 1998,
LaVerne Harrell Clark won for
Keepers of
the Earth and in 2003, Debra Magpie Earling won for
Perma Red. Except for Clark, all had Big Six publishing houses.
The Medicine Pipe Bearer Award was changed to a Spur for Best First
Novel in 2004. Carol Buchanan won for God’s
Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes of Montana in 2009. Now I’ve joined the ranks of other Best First Novel Spur Ladies. Not to knock the men who’ve deservedly
won a Spur for their first novel, but I'm grateful. Seriously.
Now for the mixed Spur Award company—any type of
Spur. Imagine my shock when I read names like Louis L’Amour (
Down the Long Hills), Larry McMurtry (
Lonesome Dove,
Comanche Moon), Loren Estleman (
Aces
and Eights, Journey of the Dead, The Alchemist, The Bandit and
The Undertaker’s Wife), Tony Hillerman (
Skinwalker, The Shape Shifter), Joan
Lowery Nixon (
The Orphan Train, In the
Face of Danger),Stephen Ambrose (
Undaunted
Courage, a non-fiction historical), Ronald L. Davis (
Duke: The
Life and Image of John Wayne), Michael Landon (a
Little
House on the Prairie TV script), TV scripts for
How the West Was Won, plus a
Lancer episode and several for
Gunsmoke,
and movie scripts such as
The Shootist,
Dances with Wolves,
Sommersby,
Wyatt Earp,
Comes a Horseman,
The Grey Fox,
Broken
Trail,
Unforgiven,
Purgatory,
Hidalgo and… last but
not least,
True Grit by the Coen brothers!
Wow.
No wonder I’m still a bit “cowed” by it all. (Sorry
for the pun!) I have seen almost all of these movies and a huge amount of
television westerns. As an armchair westerner, I feel very lax for not reading
many books in the western genre – and admit that I had the
mistaken belief, like many have about romance being for women, that westerns
are primarily written for MEN. (Er, hide that horsewhip!) I’m making up for it
now. I promise.
And, as my dad would tell me, “Get off your high horse!” No resting on
the laurels for the weary, and I’m sure people are heartily sick of hearing
about my award. But I must admit that winning has “spurred” me on to write the
sequel, Double or Nothing, with a little more hope. Better sales, if nothing
else, and I’d like to explore real-life characters in the Old West for future
western novels, short stories and blog posts.
Next month, I’ll bring some interesting tidbit of research to match the
excellent past posts here (trains, the Nez Perce, western romance books, guns, cowboys,
brands and house cleaning) on the blog.
There’s stories in them there hills, so I’ll mosey along and start
digging.
You never know when or how the next inspiration will hit.
