Yes, in this series I was to re-visit a well-loved world. To have the fun of telling a story so big it needed one-half million words. I said to myself, ‘Exult and weep as you write it. Take the readers with you.’
A king-sized challenge. Write a big story about a fur trapper… This was a time when the west was an enormous, unknown world. There were tens of thousands of Indian people, and just a few hundred white people who ventured into the unknown. The idea was not dominion but cooperation.
The series would have to be large. Six books—So Wild a Dream, Beauty for Ashes, Dancing with the Golden Bear, Heaven Is a Long Way off, A Long and Winding Road, and Dreams Beneath Your Feet were born. Quite a trick to weave so grand a tale. It was glorious.
The Idea? To follow one man, Sam, from leaving his civilized home, to his first day of trapping to his last. Along the way, the most dangerous adventures, extraordinary struggles, the deepest loves, the most mystical experiences, making him an Indian inside his soul. Basically, painting the grandest picture of everything, plunging writer and reader into the deep end of emotions.
To what end? Sam has a mixed-blood family. How to save them from prejudice? He pictures racial utopia in California. To get there he has to fight the nastiest of all enemies. Climax.
Join me for the ride. If you have a series of historical novels in mind, let us know. If not, simply read, enjoy, and immerse yourself in this world that may as well have occurred eons ago.
If you enjoy boxed sets, we’ve got you covered, from digital cover to cover.
