Wednesday, January 18, 2017

COME WITH ME TO WOLF CREEK! by Cheryl Pierson


This past year, I was honored to be asked to participate in two more of the “Wolf Creek” collections that are the brainchild of Dr. Troy Smith, a wonderful author and good friend. Troy’s vision, when he created the fictional post-Civil War Kansas town of Wolf Creek, was that it would be populated by a very diverse community. That, in itself, will cause its own brand of problems as the people of Kansas were sorely divided during the Civil War—and that conflict left its mark long after the War ended.


THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGINS FOR WOLF CREEK!
With over two dozen western authors making up the fabled “Ford Fargo”, author of the Wolf Creek anthologies and shared universe books, I have found myself in some very fine company to work alongside in these creations. The beauty of this project is that each author has the freedom to incorporate their character(s) into a loose framework that Troy lays out, and every shared story gets off to a great start, has no “sagging middle”, and comes to a very climactic ending—yet, it does so with the efforts of (usually) 6 authors per book.

Imagine the thrill of being a part of such a collective effort—and seeing how flawlessly the eventual project comes out!

In 2016, I participated in two anthologies. These are somewhat different from the “shared universe” books in which there is one story, divided into chapters. The anthologies are separate short stories, but they do propel the same story along to the completion, in many ways, a lot like the chapter books do.


I had a story in a book that was published in May, Wolf Creek: Book 14—WAR STORIES. This was a fun one, because there is a creepy barber, John Hix, who lives in Wolf Creek. He claims to have had nothing at all to do with the Civil War, yet he’s always wanting others to talk about what THEY did during the War…and he has his own reasons. And let’s just say, there have been some “unexplained disappearances”… This was a bittersweet book, as the incomparable western author, Frank Roderus, was a contributor—and this was one of his last publications before he passed away.

In my story, UNCLE JOHN, my character, Derrick McCain, discovers quite by accident that he has a daughter, six-year-old Viviana, that he didn’t know he had—and her mother is dying. But just as Vivi’s mother passes, Derrick is in for another surprise—one that troubles him to his soul: it becomes apparent that somehow, John Hix, the barber, is well-acquainted with little Vivi and her mother—and this is one man that Derrick doesn’t want anywhere near his family!


The second book I contributed to this past year was called Wolf Creek: Book 18—HUNTER’S MOON. My story was THREE GOOD MEN, and this time, the town of Wolf Creek will soon be under siege by a band of raiding Kiowas who will show no mercy. They’ll reach the McCain family farm first, and though Derrick wants nothing more than to stay behind with the three men who’ve come to warn him and make their stand in his farmhouse, he knows he has to see his family to safety above all else. With the help of Sheriff Sam Gardner, a crusty lawman, Derrick and his wife, Leah, begin the trip to Wolf Creek in the dead of night under a hunter’s moon. But it isn’t long before Derrick realizes they are going to have to abandon the wagon and take their chances in the darkness of the forest to have any kind of hope of making it safely to Wolf Creek.

Some of the Kiowas follow, and while Sam and Leah make their way through the night with Vivi and her baby twin brothers, Derrick battles the Kiowas to save his family. When daylight comes, will the McCains and Sam be alive to continue the journey to warn the citizens of Wolf Creek of the impending attack? And what will become of the THREE GOOD MEN who have stayed behind to hold off the Kiowas and give Derrick, his family, and the town of Wolf Creek a fighting chance under a HUNTER’S MOON?

Here’s an excerpt from THREE GOOD MEN. Leah, the children, and Sam are making their way through the forest, and Leah is understandably worried about what’s going to happen. Here, she talks things over with Sam–and wonders where in the heck her husband is–or if he’s even still alive…

They walked in silence for a few more moments. Leah’s mind raced. Where is Derrick? He said he’d be right behind us. By her guess, it had been at least twenty minutes since they’d parted—maybe longer. Leah hurried to catch up with Sam, leaving Vivi out of earshot. “Sam, can you tell me—what was going on with you and John Hix? Were you–”

“Hix is a killer. I figured him out, followed him to your place. Charlie and Roman had ridden up just before I got there. You know the rest.” He shook his head and shifted Liam in his arm. “I hated having to go off and leave him there with Charley and Roman. But…there was no other choice.”

“Do you think—” Leah bit her lip. “I shouldn’t even mention my house at all, with the danger of the Kiowas killing three men. But…I love my home. I love what it means—a family…where my children lay their heads to sleep every night, in safety. Where my husband and I drink coffee in the mornings…and plan our dreams for the future. And where I finally have a place of my own, where I belong. To lose it—”

“Leah, they may not come—”

“Oh, they’ll come. Charley and Roman wouldn’t have stopped at our place if they’d thought there’d be any chance the Kiowas would’ve gone straight on to Wolf Creek. I have a feeling…I know my home will be destroyed.”

“If that happens,” Sam said carefully, “Wolf Creek will help you rebuild. I know that’s small consolation, but—”

She shook her head. “Forgive me. I shouldn’t even be thinking about my things when men’s lives are at stake.” She smiled at him as he glanced at her.

“It’s natural. Thinking about everything you stand to lose,” he replied.

“My family is all that matters. We will rebuild if we have to, of course. The most important thing is that we keep everyone…safe.” Her voice broke.

“You’re worried about Derrick,” Sam stated flatly. “He’s an excellent tracker, as you well know. Could be he decided to go after them; buy us some time. Don’t be thinking the worst, Leah.”

She nodded, and kept putting one foot in front of the other, trying to calm her thoughts. Don’t be thinking the worst. But how can I keep from it?

“Mama, Uncle John said he paid for some candy for me at the store,” Vivi reminded her.

Leah forced herself to smile back at the little girl. “I heard. That was nice of him.”

“He’s going away.”

“Yes.” If John Hix was killed by the Kiowas, or if he went away forever, it would be a relief. Leah had never liked Hix, and she knew Derrick felt the same. They tolerated Hix for Vivi’s sake. And to be fair, Hix doted on their daughter. It was strange to think that the odd little barber knew Vivi better than she or Derrick…or, at least, had known her longer.

“Will he ever come back, Mama?”

“I don’t know, Vivi. But at least he was able to say goodbye.”

Vivi nodded, but she looked downcast.

Leah’s heart clutched. Vivi had suffered so much loss—leaving her home, losing her mother, and now, John Hix. Leah refused to consider the further impending loss that weighed so heavy on her soul right now. Where is Derrick? The thought nagged. Thank goodness Vivi was too young to understand what was happening, truly, at the moment.

They could be in the process of losing everything. Everything, including their very lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


My character, Derrick McCain, is an odd hero because he is “just a man”—not a lawman or an outlaw or anything glamorous. He is a farmer who did some things in the Civil War he isn’t proud of. He’s half Cherokee and half white, and though he didn’t set out to be a “family man”, throughout the Wolf Creek series, he’s found himself in that situation under very different circumstances.

I’m wondering what kind of heroes you all like to see? A lawman set on seeing right done? An outlaw who’s seen the error of his ways and turned his life around? A cowboy fighting for justice on the range? Or someone like Derrick, who just winds up through fate’s hand becoming a hero—though he never thinks of himself that way…

Do you enjoy series such as the Wolf Creek stories? Leave me a comment! I always want to know what other people think! And if you have a Wolf Creek character included in this series, please tell about him or her and their role in the town of Wolf Creek.

16 comments:

  1. I have loved the concept of this series from the beginning, people who are living life and become so much more in the process.

    I would say, for me the hero or heroine is the person who follows their beliefs. They do what they must to honor those beliefs regardless of what might happen to them.

    I so enjoyed this post and excerpt. I also know the genre lost a beautiful voice with Frank's passing. Doris

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Doris! I love the concept too, and am so GLAD that Troy "thunk it up" so we can come play on his playground! LOL I agree with you about a hero--it really can be anyone as long as they are, as you say, following their beliefs with no thought to themselves.

      So glad you stopped by today, Doris! And congratulations again on your brand new release, as well!

      Delete
    2. Thank you for you kind words on the novel.

      Maybe some year I'll come play with all of you in Wolf Creek, but for now, I'm just loving the stories. Thank you everyone for such great reads.

      Delete
    3. Doris, Troy is right! That would just be awesome!

      Delete
  2. I like the sort of hero who tries to do the right thing ... whether or not he believes he is a good person.

    My character, Dublin, is an orphan from New York City who's currently looking out for Number 1. We'll see how his mindset changes once he's been in Wolf Creek for awhile. His stock in trade is information ... he's one of those fellows who knows things about people who'd rather not have their secrets known.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. J.E.S. I love that idea. Kind of reminds me of Mickey O'Rourke in Hell on Wheels. He always made it his business to find out everything about everyone. I can't wait to see what you come up with for Dublin!

      Delete
    2. Yeah, Dublin could be Mickey as a kid!

      Delete
  3. We have about half-a-dozen collaborative novels in various stages of completion, and another anthology planned after that. And a lot of new characters coming to town!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you came up with this fantastic idea. I really enjoy working on Wolf Creek projects!

      Delete
  4. Heroes come in many forms and I like reading about all of them. The heroine, the story line , and the situation all determine what type of hero is needed. A strong Alpha hero would walk all over a shy, quiet heroine. He needs a feisty heroine who won't let him get away with anything. She on the other hand needs a nice Beta hero who will make her feel safe and and bring her out of her shell and into her own.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true, Pat!There's different kind of hero for every story!

      Delete
  5. I love the Wolf Creek series and it's a genuine honor to be part of Ford Fargo. Thanks to Troy and all the WC authors.

    The ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances is probably my favorite type of hero. On the opposite side, I can least tolerate the arrogant hero who is, in essence, a bully. The first romance novel I ever read had one of these (the book is one of everyone's favorites), and it put me off so much that I didn't read another romance novel for 15 years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jacquie, the first romance book I ever read had a hero a lot like that. But I saw him as being the "take charge, self-assured, been through everything" type. You know what I really loved about that? He had to grow and become more "real" in other ways--to understand that everyone was not as strong as he was, and that in some situations, he was not even as strong as he thought he might be. It was an eye-opener for both of us--him AND me! LOL

      So glad you stopped by! I, too, love the Wolf Creek world and am so thankful to Troy for concocting it.

      Delete
  6. I applaud Troy Smith for leaving the door open for ideas to promote the series. Introducing new arrivals in each book gives realism to understandable problems of the time.
    Cheryl, Wolf Creek wouldn't be the same without your character showing from time to time. Derrick McCain is the perfect hero.
    Long live Wolf Creek.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jerry, you just made my entire week, my friend! LOL I love each and every character of the Wolf Creek community. Every single one of them have something to offer and their combined personalities brings realism to the entire series. I love also the idea of being able to "use" each other's characters in our stories/scenes in keeping with that realism. And of course, Troy's the mastermind behind it all, keeping those plots and thoughts and ideas streaming along. Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete