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Friday, May 22, 2015

An Interview with Cheryl Pierson

by Richard Prosch


Along with her award-winning western romance and contemporary fiction,
Oklahoma native Cheryl Pierson wrote a slam-bang young reader western
trilogy. Red Eagle's War, Red Eagle's Revenge and Texas Forever make up
the Texas Legacy trilogy, now available from Painted Pony Books. Having
just finished the first book, and with the next two waiting on my
Kindle, I thought I'd take some time and visit with Cheryl about Will
Green's story.


Early in the first book, Jacobi Kane rescues Will Green from Red Eagle's
Apaches.  Did you do any historical research for those scenes? 
Being born and raised in Oklahoma, I have grown up with the different tribes—museums, artifacts, stories, legends, and so on. One of the greatest Apaches ever, Geronimo, is buried here in Oklahoma at Ft. Sill—which is down in the southwestern part of the state in the Wichita Mountains. Going down into that part of the country, which is (ironically) in Comanche County, has proven to be a great source of knowledge for me just for the terrain of the land—which is quite different than the part of Oklahoma I grew up in (central) and where my relatives were from in the southeastern part of the state, as well. Apaches were not considered one of the five “civilized” tribes…there’s a reason for that, as Will discovered.

Why Texas?

Everything I write is set in Oklahoma or Texas. This story starts out in Indian Territory, not far from the region I was telling you about. Red Eagle is headed back to his “home” territory, closer to the border of Texas and present-day Oklahoma when Jacobi rescues Will. Jacobi heads back to Texas with Will, to try to get to Fort Worth, a town of some size—where he might be able to find a place for Will or contact any family he might have left somewhere.  Texas is a natural setting for me, as well, since many of my ancestors came from there.

What can you tell us about the change in titles?
Those titles were changed when we brought the trilogy over to Painted Pony Books from another publishing company and made some revisions in the text. Also, I discovered that those “Kane” titles weren’t working to draw in younger readers—most everyone who bought those books seemed to be adults—which I was very happy about—but wanted the younger readers to be drawn to them as well.

Even though they're killed off-screen, before the story begins, Will's
father, Robert Green becomes a character unto himself with the many
words of wisdom he imparts to Will.  How much does Will's family reflect
your own?


Will’s father is a very harsh man. He has some regrets, which we discover through Will’s thoughts as the books progress, until his final understanding, or at least the fact that he is beginning to come to terms with it in TEXAS FOREVER. My dad and I were very close—not at all like Will and his father—but there were a lot of things I didn’t understand until I got older, and matured a little bit.

While not as violent as some books, there are a couple of tough scenes in
the first book. Did you have any second thoughts about how far to go or
did you follow the story where it necessarily led?
You know, I tried to write those books with the idea that, like most of my writing, I wanted it to be realistic—but not TOO graphic for that age group. I wanted the reader to know that Will (and Jacobi) both suffered, and that has to be shown—not just told about. Will is as real as I could make him—he uses some rough language for his age in a place or two, but who wouldn’t, after what he’d been through? And the violence—that’s how the west was in those days—but I don’t think it’s too much for YA readers, especially by today’s standards.

What would you like to see more of (or less of) in young reader/young
adult westerns?


Encouragement by teachers and parents. When you think about it, today’s kids that would fall into this age bracket were not even alive when 9/11 happened. If parents and teachers don’t try to interest their kids in reading historical fiction, eventually it will all become a thing of the past. Love of history has to be encouraged when kids are young. 
I think Painted Pony Books has gotten a great start on this by providing some excellent stories for young readers of all ages—your Jo Harper series, Jim Griffin’s “Ranger” series,  Sara Barnard’s “Indian Em’ly” series for middle grade readers, and some excellent books that aren’t series at all, such as Frank Roderus’s “Duster” and Livia and James Reasoner’s story Mockingbird and Big Earl.
 
Will there be more books about Will Green?
I’d love to write more stories about Will! I can’t say too much since you haven’t finished the 3rd one, but there are tons of unresolved issues that he can do nothing about until he’s a little older. So I’m hoping that I will be able to sit down and write “the rest of the story” soon!

Thanks so much for this interview, Rich! I appreciate it. During this Memorial Day weekend, I would like to give away one complete set of the TEXAS LEGACY trilogy to one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment for me and your e-mail address!

31 comments:

  1. Cheryl,
    These sound like wonderful stories for the young reader. Although, how you find time to write is beyond my comprehension. You are such a busy lady. Best of luck to you on this series.

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    1. Hi Connie! Well, I wrote these a while back. LOL Writing time is at a premium right now, that's for sure. Turns out, these stories seem to appeal to all ages--which is GREAT! I have had some great comments on them and reviews, too--but they were originally published with different titles so I lost the reviews when we republished them at PPB and changed the titles. WAHHHH! LOL Thanks for stopping by!
      Cheryl

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  2. The winner will be one lucky person, Cheryl. YA's need books like this and the others in the Pointed Pony line. Thank you for keeping history and the stories alive. Doris

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    1. Thanks, Doris. I have a lot of YA stories I'd love to get out there--but gotta sit down and write them first! LOL Ideas are great, but getting them written is the problem for me--with my lack of time. Thanks for stopping by and for your very kind words. Much appreciated!
      Cheryl

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  3. Cheryl,
    These sound wonderful. What a great way to introduce the younger generation to westerns. I didn't realize there were Apaches in the Oklahoma/Texas area, but then again, Native Americans didn't really adhere to borders the way we do. :-) All the best!

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    1. Thanks, Kristy. I just loved writing these stories. And I've had lots of comments from adults who've read them about how much they enjoyed them. Sure wish they'd go review them! LOL There was a time, and I don't know if this is still the case or not, when Oklahoma had the largest representation of the most tribes of any state. Love the history here. Thanks so much for stopping by, Kristy, and for the tweet! Much appreciated!

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  4. Cheryl, PPB is such a wonderful line for young reader, YA. I've been reading a few so I can encourage my friends with children and also pass them on to my granddaughters. This triology sounds spectacular. And I couldn't agree more with your comments that we must keep the historical fiction alive for the young ones. What a shame, a sin actually, it would be to let all the facts of how our country took shape go by the wayside. That gives me chills. Wishing you the best and much success. Keep them stories comin'.

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    1. Aw, thanks so much Bev, for your VERY kind words. Means a lot to me. When my kids were little, I drove them to school and picked them up every day. We'd listen to Johnny Horton and Marty Robbins, among other. I remember my son, Casey, telling me at one point he was really glad to have learned history in those songs like Sink the Bismarck, Ballad of the Alamo, and so on. There are all kinds of ways to get kids to be interested in history. That was one of mine. Another was, I read to them every night, even when they were in elementary and middle school. It was a great family time for us, and it gives kids the chance to ask questions right then, and discuss things as they come up in the story. I know that time was well spent and meant a lot to us all. Thanks for stopping by today!

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  5. Cheryl, I always love your stories. Can't wait to get reading this series. My grandsons are getting to be the right age for these books and I can't wait to share them.

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    1. Hi Carole! I hope you and your grandsons enjoy these stories. The story starts out when Will is almost ten, and takes him through a couple of years, so by the time you get to the end of the 3rd book, he's becoming quite the young man--but he's been through a lot for his age. I hope to continue his story as he gets older--just gotta find the time! Thanks so much for coming over and commenting!
      Cheryl

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  6. Cheryl, I am so eager to read these.. You are so mega talented! Salutations, congratulations, and hugs!!

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    1. Thanks, Tanya! I love these stories. I want to write more of them...just need a clone and more time! LOL (I know you know how that goes!) Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. I loved these stories about Will. It must have been challenging to write from a kid's perspective. I found Will's POV a great way to get this story told.
    I have to wonder now, when are you going to write about him in a grown up story? I know he's going to grow into a great guy because he's getting a great role model to show him how a hero is made.
    All the best to you, Cheryl.

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    1. Oh, Sarah, I have longed to get back to Will. One of his "coming soon" stories will be him going back to Boston to INDEED face down the relative that is out for blood and trying to steal his dynasty out from under him. But he's got to grow up first, and there are so many other tales in between!
      Thanks for stopping by today!

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  8. Hooray for the lady from Oklahoma. These books are a good showing Cheryl.
    There are not many authors who can write to not only entice buy entertain the young folks as well. Your talent is showing through.
    The best.

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    1. Jerry, you have made my day! Thanks so much for your very kind words, my friend! Much appreciated. I had started writing a short story about will for the anthology Six Guns and Slay Bells that we did over at WF and I quickly realized it was going to be much more than a short story. I set it aside and wrote The Keepers of Camelot. Thanks for stopping by!
      Cheryl

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  9. It's great that someone is targeting this audience for westerns. It may be the one best way to make certain the genre doesn't fade completely away. Keep up the good work, Cheryl.

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    1. I hope so, JD. We've got lots of stuff planned for the future for this imprint, even historical time periods that are NOT western! LOL Thanks so much for coming over!

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  10. Amazing stories! Thanks so much, Cheryl, from all of us readers who love Westerns!

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    1. Lorrie, thank YOU for coming by. I appreciate you! I'm just glad to be able to entertain folks with these tales--and this one is not a romance, of course. So fun to write! I really enjoyed it.
      Cheryl

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  11. Hi Cheryl,
    I've been wanting to read those ever since you first published them a few years ago (I remember one of them was Kane's Redemption). It think it's a great idea to target younger readers. Whoever wins this set will be very lucky. Proud of you, my friend.

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    1. Thanks, Liette. I hope one day these will take off and sell. From time to time, they do, but then there's a lull again--I think it's just that there's not much interest in westerns with the younger kids--none on tv anymore, and so on. They can't relate. Maybe one day that will change. Hugs, girl!

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  12. It's time to announce the winners before the next wave of storms move through and I have to turn off the computer. My winners are....
    JERRY GUIN
    AND
    JD MCCALL
    It just happened that I drew both your names out of my hat (yes I really do put the names in a hat) at once. SO, I will be e-mailing both of you with your link and coupon code to jump over to Smashwords and CLAIM YOUR PRIZE!

    Thanks to everyone for coming by today, and special thanks to Richard Prosch for his thoughtful interview questions and doing these postings here at PPB! This will be a continuing series of interviews--and some have already been done in the past, in case you want to go back and look at others who've been on "the hot seat"!

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  13. I'm late to the party but wanted to say how much I enjoyed the books (of course), and congratulate you for giving today's kids some quality fiction. Three cheers!

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    1. Thanks, Jacquie! I'm so glad you enjoyed them--thanks for letting me know.
      Cheryl

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  14. I tagged along on Jacquie's duster tails. You already know how much I love this series, Okie. It's not just for kids. Adults will enjoy it, too. I'm still amazed by your ability to slip right into the mind of a young boy. The "voice" in the three stories is phenomenal. Who knew an Okie could have so much talent? ;-)

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    1. Tex, you are the Queen of Left-handed Compliments! LOLLOL Thank you, crazy woman. I really enjoyed writing these stories. I'm going to take up again at some point and write Will a little further into his life! He's got a lot of adventures to go through yet.
      Cheryl

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  15. I'm a Will Green fan, and Cheryl Pierson is an excellent author!

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    1. Aw, Maggie. Thanks so much for stopping by! I know you are crazy busy right now. I appreciate your very kind words!
      Cheryl

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  16. Cheryl, this trilogy sounds wonderful for both young folks and adults. Like you, I believe in realism but not so much that it drives readers away. Keep on "showing" the Old West as it really was!

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    1. Thanks, Lyn. Yes, I hear you about walking that line between realism and "ewww, wait!" LOLLOL Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Much appreciated!

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