The Flight of Lydia Grimm (Jo Harper No. 9)

by Richard Prosch

In 1979 I was 13 years old, and the Space Age was still all around. The launch of America’s new space shuttle was imminent, and my dad and his friends were excited about the coming of home computers and video tape machines.

My grandpa’s Aunt Rose shared my enthusiasm. When she was 13—in the same year as Jo Harper—the 20th century was just beginning, and technology was beginning to make serious changes to everyday life in the West.

While the German immigrant grown-ups in Nebraska embraced steam powered tractors, then gasoline engines, telephones, electricity and wireless telegraphy, Rose let her imagination soar into the future.

When I was 13, I sat at her table sipping instant coffee and listened to her stories.

She talked about moving pictures projected onto bed sheet view screens in the back of the old mercantile store.

The thrill when she first saw an airplane move through the sky above the Nebraska prairie. 

The excitement of listening to music in her farm kitchen—music pulled straight out of the air.

These stories have stayed with me.

And haunted me for the past couple years.

I always hoped there would be another story for the series that began with Waiting for a Comet.

The first four, gathered together in Finding the Sky, capture Jo’s enthusiasm for the wonders of the nature. The following collection, On Solid Ground, are crime and mystery stories—almost like a young Nancy Drew on the range.

The Flight of Lydia Grimm picks up on that enthusiastic sense of life that is so much a part of Jo and leads off a series of four that combines the qualities of the first two.

This time, influenced by Aunt Rose, Jo’s engaged with man-made wonders even as she thwarts the crime or solves the mystery.

I hope you’ll join Jo, Frog, Abby Drake, and their friends and foes alike as they rush to embrace the future, first in The Flight of Lydia Grimm (now available) and coming soon, Last Wytch Park.

After growing up on a Nebraska farm, Richard Prosch worked as a professional writer, artist, and teacher in Wyoming, South Carolina, and Missouri. His western crime fiction captures the fleeting history and lonely frontier stories of his youth where characters aren’t always what they seem, and the windburned landscapes are filled with swift, deadly danger. In 2016, Richard roped the Spur Award for short fiction given by Western Writers of America. Read more at www.RichardProsch.com

#NewRelease and GIVEAWAY: On Solid Ground: The Jo Harper Collection Vol. II

Looking back, especially when you reach a certain age, time is more weirdly mercurial than ever. A year passes quickly, its fleeting months scattered like seed to the wind, but paradoxically the days were long and sometimes interminable.

Or it can be the other way around. Days fly by with busywork and odds and ends, but you wake up to think, My God! It’s still only February.

Sometimes it’s all slow. Or all fast.

More than a year has passed since “Waiting for a Comet,” the first Jo Harper story made its debut, and nearly twelve months now since Jo’s first four adventures were collected. Since then, four more stories have appeared from Painted Pony Press, a complete unpublished tale waits in the wings, an Early Days of Abby Drake story will appear this fall in an anthology of stories, and the audio version of “Waiting for a Comet” will be ready for the holidays.

It’s all been a dazzling roll through the calendar, and a thundering 2016 looks to be close at hand.

Time, for Jo and Frog, while filled with more adventure, passes more slowly. She turned 13 this year, and Frog turned 11. They might stay at that age for a while. Or they might not – I honestly didn’t intend for them to have birthdays. It just happened.

And for me, that’s an example of the most exciting aspect of writing Jo Harper. Nothing has been planned. For the first time in my experience writing fiction, I have a body of work that was not outlined, not pre-figured. Each of these stories found me sitting down, writing into the dark. When you read the first chapter and don’t know what’s going to happen next, rest assured that I didn’t either.

Jo Harper has put a lot of fun back into my writing. I hope this second volume of stories does the same for your reading.

Blurb:

Jo Harper rides the range again with Frog Beemer, Constable Abby Drake, McGee the dog, and a host of no good owlhoots. If you love rollicking old-fashioned adventure, grab this second volume of four novella-length stories.

In 1911, when trouble comes to Willowby, Wyoming, thirteen year-old Deputy Constable Jo Harper is usually on top of it. But trouble has a way of following Jo, and strangers aren't always what they seem.

When old friends prove to be enemies, and enemies might be friends, Jo relies on all her wits to seek justice.

And sometimes just to stay alive!

Jo Harper rides the range again with Frog Beemer, Constable Abby Drake, McGee the dog, and a host of no good owlhoots. If you love rollicking old-fashioned adventure, grab this second volume of four novella-length stories.

Richard Prosch's series about young Jo Harper and her friends, set in early 20th century Wyoming, just keeps getting better and better. — James J. Griffin, author of the Lone Star Ranger series

A part Mark Twain, part Rooster Cogburn, a dose of H.G. Wells... —Wayne D. Dundee

Please leave a comment below for a chance to win a free digital copy!

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Whitman Authorized TV Editions

by Richard Prosch

 

I can honestly report that without the genius of the Whitman Publishing Company's authorized editions, and specifically the TV tie-ins, there wouldn't be a Jo Harper series of stories.

As I wrote here and here, many of the Jo's adventures find their origins in the life of my grandpa's Aunt Rose, and my own great-grandma. But those stories wouldn't be in the short, fast-paced adventure format they are without the Whitman influence.

For the folks in Racine, it started in the '40s when the authorized editions broke new ground in presenting stories to young people. As harbingers for the media savvy publishers today, Whitman realized they could cash in on the popularity of radio and movie stars by leasing the rights to them and assigning new, original stories to experienced authors. Second, they were one of the first publishers to recognize the market potentialof properties aimed at a young female audience.

Both trends continued and by the 1960s, a new line of nearly 100 titles based on TV shows was underway. Stories from The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, and The Mod Squad were available next to Annie Oakley, Gunsmoke, and Have Gun Will Travel.

The first western book I ever read was Annie Oakley in the Ghost Town Secret.  Originally belonging to my aunt, I remember it being on the shelf at my grandma's house for several years before I pulled it down and read it in an afternoon. 

I've collected quite a few of the westerns and read them as an adult. I'm happy to report that the books stand up well. In no small part, this is due to Racine's wisdom in signing top notch writers to the tie-in books. 

Many of the westerns were penned by proven scribes in the field: 

Cheyenne and the Lost Gold of Lion Park and Bonanza: Killer Lion, both by Steve Frazee.

Bonanza: Treachery Trail by Harry Whittington.

The Rebel by H.A. DeRosso

Roy Rogers and the Brasada Bandits by Cole Fanin. 

And many more.

These square bound hardbacks were ubiquitous and lmost any antique store in America will have a few copies available for reasonable prices. Along with those shows mentioned above, The Rifleman, Maverick, Rin-Tin-Tin, Tales of the Wells Fargo and Wagon Train also have fine entires.

For a fascinating look at the golden era of western television, licensing, and just plain good reads, give 'em a try! 

Meanwhile, I'll be giving away a copy of the latest Jo Harper adventure, Redbuds and Bullets to a commenter. Just leave a comment for me here or at Facebook (and please message me your email address).

After growing up on a Nebraska farm, Richard Prosch worked as a professional writer, artist, and teacher in Wyoming, South Carolina, and Missouri. His western crime fiction captures the fleeting history and lonely frontier stories of his youth where characters aren’t always what they seem, and the windburned landscapes are filled with swift, deadly danger. Read more at www.RichardProsch.com

An Interview With Sara Barnard

Sara Barnard is a native Texan, conservationist, mother of four youngsters, wife to a handsome Texan and elementary teacher. She started writing in grade school, and hasn't stopped since. During the past year, readers have thrilled to the very special story of Indian Em'ly, published by Painted Pony Books.

Recently, Richard Prosch visited with Sara as the fourth book in the series, The Journey Home, nears publication.

Richard: The inspiration for the Indian Em’ly books is rooted deep in your past. What did you see at Fort Davis Texas when you were a child that stuck in your memory? 

Sara: My mom, dad, and I were lost in the tangle of misbegotten trails in the park at Fort Davis. We came upon the ruins of the old post cemetery and there was only one marker. Apparently all the rest of the bodies had been relocated to San Antonio when the post was abandoned, except for this one. It was the marker of a young Native American girl named Indian Emily, or Em'ly as they put it. The inscription said something about her loving a soldier at the fort and accidentally being shot while trying to deliver to him a message of the impending Indian attack, but not before "saving the garrison from massacre".

Richard: Are you working on a specific arc, or number of books, with a beginning, middle, and end, or will the Indian Em’ly story continue on?  As a corollary –can each story stand alone?

Sara: Each story can certainly stand alone, but is best when read all together. It begins with Indian Em'ly's death and the kidnapping of the children she and this soldier could have had, and the last story in the series will release this summer with the wayward children finally finding the peace they've been missing.

Richard: In the first story, Apache siblings Wind That Knocks Down Lodges and Cactus Flower have their world turned upside down. How have they grown by book two and three?

Sara: Knocks Down (who appears in my Everlasting Heart series, as well) and Cactus Flower (who is named after Cynthia Ann Parker's daughter Prairie Flower) are forced to form trusting bonds with select pale faces, despite the fact that it was the pale face Army who murdered their mother. Not only are they beginning to question and rationalize their world, but they must rely on each other in ways they never had to before, as well.

Richard: The two characters have a typical brother & sister relationship. Do you have siblings? Or: Are you drawing from your own life?

Sara: I draw from my own experience, but not from brothers and sisters of my own. I write these adventures after my own children :-) I have four of my own, ages 3,5, 8, and 10 and we have recently taken in a 12 year old child, as well. So there is certainly no shortage of inspiration and quotable quotes around here!

Richard: Your bio says you write Amish fiction. What’s your inspiration there, and where can we find those stories?

Sara: I do! Rebekah's Quilt is my first Amish romance and stemmed from my familial research and finding what I believed were Amish ancestors. One man had the nickname of the Pennsylvania Dutchman and another photo showed a woman in an Amish covering. However, another family historiographer has found that these people may have been Jewish! This is very exciting and I am just as proud either way <3

Richard: Where can we find more information about you and your books?

Sara: Find my work at www.sarabarnardbooks.com

Thanks for having me at the blog!

An Interview With Jim Griffin

James J. Griffin, while a native New Englander, has been a student of the frontier West from a very young age. He has travelled extensively throughout the western United States, and has visited many of the famous Western frontier towns, such as Tombstone, Pecos, Deadwood, Cheyenne, and numerous others. 

For Painted Pony Books, Jim pens the Lone Star Ranger series. Recently, Richard Prosch caught up with Jim and visited with him as follows.


Richard: What inspired the idea of a teenager becoming a full-fledged Texas Ranger? Is there an historical precedent?

Jim: When Livia and Cheryl approached me about doing a series of Young Adult Westerns, I knew the main character would be a boy who ends up riding with the Rangers.  My favorite subject to write about is the Texas Rangers, so it was a natural fit. And yes, there is definitely an historical precedent, not necessarily in the time frame when the Lone Star Ranger books are set, the mid-1870s, but in the earlier days of the Texas Rangers, before and even during the Civil War. Back in the 1840s, when the Rangers were mainly a volunteer organization, boys as young as fourteen were full-fledged members of the Rangers. And Nate Stewart, and his best friend and Ranger partner, Hoot Harrison, are part of a long tradition of boys, which probably goes back to when the first soldiers picked up a spear way back in history, of lying about their ages so they can join a fighting force and head off to war.

Richard: One of my favorite things about your Lone Star Ranger books is that as Nate learns about roping, or working on a horse's hoof, the reader does too. I'm assuming a lot of that comes from your own life's experience?

Jim: Yes, when it comes to horses, anyway. I've owned horses most of my life, and they've taught me a lot. I've never actually roped, but I have team penned, in fact the first year we tried that, Yankee and I got Novice Reserve Champions for the series. So, when I describe how to saddle a horse, or how a horse might react in a given situation, I've been there, done that. As far as a lot of the other things Nate learns, some's my experience, other things I've picked up over the years, researched, or relied on friends with expertise in a particular field. For example, my good friends Karl Rehn and Penny Riggs of KR Training in Manheim, Texas answer all my questions about weapons of the period. And my (now retired) Texas Ranger friend Jim Huggins helps me with some of the Ranger history, although most of that is from my years of studying the history of the Rangers.

Richard: Nate and Hoot have an especially real relationship. Is their friendship based on your own experiences as a kid?

Jim: Absolutely! My best friend, Skip Caplan, and I, were basically inseparable. We mostly did three things. Watched Saturday morning Westerns on television, rode our bikes, and played cowboys. We were always running around with our cap guns, blazing away at each other, gunning each other down, and I mean a lot! In a couple of my books, one of the characters will talk about how, when he was a kid, he gunned down about a thousand or more outlaws, but also got gunned down a thousand or more time himself. That would be me and Skip.

My third Jim Blawczyk novel, Trail of the Renegade, has Jim trying to track down his cousin Ned, who's turned outlaw. Jim and Ned do a lot of reflecting on their childhood, and the times they spent playing cowboy together. That part of the story is mostly autobiographical, except for the part about my cousin turning outlaw when he grew up. My folks came from northeast Pennsylvania, and every summer we'd go back there for several weeks to visit our relatives, staying at my  maternal grandparent's house. My dad would drive us there, spend the weekend, then head back to Connecticut to work, while we stayed behind. As soon as we got to our destination, I'd head down to my aunt and uncle's place, to get my cousin Neil. His father was the watchman for the local water company. Every morning, we'd jump in my uncle's Jeep to go "up the Mountains", meaning to the reservoirs. He'd open the gate, drive up this rutted dirt road that was barely passable even with a tough 4WD, and drop us off at Second Dam for the day, while he made his rounds. These were the days when water companies held hundreds of acres of land around the reservoirs, all strictly no trespassing. So, once my uncle left us, it was like me and Neil having our own private forest and lake. Two young boys couldn't ask for anything better. There was an abandoned house behind the dam, which made a great fort, and some old cars to play in also. We'd spend the day fishing, picking huckleberries, looking for snakes, catching salamanders, walking underneath the dam through its overflow spillway, and exploring the woods. But mostly, we played cowboys. And boy, did we play cowboys. 

We  chase each other all over the place, in and out of the house, all through the woods and the field behind the dam. We'd climb to the top of the dam, get shot, and roll all the way to the bottom, then lie there, "dead". Sometimes we'd fight side by side against a pretend enemy, but mostly we fought each other. While sometimes we'd switch roles, Neil generally wanted to be the bad guy, while I wanted to be the lawman, so that worked out just fine. We'd wrestle each other, have pretend fist fights and pretend knife fights. But mostly we had gunfights. If I had a dollar for every roll of caps we fired off, I'd be a rich man. We'd blaze away at each other, get killed, then get right back up and start all over. When we had a fast draw showdown, whoever got shot (and it went about even, with me winning half the time, Neil the other half), we'd never die from taking just one slug. The climax of  Trail of the Renegade has  cousins Jim and Ned facing each other, ready to draw, and Ned stating he was going to put all six bullets in his pistol into Jim's belly. That's pretty much how our gunfights went. Whoever got killed took at least three bullets, usually right in the gut, before he went down. in fact, even today, I can still remember that was our favorite line: "Got ya right in the belly!" Sometimes, we'd even play frontier doctor, like we'd seen in the Westerns. When one of us got shot, the other would dig his pocket knife out, then use that to "dig the bullets" out of the shot man, who would of course always pull through, even it he'd taken half a dozen slugs in his belly and chest.

After we'd worked up a good sweat, we'd shuck out of all our clothes and go swimming in the reservoir. Luckily, my uncle never caught us doing that, or he'd have tanned our bare bottoms, but good. He didn't mind letting us break the rules by fishing, but swimming in a public water supply? Uh-uh. That was strictly forbidden.

Ever after we were back home, gone to bed, (most nights, Neil would sleep at our grandparents'  with me, or I'd sleep at his house with him), and were supposedly sleeping, we were playing cowboy, bouncing around on the bed, shooting each other under the covers, until finally, worn out, we fell asleep. Then the next day, we'd start all over again. True, like most boys, we had toy trucks and cars to play with, and spent a lot of time going to the store for penny candy, or rolling apples that had fallen from our grandparents' trees into the road for the cars to squash, but we mostly played cowboys. Even when we didn't go "up the Mountains," we'd play cowboys in our grandparent's yard. Those big apple trees made great cover, and also were great to climb into, then fall out of when you got discovered and shot. There was even an old outhouse my grandmother insisted we use, instead of dragging dirt into the house to use the bathroom, so we had a touch of "Old West" atmosphere right there in the yard.

Of course, those were the days when kids could be kids, and were allowed to play, unsupervised, for hours on end. As long as we got back home by the time the fire horn blew the nine p.m. test signal, we were just fine. Can you imagine what would happen today? Two boys of about ten, allowed to be alone in the woods, all day long, unsupervised? And at a unlifeguarded lake, no less? DCF would have our parents and grandparents arrested for child neglect, and put us in state custody. And of course, playing with cap guns? How horrifying, to a lot of misguided people. Being alone with my cousin, playing cowboy all day long, didn't do me one bit of harm. In fact, today's kids could use more of that kind of freedom.

Richard: And you still play cowboy with Yankee, your horse. Can you tell us about the photos here?

Jim: These photos were taken at one of our nursing home visits and reenactments, for my college's, Southern CT Stale, alumni magazine. They got word of my writing and therapy work and ran an article about us last fall.  What we usually do is find a volunteer to play the bad guy. He guns me down, but then Yankee revives me, and I end up plugging the outlaw.

Richard: You recently wrote about selling books to a father and son at a book signing. Do you find that there's still an interest in Western adventures? Any idea how we can foster that interest and make it grow?

Jim: I find there is, but there's a huge gap in age groups. Older readers, who grew up with Westerns, still look for them, of course. And kids, especially boys, who like a lot of action in their reading, seem to be looking for Westerns, at least to some extent. Unfortunately, there's a whole generation in between who grew up without Westerns, or dismissed them as not fit to read. I find it's the parents who are more resistant to buying their children a Western, rather than the kids themselves. Given the opportunity, most kids will at least try one. So, we somehow have to reach the parents. And the mainstream media hasn't helped. Disney in particular has helped kill a lot of interest in Westerns. They've pretty much taken any reference to Westerns out of their theme parks, even in Frontierland, and their disaster of a Lone Ranger movie, which made a mockery of the character, has probably done more to set back interest in Westerns than any other one thing in years. Unfortunately, I have no easy answer to the problem. If the Western does make a comeback, and we all know it never will to the level it was at years ago, it will be slowly and gradually, one parent, one child, one family at a time.  It's a shame, because the Western is part of our heritage, and it's being lost.

Richard: What can we expect of A Ranger to Stand With?

Jim: As you said, the first three Lone Star Ranger books were tied into each other. Plans are for a total of ten. The remaining books, just like A Ranger's Christmas, will be part of the series, but can be read as stand alone books. In A Ranger to Stand With, Nate learns another lesson about making sure he does the job thoroughly, when he nearly gets killed through his carelessness. He also finally learns the art of the fast draw. The main story is something that happens to most teenage boys. Nate and Hoot get into a violent argument over, what else, girls. This fight will test their friendship to the limits when a band of Comanches raids the ranch where the Rangers are staying, kidnaps the family's youngest son, and attempts to flee back to Mexico, with the Rangers in pursuit.

Richard: Is this your first foray into all ages books? What other titles are you writing?

Jim: To answer your first question, yes and no.My Texas Ranger Cody Havlicek novels were intended as adult westerns, but they tuned out to be suitable for younger readers, particularly Big Bend Death Trap.

As far as future titles, besides the Lone Star Ranger books, there are several in the works. My latest Texas Ranger Jim Blawcyzk novel, The Ghost Riders, will be released on April 7th by Rough Edges Press. Volume 6 of my Faith and the Law serialized ebook, Which is Which, from High Noon Press, will be out within the next several weeks. I'm also working on three projects that are a bit different, at least for me. One is a Western romance, Heart of a Ranger. That will be a short story ebook, written under the name J.B. Blanchard, and  published under Livia and Cheryl's new imprint, Sundown Press. Another is a contemporary murder mystery, set in my adopted home state of New Hampshire, which as of yet only has a working title, Mountain Murders. That one will be published by Rough Edges Press, for release in late spring. And finally, I'm going to be writing a biography/memoirs of my retired  Texas Ranger friend Jim Huggins. That will also be published by Sundown Press.

I'd like to thank you for this opportunity to be interviewed. And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't urge everyone to check out your excellent Jo Harper series.

Richard: Thanks for the great conversation, Jim. Everybody can learn more about Jim at his web site:  www.jamesjgriffin.net