What are you working on now?

I’m now working with another writer on a historical novel about The Yellow Rose of Texas, who was a real person. In general, a Yellow Rose, was a term to designate a mulatto (high yaller) woman. This particular one was closely involved with Sam Houston in the Texas Revolution and the one about who the famous (after some scrubbing up of the original lyrics) song was written.

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I’m a sort of tweener, I guess. I like to write historical tales that depict both fictional characters and real figures from whatever period I’ve chosen for a setting. Because many of the stories are set in the west, where I grew up, people sometimes regard them as westerns. So, in my mind, just because there are horses and guns doesn’t mean it’s an oater, and just because it’s a historical novel doesn’t mean it can’t have horses and guns in it. Understand? Probably not. You’ll just have to read one or two.

Why do I write what I do?

I have an innate interest in history, and, like many writers, I’m grounded in the geography of my upraising. Bring the two together, and you get stories of people in history of California and other western locations.

How does my writing process work?

I write with a vague outline, but depend more on what I discover about my characters and their situations than on any pre-determine path or outcome. I write in the morning because that’s how my bio-timer works. I can edit anytime, but filling the blank page with anything worthwhile usually happens before noon. Half or more of my writing time I spend editing (after gagging over what it looks like) what I did the day (or if I’ve skipped days) several days or a week before.