Golden Legacy, How I Got the Idea

I find it interesting to know what prompts an author to write about a specific idea, character, or situation.  The idea for my newest novel, GOLDEN LEGACY, began in the early 1990s after my family moved to Telluride, Colorado.  We later moved to the nearby town of Ridgway and became better acquainted with the neighboring town of Ouray.  When my architect husband designed a bank in Ouray that needed to resemble old-time buildings in the town, we spent time exploring and appreciating the stately architecture in the town.

The rugged mountains surrounding Telluride and Ouray are part of the San Juan Mountain rang.  (The front cover photo displays real mountains in the area.) Towns sprang up to support the intrepid miners who searched for gold, silver, and other minerals in those treacherous granite cliffs.  Interest in the history of the area prompted me to read real-life accounts of women in the area; TOMBOY BRIDE, and FATHER STRUCK IT RICH were vivid accounts of women who lived near Telluride and Ouray in mining days.  Then I discovered an old copy of Isabella Lucy Bird’s travels in Colorado, A LADY’S LIFE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, in my mother-in-law’s library.  Miss Bird was an English gentlewoman, the daughter of a minister, who traveled alone during a rough-and-tumble time in Colorado history.  She started her journey in San Francisco and later visited Denver and the mountains around the area now known as the Rocky Mountain National Park.
The problem with real-life accounts is that they are bound by reality.  Miss Bird encountered an English ex-patriot named Gentleman Jim.  He was ruggedly handsome with a “reputation for violence” in the mountains, but his English manners immediately came to the forefront when he met Miss Bird.  As I read the account of their friendship, I saw the real potential for a romance.  True to real life, the romance never blossomed, very disappointing for a reader!

During the years since my first exposure to the narrative, I “thought” about how I would rewrite the story, developing a romance between two charismatic English compatriots who met in the Wild West.  When I completed my third High Seas Mystery, I decided it might be fun to transport my familiar characters into the magnificent mountains of Colorado.  After all, Kayla lived in Colorado before she met Steven and went back home to recover from a gunshot.  What better than a lost gold mine and a journal written by a plucky lady in the 1880s to guide them to a gold mine?
Little did I know that I must do tremendous before I could create an account of a character in 1888.   I reread Miss Bird’s account, went on to read her life history and parts of her other books.  Delving into the railroad route from San Francisco to Ouray, Colorado, I learned about train accommodations during that time period.  While writing the journal, I also stopped frequently to research ladies’ fashion, discover which items might have been invented, and immerse myself into the vernacular of the time period.  That meant I needed to read historical novels and absorb the jargon my character might use.

Once I finished writing the journal, it became easier to write the modern-day part of the story, or so I thought.  Having immersed myself into the 1880s, I found modern-day language less colorful and dull.  I needed danger and excitement to enliven the narrative, but I also needed to mesh the two stories together in a believable manner.  Therefore, I decided that Kayla needed to find clues in her ancestor’s journal to pass a test and inherit the family legacy.  I built a “family tree” from Ginny down to Kayla, using dates and approximate life-cycles to determine how many women might have already completed the family quest, and established names and brief histories for each woman.
Having already visited the Bachelor Mine near Ouray and driven over scary Jeep trails around the area, I needed photos to complete the tale.  Before moving away from Colorado, we knew that the beautiful Beaumont Hotel had sold and was undergoing renovation.  I contacted the current owners of the hotel, and Jennifer Leaver was kind enough to supply me with a treasure-trove of old-time and current photos to use in the book.  Having seen Lake Como in person, I needed a beautiful photo to use.  I found one and contacted the photographer.  Again I was lucky, Rose Krohn Epps gave me a license to use her vivid photo in the book and for advertising.

I encourage you to visit the page on my website for GOLDEN LEGACY at bit.ly/1kpMy6U and see the slide show of pictures used in the book.  (The photo of Lake Como is used for the back print cover.)  Some of you previously read my blog episodes of the journal written by Ginny and might wonder how her tale ended.  The book is nearly complete and will be available soon on Amazon.  Watch for my launch.  I hope you all will consider reading and reviewing this year-long project.  It is literally close to my heart, so let me know if you’d like to receive a free review copy by making a comment on this blog.

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