SNEAK PEEK AT WYOMING SETTING FOR AN AGENT FOR LYDIA

Next week I’ll release a new book, AN AGENT FOR LYDIA, Pinkerton Matchmaker Series. This book has been both challenging and fun to write. Research was required.

You know I love writing my books. The characters speak to me and I have to write their stories to silence them. Sounds crazy, right? Maybe it is, but it works for me.

As for the research, readers won’t realize how much time I spent trying to get the details correct. I have maps and articles on the flora and fauna. I have Google photos of the places about which I’ve written. I made lists of the songs of that time and books available then.

Pass to the Hole-in-the-Wall, Wyoming
Want to ride a horse up that?d

One fact in the book may represent an hour of research. This is particularly true when I get side-tracked and keep reading after I find the item I need. What can I say—I love history of this period. The book is set in 1872.

To tell the truth, I’ve never been in Wyoming, which is where most of this book is set. I’d love to visit there. Thank goodness for the internet so I can “see” what the locale is like.

The locale in question is the Hole In The Wall in Wyoming. Although that is famous as a hideout for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, it was used decades before they were there. At the time of this book, Jesse James was supposedly there briefly. In 1872, there was only one cabin there. Later there were six.

Original cabin at Hole-In-The-Wall, Wyoming
An outlaw home doesn't look that luxurious

It’s a fascinating landscape. The hole-in-the-wall is a vee in a bluff that allows controlled access. To me the rocky trail looks impossible for a horse to climb without breaking a leg. Somehow, horses climbed it.

Valley

At the top, it opens into a large valley with a stream running through it. At the time of the robbers and rustlers living there, the grass was green and thick. Apparently it was perfect for rustled cattle.

In addition to the cabin (and later cabins, plural), there is a cave named Outlaw Cave. This is included in AN AGENT FOR LYDIA. 

Outlaw Cave

I'd like to point out something. These outlaws are supposed to have stolen a lot of money. But, look how they lived. They'd have had a much better life with a normal job and home.

Now Hole-In-The-Wall is part of a national park. Have you been fortunate enough to visit this area?

By the way, do you like the new blog header?