Zephyr Trails follows a young woman living in Southern Missouri in 1866 who finds herself grappling with her own burgeoning interests, a developing epidemic, and rumors that her father, thought to be lost, may still be alive. Where did the idea for this novel come from?

I have always loved Westerns: books, movies, TV shows. I wanted to write a Western with a strong female protagonist who knew her horsemanship. There weren’t a lot of those around. I came to realize most Westerns were based in or around the Civil War. I was not a Civil War buff, but my research uncovered so many interesting and obscure facts about the war: women’s roles during and because of the war, the times leading up to the war, families separated by war, and the reconstruction era. The simple Western I meant to write took on a more literary bent. Though it’s technically Historical Fiction, I like to call it a “Literary Western.” Zephyr Trails is the second book in the Ellis River trilogy. The protagonist, Ellis Cady, started her journey in Tennessee. Life at the time could be very different from one side of the Mississippi River to the other. The more I learned, the more I became involved with my characters and their stories and how war affects people and families. At some point, the characters led the way.

Why choose this place and time for the setting of the story?

A lot was happening historically in this setting. During the Civil War, Missouri was considered a “border state.” It never officially took sides in the war. This statewide internal conflict added to my character’s internal conflict. Ellis was raised in a Quaker community (in Tennessee) that taught patience, peace, and acceptance. I imagined the difficulty of reconciling those beliefs with the reality of slavery and war. The setting of post-Civil War Missouri contributed a figurative shadow over the characters and their attitudes and loyalties. I think it helped provide an interesting tension. Also, I was born in St. Louis, raised across the Mississippi River in Illinois, and stumbled upon so much of that area’s history never taught in school. At least it wasn’t taught while I was listening. St. Louis, Missouri, was the starting point for much of the migration west, so it had to play a major role in this story. There were actually two cholera pandemics that hit the area because of the influx of people and inadequate water and sewage systems. One hit in 1849 and one in 1866 when Zephyr Trails takes place. The Pony Express originated in St. Joseph, Missouri, and though it had been out of service for four years by the end of the war, it made sense that its fictional re- establishment might start there.

What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?

Picking a favorite character is a bit like picking a favorite child. I enjoy writing them all for different reasons. I’ve always had a love for horses and have been lucky enough to own and work with them through the years. They are characters in my books, and I thoroughly enjoy writing for them. All the horses in Zephyr Trails are based on actual horses I’ve known. I truly believe writing a character-driven novel is a collaboration with the characters, whether horse or human. I birth them, and they take on a life of their own. I try to guide them, but they sometimes come up with their own ideas. The more challenging ones to write for are those who don’t open up to me as much or need more coaxing to do so. Lou and Tory are rather quiet but complex men. They may have been more affected by traumatic life experiences than some, and I wanted to be as respectful as possible to their Indigenous heritage, as well.

I find a problem in well-written stories, in that I always want there to be another book to keep the story going. Is there a second book planned?

I’m delighted that Zephyr Trails can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone, though it is the second book of the Ellis River trilogy. And, yes, there is a third book in the works. The first book, Ellis River, was meant to be a one-off, but it developed into more. Not until I finished Zephyr Trails did I know it would be a trilogy.

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