Review by Jaden Terrell
Adventure, romance, and a glimpse into the lives of some of the West's most famous outlaws are hallmarks of Jean Henry Mead's Escape: A Wyoming Historical Novel. The book begins with the arrival of outlaws at the cabin where teenaged Andrea Bordeaux lives with her grandparents. Thinking quickly, Andrea's grandmother shears the girl's long blond hair and dresses her in a pair of her grandfather's overalls, transforming her into "Andy" and leading the outlaws to believe she's a lad.
The plan works--to a degree. Andrea's virtue is safe, at least for the moment, but the outlaws injure her grandparents and take "Andy" hostage. Uncertain of her grandparents' fate, Andy must use all her wits to survive and escape. When one of the outlaws, Billy, learns her secret, things seem hopeless, but he agrees to keep her secret. She comes to believe he can be redeemed.
During her ordeal, Andy meets vicious killers and gentleman outlaws, including the famous Butch Cassidy, who promises to let her return home after their next big robbery. But will he keep his promise?
Mead keeps the suspense high throughout the book, which is reminiscent of a Louis L'Amour western, rich with descriptions of frontier life and rugged terrain. The characters are multifaceted and the dialogue authentic. It's clear the author has done her research, which is seamlessly woven into the story. The epilogue, which ties up the loose ends and delves into the fates of Cassidy and his Wild Bunch, was one of my favorite parts of Escape, which is not only an entertaining read, but an informative one.
Showing posts with label a Wyoming Historical Novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a Wyoming Historical Novel. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Friday, May 14, 2010
Rock Hound Heaven
by Jean Henry Mead
I've always been a rock hound. As a child I collected rocks, displaying them on every available surface, much to my parents' dismay. Years later, when I moved to Wyoming, I discovered a treasure trove of colorful boulders, which I wrote about in my centennial book, Casper Country: Wyoming's Heartland.
While researching the book I learned that the high plains landmass, now known as Wyoming, was one of the first sections of molten planet to cool and solidify nearly four billion years ago.
.
Most of the rocks are huge, the size of pickup trucks and eighteen wheelers. One of them one tumbled down an embankment Wednesday afternoon in the Wind River Mountains. The boulder came to rest on the railroad tracks, causing the derailment of a southbound BNSF freight train, which slid into the river following several weeks of snow and rain. So the rocks are not only a pleasure to photograph, they're an ever present danger.
I prefer photographing boulders at eye level, such as the cluster at the entrance to Cottonwood Beach at Lake Alcova.
One of my favorites includes the huge boulder below, which resembles a whale, its mouth wide, ready to swallow a fossilized fish.
The large rock stacked atop another reminds me of a granite robot searching the skies for yet another approaching storm.
I envy the young rock climbers below, whom I photograhed last week near Black Beach, not far from Pathfinder Reservoir. I'd love to be able to hug the warm rock face. but I get dizzy standing on a step ladder.
To see more of my rock collection, go to Rock Hound Heaven (lower left panel photo album). Double click to enlarge the photos.
(c) copyright 2010 by Jean Henry Mead
Train wreck photo by Dan Cepeda of the Casper Star-Tribune
I've always been a rock hound. As a child I collected rocks, displaying them on every available surface, much to my parents' dismay. Years later, when I moved to Wyoming, I discovered a treasure trove of colorful boulders, which I wrote about in my centennial book, Casper Country: Wyoming's Heartland.
While researching the book I learned that the high plains landmass, now known as Wyoming, was one of the first sections of molten planet to cool and solidify nearly four billion years ago.
.
Most of the rocks are huge, the size of pickup trucks and eighteen wheelers. One of them one tumbled down an embankment Wednesday afternoon in the Wind River Mountains. The boulder came to rest on the railroad tracks, causing the derailment of a southbound BNSF freight train, which slid into the river following several weeks of snow and rain. So the rocks are not only a pleasure to photograph, they're an ever present danger.
I prefer photographing boulders at eye level, such as the cluster at the entrance to Cottonwood Beach at Lake Alcova.
One of my favorites includes the huge boulder below, which resembles a whale, its mouth wide, ready to swallow a fossilized fish.
The large rock stacked atop another reminds me of a granite robot searching the skies for yet another approaching storm.
I envy the young rock climbers below, whom I photograhed last week near Black Beach, not far from Pathfinder Reservoir. I'd love to be able to hug the warm rock face. but I get dizzy standing on a step ladder.
To see more of my rock collection, go to Rock Hound Heaven (lower left panel photo album). Double click to enlarge the photos.
(c) copyright 2010 by Jean Henry Mead
Train wreck photo by Dan Cepeda of the Casper Star-Tribune
Friday, December 18, 2009
Publishing on Demand
By Jean Henry Mead
I’ve waited up to 18 months for a book to be published, but that was before publish on demand technoogy greatly enhanced publication time. POD is considered second class by many in the publishing industry, and I don't understand why. It's much more efficient than traditional publishing and isn’t it great that the wait between submission and publication is only a few months? Your books aren’t languishing in some warehouse, perhaps never to be delivered to the bookstores. That's happened more often than publishers care to admit. It’s also the reason bestselling authors have delivered pizza and donuts to warehouse workers. It insures that their newly published books leave the loading dock.
Young writers have time to wait for a major publisher to produce their books. But as you grow older and wonder if you’re going to live long enough to see them in print, you think POD is the greatest invention since the computer.
I came to that conclusion when the first novel of my Logan & Cafferty mystery/suspense series was orphaned. Who would want to publish a series that had already been published? I wondered. I received an almost immediate response from Avalon to my query letter, but I waited and waited for a go-ahead to my submission. Seven months later and tired of waiting, I decided to go with a small POD publisher that is very accommodating.
My first two books were published within three months of submission and released not only in print but Kindle and Fictionwise multi-format. Not on the bestseller list, by any means, but they remained #1 in sales for a couple of months at Fictionwise-epress. That made it worthwhile. The ebook edition of my first novel, Escape, a Wyoming Historical Novel, is currently number one in sales as well as the most highly rated although it was published in July 2008. I'm simply amazed and wonder if that would have happened with a traditional publisher.
This week I submitted my Mysterious People manuscript, all 145,000 words and 75 mystery writer photos to Poisoned Pen Press for publication. Although they're not considered a POD publisher, they accepted the manuscript via email so I didn't have to search for a box the right size to snail mail the manuscript or wait in line at the post office to send it on it's way.
I agree with Chester. You can teach an old dog new tricks and I'm happy to embrace electronic technology. When are the large publishing houses going to catch up with the innovative smaller ones?
I’ve waited up to 18 months for a book to be published, but that was before publish on demand technoogy greatly enhanced publication time. POD is considered second class by many in the publishing industry, and I don't understand why. It's much more efficient than traditional publishing and isn’t it great that the wait between submission and publication is only a few months? Your books aren’t languishing in some warehouse, perhaps never to be delivered to the bookstores. That's happened more often than publishers care to admit. It’s also the reason bestselling authors have delivered pizza and donuts to warehouse workers. It insures that their newly published books leave the loading dock.
Young writers have time to wait for a major publisher to produce their books. But as you grow older and wonder if you’re going to live long enough to see them in print, you think POD is the greatest invention since the computer.
I came to that conclusion when the first novel of my Logan & Cafferty mystery/suspense series was orphaned. Who would want to publish a series that had already been published? I wondered. I received an almost immediate response from Avalon to my query letter, but I waited and waited for a go-ahead to my submission. Seven months later and tired of waiting, I decided to go with a small POD publisher that is very accommodating.
My first two books were published within three months of submission and released not only in print but Kindle and Fictionwise multi-format. Not on the bestseller list, by any means, but they remained #1 in sales for a couple of months at Fictionwise-epress. That made it worthwhile. The ebook edition of my first novel, Escape, a Wyoming Historical Novel, is currently number one in sales as well as the most highly rated although it was published in July 2008. I'm simply amazed and wonder if that would have happened with a traditional publisher.
This week I submitted my Mysterious People manuscript, all 145,000 words and 75 mystery writer photos to Poisoned Pen Press for publication. Although they're not considered a POD publisher, they accepted the manuscript via email so I didn't have to search for a box the right size to snail mail the manuscript or wait in line at the post office to send it on it's way.
I agree with Chester. You can teach an old dog new tricks and I'm happy to embrace electronic technology. When are the large publishing houses going to catch up with the innovative smaller ones?
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