A huge welcome to Vickie McDonough, author of 28 novels and novellas,
including the Texas Trails: Morgan
Family series, Texas Boardinghouse
Brides, and A Pioneer Christmas Collection. Vickie discusses “Buckskin Bride”, her novella in A Pioneer Christmas Collection. For more information about Vickie and her
books, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com.
What made you write about your period
in time?
I love historical
novels, and that’s mostly what I write. I chose 1889 because it was the year of
the first Oklahoma land run, and I wanted my story to take place during the
winter after that. My hero won land in the land run, and that’s the setting for
my story, Buckskin Bride.
How is Christmas celebrated in your family
and what effect did it have on your writing this story?
Even though our boys
are all grown now, we still put up a tree and have lights and decorations all
over the living room. I hang stockings on the mantel but we no longer fill them
since our sons are grown. We eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas
morning, then open presents, and later, have a big dinner mid-afternoon with
the whole family. Christmas has been even more fun the past seven years since
my granddaughter was born. I don’t know that my personal Christmas celebrations
had any bearing on my story, except that the families in my novella gather
together for Christmas dinner.
What research did you do to
authenticate Christmas celebrations in your story?
I didn’t do anything
to research since the Christmas celebration in my story focused mainly around the
dinner and it’s set in Oklahoma, a place I’m very familiar with.
When you dreamed up your story idea,
what came first, the time period, the story, the location?
I’d have to say the location
because I wanted to set my story in the Oklahoma Territory.
What was the "germ" of your
story idea and how did you flesh it out?
Actually, it was a
tipi (teepee). One of the criteria for this novella collection was that your
hero or heroine needed to live in an unusual type of home. I decided on a tipi
and made up a story to fit with that.
Would you like to have been there?
I think it would have
been exciting to have ridden in one of the land runs, just like Tom Cruise and
Nicole Kidman did in the movie, Far and
Away. There was so much anticipation and expectations for the families
hoping to win free land. Many did but thousands of people did not get land. I
have friends who have family still living on the land their ancestors won in
the land rush.
That is definitely exciting! I'm told my great-grandparents were also in the Oklahoma land rush. What aspects of your characters are
reflected in yours?
My heroine, Maddie,
has dressed in buckskins most of her life. She’s comfortable in them, and it
makes riding horses, hunting, and doing chores easier. She has no desire to
wear dresses—and neither do I, although I don’t wear buckskins. :-) I don’t care for dresses, and I only
own two. One of them is the one I wore in my son’s wedding, thirteen years ago.
Have you been to the locations in which
your story is set?
I was born and raised
in Oklahoma, and have traveled much of the state. I don’t know that I’ve been
to the exact spot where my story takes place, though, because I was rather
vague about were it is located exactly.
What surprised you the most about your
story?
That my heroine
finally dons a dress. I had my doubts that she actually would.
Would you have made a good pioneer?
In some ways. I love
horses and have always been a tomboy and even dreamed of growing up and
marrying a rancher. But, I love my modern conveniences like my laptop, air
conditioning, kitchen appliances, and indoor plumbing and would hate to leave
them all behind.
Were any of your ancestors pioneers? If
so, where and when?
My dad’s parents were
born in 1874 & 1876. I know that’s hard to believe but it’s true. I’ve
never been able to verify it, but my dad told me that my grandma rode in one of
the Oklahoma land rushes with her parents. I do know that my grandparents left
the Pennsylvania Dutch country and traveled to El Dorado, Kansas, where my
dad—the youngest of their ten children—was born. Then my grandpa got a job with
an oil company, and they moved the family to Oklahoma. I still have family in
Pennsylvania.
What spiritual themes did you
deliberately incorporate into your story?Which ones did you discover later?
Trusting God when
times are hard is a common theme I write about and one I used for Buckskin Bride. I
pretty much stuck to that theme and can’t think of anything that popped up
later in the book.
Thank you so much, Vickie!
Don't forget--the giveaway wraps up September 1. Winners announced September 3!
12 Days of A Pioneer Christmas |
|
Monday, August 19 | 12 Days of Christmas Introduction |
Tuesday, August 20 | Cynthia Hickey on cynthiahickey.blogspot.com |
Wednesday, August 21 | Kathleen Fuller on www.kathleenfuller.com |
Thursday, August 22 | Michelle Ule on michelleule.com |
Friday, August 23 | Marcia Garver on Yielded Quill |
Saturday, August 24 | Shannon McNear on www.shannonmcnear.com |
Monday, August 26 | Lauraine Snelling on michelleule.com |
Tuesday, August 27 | Kathleen Fuller on www.kathleenfuller.com |
Wednesday, August 28 | Vickie McDonough on www.shannonmcnear.com |
Thursday, August 29 | Anna Urquhart on The Silent Isle |
Friday, August 30 | Michelle Ule on Colonial Quills |
Saturday, August 31 | Michelle Ule on michelleule.com |
Sunday, September 1 |
A Pioneer Christmas Collection Release!! |
I would enjoy reading reading Pioneer Christmas this coming Christmas season. It would be a good opportunity to sample some new-to-me authors.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Kay! Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the collection!
ReplyDeleteKay, Thanks for stopping by today.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to this book !! Love, Love, Love historical romance novels! I know (meaning read books of ) a few of these authors and they are among my favourites. Can't wait to meet the rest ! vansoest at xplornet dot com
ReplyDelete