Please tell us a little about yourself and A Woman of Marked Character.
As the great-granddaughter of Texas pioneers, when I heard about Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix at a historical society meeting, I was intrigued.As a freelance writer, I was curious about this Cherokee pioneer woman who had a nearby Texas historical marker. When I visited her grave in January 1991, I decided I would research and write her story. A university press to which I sent a proposal replied they would consider publishing a footnoted biography; I felt there was not enough documentation available, so I chose to write a biographical/historical novel.
How did you research A Woman of Marked Character?
Over my three decades of research, I traveled to the locations Sarah lived and researched in local archives.A source for Sarah's early family life was Cherokee Tragedy: The Story of the Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People by Thurman Wilkins. (However, I discounted a vignette of her marriage in the book.) Using Sarah's white husband/lawyer's Arkansas letterbooks and court documents, newspaper articles, books, and family memoirs in Texas, I portrayed her family life. Once when I lost track of her completely, I covered my writing room wall with a two-year timeline. I finally found a notice in an 1844 Little Rock newspaper that led me back to her.
How did you develop your characters?
I gleaned from Sarah's existingletters her love of her family and determination to persevere through unspeakable tragedies. In Book 1, her life tracks the upheaval and heartbreaking removal of the Cherokee during the early 1800s, and beyond. While occasionally mentioned in writings about her well-documented father, brother, cousins, and first husband, my intense research uncovered an educated, determined, and devoted daughter, sister, cousin, and mother—and a wife who dealt with an oftencontentious marriage.I wove fiction with fact, and created characters to help Sarah along her way.
What was your editing process like?
Although published as two books, I wrote the novel as one massive tome over the past eight years. My primary beta readerread each chapter off the printer and I refined the novel as I went,following our discussions of "WWSD”; figuratively, What Would Sarah Do?After another beta reader completed a last version, I hired a professional editor (a historical fiction authorskilledin American and Texas history) who helped hone Sarah's story through the maze of Cherokee, Texas, and Civil War history.
How did you create/acquire the cover art?
As a visual artist, graphic designer, and lover of old books, I created the covers for green Book 1 1812-1848 and royal purple Book 2 1848-1891(released April 1), and had my printer/distributor refinemy designs. Since Sarah was an avid reader, I wanted a look of leather-bound, gold-embossed 1800s covers. For the interior, I had my book designer use running heads with chapter titles, and embellish the pages with dropped caps and decorative flourishes.
Portions of this Q&A were edited for clarity.
