The Inspiration Behind My Cowboy Historian Hero
Merry Christmas! I’m so excited to be back at Petticoat and Pistols, and thank you to the hosts for allowing me to be here today.
In my latest novel, The Cowboy’s Christmas Match, the hero, Crosby Virtue, is the town’s historian and works at the Miners’ Cottage, the oldest building in the fictional town of Violet Ridge, Colorado. This was such a fun book to write and part of the reason was the research that took me back to nineteenth-century Colorado.
Crosby is the driving force behind the restoration of the local train depot and the reopening of the Violet Ridge Express. It was so much fun researching similar real-life renovations. One such model was the Lyons Railroad Depot, which was built in 1885 but was closed in the 1940s due to declining popularity. Now, the site is part of the National Registry and has been turned into the Lyons Public Library. There are several other historic depots in Colorado that now operate as historic parks (the Silver Plume Depot) and as town halls (the La Jara Town Hall).
There is a renovated train depot close to my house, and I had a chance to take a tour of the Holly Springs Depot this past June. Here’s a picture of the interior of the depot.
In 2012, my family enjoyed a Christmas ride on a restored train in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, and that was the inspiration for researching the rich history of Colorado’s rail system.
When Crosby isn’t overseeing the renovations, he is taking care of his pet iguana, Sundance, at the Miners’ Cottage, which doubles as the local history museum. There’s a mining town near me in Georgia, and I had the joy of being a chaperone on a field trip to two of the gold mines, one of which took us underground while the other showed off the loud mining equipment. For the book, it was fun stepping back in time and reading stories of the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush and the impact that mining had on the region during that period.
In the book, Christmas Eve marks the reopening of the Violet Ridge Express. Trains played a vital role in Colorado’s growth, first connecting goods and people to the other parts of the country, followed by a way to connect the mining boom to cities. Narrow gauge railroads popped up in many areas, but by the 1940s many went out of business. Today, many historic towns, such as Durango and Georgetown, have renovated and offer scenic train rides around the countryside.
A blend of research with a touch of personal experiences, this book was so much fun, and I often went down the rabbit hole of reading stories of miners and trains as well as researching about the renovations that are taking place throughout Colorado to preserve their historical heritage.
Here is the blurb for The Cowboy’s Christmas Match:
Will his best friend…
Be his happily-ever-after? Accidentally agreeing to speak at the social event of Violet Ridge’s holiday season threatens to ruin quiet introvert and town historian Crosby Virtue’s whole December. His outgoing best friend, Sami Fleming, insists a makeover will cure his public-speaking fear—an extra-special Christmas gift as she’s leaving town to travel the world. Sami’s also sure her beautician skills will help Crosby meet the woman of his dreams. But Crosby already has—her. Now the clock is ticking… Can Crosby find the courage to tell Sami the words she suddenly, secretly, longs to hear?
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Harlequin
Giveaway
Have you ever taken a ride on a historic train or visited a historic train depot?
If not, what’s a fun holiday tradition in your family?
One commenter will receive a $10.00 Amazon gift card and an e-book copy of the first book in the series, The Triplets’ Holiday Miracle (which is also set at Christmastime!).
