As with several of my books, the idea actually came from a song. In this case, it was "The Blizzard" from the Chris LeDoux, Old Cowboy Classics album. The song is about the cattle wars in Wyoming in the 1890s and so is the book. I decided to write about Wyoming Territory when my husband and I made a trip to Wyoming and Montana. We stopped in Laramie and visited historical sites there then we traveled north past Independence Rock to Casper then up through Powder River Country to Montana.

We enjoyed the trip very much and this country seemed to be a perfect place to set a novel about an independent woman whose family had all been killed and a loner cowboy on a mission from the woman's grandmother. To write the novel though, I had to do a lot of research about Wyoming history, but I was at the perfect place to do it, the University of Illinois where the library contained more books about the history of Wyoming than I could read in a year. I learned a lot about early settlers in the Buffalo area, that they were Basques and raised more sheep than cattle, a perfect conflict for my heroine, a female sheepherder and my cattle man who had just delivered a herd to Montana Territory.

I also learned a great deal about the cattle wars to make what was happening at the time seem more true to life. I became infatuated with the different nationalities of people who had settled in this area and was able to incorporate them into the novel. Although I'd seen movies about the cattle wars, I never really placed them, in my mind, in Wyoming, nor did I actually think that the situation was as bad as it was.

The fact that Wyoming has an abundance of gas and oil also added to facts I included in the book. I enjoyed working a few real historical characters into the book, like Sheriff Red Angus, along with a whole host of people from different countries who actually might have lived in Wyoming Territory. Fortunately, over the years (working 25 at the University of Illinois), I met and came to know people from all over the world. As a keen observer of people, I'd been storing up character traits for years without realizing it.

Using all the information I gathered, I started writing. I really enjoyed developing the dog, Sweetie Pie as a character. She was ugly, mean, but loveable, maybe too loveable. Yes, you see, when I was getting near the end of the story, I needed something to happen, and something bad would be best. Well, if you are a pet lover, please don't hold it against me. You've got it, I killed Sweetie Pie off. Boy have I received flack from that. My mother said she'd never read another book of mine if I ever killed another dog. My sister, too, who owns anywhere from two to four dogs at all times threatened to boycott my books. If I ever reprint, Sweetie Pie will survive her injuries, but in the meantime, I hope you'll give Trailboss a read and, being forewarned enjoy it. The writer in me said that Sweetie Pie was "just another character", now I know better.

Like all of my books, Susannah and Ned are able to work out their problems and make a life for themselves in Wyoming Territory, the state that first gave women the right to vote and the beginning of independence. I can't close this little story though without telling you about the cover. That's my brother who posed one Sunday chilly March evening in an Illinois cornfield to help me catch the sun setting. He's a tall, good lookin' fellow that finds his pleasure on a two-wheeled horse, a motorcycle, but a hundred years ago, I'm sure his mode of transportation would have been like Ned's, by horseback.

We promoted this book and The Colonel's Widow at our hometown festival back in about 2000. My brother wouldn't ride on the float as Trailboss, he'd already done his part, but one of his daughters bravely put her hair up in a hat and squeezed her size nine feet into my size six boots to pose as my hero. It was a fun time and we handed out a lot of bookmarks advertising both books. A great family time together!

I've been told this is a good read. Trailboss received the highest marks of any of my books by reviewers and the cover catches attention. Hope you'll give it a try.