There are many things I never fail to do. Eat. Sleep. Read.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been nearly as faithful at attending to my blog. My last post was in December! Shockingly, no one showed up to bang on my door and find out what happened 🙂 , which got me to thinking. Should I continue writing posts or simply cross blogging off my list? You know, one less thing to do, and all…

After weeks of angsty soul-searching, I finally decided I don’t want to abandon it entirely. Instead, I plan to change the direction of my posts. How?

When doing research for a story, I often find tons of interesting tidbits that never make it into the final work. I thought blogging might be a fun way to share photos and snippets of information I’ve found; a sort of “behind-the-book” kind of thing.

Don’t worry. I won’t overwhelm you. Every month or so, I’ll put up a short piece about a past project or a work-in-progress that I hope you’ll find entertaining. Something thought-provoking or fun.

In the meantime, to stay up to date on what’s happening in my writing world, I have a favor to ask. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for my newsletter. It’s a definite privilege to be invited into someone’s inbox, so be assured I won’t slam you with mailings. My plan is to send no more than one newsletter each month. You’ll be the first to get news on books, chances to win prizes, bonus goodies, and much more. Speaking of newsletters, have you ever wondered why they’re important?

Several of my friends recently discovered the hard way that there are only two things that belong to an author – their website and their mailing list. If I should disappear tomorrow off Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, there’d be no way for us to connect. Yikes! I don’t want that to happen. I hope you don’t want it to happen either. So, once again, here’s the link to sign up with my sincere thanks.

Now on to the first Behind the Book post.

The wife of Jesse James wasn’t the only person who intrigued me while researching I am Mrs. Jesse James. Susan Lavenia James was sister to Frank and Jesse, and she remained close to her infamous brothers throughout her life. Since Susan was only a few months old when their father died, I rather suspect her older brothers took on the responsibility of looking out for their baby sister.

In 1870, Susan married one of Frank’s and Jesse’s comrades-in-arms, Alan Parmer, who’d been a teen-aged member of the Quantrill Regiment. Alan allegedly rode for a while with Frank and Jesse once the Civil War ended.

After they were wed, Susan and Alan settled in Texas, where he took up farming and she taught school. Frank and Jesse were frequent visitors. In 1874, Jesse and Zee spent time during their honeymoon in Texas with the Parmers.

Susan was apparently well-respected by her neighbors, who remarked on her intelligence and kindness. I ran across an interesting anecdote involving a young neighbor woman named Minnie Gryder who once stayed with Susan to help out while Alan was away.

The James brothers and a few other men showed up unexpectedly at the Parmer home. Minnie and Susan prepared a meal for them, and Minnie reports the men were kind to her. Still, she must have been shaken to the core when one man stood guard at the door holding a shotgun while the others ate, their weapons lying casually on the table next to their plates. Later that evening, before the gang rode off, they gave Minnie a few coins and left money for Susan as well.

Minnie had acquired a fascinating story to tell.

Yet as anyone who studies history knows, years ago life wasn’t easy, especially for women or children. Without the medical care we now often take for granted, one only needs to stroll through an old cemetery and count the number of tombstones for mothers and their little ones to understand.

Susan Parmer suffered the sad fate of many women of her era. The day after giving birth to a stillborn son, she died in 1889 at the age of forty from childbirth complications. Susan is buried in Wichita Falls, Texas, next to three of the young children who preceded her in death.

I have no doubt Susan witnessed many things during her lifetime, but as far as I know, she never kept a diary. If she had, wouldn’t you just love to peek inside it?

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Pat Wahler is the author of Western Fictioneers’ Best First Novel of 2018 and Walter Williams Award-Winning novel, I am Mrs. Jesse James. She is also author of a three-book contemporary romance series, The Becker Family Novels, and Let Your Heart Be Light, a collection of holiday-themed stories. Stay tuned for more on her next historical novel!