Susan Spence - A Story of the West - Author Interview

Author Interview

1. Who is the plot based around?
The plot is based around a cowboy named Matt Daly and his family.

2. What is the main idea of the plot?
The main idea of the plot is about Matt trying to survive devastating events in his life. This is brought about by how far some will go to destroy other lives to get what they want.

3. When does the plot take place?
The story takes during the open range ranching era of the 1880s. The early day cowboys and ranchers were the first to settle the grasslands of the northern prairies during this time.

4. Where does the plot take place?
The story takes place mainly on the prairie of eastern Montana before it became a state, but also in Wyoming and other western states. This entire area attracted cattle speculators who fattened steers on the abundant grass before sending them to eastern markets.

5. Why did the plot develop the way it did?
I first came up with the pivotal moment in Matt’s life and then wrote the story around that event.

6. How did you come up with the idea for the plot?
The idea for the plot just came to me. The first scene I thought of was when he made a decision about whether he wanted to continue living. After that I had to imagine how he got to that point, plus what then happened to his family.


About the Book

Spending summers trailing herds of longhorns north from Texas, Matt Daly and his father eventually arrive in Montana Territory in the 1880s. They realize immediately this where they want to make their home. There are few people living on the frontier at this time and the two are determined to build a ranch running cattle on the fertile grasslands.

Once the transcontinental railroad was completed it became much easier for people to head west, and many did, leaving the populated east behind. Lavina Lavold stepped off the train in Miles City and immediately caught Matt’s eye. She had ridden out with her family looking for adventure. When she meets Matt and falls in love, she decides she would like nothing more than to share his life on the isolated prairie.

There are other men however, also determined to build their own cattle empires. When a ruthless neighbor attempts to take control of the land they claimed as their own, Matt and his father have no choice but to defend their family and home. Although the land is still owned by the federal government, there is little law on the rough frontier to manage the threatening range war.

Price: $19.95 paperback, $3.95 ebook
Pages: 277
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: June 2009
Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com, Smashwords


About the Author

Susan Spence has always been intrigued with life in the west in the 1880s. She researched historical accounts and first-person narratives as she prepared to write A Story of the West. A lifelong resident of the west, she currently lives in Montana on an old sheep shearing station that she shares with lots of furry critters, some domestic and others wild. This is her first novel, and she is busy working on a sequel due out in late spring.

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