A Visit with Heidi Thomas

Montana ranch girl, Heidi M. Thomas, was always a voracious reader who says she was born with ink running through her veins. Her first trip to the country library 35 miles from her parent's ranch left her a confirmed reader, which she stresses to her writing students at her local community college. The former journalist has written about her rodeo riding grandmother and other cowgirl dreams.

Heidi, tell us about your grandmother. 

My grandma died when I was 12, but I did get to know her enough to know that she was an avid horsewoman and ranch wife and preferred the back of a horse to a dust mop. I remember riding with her many times and my grandparents bought me my first horse. Later, my dad told me that when she was young she had ridden steers competitively in rodeos. I was impressed and awed (I never aspired to do something like that)! That tidbit of family history stayed in the back of my mind until I decided to write books.

How did your Cowgirl Dreams book and Dare to Dream series come about? How long were they in the planning?

Because of Grandma’s unusual avocation, I thought it would be a fascinating topic for a book. I started researching and writing in 1999. It took me about two and a half years to write and re-write, then I began sending it out to collect rejections. I met my publisher, Lee Emory, at a Women Writing the West conference, she accepted my manuscript and Cowgirl Dreams came out in December 2008—almost ten years after I started. I tell people that is my “overnight success” story. My “Dare to Dream” series is based on strong, independent Montana women: the first three on my grandmother, the fourth on my mother (who came from Germany after WWII, another courageous thing to do). I also have a fifth planned, which will be more contemporary and not based on a family member, about Nettie’s great-granddaughter.

Did you inherit your grandmother’s spunk?

I think I did, as well as from my dad and mother and the self-reliant, survivor way of life on an isolated Montana ranch. I’ve never doubted that I could do whatever I set out to do, as long as I worked hard, did it with honesty, and helped others along the way.

Where do you teach your writing classes and what’s the biggest mistake aspiring writers make?

I teach locally in my community. The first mistake if you want to write is not to read enough. That was the biggest part of my writing education, being a voracious reader all my life. Also, accept advice from others, and be ready to rewrite many times. One of my favorite quotes is from Hemingway: “There are no great writers, only great rewriters.”

What are the ingredients of a good Western?

I favor good character development foremost, but the story also needs a lot of conflict and tension, whether it’s the old-fashioned “shoot-em-up” kind, a family saga, or a contemporary romance.

Tell us about your sequel, Follow the Dream.

The sequel takes place in the 1930s. Nettie is beginning new married life with her rodeo cowboy, they’re planning to follow the rodeo circuit, and she has an invitation to go to London with the Tex Austin Wild West Troupe. But life tends to get in the way of our dreams sometimes. One of the big events of Nettie’s story is the Great Depression and drought, which forces them to trail their herd of horses 400 miles from north-central Montana to Salmon, Idaho, looking for grass to save their horses.

Are ebooks going to revive the Western genre?

I hope so. I hope ebooks will encourage young readers to read and to discover this great world of books.

Advice for fledgling Western writers.

Read. Read everything, from old-time Westerns to literary classics. You can learn something from every genre. Take classes, talk to other writers, and hone your craft—write, write, write!

Thanks, Heidi.

You can visit Heidi's website at: http://www.heidimthomas.com/ and her blog at:  http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/

Her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heidi-M-Thomas-Author/113945861994671  and Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Heidiwriter