Inspiration

I have always been inquisitive, especially when traveling. ‘What drew people to this place, when, and why did they stay?’ are usually my first questions. There seems to be a forgotten, or more correctly, buried story behind nearly every town. Roadside historical placards may highlight the shiny, publicly accepted side of climactic events in the region. The untold, sometimes nasty stories are the parts I find worth exploring.

I visit graveyards, note the names and dates, and look for both consistencies and anomalies. For example, when visiting Chico, California, I noticed plenty of markers commemorating young men in their late teens or early twenties who all died in 1916. That timeframe happened to be during World War One. Whether right or wrong, I drew the connection for many of them, and decided they died in the war.

Then, I came across a plot of headstones all in the same family. Young children from a few months to a few years in age all died in 1918, which, by coincidence, was when the deadly “Spanish Flu” was rampant throughout the world. Again, I imagined the connection.

Fanciful ponderings and assumptions from historical sites, gravestones, and old photos spark the “what ifs” and development of stories. I start exploring newspaper archives, public records, and information from historical societies to get as much factual data as possible, then fill in the blanks and connect the dots with my imaginings.

A similar situation occured when I was visiting Valdez, Alaska in 2013. The town has a rich history, including the tale of an unfinished train tunnel. While the abandonment of the project was well documented, I couldn’t help wonder if there was more to it; a story behind the scenes. For years, the idea smoldered in the back of my mind. I thought of different scenarios and plots, but the question of how the characters came to be in Valdez in the first place remained unanswered until two years ago.

It was only when I saw the photo of the Excelsior Establishment at a friend’s house that the story suddenly took shape in my mind. I had a place for the adventure to begin. Promises of Gold was born!