Lone Star Book Blog Tour: North to Alaska by Preston Lewis (Author Interview)

NORTH TO ALASKA

Interview with Preston Lewis,

You write both traditional westerns and historical novels, usually with a humorous touch. Do you have a favorite?

Overall, I like to tell a good story that keeps the reader turning pages, but I’d give a slight edge to historical novels. I love history, so I read a lot of period-history books and like to weave the research and any humor I find into my historical novels. Not only do I hope to tell a good story in my historical novels, but also integrate a little history so readers get a little lesson on the heritage of the Old West.

Can you give an example of how you integrate your research into your books?

My research for North to Alaska focused on Denver and Leadville, Colorado, in the 1870s, and Skagway, Alaska, in the 1890s, with legendary conman Soapy Smith being the focus. But as I researched those periods, I ran across suffragist Susan B. Anthony, traversing Colorado on a lecture tour in support of women’s voting rights during that time, and later stories of Jack London going to the Klondike. I just had to work both of those historical figures into North to Alaska. And while both of those historical figures have but brief appearances in the novel, they are critical to the advancement and resolution of the story. I like all of my Lomax novels to conclude with a laugh, but I had no idea how to end North to Alaska until I ran across Miss Anthony, who provided the book’s ending punchline.

Your Lomax novels are imbued with humor. How did you come to write humor?

One of my early editors told me I wrote funny, which is not necessarily what you want to hear from an editor. When I asked him to explain, he told me my characters were unconventional in their outlooks and actions. He then asked if I’d ever considered trying my hand at writing comic novels. That’s how H. H. Lomax came to life. My editors wanted me to write a comic character that came in contact with all the big names of the Old West. As I got into it, I had fun writing them, and readers seemed to have fun reading them. Besides that, it allowed me to carve a niche for myself among Western story tellers. With so many great Western writers out there, humor allowed me to develop a unique voice and possibly attract readers that might not read a historical novel set in the West.

How do you add humor to your novels?

Some of it is character driven, and much of it is situation driven. My protagonist, H. H. Lomax, is unsophisticated and not necessarily the smartest guy around, but he is decent at heart and survives on his wits that get him out of difficult situations, but never enough to ensure the wealth and security he seeks. One reviewer said he’s like the guy that wins the Powerball but loses the ticket. I think that’s a good description of him. As for situational humor, it’s like the setup for a joke. I look for odd facts in my research and develop situations with resolutions that have humorous possibilities. For instance, in North to Alaska, Lomax buys a dog that he comes to believe actually talks, until his partner explains that it’s ventriloquism. His partner says, “Ventriloquism, where you talk without moving your lips.” Lomax responds thusly:  I slapped my palm against my forehead. “Not only can Buck talk, but he can do so without moving his lips. What a dog!”

What are the challenges of writing six novels all tied to historical events?

When editors first approached me about doing the series, they wanted my protagonist to interact with the legendary names of the Old West. That was fine, but it presented some challenges in keeping the chronologies plausible and as accurate as possible, especially when I try to interject Lomax at key moments in Western history. To do the Soapy Smith story in North to Alaska, I had to introduce Lomax to Soapy, in the 1870s in Denver and Leadville, and resolve their differences in the 1890s in Alaska. At first it was disconcerting to have my protagonist jumping around everywhere, but I came to realize that was a way of life for many vagabonds trying to make their fortune in the Old West, like Lomax.

Has anything surprised you about writing the series?

From the beginning, I tried to set the backstory for each novel with a prologue that implied the memoirs were based on actual documents in university archives. I’ve been surprised by the number of readers who have believed the premise. When I originally approached the director of the Southwest Collection about using the name of the archives in the prologue, he said that was fine as long as he could develop a file on me and the Lomax books so an archivist a generation from now would not be running around the building looking for the “lost” Lomax papers. When the books first came out, the archive was receiving one or two queries a month from people wanting to see the papers. And then there was one reader who contacted me and wanted to know if Lomax was a real person or one I made up. When I told him Lomax was entirely fictional, there was a long pause before he replied, “That’s the greatest disappointment of my life.”

What next for H. H. Lomax?

Lomax has not really done anything to diminish the reputation of the Texas Rangers or Judge Roy Bean yet, so those are possibilities in the Lone Star State. Then I’ve always wanted to have Lomax work on the transcontinental railroad, though there may be some chronology challenges on that one. Also, there were certain celebrities and prizefighters who toured the Old West, so I’m looking at the comic potential of him being a bodyguard for one of those historical figures. Much of it will depend where my research leads and what I think will be the most fun to write in the Lomax tradition.