As western authors, we know that settings are as important as our characters and plots. We want our readers to get a clear and vibrant sense of the western location in which our story takes place.
One way I use to engage my readers and enhance the
believability of my fictional books is to be sure to include the sights and
sounds of western wildlife common to the story’s location, be it in the
prairies, great plains, mountains, or deserts.
For you reference, below is a compilation of commonly
found wildlife in the Western United States.
Pronghorn Antelope
Mule Deer
Black Tailed Jackrabbit
Whitetail Deer
Prairie Dog
Ferret
Coyote
Grey Wolf
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Badger
Golden Eagle
Prairie Falcon
Prairie Chicken
Western Meadowlark
MOUNTAINS ELEVATION 5000 & ABOVE
Elk (Wapiti – is a Native American word meaning “white rump)
Black Tailed Deer
Bighorn Sheep
Rocky Mountain Goat
Grizzly Bear
Black Bear
Mountain Lion
Bobcat
Wolf
Beaver
Porcupine
Tree Martin
Great Horned Owl
Peregrine Falcon
Moose
Mountain Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
Mountain Jay
Western Bluebird
DESERTS:
Blacktail Deer
Pronghorn Antelope
Desert Bighorn
Antelope Jackrabbit
Coyote
Desert Woodrat
Mountain Lion
Jaguar
Desert Tortoise
Roadrunner
Trap Door Spider
Gila Monster
Harris Hawk
Common Raven
Quail
Desert Sidewinder Snake
Desert Iguana
Stink Bug
Book 1, Trail To Destiny - A turbulent cross-country journey of heated passion, bitter vengeance and a haunted past lead Grey Wolf & Laura Westbrook on their Trail To Destiny.
Book 2,
Destiny's Journey -
Family deception kept Jennifer O’Malley from marrying her first love ten years
ago, West Point officer, Glen Herrington. Now a Civil War widow, she
leaves war-torn Richmond, determined to find her destiny. She makes the
long journey west in search of Glen, only to discover he is a notorious outlaw
with a price on his head.
Book 3, Yesteryear’s Destiny - When Angela Moore
skydives out of a plane and into the western frontier of yesteryear, she not
only meets the love of her life, Ben Herrington, but discovers a fateful revelation that
exceeds the boundaries of time and will control her destiny.
Thank you for the reference guide, Cheri Kay. You've given me a post to print and save. Happy New Year with many sales!
ReplyDeleteI, too, keep many of the posts from our SOTW authors for reference. I admire and appreciate the talent of our authors in their writing craft as well as the well-researched western history evident in their books.
ReplyDelete