Saturday, August 26, 2023 was a wonderful day for Red Engine Press, Tom Wing and me. At long last, we launched the results of our multi-year collaboration, “Julia and Maud” at Bookish. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces…some who showed up because they had heard all the stories surrounding the lives of these two women and their historic feud in the late 1890s. It’s not that Tom Wing and I were the first to tackle this complex, funny, heartbreaking incident. Many have. And we learned from and stood on the shoulders of many of those earlier researchers and reenactors.
Tom and I believe that while we were the first to do a full length Historical Fiction treatment of the story…taking advantage of our individual personal interests and skillsets…we did it with the support of folks who have long delved into the Julia and Maud story including reenactors who presented multiple aspects of the tale at the Fort Smith Museum of History.
Many thanks to these valuable resources:
John Faulkner - Layout and Design
Shelley Blanton - Archivist, Boreham Library, The Pebley Collection at Univerity of Arkansas, Fort Smith
Dusty Helbling -Rodeo Historian
Al Whitson - Historian/Grandson of Cal Whitson
Cal Evans - Historian/Grandson of Cal Whitson
Billy Higgins - Historian
Sue and Sonny Robison - Cover Design and Reenactors
Karen Daggs - Researcher
Mindy Lawrence - Proofer and Editor
Carmel Faulkner - Proofer and Editor
Fort Smith Historical Society
Fort Smith Public Library
Caroline Speir, Fort Smith Museum of History
Cody Faber, Fort Smith Historic Site
Many thanks to Fort Smith Little Theater Actor John Hall. From the first time I saw him perform, I knew that his voice was Archie’s. His performance enriched the launch and I hope he will join us again.
L-R: Author Tom Wing, Actor John Hall and me…Joyce Faulkner
Finally, while Tom and I have very different skill sets, those differences made this project far more interesting and fun than it would have been had I tackled it alone. He is a terrific researcher and writing partner and our skills are complementary. Also, he and Shelley Blanton were very patient with me and my many many questions. They are to be commended. Are their medals for patience?
Julia and Maud will be available exclusively at Bookish in Fort Smith, AR, for a couple more weeks before our general release. At that point, we will also be doing a variety presentations throughout the area, focusing on folks who have read the book and would like to discuss the content and/or history of the incident in small groups…those activities will be announced later.
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