I’ve been working on my first attempt at a western short story.  And what is more western than the Cherokee Strip?  And since I always write strong female protagonists, what if the wife rode in the land run while her husband worked at the land run office?

She looked up at the sun, her hat tied down snug around her chin.  “It’s almost time.  I love you Steven, now go to the back of the line and stay with your pony where it’s safe.  Remember, give me a couple of hours and then come join me.”  She hugged her only son and sent him on his way.  She mounted the bay with her skirts around her settling into the stirrups and adjusting her clothing.  She had to be ready when the gun sounded to race her horse to the place they had picked out.  If someone beat her to the first place, they had another picked out that wasn’t as prime but would make a living for her and her family.  A new beginning.  Robert was at the land office as an attorney and she was staking a claim for the 160 acres she and her family could receive for free if they could make a go of the farm. 

She looked at the clear blue skies as far as the eye could see.  She had never seen such beauty.  The sun was hot and the ground was dusty with sage brush growing all around.  The immense rugged prairie had a beauty of its own with purple wildflowers blooming beside prickly cactus.  She pulled her hat further down to shade her eyes from the intense sun and tensed as the riders beside her did the same – and then the gun sounded.

Image what it must have been like on a hot day late in the summer running for your future and your family’s.  Cherokee Strip days are right around the corner on September 16.  You know how hot Oklahoma can be around that time of the year.

This is fun.  I’ve never tried to write a western before and think I like it.  What do you think?  Have you ever written a western?