The most frequent question I’ve received about The Prospector’s Only Prospect is, “Will Pearl get her own book?”
Yes? I was expecting her book to be this one, but it’s not. I had all those partners in the Venturous Mining Company to choose from and Owen was the natural choice as he’s Virgil’s best friend, but they just didn’t feel right as a couple.
But I wanted Owen to be the hero of this book. He’s a bit of a handful, but he’s full of wisecracks, which is fun. Pearl is too flighty for him, though. He needed someone to ground him.
I pitched a saloon girl to my editor at the time and she gave it a thumb’s up so I started crafting the story. I made the mistake of telling my husband what I was up to and he said, “I think she should have a geology background and help him find gold.”
It’s 1959. The fact Temperance has as much education as she does is pretty remarkable, but I got to work with researching and her backstory began to take shape. I love Temperance Rose Goodrich! I love that she’s gritty and resourceful, but sensitive and loyal. She thinks she’s ruined and Owen becomes her perfect match when he says, “That’s nothing. Do you know what I’ve done?”
They fit together like two jagged edges of a broken heart to make a whole one. I adore these two and hope you will, too.
