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The Lawmen of Texas Book 2: The Ranger's Purpose

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Keep watching for sharks! They're always there!

I wrote The Ranger's Purpose for a very specific and personal reason. While I was writing The Deputy's Promise, which was still untitled at the time, my cousin Erick Reed passed away. He had been battling a kidney disease since he was 19 years old, and it had stripped him of his ability to do any of the things he always dreamed of. When he was gone, I realized I had already written a character into The Deputy's Promise who was so much like Erick. He was Kat's older brother, the protector who would do anything to keep his family safe. And so the idea came to me that I could rewrite Erick's story and give him everything he wanted in life. That's how The Ranger's Purpose came about.

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Me and Erick in our much younger days! Friends since birth!

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I asked my aunt to send me some pictures of Erick dressed as a cowboy. Ain't he cute?

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Erick at age 17. This was my high school body guard. At over 6', would you mess with this guy?

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Erick with one of his nephews. He loved them so much and they loved him. He was a fun uncle!

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For a little over a decade, Erick had a transplant kidney that allowed him to function normally, so he not only became a police officer and EMT, he served as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan for a few months as well.  Not quite the fighter pilot he always dreamed of being, but it was as close as he could get.

Other Characters:

Mahala: (Pronounced Mah-HAY-lah) this is a name I actually found in my family tree. My grandma tells the story of an Indian somewhere in our family, and while doing research, I thought I had found one when I stumbled upon this name, but so far, I haven't been able to prove she was an Indian. Regardless, Mahala was a name used by many southeastern American Indian tribes in the 1800s, and its meaning is unclear though sometimes speculated as simply "woman" or possibly "eyes of the sky". The name could also have Hebrew origins meaning "tender" and was used by white Europeans as well. Regardless, I thought it was pretty and was a feasible name for a Caddo woman. 

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The Kids:

I had so much fun developing the kids in this story. This was something new for me. I haven't really written little kids before.

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Farley: Farley's name was actually the result of a poll I took on my Facebook author page. I had a pair of brothers whose names I wanted to have a specific flow together. Someone suggested Farley, and I knew that was it for the older one. Farley was a lot of fun to write. He's the oldest and always feels like he has to look out for everybody else. He's been through some hardships in his young life, particularly his mother walking out on them when he was very young. Because of that, he started really paying attention to people and figuring out what makes them tick. Farley's a way with words, especially for the ladies, and it all stems from that event. 

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Tinker: Tink is Farley's younger brother, and for him I needed a "throw away name". What I mean by that is, I needed a name that sounded like not much thought was put into it. Tinker is quiet and shy, and he's very detail oriented. His mind works faster than most people's and in ways that others can't understand. He doesn't say much, so people get the impression that he's "simple," but he's far from it. 

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Feo: Feo was actually one of the first kids I dreamed up for this story. I couldn't stand the thought that Erick would only take in "normal" kids. There had to be at least one with some issues. Feo was born with a variety of defects, causing his mother to abandon him. He was raised by his grandmother who probably believed he was cursed. She didn't spare much thought for him, and living alone with her in an isolated area, he spent a lot of time studying and befriending animals. For that reason, he has a keen sense about them, making him something we, today, might call a "whisperer".

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Truett: I stumbled upon Truett's name in our local waterpark. One of the lifeguards I saw last summer had that name on his nametag, and I just immediately loved it. Truett is a bright little boy who has had to grow up faster than he should have due to the fact that his mother was ill and his father was absent most of the time. Someone had to take care of his little sister, and Truett took that job upon himself. That's a big responsibility for a little boy of only five years. Erick and Mahala ease that burden from him, but it's a hard transition. 

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Sunny: Who doesn't love that little ray of sunshine? Sunny is kind of the baby Shirley Temple of the story. Everyone falls in love with her almost immediately, and she's just an enchanting little thing. Sunny's name was born out of her personality. I wanted a name so descriptive of her that her own brother couldn't remember her real name. (In case you missed it, it's Cora Lynn.)

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Helen: Wait! Who's Helen? Do you remember her? Her name is only mentioned one time in the final paragraphs of the book. She's the daughter of the "working woman" who asks Erick to take the girl in. Helen's name just popped into my head one day, but at the time, I knew I only had one girl in the mix. But then I realized, Erick and Mahala had plenty of room in their house and in their hearts. There was no reason not to add another child. A plain girl who has spent her life trying to remain unseen, Helen is one of the most clearly formed of all the children in my head. She is second only to Feo in that regard. 

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In the book, I mention that Mahala wears beaded lace. If you look on the back cover of the paperback version, you'll see some beaded lace in the bottom corner. Here's a bit of trivia for you: I made that myself. My son needed a costume for a report he was doing on the Choctaw Indians, and, being the all-in person that I am, I went all out - fringe, beaded lace, beaded medallion, the works! He looked great!

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This is what Tinker's music box would have looked like

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A couple of Sunny & Truett's favorites

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This is sort of how I envisioned Mahala's cabin, though not quite so run down and without the covered porch. There would also be a little lean-to on the side for an animal shelter.

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This is sort of how I pictured the Carlton home in Victoria, but it would have been blue with white gingerbread and a white picket fence.

Nuecestown is an interesting little bit of history. I had never even heard of it until recently. I used to visit Corpus Christi several times a year as a child and have been back a few times as an adult, but I never knew this town had been swallowed up in that large city. I definitely plan to see if I can hunt down the site next time I visit. 

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This 1887 map of Corpus Christi came in very handy during the writing of this book. I practically lived in it at times! Buffalo Street is all the way at the top. That's where I put Dr. Peters' home. 

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The red arrow on this 1907 map shows roughly where Mahala's cabin would have been located. Part of the name of Nuecestown has been worn off, but if you look closely, you can see it just to the left of the arrow. Corpus Christi is to the right. 

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Map Courtesy of:  Herman Brosius (active 1870s). http://www.birdseyeviews.org/zoom.php?city=Victoria&year=1873&extra_info=

This 1873 map of Victoria came in handy too. The Carlton home would have been across the bridge in the tip right hand corner of this map.

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