Behind every book as well as every screen play, there is a story surrounding its creation. An idea or a need creates a spark in the mind of someone willing to take the time to shape the idea into something of serious value. The initial spark behind “Three Too Many” began to glimmer while on the movie set for a western, when the producer asked the head wrangler his opinion of the movie they were filming. The wrangler stated he was tired of bloodthirsty westerns and wished someone would produce a movie portraying the west as it really was, as opposed to the Hollywood versions. He went on to emphasize the need for accurate portrayals with the focus on reality as opposed to thrilling the audience with violence. He felt the audience should enjoy the film and to learn something, whether it be about the West or about life itself. The Old American West was a time in history never to be forgotten, because of its adventure, its beauty, as well as the challenges it represented.
From this verbal beginning the embers began to burn and I was asked to write a “movie story” and script for a western that would be historically accurate, thrill the modern-day horse world, and include a different kind of romance. The story was to be fun to watch, yet filled with excitement, the Pony Express was to be the background theme, and they needed the script within the year. Frankly, I was appalled. Was I to put my life on hold? Yet challenges can be tempting and the tiny spark began to burn. While I’d written a variety of published documentaries, numerous magazine articles, and some children’s short stories, I’d never tackled a script and didn’t know where to start. My solution was to write the novel and then worry about the script. This done, I found the script much the easier of the two. This is largely due to the patient coaching of Justin Ament, from Desert Moon Pictures. He literally walked me through the process.
All you are about to read is historically accurate except for the main characters. Skyler Keel, his brother and the young women are fictional. Bazil Charbonneau (Bear) was the son of Sacajawea, the seventeen year old Shoshone squaw who was a part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Pony Express line superintendents kept the stations operating between designated points. They supplied the stations, made sure there were horses, as well as manpower to keep the ponies running. The Piute raids described are accurate and crippled the Pony Express very soon after it began to run in the spring of 1860. Replacing the stolen horses was a serious problem at this time. The Pony Express riders were boys, most of them sixteen or younger—Bill Cody being one of the youngest at about thirteen or fourteen. The description of Express Rider, Nick Wilson is accurate. The Pony Express and stage stations’ names are accurate. The Hog Ranch of Fort Laramie, was a real place and called just that—The Hog Ranch.
As a matter of interest, The Pony Express is ranked among the most remarkable feats to come out of the 1860 American West. It was in service from April 1860 to November 1861—when the telegraph lines from east to west were completed. Its primary mission was to deliver mail and news between St. Joseph, Missouri, and San Francisco, California. “The Pony,” as the Pony Express was called by those in the West, was privately owned and operated. It was never cost effective and its owners ended in bankruptcy.
While the history within these pages is accurate, the story is fictional. I’m told the subliminal messages herein concerning happiness and parenting are of more value than the story or the historical facts. Perhaps these thoughts come from the youth we’ve trained and raised over the years. Of these there are many. Each one an individual and each one loved for who they are.
Softcover. Signed First Edition.
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