A Twist on a Classic Tale
Sherry Shindalar's Texas Forsaken was inspired by a true story. I asked her a few questions about it.
I’m a Texan, so Texas Forsaken sounds intriguing! Can you give us a teaser? What’s it about?
It’s the story of Maggie Logan/Eyes-Like-Sky. She was captured by the Comanche during a raid on her wagon train. Most of her family was killed. She learns to survive and adapt. Eventually, she falls in love and marries a warrior. They have a baby. Then, the U.S. Cavalry and Texas Ranges attack. Her world is destroyed once again. Her husband is killed. She is ripped away from her adopted people and taken back to a world she is no longer a part of.
She must fight to keep her baby from being taken from her. And the only one who seems willing to help is the man who killed her husband in battle.
It is a story of grief and guilt, forgiveness and redemption, and healing and hope.
What was the inspiration for this story?
This book was inspired by the life of a real person, Cynthia Ann Parker, the most famous captive in nineteenth-century America. I read her story twenty-five years ago, and her story has haunted me ever since. She was captured by the Comanche at age nine and adopted into the tribe. Twenty-four years later, after she’d married and had three children, she and her baby were recaptured by the US Cavalry and Texas Rangers. She never reintegrated and never saw her husband and two sons again. Her baby died, and Cynthia died of a broken heart within a few years. Her heart remained Comanche.
I couldn’t give Cynthia a happy ending, but I could give one to my character, Eyes-Like-Sky. I started the story near the moment of crisis and wrote a different trajectory. Eyes-Like-Sky’s happy ending is not a seamless, sparkly everything worked out as she originally hoped conclusion. Instead, it ends with joy born of spring and sunrises after a long dark winter, all the more appreciated for having gone through the darkness.
Who do you think would enjoy this book?
Women who enjoy historical fiction and historical romance, especially women who enjoy westerns and the enemy-to-lovers trope. (This story is rich in history in addition to being rich in romance.)
Sounds great--and I love the cover! To learn more, just click on the button.
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