Wolf Creek Characters #5 Derrick McCain

Wolf Creek is probably the most unique Western series ever produced. It is published by Western Fictioneers and written by Ford Fargo- who is actually about twenty different Western authors. Each one has created a unique character, and in each installment six authors collaborate to tell a story from the points of view of their particular creations.

amazon           B & N

It may sound complicated. but the result is anything but: each volume holds together remarkably well, and the series has been creating quite a bit of buzz.

I am the series editor, and one of my two characters appears in each book to help tie things together. Other than me we have a wonderful mix of genre veterans and best selling authors and up-and-coming newer writers who are making their mark.

This blog is the fifth in a five-part series highlighting the six main characters / writers of Wolf Creek Book I: Bloody Trail. The sixth installment will appear on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and the previous ones can be found here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

GIVEAWAY: One of our authors, Chery Pierson (who is being highlighted today) has upped the ante- she has offered to give away a trade paperback copy of Bloody Trail to one of our visitors. Anyone who leaves a comment on this or any of the other five blogs and leaves a contact email address will be eligible to win (you can also send said addy to me, at troy_d_smith@hotmail.com, if you prefer it not be public- but you still have to leave a comment!)

A winner will be chosen at random at 9am Central Time Friday morning, October 26, and will be emailed with the good news- it will also be announced in a comment on Blog 6, "Logan Munro." You can multiply your chances to win- by commenting on more than one of the six blogs. For every installment of the blog series you comment on, you will get one additional entry in the contest (alas, only one more per blog, so a possibility of six in all.)

That said, let's take a look at Cheryl's character.

DERRICK MCCAIN
farmer

Derrick is 18 when the War Between the States begins. His two older brothers leave immediately, refusing to take him with them. A few days after they leave, Derrick strikes out on his own, determined to make his own way. He joins up with the regular Confederate Army, with the hope that one day he will return to Wolf Creek and marry his sweetheart, Jolene. Things don't work out as he'd thought. His brothers are killed at Shiloh, and not long after, he receives word that his father, Andrew, has been murdered for his outspoken politics by a band of Jayhawkers. At this news, Derrick deserts to join up with Jim Danby's guerrilla band, who ride with Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson,  to seek revenge on the Jayhawkers who murdered his father. 

The day comes when Danby intends to do something so heinous that Derrick rebels, refusing to obey direct orders from the gang leader. Derrick tells him that he will not torture and murder their captives,  a small band of black Union soldiers who were sent to attack Bloody Bill Anderson during the Centralia Massacre. Danby has Derrick beaten and left for dead, giving orders for the others in his band to shoot the Union soldiers. But one of the black men, Charley Blackfeather, manages to get away, never knowing that Derrick stood up for them.

Derrick is found by a farmer who lives nearby and taken to the man's house, where he's cared for. The end of the war comes as Derrick heals enough to ride once more. He returns to Wolf Creek, not sure of his place in the world--Jolene has married a Yankee, and he finds himself the only male survivor of the McCain family. He steps into the unwanted role of settling into the life of a farmer, his younger sister less than welcoming since she has married due to necessity because of his absence. Derrick's world is turned upside down a few  years down the road when the Danby gang comes to pay the citizens of Wolf Creek a call. Derrick is sure of only one thing this time around: in order to make peace with himself, he has to ride with the posse to avenge what Danby's gang has done to his town. He swears to kill or be killed, on the BLOODY TRAIL.

With each installment, I have also been including info on one of the supporting characters that the writers share. This one was also created by Cheryl Pierson:

CARSON RIDGE:  A full-blood Cherokee and Derrick McCain's childhood best friend. Raised in the eastern part of Indian Territory in the Cherokee Nation, he's well-educated having attended the Indian school where Derrick's father was headmaster for several years. When Derrick's family moves to Wolf Creek, Kansas, Carson hopes that once Derrick learns the reason for the move, he will someday return to Indian Territory and the heritage that belongs to him. Carson's past is something he doesn't talk about much. He has become a Lighthorse officer for the Cherokee Nation. As the years pass, he believes he will never see his friend again...until fate brings them together under the most unlikely circumstance.

And here is some background on Cheryl Pierson:

Cheryl was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, and grew up in Seminole, Oklahoma. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma, and holds a B.A. in English. She has taught numerous writing classes and workshops over the past years and also works on an individual basis with many of her students, and other authors, locally and nationwide.

Cheryl's most recent publications include the first two novellas of her YA historical western serires, "KANE'S REDEMPTION" and "KANE'S PROMISE," with WESTERN TRAIL BLAZER publishing. Her debut novel, "FIRE EYES," was released in May, 2009, and was an EPIC AWARD FINALIST in 2010. With a brand new cover and a complete re-edit, "FIRE EYES" was re-released in 2012 through WESTERN TRAIL BLAZERS. Her second novel, "TIME PLAINS DRIFTER," was re-released through WESTERN TRAIL BLAZERS in July, 2011. Switching from the historical genre to contemporary romantic suspense, her third novel, "SWEET DANGER" was released through THE WILD ROSE PRESS in 2010.

Cheryl lives with her husband in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where she has been for the past 27 years. She has two grown children, ages 23 and 26.
You can e-mail her at fabkat_edit@yahoo.com