We're for Smoke: Outlaws and Outliers of Panther City

I am a native of Fort Worth, Texas. I was born in a clinic sitting on the corner of Charbonneau road and Jacksboro highway, so I’ve always said I have a little ‘Thunder Road’ in my blood. If you are not familiar with the legendary, infamous history of Jacksboro Highway, I strongly recommend reading Ann Arnold’s excellent, Gamblers and Gangsters: Fort Worth’s Jacksboro Highway in the 1940s & 1950s.

I have always been fascinated with history. As a kid I read every book I could get my hands on about the Civil War and World War II. I was a military brat and grew up traveling all over the country. It was important to my mom that I grew up Texan so she encouraged me to learn the legends, myths and history of Fort Worth and Texas. It became a life long obsession.

Four or five years ago, while researching stories for a film project on the history of the Fort Worth police department, I ran across the life of Bessie Williams. I was instantly smitten. I became enamored with this woman’s life. I will discuss more of Bessie’s story in another post but I fell in love with what I learned of her and thought her story deserved to be told. I pondered writing a book or story about her life and adventures. To be honest, I felt I was not up to the task. As I thought about it more and more I realized I had a hand full of characters that, taken as a whole, told an interesting story of Fort Worth in an important period of the growth and transition of the city.

The vast majority of the information I had on these people came from newspaper accounts. These newspaper stories were compelling and vibrant. Over a period of time a structure and story arc developed. I focused my research and the structure of We’re for Smoke began to come together.

The eureka moment came one day when I was at the library walking through an exhibit focusing on items from their local history collection. Part of the exhibit was the first official flag of Fort Worth. It is breathtaking.

Everything came together. The book would be a historical fiction account of a period when Fort Worth was struggling to transform from a lawless, frontier town to a modern, industrialized city. I would tell that transformational story through the lives of people from different social and economical castes and frame it with the actual newspaper stories of their lives.

It has been and continues to be an informative, entertaining and fascinating journey.

Synopsis:

In 1910 Fort Worth struggles to progress from a Wild West cattle town into a modern, industrialized city. Through actual newspaper accounts We’re for Smoke tells the stories of six ordinary citizens of diverse backgrounds, race and class and how the industrialization of Fort Worth impacted their lives.   

We're for Smoke: Outlaws and Outliers of Panther City is a historical novel set in Fort Worth between the years 1910 and 1919. To date, 75% of the novel is completed. The length will be approximately 85,000 to 90,000 words. Told through newspaper accounts and other archival documents, Smoke weaves each character's story in chronological order.