Local writer wins honor for first novel

Buchanan's book takes a different view of vigilantes

Writer Carol Buchanan's boots hardly have touched the ground since she won the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for best first novel.

"I'm still not sure I can even think," she said. "My brain is still in outer space."

Buchanan's book, "God's Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes of Montana," competed against hundreds of new Western genre books. Although the author was heartened by her novel's brisk sales, the nod from her peers put her over the moon.

Buchanan, who lives in Kalispell, was surprised since her book takes the less popular view that vigilantes actually brought justice to the dangerous Montana mining camps of 1863-64.

According to Buchanan, the chaos resulted from Congress neglecting to legally attach the U.S. Constitution to the Idaho Territory that included Montana at that time.

"There was no governing body of law," she said.

Vigilantes formed to fight violence unchecked by corrupt justice doled out by the self-ruled mining districts of Alder Gulch where Buchanan sets her novel. Murderous thugs exploited the situation, committing crimes in one district, then seeking protection from cronies in another.

"You had people trying to get out of there with their gold and the usual population of men that found it easier to take it than dig it up," Buchanan said. "Everything in the book happened in history."

With the Civil War fueling animosities, the stage was set for violent, bloody confrontations.

In this fictionalized story, lawyer and abolitionist Daniel Stark joins a Vigilance Committee to establish law because he fears he won't survive to bring his gold home to New York. He desperately wants to redeem his family from the disgrace of his father's embezzlement and suicide.

When innocent young Nicholas Tibalt was murdered for gold, Stark and the vigilantes investigate, uncovering a criminal gang of thieves and murderers that includes their own friends and justice officials.

Serving as prosecutor in the trial of suspect George Ives, Stark manages to bring a just outcome from warring mining factions divided even further as Unionists and Confederates. Historical records show that as many as 2,000 people attended Ives' trial, which lasted three days.

"When the trial started, the outcome was very much in doubt," Buchanan said. "His friends and roughs were very much in the majority."

The author said inspiration for this novel struck when she was 12 years old. On a visit to Virginia City with her parents, she went for a walk after supper that ended up in the old hangman's building.

"I looked in because I heard the ropes creak - that still gives me goose bumps," she said. "That image stayed with me all these years.

Buchanan, who holds a doctoral degree in English literature, had several nonfiction books published before this novel. They included two horticulture-related books and "Wordsworth's Gardens' that brought an invitation to lecture at the Smithsonian.

When she moved back to Montana from Seattle with her husband, Dick, she continued her research for her long-standing draft of the vigilante book. She spent five years poring over Montana Historical Society records and other sources as well as visiting the mining camp sites.

"It was fascinating - making this and that connection," she said. "When I started, I wasn't sure if I would write fiction or nonfiction."

The historical facts were as gripping as fiction with mining courts run with the camp president acting as judge. Many had no education in law.

Camps used "juries of the whole" which meant any passe-rby during the procedure, drunk or sober, could vote on the guilt or innocence of the person on trial.

Lack of jails for criminals made for another interesting twist.

"They had only three punishments: whipping, banishment or hanging," Buchanan said.

The case of George Ives stood out from the usual kangaroo justice because the vigilantes selected the venue and used two advisory juries and one presiding jury of the whole to sift through all the evidence.

By the end of the three-day trial, both advisory juries voted to convict and the jury of the whole followed suit.

"When I started, I had the revisionist history view that vigilantes were actually the criminals and the men hanged were innocent," she said. "The more I researched, I realized that's a crock."

Because she found the people so fascinating, Buchanan decided to use the novel format to flesh out characters and missing details. She made the tough transition from nonfiction to fiction with online writing courses and meetings of the Authors of the Flathead.

She found the group's classes with author/screenwriter Dennis Foley particularly helpful. Foley taught her the importance of planning her novel just as a painter sketches a scene with a center of focus.

"I took his class on critical scenes - oh my, that was good," she said.

When she finally finished the novel in 2007, she began shopping for an agent and/or publisher. A couple said they were interested but months passed with no action so she withdrew it and sent it to one more publisher.

"After eight weeks, no one had even looked at it," she said. "I thought, 'I'm done.'"

Buchanan began exploring self-publishing. She chose one with good marks from the Better Business Bureau and with access to Amazon.com distribution.

In June 2008, she received her first print-on-demand copies for distribution at Borders, Books West and the Museum at Central school as well as Amazon.com.

In late March, Buchanan learned about her "Best First Novel" win from a friend.

"She was at the Festival of the West in Scottsdale," Buchanan said. "That's where it was announced."

The Spur Award was particularly sweet because it helps overcome the stigma readers and publishers hold against self-published books. Another finalist for the best first novel category was "Buffalo Rock," a self-published book about the Pony Express by Flathead writer Bob Faulkner.

Buchanan points out the these two books triumphed over many published by big names such as Penguin Books and Scribner. As one who worked with publishers and agents, she said she was skeptical about the advantages over self-publishing.

She found word of mouth generates the most sales for "God's Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes of Montana."

"People read it, love it and tell their friends," she said. "It's doing better than I expected."

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.