12 Days of A Pioneer Christmas: Vickie McDonough

Vickie McDonough

Vickie McDonough is the author of 28 novels and novellas, including the Texas Trails: Morgan Family,  Texas Boardinghouse Brides and A Pioneer Christmas.

What made you write about your time period?

I love historical novels and I chose 1889 because it was the year of the first Oklahoma land run. I wanted my story to take place during the winter after my hero won land in the land run, and that’s the setting for my story, Buckskin Bride.

When you dreamed up your story idea, what came first, the time period, the story, the location?  

I was born and raised in Oklahoma, and have traveled much of the state. I wanted to set my story in the Oklahoma Territory.

What was the “germ” of your story idea and how did you flesh it out?

Actually, it was a tipi (teepee). One of the criteria for this novella collection was that your hero or heroine needed to live in an unusual type of home. I decided on a tipi and made up a story to fit with that. Click to Tweet

Would you like to have been there?

I think it would have been exciting to have ridden in one of the land runs, just like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman did in the movie, Far and Away. There was so much anticipation and expectations for the families hoping to win free land. Many did, but thousands of people did not get land. I have friends who have family still living on the land their ancestors won in the land rush.

What aspects of your characters are reflected in your character?

My heroine, Maddie, has dressed in buckskins most of her life. She’s comfortable in them, and it makes riding horses, hunting, and doing chores easier. She has no desire to wear dresses—and neither do I, although I don’t wear buckskins.  I only own two–and one is the dress I wore in my son’s wedding, thirteen years ago!

What surprised you the most about your story?

That my heroine finally dons a dress. I had my doubts she actually would! Click to Tweet

Were any of your ancestors pioneers? 

My dad’s parents were born in 1874 & 1876. I’ve never been able to verify it, but my dad told me that my grandma rode in one of the Oklahoma land rushes with her parents. My grandparents left the Pennsylvania Dutch country and traveled to El Dorado, Kansas, where my dad—the youngest of their ten children—was born. Then my grandpa got a job with an oil company, and they moved the family to Oklahoma. I still have family in Pennsylvania.

Would you have made a good pioneer?

In some ways– I love horses and have always been a tomboy and even dreamed of growing up and marrying a rancher. But, I love my modern conveniences like my laptop, air conditioning, kitchen appliances, and indoor plumbing and would hate to leave them all behind.

How is Christmas celebrated in your family and what effect did it have on your writing this story?

Even though our boys are all grown now, we still put up a tree and have lights and decorations all over the living room. I hang stockings on the mantel but we no longer fill them since our sons are grown. We eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning, then open presents, and later, have a big dinner mid-afternoon with the whole family.

Christmas has been even more fun the past seven years since my granddaughter was born. I don’t know that my personal Christmas celebrations had any bearing on my story, except that the families in my novella gather together for Christmas dinner.

What spiritual themes did you incorporate into your story?

Trusting God when times are hard is a common theme I write about and one I used for Buckskin Bride.

For more information about Vickie and her books, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com.