This week, we have an extraordinary visitor, Dr. Judy Alter. She was director of a university press for many years, has written dozens of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and achieved high recognition with the Western Writers of America.  Because of the wealth of information and activities of Dr. Alter, I’m going to split here interview into two parts, lest this run far, far too long.  But, I don’t want to cut it too short.  So, this week, we’ll cover mostly her western work.

Jim:  Let’s start back a bit.  You worked at the Texas Christian University’s press for thirty years, twenty as its director.  What kind of books did the TCU Press publish, and about how many each year?

Judy:  TCU Press is an academic press charged with contributing to the existing body of knowledge. Under my direction, it published primarily (but not exclusively) the history and literature of the American West—because that had been my area of special interest when working on my Ph.D. We were praised also for preserving Texas fiction, both original works and older ones that had gone out of print. We published at the most 20 books a year.

Jim:  That sounds like a lot for a university press.  And while you were doing that, you were also writing your own books and raising four children.  How did you manage all of that?

Judy:  I’m a workaholic. I wrote at night, but there were many nights I didn’t get out of the car until 9:30 or ten taking kids to Scouts and various activities. After they got cars and part-time jobs, I had more time. But I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.

Jim:  I know you’re writing mysteries now, but you have a pretty impressive background in novels of the west.  How did someone raised in the Chicago area get so interested in novels of the west?

Judy:  Fort Worth has the Amon Carter Museum, repository of many works by Remington and Russell. My ex-husband like sculpture, so we went to the museum to study the bronzes. I think that’s where it started, but also my favorite professor (and still mentor and good friend) taught a course in western literature. And when Western Writers of America met here one year, I got roped into participating—that cemented it.

Jim:  I read that your interest for years was the experiences of women in the American West and wrote six adult novels with that theme and seven young-adult novels.  What were you trying to impart in those novels?

Judy:  The strength and determination of these women, the ability to adapt to circumstances. They had a certain freedom from constraint and cultural restrictions that their eastern sisters didn’t, and they were always optimistic. “Come spring” it would be better.

Jim:  You even won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America for Mattie.  That’s an impressive award for anyone, but especially for a woman. Not many women got recognized by WWA at the time you were writing westerns. Tell us a little about that book.

Judy:  It’s based on the life of Georgia Arbuckle Fix, a pioneer woman on the plains of western Nebraska. I grew up in a medical family, so Dr. Fix’s life combined two of my interests—medicine and women. And she did some amazing things, like sewing a half dollar into a man’s skull to cover a hole. That’s been my best-selling book ever. It’s now on Kindle for $0.99.

Jim:  My good friend Jory Sherman is receiving the 2013 Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement from WWA.  And you received that honor in 2005.  Lifetime achievement means a body of work.  Tell a little about your work in the western genre.

Judy:  I wrote for adults and young adults, fiction and non-fiction, and I can’t tell you which book I’m proudest of—that’s like picking our favorite child. But I’ve written seven adult novels—based on the lives of Libby Custer, Jessie Benton Fremont, cowgirl/roper Lucille Mulhall, and Etta Place among others—and I think eight y/a novels set in the West. After Pa Was Shot was my first, but perhaps I like Luke and the Van Zandt County War best.

Jim:  I understand you wrote two books studying the work of another friend, Elmer Kelton. I understand you and he wrote a book together.  What was the collaboration about?

Judy:  Called Noah’s Ride, it was a collaborative novel with something like twelve contributors, about an escaped slave who makes a new life in Texas. Elmer wrote the first chapter, and I followed—hard act to follow. We also did that for a novel called Legend. I’d never get used to following in that great man’s footsteps—his shoes were too big to fill.

Jim:  Lest we forget, you have also published many books for kids. Tell us about those books.  Fiction? Non-fiction? Series?

Judy:  Mostly, other than the fiction mentioned above, I wrote non-fiction on assignment for companies that published for school libraries. It was fascinating work, because I had to research a lot of topics I knew little about—state histories, presidential biographies, books on the history of vaccine or passenger ships or international women’s rights. The biggest project I took on was a book called Extraordinary Women of the American West, which won nice recognition from an organization dedicated to children’s books. I also did a few books in a series called Stars of Texas about second-tier Texans—people who are on the TASC test (or whatever) for children in Texas—Martin de Leon, Henrietta King, Ma Ferguson, Audie Murphy, etc.

Jim:  To all readers:  We’re going to take a break here.  Next week we’ll continue with Judy Alter and her more recent work in the field of mysteries.  And I can guarantee it will be interesting.  Please come back.

But, you can leave Judy a comment here and maybe it will encourage everybody to come back next week.  Again, thanks to you Judy for sharing a glimpse of your life as a writer. And of course, thanks to all the readers.  You can find more about Judy Alter at: http://www.judyalter.com

See you next Friday.