Wyatt’s Wall
The History of Wyatt Earp
By Wyatt Earp
One of our very first novels here, both a western and a history novel, was Tombstone. It all started back at AncientSites at the behest of my sister who was in Egypt. I quickly got involved in Egypt too (after flopping at my first love: Rome). I was not a big fan of westerns and knew nothing of the History of the American West when a coincident struck. I had just watched the movie Tombstone for the second time (the movie came out in 1993 and I saw it on the big screen) when someone at AncientSites told me about the new Vines, and in particular The History Vine which would cover what AncientSites did not, specifically more modern history. I was excited to explore this and as I logged in the first time, I picked, with the idea that it might be helpful to my son whom I was home schooling at the time, to pick up Wyatt Earp as a character. I encouraged him to sign up as Doc Holliday. He really really enjoyed the movie at the time and was a big fan of Val Kilmer's ubercool Doc. I loved Kurt Russell as Wyatt and had totally gotten off on the portrayal of Wyatt Earp even though, frankly, I had never heard of Wyatt Earp before the movie.
Like any good home school parent (and previous AE nut) I put some research into the character and the possible stories I could write with my son about the wild wooly west. I believe he wrote one post, but he was totally intimidated when he logged into The History Vine particularly as the ladies of Boothill (the group from which my Pan novel Tombstone evolved) were thrilled by the southern gentleman bad man persona, and he soon dropped out. I took over the character, of course, because by this time I was getting totally into WYATT EARP and the whole history of Tombstone, Arizona, and one man's fascinating life as it related to a time period I actually loved, once I looked it a different way. I have always been fascinated with Victorian England and when I realized that the so-called 'wild west' was just Victorian Americans pushing westward into new territories (and throw in Native Americans for a real culture shock) I was even more hooked.
The key to Wyatt's character that really attracted me was my sense of his personal 'mojo'. Here was a man that lived in very dangerous times and took part in real rides against desperadoes, really engaged in the classic gunfight (which actually hardly ever happened in the real wild west whatever you have seen in movies), and then lived to a ripe old age, courted by early Hollywood, never having once been even grazed by a bullet. So started a very long (ten years this winter) journey for me - one of true interest and fascination. In researching the real history against the backdrop of my fiction and the fiction of the movies and novels about the man I have found great insight into the American spirit, the American way of life, and even America today. It is a road I continue to travel every day, and it is a role that has become as much a part of me as almost anything else - so it was only natural that when I created Pan Historia I would take him with me.
I am, for all intents and purposes, Wyatt Earp, Marshal of Pan Historia.
