Oregon Trail West to the Sun to WITS Podcast Tom Good Comes

Join author's assistant Vonnie Faroqui as she interviews attorney and author Tom G. Good about his historical fiction novel, West to the Sun, the story of a young man’s adventure and journey to manhood on the Oregon Trail. They will discuss elements of writing including research for historical accuracy, plot elements such as man vs. man and man vs. the trail, character and story line development choices, and how the author approached writing for children about history.

T.G. Good is an attorney residing in the mountains west of Golden, Colorado with his beautiful wife, Christine, brilliant daughter, Deborah, and phenomenal son, Daniel. Like the heroes of “West to the Sun”, we left behind their eastern home and moved west to pursue their dreams of a different life. Fortunately, our transportation depended on automobiles and airplanes and not on oxen and wagons.

West to the Sun is my fictional tribute to the spirit of the individuals who left behind the known life to build a new home in the American West. It is this spirit of adventure and belief in the foundational values of faith, family and freedom that has consistently allowed the American people to face the ever-changing, but ever-present, challenges of life.

While raising both of my children, I became concerned over the lack of fiction for boys that positively presented the heritage of our nation. Yet, so much of the spirit of America has become buried in an endeavor to explore our national sins without fully recognizing the incredible spirit of adventure and achievement of our pioneers. Our national history is not one of total purity; yet, people like the Symons lived values and followed dreams that showed the best of human spirit. Through books like West to the Sun I hope that we teach our children the positive nature of the spirit of America.