Anna Schmidt’s The Drifter, part of her Last Chance Cowboys series, offers a hero “who trouble follows,” he admits, but the heroine just can’t keep her distance from him. Anna’s here to share her tips on surviving the Old West (it’s more than just putting on that leather vest, fyi). Here’s Anna jumping into the saddle to spur us into some Old West knowledge.

Anna Schmidt’s Five Tips for Surviving the Old West

• Be prepared! The Boy Scouts mantra notwithstanding, possibly the biggest mistake newcomers to the frontier made was in not learning enough about the terrain, the weather, the hazards, etc. Many came West with the arrogance so common among those leaving a cosmopolitan area and headed for something more rural and unsettled.

• Pack light! The trails west were littered with pianos and heavy furniture pieces and trunks filled with fancy clothes that settlers thought they simply could not live without—until they started trying to cross a mountain range, a desert or a raging river.
• Don’t wear cotton! I just read an article about this. Cotton is of course cool and comfortable under most circumstances, but it clings to the skin when wet and takes some time to dry meaning the person can often end up feeling chilled or uncomfortable. In an area where days can be steamy but night downright cold, this can cause problems. Other natural fibers are better—wool, silk, linen.
• Be aware of your surroundings at all times! This one certainly applies to life through the ages no matter the location. Danger and catastrophe come in all sorts of forms. Once my husband and I started on a hike in Yellowstone when the skies were a perfect cloudless blue, ignoring the weather report that a storm was coming. Sure enough we got caught in a downpour with hail that came up truly “out of the blue.”
• Don’t ignore the locals! So often travelers ran across people whose look, speech, lifestyle and education differed vastly from their own. And yet it was more often than not these locals—native Americans, trappers, prospectors, local townspeople who had come before—who so often provided the tools, advice and community that saved a “tenderfoot.”

About The Drifter:

Caught between a greedy corporation and a desperate love of the land, Maria Porterfield barely has time to mourn her father’s death. If her family is to survive, it’ll be up to her to take charge—but she can’t do it alone. When a mysterious drifter rides into town, the handsome cowboy seems like an answer to her prayers. But Chet isn’t interested in settling down, no matter how tempting the offer…

Chet made his way West looking for a fresh start—the last thing he wants is to get involved in someone else’s fight. But something about Maria awakens a powerful need to protect the fierce beauty at all costs. He never thought he’d find love, but as danger presses in, he may find there’s more beyond the next horizon than just another long and dusty trail.

Award-winning author Anna Schmidt delights in creating stories where her characters must wrestle with the challenges of their times. Critics have consistently praised Schmidt for her ability to seamlessly integrate actual events with her fictional characters to produce strong tales of hope and love in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. She resides in Wisconsin.