When Briana Vedsted, 20, isn't working for her parents' Pleasant View ranch, she is spinning tales about the Old West, a habit she picked up as a child that has led to her first book deal.
Vedsted's latest novel, "Me and Billy the Kid," was picked up by Tate Publishing last year and was released Nov. 5.
"It was so awesome find out about it," she said in a phone interview. "When I first got the email, I thought they were joking."
Editing, cover design and printing took a year, and now it is time for a nationwide book tour ... right?
"Not exactly, I'm still working on the ranch, but I will be promoting it locally," she said.
"Me and Billy the Kid" is historical fiction that is based in fact but takes creative license with missing parts of the well-known rebel's life.
"There are a lot of times in his life that nobody knows what happened, so I filled in the gaps by creating some adventures with a girlfriend named Angel," Vedsted said.
In the weeks before he was shot dead, Billy the Kid traveled to Fort Sumner, a true event that Vedsted uses as a fictional setting for a kidnapping-and-hostage situation involving Angel.
"It is basically a Western romance," she said. "The key to any good story is a convincing portrayal of the fictional characters."
The mystery and symbolism of Western characters is an attractive topic for the young writer.
"I was inspired to write about Billy the Kid after visiting a museum in New Mexico that told about his legend," Vedsted said. "He has a reputation for being a bad guy, but in my research I found he had good in him too. He was deputized to kill, but it was done to avenge his friend's death. Also' he was good to the poor, an Old West Robin Hood from the late 1800s."
This is Vedsted's fourth book - she self-published the other three. Her writing trends toward western romance set in the old-time worlds of gold mines, bank robbers, cattle rustlers and pioneer life.
Exploring the supernatural is an interest as well, brought to life in an earlier work, a ghost story called "The Night I Walked Off of Boot Hill."
Vedsted was homeschooled through Lighthouse Christian Academy. She credits her family for encouraging an early habit of storytelling, writing and reading. Plus, they make good editors.
"When I was younger, my mom was always making up stories about tumbleweeds, coyotes or cows," she says. "I was planning on becoming a teacher, but when my parents read my early stories, they thought they were good and encouraged me to change my mind and become an author."
Vedsted will have another book signing at the Cortez branch of Mancos State Bank, (across from Cliffrose Gardens) at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22. Copies of the 90-page book will be available for $10. Her books are being sold online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
"I try to write for young adults, but older folks have told me my stories are interesting to read for anybody," she said. "I am pursuing a writing career, but I also love working on the farm and ranch."
