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Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Local author talks about horses and writing
Blue Mountain Eagle
CANYON CITY – Writing un-
der the pen name A.K. Moss, Can-
yon City author Kathy Moss shares
her love of Eastern Oregon, horses
and the Western way of life in “Un-
spoken.”
The book, published in 2014,
tells the tale of a struggling ranch
family in the Baker City area, and
the choices that lead them to over-
come obstacles and forge a better
future.
At the heart of the tale, the
16-year-old daughter learns lessons
about love, loyalty and friendship.
Moss has tackled such subjects
before, always with a Western flair,
in her cowboy poetry and photog-
raphy. When not honing her writ-
ing, she co-owns Russell’s Meats
in Canyon City with her husband,
Tracy.
The Eagle asked her about her
book for this Q&A.
Q. You’re well known in these
parts for your cowboy poetry, but
not everyone knows you as a nov-
elist. What made you turn to writ-
ing fiction tales, and was it a long-
time ambition or recent idea?
A. Words on paper have always
been very easy for me. Poetry has
been very good to me in that I was
able to put stories down and it was
almost effortless to do. It gave me
an opportunity to travel all over
the country stepping out of my
comfort zone and doing public
speaking at schools and in public,
sharing Western lifestyles and liv-
ing. “Unspoken” came to me about
1996. At that time I was working a
couple mustangs, helping a couple
of people with troubled horses and
helping a few kids learn to ride and
understand horses, language and
what the horse might be saying.
What made me change from poet
to a novelist? Well, I don’t think
it was a conscious choice. The po-
etry never really stopped; it kept
Contributed photo
Local author Kathy Moss, writing under the pen name A.K. Moss,
shares her love of Eastern Oregon, horses and the West, in her
new novel, “Unspoken.”
coming, but it wasn’t as effortless
as before. I still write poetry, but
right now fiction is where I feel I
belong.
Q. “Unspoken” has a family
at its heart, with the 16-year-old
daughter as protagonist. What
made you choose a teen to put at
the center of the action?
A. When I wrote, I never really
thought about age, gender or even
a plot for “Unspoken.” I wanted
the Cason family to be as strong
as I thought our family was, but
as I think about it, I feel the West-
ern lifestyle creates strong fami-
lies. Why Paige? I think that Paige
opens up an avenue to youth and
curiosity, while releasing the ex-
pectation of learning and teaching
an adult. It makes it a little easier
to understand without judgment of
teaching an adult.
Q. Tell us how you developed
your story, and when you find the
time to write?
A. I started “Unspoken” and
even the sequel, “Finding Home,”
from beginning to end with no plot
or layout in mind. I just wrote what
I wrote, because I wrote it.
When do I find time to write,
well, usually about two or three
in the morning, I can stay up until
five, sleep till six, be to work by
eight. But lately I have been taking
some mornings, staying home and
getting a few more chapters in.
Q. You weave in a lot of scenes
about horse training and the “lan-
guage” of horses – Tell us a little
about your own experiences with
horses?
A. In growing up, we as a fam-
ily never really fit into society, if
you will; we didn’t have stuff – we
had horses. When I went to school,
I felt out of place, never fit in any-
where except in the horse corral
because the horses didn’t care if
my socks matched or not. They
never questioned me about my
clothes and didn’t care what kind
of grades I got. It was just me and
the horse trying to get by the best
we could with what we had.
Q. Are there trainers who partic-
ularly inspired you?
A. My second dad (after the
truck) was a horse trader. He would
buy troubled horses, bring them
home, and we would work them for
a month or two. When I would get
home from school there would be a
new horse in the corral. I couldn’t
tell you how many horses we saved
from the slaughter house. Papa
seldom let me ride them first off;
he had me busy in the corrals do-
ing the groundwork. In the solace
of the corral I learned or began to
understand a silent language.
I learned by experience but
as I grew up I sought out books
by Ray Hunt, Tom Dorrance and
Buck Brannaman, I loved to read
about them and their techniques,
but when it came down to it, it was
the horse that was my teacher.
Q. The story of “Unspoken”
should be a hit with young adult
readers, but doesn’t it really reach
out to a broader audience?
A. “Unspoken” started out to
be a young adult book but I found
that it has been enjoyed by all
ages, even by men. I am just hum-
bled at the wonderful reviews it
has received. It has gone to Aus-
tralia, Canada, England and all
across the United States.
Is it for everyone? Probably
not, but if it inspires… it was
worth putting the words on paper
and offering it for the world to
read.
Q. At the end, your book has
a sneak preview of the sequel.
What’s the status of the next pub-
lication? Will there be more books
about young Paige Cason?
A. “Unspoken” is a trilogy; the
second book is “Finding Home”
and will be out middle of July. I
am so very happy how the story
came together and how my writing
has matured. It is an honor to read
such kind reviews. I am so pleased
with the support I have received for
“Finding Home” and I had the op-
portunity to have Laurie Hueckman
do the artwork for the cover of the
book. The third in the series will be
“From the Heart.” I also have two
other books in mind, “Red Roan,”
out of a poem that I have written
and also “Finding Grace,” a mem-
oir of how I grew up.
Q. Where are the books avail-
able?
A. You can order “Unspoken”
through Amazon.com, “Unspoken
Volume 1.” It will be out in Kindle
soon, or visit my web site www.
akmossbooks.com, or join me on
Facebook at A.K. Moss Books.
You can pick up a copy of “Unspo-
ken” at Roan Out West or Bar WB
in Prairie City; Chester’s Thrift-
way in John Day; Betty’s Books
in Baker City; Dayville Merc in
Dayville; or Russell’s Custom
Meats & Deli in Canyon City. If
you are interested in stocking my
books, or booking a reading, email
akmoss12@gmail.com.
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