Billy Edd Wheeler pens first novel
‘The Boston Cowgirl’ draws inspiration from Kipling and the Old West
Mike Czeczot
Guest contributor
The Valley Echo
April 6, 2021
“The Boston Cowgirl” is the first novel published by songwriter, playwright, poet, humorist and Swannanoa resident Billy Edd Wheeler. Courtesy image
It's possible you've never heard of Billy Edd Wheeler. If you're a country music fan, you might recognize his chart-busting hits, like "Jackson,” recorded by Johnny and June Carter Cash; "Coward of the County,” a No. 1 hit for Kenny Rogers or tunes performed by a superstar list of other country and rock 'n' roll singers, such as Elvis Presley, John Denver, Neil Young and Roy Clark.
If your interests take you to rural areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia or North Carolina, then maybe you've read one of his eight books on Appalachian humor. If you're a fan of theater, then perhaps you've seen a performance of one of his eight stage productions, including "Hatfields & McCoys," performed in Beckley, West Virginia for 47 year.
But, if you've never heard of Swannanoa resident Billy Edd Wheeler or his songs, books or plays, you may soon have a hard time avoiding the name; in early February, the Swannanoa resident signed a contract with Longhorn Publishing of New Mexico to publish his first novel, "The Boston Cowgirl," a factual-fictional account of a teen's unintentional immersion into the life of a cowhand in the 1880s.
If that plot line seems vaguely familiar, it should — Wheeler says the inspiration for his novel came from Rudyard Kipling's "Captains Courageous."
"I read it about five years ago," Wheeler said of the 1897 novel. "Actually, I just read portions of it — I read up to where the little brat falls off the ship." The "brat" is fifteen-year-old Harbey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon who is saved from drowning by a fisherman in the north Atlantic.”
Billy Edd Wheeler has written songs like “Jackson,” which earned a Grammy Award for Johnny Cash and June Carter; “Coward of the County” by Kenny Rogers and many more. His first novel, “The Boston Cowgirl,” blends a fictional tale with historical facts while telling the story of a teenage girl’s unintentional immersion into the life of a cowhand in the 1880s. Courtesy photo
Wheeler's central character in "The Boston Cowgirl" is a spoiled 16-year-old daughter of a railroad tycoon who falls off daddy's cross-country train and is found by two young cowpokes.
In the first few lines of "The Boston Cowgirl," Wheeler describes her as "Rude, saucy, proud, ill-mannered, spoiled and disrespectful of authority. Always busy being good and bad simultaneously. Admired by her girlfriends for pushing for more women’s sports at Harvard in the 1880s. That’s Alexandra Benton."
Another spark that lit the idea for a novel came following Wheeler's chance encounter with legendary western novelist Louis L'Amour.
"I was in Nashville (on a promotional tour for one of his songs) and I met some people who loved him, who'd read all of his books,” Wheeler said of his time in the Music City in the early 1970s.
Although he wasn't seriously entertaining the thought of writing a novel, "I wrote him a letter, and he wrote me back. He even typed it,” Wheeler recalled enthusiastically.
The letter began: "Naturally, I was pleased to hear from you. I know of your singing, and have heard some very flattering comments on it from time to time, never expecting that we would have occasion to meet. I like (Johnny) Cash. His stuff is gutsy and real. Yours seems to run in the same general line, although it has a flavor all its own."
The correspondence went on for two full pages, stressing the need for accuracy in novel writing — historic, geographic, physical accuracy. Wheeler says he got the point.
"If you mention a certain type of grass, and the reader finds out it's only found way north of your locale, the reader's gonna drop you like a hot potato,” he said. "And you can't just look at a map and assume it's right when you're setting a scene — what's supposed to be a flat stretch of land could turn out to be a deep canyon, and you'd have to go way around it to reach your destination."
Wheeler's sourcebook to ensure accuracy in his novel was "The Log of a Cowboy" by Andy Adams, first published in 1903 and widely considered the most authentic narrative of cowboy life ever written.
"I also read a lot of westerns -- maybe 35, total, including one set in the same time period and areas (Utah, Montana),” he said. “And I went through two big, thick books about railroads of that era, and found them both intriguing. And, I learned more than enough to be accurate in my depictions of life on board a train."
Wheeler captures cowboys' actions, deed and their biting wit and sharp humor with colorful phrases like: "It's hot enough today to wither a fence post; It was hot ‘nough to scorch a bear cub’s butt; When the Lord handed out brains, that guy musta thought he said trains, and caught the wrong one,” and more.
"If you can make somebody laugh, it's like giving them a hug, or helping them feel better about themselves," Wheeler said of the one-liners, referring to the novel's characters, not readers.
"Cattle drives are a good example," Wheeler said. "After supper, cowboys often told big yarns to entertain each other; that way, they forget the hardships of sleeping on the ground in all kinds of weather. I remember some movies where love showed itself at just the right times. I remember one -- forgot the title -- where this happened at the end, and you hear a big black voice comment on the theme of the importance of love. It is like a big PS when you thought the movie was over. It's a well-known voice that gives you a hug and tells you to keep loving."
Wheeler says most of the characters in "The Boston Cowgirl" are also drawn from personal experiences, or beliefs.
One is "Miss Annie," Alexandra's nanny and former slave who Wheeler describes in the novel as "too smart to let her smarts be known."
"I have always been for equal rights. When I was young and living in a coal mining town in West Virginia, I got my first singing lessons from a black preacher,” Wheeler said. “And during my time at Warren Wilson, there were a lot of Cuban and Asian students... I guess Miss Annie could be a subtle way to promote (the cause).”
In "The Boston Cowgirl," Miss Annie quotes Shakespeare as a lesson for Alexandra:
"This above all--to thine own self be true.
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
"When I did a promo concert at Berea College, Dr. Doug Orr was moderator, and he surprised me at the end, when he asked me: 'B.E., do you have any advice for these students?' It caught me totally off-guard. I had to think a long minute, and finally I said: 'Be true to yourself.' I got a big (round of) applause (for) that."
Wheeler was also quick to acknowledge that "The Boston Cowgirl" was a collaborative effort.
"A few years ago, a friend of mine, Nathan Ives, the movie-maker guy, flew in from Los Angeles and we spent about a week hammering it out — lots of names, conflicts and situations — but he got too busy to help anymore, and I just laid it aside a while."
Another was Randy Poe, president of Leiber & Stoller Music Publishing in New York.
"He started out as co-writer of ‘The Boston Cowgirl,’ but got too busy to continue."
Wheeler also sought out Black Mountain author David Madden.
"He read the first 45 pages of the novel, and he said, 'You've got a very publishable novel here, and if you need help in that area, I might be of help.'“
In fact, it was Madden who wrote the summary that's on the cover of Wheeler’s first novel: "It took a Boston girl turned cowgirl to turn the wild and wooly West upside down."
“The Boston Cowgirl,” the first novel by Swannanoa resident, songwriter, playwright, poet and humorist Billy Edd Wheeler is available for purchase through Longhorn Publishing and Amazon.