Moulton, Candy 1955-

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Moulton, Candy 1955-

(Candy L. Moulton, Candy Vyvey Moulton)

PERSONAL: Born October 22, 1955, in Rawlins, WY; daughter of Arthur W. (a rancher) and Betty M. (a rancher) Vyvey; married Steve Moulton (a rancher), August 13, 1977; children: Shawn Reed, Erin Marie. Education: Northwestern Community College, A.A., 1976; University of Wyoming, B.S., 1978. Hobbies and other interests: Wagon train travel, hiking, camping, cross-country skiing.

ADDRESSES: Home—Encampment, WY. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and editor. Saratoga Sun, Saratoga, WY, reporter, 1973-78, editor, 1978-82; freelance writer and editor, 1982—. Also writer/producer for Boston Productions, Inc., 1999—.

MEMBER: Western Writers of America (board member, 2001-03), Wyoming Media Professionals, Wyoming Writers, Wyoming Press women (president, 1st vice president, 2nd vice president, 3rd vice president, secretary, 1978-98), National Federation of Press Women, Women Writing the West, Oregon-California Trail Association, Nez Perce Trail Foundation.

AWARDS, HONORS: First place instructional book, National Federation of Women Press, 2001, for Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840-1900, and 2002, for Everyday Life among the American Indians; Spur Award finalist, Western Writers of America, 2003, for documentary script Footsteps to the West; Communicator of Achievement award, Wyoming Media Professionals, 2003; Spur Award, 2006, for Chief Joseph.

WRITINGS:

(As Candy Vyvey Moulton; with Flossie Moulton) Steamboat: Legendary Bucking Horse, High Plains Press (Glendo, WY), 1992.

(As Candy Vyvey Moulton) Legacy of the Tetons: Homesteading in Jackson Hole, Tamarack Books (Boise, ID), 1994, revised edition, La Frontera Pub. (Cheyenne, WY), 2007.

Roadside History of Wyoming, Mountain Press Publishing (Missoula, MT), 1995.

(With Ben Kern) Wagon Wheels: A Contemporary Journey on the Oregon Trail, High Plains Press (Glendo, WY), 1996.

Roadside History of Nebraska, Mountain Press Publishing (Missoula, MT), 1997.

The Grand Encampment: Settling the High Country, High Plains Press (Glendo, WY), 1997.

(With Sierra S. Adare) Salt Lake City Uncovered, Republic of Texas Press (Plano, TX), 1997.

The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840-1900, Writer’s Digest Books (Cincinnati, OH), 1999.

Everyday Life among the American Indians from 1800 to 1900, Writer’s Digest Books (Cincinnati, OH), 2001.

(Editor, with Max Evans) Hot Biscuits: Eighteen Short Stories by Women and Men of the Ranching West, University of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque, NM), 2003.

Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People, Forge Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Roadside History of Colorado, Mountain Press Publishing (Missoula, MT), 2006.

Also writer and producer of several documentary films, including Footsteps to the West, National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (Casper, WY). Contributor to periodicals, including Persimmon Hill Magazine, Wild West, Sunset, Fence Post, Casper Star-Tribune, Rawlins Daily Times, American Cowboy, Western Horseman, and Travel and Leisure. Editor of Roundup, 1995—, and Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association Journal, 2001—. Contributing editor to True West.

SIDELIGHTS: Raised on a ranch and married to a rancher, Candy Moulton is a writer who specializes in the history of the American West, penning both historic nonfiction and more unusual titles like Wagon Wheels: A Contemporary Journey on the Oregon Trail, which recounts the experiences of the people who took part in the 1993 sesquicentennial wagon train trip along the Oregon Trail. Her 1999 work, The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840-1900, “is a treasure trove for people who write fiction and nonfiction about the West and who strive for accuracy and telling details,” according to Wild West contributor Chrys Ankeny. The guide contains information on such topics as wagon trains, land ownership, marriage customs, crime and punishment, and the Indian Wars. In Booklist, Joe Collins remarked that Moulton’s work “acts as an encyclopedia of the sagebrush era.”

Moulton won a 2006 Spur Award for her biography Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People, which Booklist contributor Deborah Donovan called “moving and well documented.” Moulton recounts the life of the chief of the Nez Perce tribe with a special focus on his efforts to coexist with white men, believing that they would honor a treaty allowing his tribe to retain hold of 5,000 acres in Oregon and Idaho. The author then details how Chief Joseph decides to try to join Sitting Bull and his group to fight the white people after the U.S. government orders his tribe to move to a small reservation. Ultimately, Chief Joseph is tracked down by the army and faces his oppressors in the Battle of Bear’s Paw. Kliatt contributor Patricia Moore referred to Chief Joseph as “a carefully researched and lovingly written account.” Theresa McDevitt, writing in the Library Journal, noted that “this readable book is appropriate for the casual reader.”

In addition to writing books about western history, Moulton also edits Roundup magazine and contributes interviews, articles, and reviews to a number of periodicals geared to readers interested in life in the western states. She also worked with fellow author Max Evans on editing the fiction collection Hot Biscuits: Eighteen Short Stories by Women and Men of the Ranching West. She devoted almost twenty years to sifting through short fiction to find a suitable selection of stories. Moulton also contributed insight on women writers and her first work of fiction, the story “Open Winter,” to the volume.

Moulton once told CA: “I write as a career choice, primarily western nonfiction history in both books and periodicals. I write daily at the computer; I cannot compose on paper. I am influenced by past historians and current writing friends, particularly James A. Crutchfield, Lori Van Pelt, and Terry A. Del Been.”

Moulton later added: “I began writing for my local newspaper while in high school and funded my college education by working on newspapers. I love journalism and reporting hard news. I also love Western history and have managed to make a living by writing for newspapers, magazines, and books while maintaining my rural lifestyle outside a small Wyoming town. I particularly like to write about subjects that have been underserved by researching the stories of little-known people and places. I am influenced by historians who have preceded me—John Unruh, Bernard DeVoto, David Lavender, and others—and by those who are working today—Dale L. Walker, James A. Crutchfield, Will Bagley, Paul Hedren, Eli Paul, Jerome Greene, Robert Utley, Paul Andrew Hutton, and many more.

“I am surprised at how newer writers want to, and think they can, jump-start a career by cutting corners. They often self-publish believing that will legitimize their writing and make it easier to sell additional materials. Although occasionally there is someone for whom that is successful, most of the time it backfires. The way to create a writing career is to sit down in the chair and write. Then rewrite, edit, find a mentor, meet other writers, and network in the business.

“I like all of my books. I loved writing Chief Joseph, because the subject matter is so emotional and compelling. My current favorite book is usually the one I’m writing at that time.

“Most of all, I hope that [my books] will preserve some of the untold stories of the American West. I am a firm believer that grassroots history is the most important kind. Indeed, it may not make a writer the most money, but it can preserve the historical legacy of the place and the people.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 1999, Joe Collins, review of The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840-1900, p. 1284; March 1, 2005, Deborah Donovan, review of Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People, p. 1134.

Journal of the West, spring, 2007, John H. Monnett, review of Roadside History of Colorado.

Kliatt, November, 2006, Patricia Moore, review of Chief Joseph, p. 36.

Library Journal, April 1, 2005, Theresa McDevitt, review of Chief Joseph, p. 104.

Roundup Magazine, September, 1994, review of Legacy of the Tetons: Homesteading in Jackson Hole, p. 28; February, 1996, review of Roadside History of Wyoming, p. 27; December, 1997, review of The Grand Encampment: Settling the High Country, p. 27; April, 1998, review of Roadside History of Nebraska, p. 30; August, 2001, review of Everyday Life among the American Indians from 1800 to 1900, p. 26; April, 2005, review of Chief Joseph, p. 26; December, 2006, Doris R. Meredith, review of Roadside History of Colorado, p. 24.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 2005, review of Chief Joseph, p. 341.

Whispering Wind, July 1, 2004, Mary Smith, review of Everyday Life among the American Indians from 1800 to 1900, p. 36.

Wild West, December, 1997, Joe D. Megeath, review of Wagon Wheels: A Contemporary Journey on the Oregon Trail, pp. 82-83; June, 1998, review of Roadside History of Nebraska, p. 68; February, 2000, Chrys Ankeny, review of The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840-1900, p. 60; June, 2005, Ira M. White, “Chief Joseph Rides Again on a Tragic but Heroic Trail, in the Nez Perce Leader’s First Biography in Years,” p. 52; October, 2006, Luc Nettleton, review of Roadside History of Colorado, p. 72.