Dodging the bulls
West Texas author Patrick Dearen will be in town to sign his new book

BY WILLIAM KERNS
A-J ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

When Patrick Dearen typed the last line of a novel simply titled "Perseverance," he was aware that he'd published much longer works of fiction, but equally certain that he had written nothing better.

What the West Texas author could not have known back when he penned the very first line, shortly after graduating from the University of Texas, was that he had embarked on a mission that ultimately would test his own perseverance.

Thirty-two years would pass before this novel, inspired by his father's shared memories, would find the light of day.

Seventeen crafted and re-crafted drafts, countless revisions and depressing rejections, and the gradual deleting of more than 30,000 words would be required before Virginia Messer, a respected publisher with Austin's Eakin Press, at last directed an e-mail to Dearen, stating, "'Perseverance' is the best."

Provided by Patrick Dearen Delbert Dearen, right, and Cecil Chaney pose while clinging to a freight train at Colorado City during the Depression. Dearen's memories of hoboing and riding the rails inspired his son, West Texas author Patrick Dearen, to write "Perseverance."

Dearen will sign copies of "Perseverance" and his other works today at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 6707 Slide Road.

Growing up in Sterling City, population about 1,000, Dearen's earliest and favorite memories were his father's stories about riding the rails and dodging railroad "bulls" (cops) while trying to survive the Depression years.

"Perseverance" focuses on 21-year-old Ishmael (called Ish), who, in 1932, while separated from his family, learns that his mother is hospitalized with diabetes in Galveston.

As destitute as he is desperate to reach his mom, Ish learns the ins and outs of hopping freights. Never skilled enough to be mistaken for a stiff (professional hobo), Ish interacts with varied down-and-outs, develops short-term relationships with a few and hopes for more from a woman not ready to share secrets.

By age 14, Dearen had set his sights on a career as a writer.

Provided by Library of Congress A young boy runs toward the tracks and prepares to hop aboard a freight train during the Depression years in the United States. Patrick Dearen's novel "Perseverance" was inspired by his father's memories of hoboing on freight trains in Texas.

He later worked three-year terms at two newspapers, the San Angelo Standard-Times and Midland Reporter Telegram, but recalled that writing news and features for eight hours and then going home to write by the light of a kerosene lamp "became a grind. It began to feel like double duty.

"My goal was to work at each newspaper only long enough to save enough money so I could quit my job with enough funds to support my 'real' writing."

In the process, however, he fell in love and simultaneously found a wife and an editor.

Provided by Library of Congress A number of families found themselves destitute during the Great Depression, either sneaking aboard freight trains or being pulled off and arrested by the "bulls," i.e. police patrolling the railway yards. Patrick Dearen's research on the Depression years helped him craft his novel "Perseverance."

"My wife, Mary, and I met in 1981 at the Midland Reporter Telegram," said Dearen, "where she is now the features editor. We got married six years to the day after our first date."

She stayed at the newspaper; he stayed at home to write.

When their son, Wesley, was born in 1990, it was not unusual to find Patrick working every day on books in his home office while baby Wesley slept comfortably under dad's chair.

Dearen's novel "The Shakwa" was his first to be published, in 1978. Many more would follow, but he may have been too close to "Perseverance" to recognize its faults right away.

Texas novelist William Edward Syers, who consented to read Dearen's 79,778-word manuscript and offer advice, was the first to propose that the story could not sustain a novel of that length. Dearen would made consistent trims for 30 years, but it was never easy.

West Texas author Patrick Dearen, who left newspaper reporting to focus on writing novels and non-fiction projects, devoted more than 30 years to crafting and re-crafting a family-inspired novella called "Perseverance."

"Criticism is like staples going through your back," noted Dearen. "No one likes it, especially a young writer still trying to find a measure of confidence. ... The toughest part was cutting it back so drastically."

The final 131-page novel is approximately 46,000 words.

An average of more than 1,000 words per year disappeared over 32 years. Dearen estimates that he actually killed "hundreds of thousands, maybe a million, words."

But the editing helped him craft his other books and, in turn, writing them made it easier to edit "Perseverance."

Dearen cited his reasons for never giving up. "First, how could I give it that title and not have the perseverance to finish? Perseverance is a key to success in almost everything, whether chasing your dream or making your marriage work.

Event Info Event: West Texas author Patrick Dearen signing copies of recently published novel "Perseverance," 2006 non-fiction book "Saddling Up Anyway: The Dangerous Lives of Old-Time Cowboys," and 2004 novel "When the Sky Rained Dust." Latter won the R.C. Crane Award in category of Best Fiction Book, given by the West Texas Historical Association. When: 1-3 p.m. Saturday. Where: Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 6707 Slide Road. Cost: No additional charge for autographs. Book prices: "Perseverance," $17.95; "Saddling Up Anyway: The Dangerous Lives of Old-Time Cowboys," $22.95; and "When the Sky Rained Dust," $12.95. Information: 798-8990.

"Second was the very fact it was inspired by my dad's true-life experience - and because when those four million people took to the roads and rails, many had nothing but perseverance to see them through.

"And there's a (passage) from the book, when Ish relays how his grandfather predicted that Ish would face hard times."

Quoting his own words, Dearen reads the part of Ish:

"'He said I'd wake up one of these days and say to myself, well, what's the use? He said when that happens, I can do one of two things. I can either go ahead and give up, die on the inside even if I look like I'm still alive, or I can scratch and claw and keep on plugging. He told me there's a whole world out there waiting for somebody with the perseverance to give it hope.'"

Dearen also shares his own Christian faith via Ish.

"Absolutely," he noted. "It's important to use whatever talents we've been given to share our own spirituality."

Note: The careers of William Kerns and Patrick Dearen overlapped for a short time as reporters for the San Angelo Standard-Times for several months in 1976.

To comment on this story:

william.kerns@lubbockonline.com 766-8712

shelly.gonzales@lubbockonline.com 766-8747

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