As a kid, Jason Anderson was captivated by the stories of families moving west in a covered wagon. When the computer game “Oregon Trail” came out during his seventh and eighth grade years, he and his friends latched onto it.
“The unwavering commitment and spirit of those early pioneers left a pretty big impression on me,” he said.
Jason was also good at writing as a student, and today he has combined those two loves–the Westward expansion era and writing–to produce his first novel, “Trail of Hope,” the story of the fictional Wheeler family as they travel west from Pennsylvania.
Since Jason is also a lieutenant on Engine 8/A-Shift with the Abilene Fire Department, he does most of his writing late at night. A 1994 graduate of Hawley High School, Jason has a bachelor’s degree from West Texas A&M University and a master’s degree from Sam Houston State University.
He also served in the Army, including a tour in Iraq in 2005. Jason and his wife, Heather, are the happy owners of two dogs, Jameson and Piper. He is contemplating a sequel to “Trail of Hope,” or maybe a military or political thriller, two other genres he enjoys.
“Writing is quite enjoyable when it is based on a topic that really interests you. For ‘Trail of Hope,’ I think I enjoyed the research and studying almost as much as developing the storyline.”
By Loretta Fulton
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