 Jeffrey writes intriguing historical westerns fit for twenty-first century readers who appreciate realistic plot with well developed characters. Experts who have reviewed his novels have applauded his attention to historical detail and his thoroughly researched people, place settings, weapons, and even his grasp of period political and current events of the time. In his latest historical, The Indeh, Jeffrey researched real accounts of survivors of the Apache Wars, including journals of real Buffalo Soldiers who served in New Mexico and Texas, as well as published accounts of the military leaders and politicians involved in planning the military and economic campaigns during the War. He is also a fan of "revisionist historians" and he follows several of the most prominent historians as they add new details to the life and times of western heroes, based on new analysis of census data and journals of prominent citizens of the era. It is now estimated that one in four cowboys was black. Some recent studies based on historical data place that estimate as high as one in three. But at the end of the day, Jeffrey says, people are people, regardless of their ethnicity or where they're from. People were good and bad, sometimes both, and that's what makes for a great story. Jeffrey brings the same level of character development to his action thrillers. "No matter how far-fetched a plot idea is in near-future fiction, or how wild the action is," Jeffrey says, "If you have realistic believable characters - good and evil - that readers can bond with, you have succeeded in crafting a good story." |