PRESCOTT - What do historical fiction, science fantasy, romance and stories of the supernatural hold in common? In this instance, it's the author - Prescott's very own Susan Matley. Best known by locals as Cimarron Sue, Matley spends her days rehearsing music with her husband Bruce (aka Nevada Slim), and honing the craft of writing. Matley has had several short stories published and recently sold her first book - a science fantasy novella - to WolfSinger Publications.

Born and raised in Port Townsend, Wash. Matley moved to her current homestead, one mile east of Prescott, in 2007. The Matleys share a love of history and heritage and have been performing together as the traditional cowboy music duo Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue since 1999. The pair plays festivals and fairs across the western states and Canada, with over 1,800 professional performances to date.

"We've chosen to slow down a bit in the last few years," said Matley. "We realized that we've been away from home three full years in the last ten." The lightened schedule has the added benefit of allowing her more time to focus on writing.

Matley began writing with the intent to publish in 1996, but says she has enjoyed creative writing since her sister taught her the alphabet at three. "Port Townsend was a good place to grow up for children interested in the arts. I was surrounded by artists, painters, actors and musicians."

James Mitsui, her high school english teacher and a Washington State poet laureate at the time, offered particular encouragement and noted that Matley wrote on "topics of universal interest" in her class journal posts.

Matley's first passion was drama, however, and she spent years heavily involved in all aspects of the Port Townsend theatre scene. She majored in drama at Whitman College for two years before marrying and returning to Port Townsend. Divorce, remarriage and subsequent moves led to a business administration degree and career as a CPA. Matley remained heavily involved in community theater throughout the 1990's; directing, acting, writing shows and serving as theater board president.

In 1996, during a period of life reflection following the death of her father, she pulled out her old high school journals and began writing again. "I think it was something creative that I could do by myself," she said. She entered contests and "failed miserably" before "getting the wild hair to write a confession story."

Her first piece sold in 1997 at 3 cents a word and she saw her story's title - I Saw Him Kissing Another Man's Wife - inked in red across the bright yellow cover of True Love Magazine. She bought all five copies available at the local grocery store.

Matley focused initially on the romance genre but soon realized it wasn't a fit. "I didn't like following the prescribed formulas. My biggest transgression was writing heroes and heroines where the women were not 25 years old, blonde, and the most beautiful women in the world and the men were not 35 years old, dark and the most handsome and rich- est man in the world. Who cares about those people? They don't need their stories told!" she said, laughing.

Matley said she really began making sales when she stepped into the speculative fiction genre. "I've always liked The Twilight Zone where everything seems normal, but there's a twist." She sold "Matriarch's Privilege," an imagined tale about her grandmother, who had passed away at age 101. "She was definitely the iron fist in the Lilly Dache glove," said Matley. "The story was about her spirit returning and insisting we do some kind of celebration on her birthday.

Her next published story - "about a fat, neutered, orange cat named Henry who is upset about a move" - came to her in the midst of moving to Prescott in 2007. She sold several more short stories, including "Inheritence", a shapeshifter werewolf story based in historic Prescott in 1860.

She is currently marketing a completed novella set in 1897, during the 50th anniversary of the Whitman Massacre. That story revolves around the massacre survivors, including the Sager sisters, and events unfold through scenes covering the fifty-year span. Matley spent hours at the Penrose Library at Whitman College researching the piece.

Matley is fascinated with local history and shared that her great grandfather, grandfather and father were all born in Starbuck. Her father moved to the west side after the Starbuck train roundhouse where he worked, was closed. She also learned that her current home was built by children of the first two families that moved to Prescott in 1858. "Reverend Spalding, who came out here with the Whitman's had the claim across the street. It's not only that there's a lot of history in the area, but there aren't that many degrees of separation," she said.

Matley recently sold her first book to WolfSinger Publications (wolfsingerpubs.com). Her novella titled Small-g City is slated for their 2015-16 publishing cycle. "'Small-g' refers to lesser ranked Olympian gods like structurelings and weather gods, as opposed to 'Big-g' gods like Zeus and Hera," said Matley. WolfSinger Publications editor Carol Hightshoe said, "WolfSinger is still a very small publisher and doesn't put out lots of books each year, so I look for books that are intriguing and unique, like Small-g City."

Matley said she often receives the suggestion to selfpublish, but has declined to go that route, finding value in the editorial process. "I've spent years working in theater, writing and music. I've learned that if you can't take constructive criticism, you don't grow," she said.

Mat ley is current ly "cleaning up" a novel to present to the Western Writer's of America Conference in Sacramento this June. The novel is called Mary Benton and is the story of a girl who crosses the Oregon Trail with her family in 1851 and settles in the Willamette Valley. The story is entirely fictional but is set in the same years that Matley's great-great grandparents came west and eventually settled in Columbia County.

In the meantime, the Matleys will be busy performing throughout the area in the coming months. Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue can be heard Friday and Saturday at the Columbia River Cowboy Gathering in Kennewick. They will also be singing, playing and reciting poetry at Prescott's 7th Annual Cowboy Poetry Celebration at the Prescott Lions Hall at 7 p.m. on April 21.