When Sid Sibo was writing her first novel “The Scent of Distant Family,” it was the character of Wyoming that inspired her as well as her work as a park ranger for the U.S. Forest Service.
It was also the real story of a lost dog that stirred her imagination and became the basis for her novel.
Zella was a three-legged mixed breed that had a bad start in life.
She was wary of people, so when she was adopted from Jackson to a family in Douglas, she ran from her new home. It was in the middle of winter and chances for her survival were slim. But people kept seeing her, so they knew she was alive.
The Jackson shelter director and her husband traveled across the state to find Zella and were amazed by the help they had in their search for the missing dog.
“My first inspiration for my book was this lost dog,” Sibo said. “They kept meeting local people who were so eager to help and that was what caught my attention.”
Sibo also had a dog who went missing, and neighbors kept reporting potential sightings for months. It touched her how much people wanted to help. Her own lost dog was a Catahoula Leopard Hound and that became the breed of the dog, Zolo, in her story.
Since Sibo’s story is written from seven points of view it only seemed natural to her that one voice is of the dog who had run away.
“The opened gate disappears behind him, and his legs stretch over snow, over sagebrush,” Sibo wrote in the first pages of her book. “Hundreds of green velvet hands stroke his sides, and steel stems spur his flanks, urging speed.”
The Hidden Towns Of Wyoming
Her writing has been described as poetic and descriptive, catching the Wyoming scenery she used as the backdrop of her novel.
Sibo wanted to use this dramatic landscape of the Cowboy State as her background of “The Scent Of Distant Family,” but decided to disguise the locations.
“It was really fun to change up the names,” Sibo said. “People don’t recognize which town was theirs even though I thought it was really simple.”
Examples that Sibo gave of these name changes include Pinedale becoming Sprucedale. Cora became Dora, and Jackson was called Teewinot. Sibo said that the changes are not very well hidden for people who know the areas.
“I called Alpine ‘Dust’ for gold dust because that was the kind of gold they were getting from a gold camp above the town,” Sibo said.
She also chose to write under a pen name, Sid Sibo, and had fun choosing a name that she felt would be unique and hadn’t been used before.
Life As A Park Ranger
Another important inspiration for the novel was Sibo’s career in nature as a U.S. Forestry Park Ranger.
After college, her first summer in Wyoming was spent working in the Snake River Canyon with river outfitters. The next summer, Sibo began her career as a wilderness ranger.
She hiked, rode horses and packed llamas and still misses those nights in the backcountry of Wyoming.
From Teton County down to Lincoln County, Sibo worked with a trail crew work, planting and thinning. Over the years, she also manned the front desk, managed the recreation programs, and was assigned to planning.
“The variety is part of the joy of the work,” she said. “I liked bopping along and seeing what else I could do.”
This “bopping” around and all the experience helped as Sid began to plan the next chapter in her life after 30 years working for the Forest Service. The same day she retired, she received a contract for her manuscript by the University of Nebraska.
From Fact To Fiction
Despite encouragement from attendees at her book discussion group to write nature books, Sibo chose to write in a fictional world because she said that stories are just how we are wired.
“It's wonderful to hear how people respond,” Sibo said. “It's so exciting to hear what people see differently. To see how people read different things into the story is awesome.”
After exploring the way people came together to save a runaway dog, Sibo said her book developed into the story of a family falling apart and a community coming together. It was all set against the wild landscape of Wyoming which was teaching people humility. Her book has been categorized as general fiction which is defined as fiction with universal themes.
“My book came out from a university press where they don't do a ton of fiction,” she said. “They must think my story encourages people to think a little.”
“The Scent of Distant Family” is also receiving accolades from the literary world and is a finalist for the Forword INDIES award. Sibo competed against thousands of authors from small presses and independently published books to win the designation as a finalist in this contest that is judged by her peers.
“It is an honor that they would pick my story to come out alongside all of their really fabulous nonfiction,” Sibo said. “It's all small presses and university presses.”
Since she had not initially written the novel as a thriller or murder mystery, she was surprised that readers said the plot kept them guessing and wanting to read more. As she contemplates her next project, she is just delighted that her novel about Wyoming has been so well-received.
“All the teaching around writing is that you must keep people reading,” she said. “I’m happy that people are still turning the page.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
