I have one of my favorite people on here today with a special post.
Welcome, Susan. Tell us about Arizona.
My new book, Almost
Arizona, is set in 1912, and is a tribute to this achievement. Another
author, Darlene Franklin, envisioned a series of books about the states that
make up the Four Corners region. She has
written a book about Colorado , Pride’s Fall, and Carla Olsen Gade
contributed the first in the series, set in New Mexico and titled The Shadow Catcher’s Daughter. Each of these stories highlights a
historical event centered at Four Corners—the surveys and locating of the spot
where the four states (including Utah )
meet. Almost Arizona ends with the
placing of the modern monument there.
In my story, Julia Newman has been away from the small
mining town where her family lives. She expects to come home to live a peaceful
life there with her brother, but things have gone awry. Here’s the back cover
copy:
Julia Newman heads home to her Arizona mountain town on
one of the last surviving stagecoaches. Instead of a happy reunion with her
brother, she is treated to a holdup. The man investigating the robbery is
Deputy Sheriff Adam Scott—whose marriage proposal Julia turned down two years ago.
Now Adam thinks her brother Oliver is mixed up in the robbery. Julia knows
better, but when she arrives home, Oliver is nowhere to be found. She knows she
must locate him before Adam—or the lynch mob—does. A cryptic message from
Oliver sends Julia riding across the high desert to find him.
Researching this book was very interesting. I learned a lot
about the Navajo tribe and about the petroglyphs found carved on stone in the
Southwest. I also studied about Canyon Diablo, a town that came to life overnight
in 1882, when the railroad was being built. The tracks had to cross a deep
river canyon, but the wrong materials were sent for the trestle bridge. A very
rowdy town sprang up while the railroad workers waited, but it lasted only a
few years. As soon as the railroad bridge was complete, most of the people
moved on. The town had 2,000 people at its peak, but today only ruins can be
seen.
Among Canyon Diablo’s claims to fame was its short-lived
first marshal. He was sworn in at 3 p.m., the story goes, and buried at 8 p.m.
the same day. By 1903, the only building remaining in town was the Navajo
trading post, which I’ve made use of in my story.
Almost Arizona is
a current selection of the Heartsong Presents Book Club, and will soon be
available in other venues.
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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