Why Eagle Rock? Quite by accident, I discovered this region of the American West that holds so many keys to the expansion of our country, development of our national ethos, and progression of American values imbued in generations of pioneers and leaders. I was hooked and wanted to know more on my first visit to what is now Idaho Falls. (The name change itself is an interesting story for another time.)
So I began to look for a way to combine two of my passions ~ history and fiction ~ in hopes that other fiction readers would catch the spirit of this pivotal time and place in our country’s grand history.
This series attempts to present the stories of people enduring difficult conditions in the eastern states who were ultimately compelled to start a new life in the blank canvas that was the West. Some of them, including many Mormons, had a religious faith in conflict with others on the east coast. Some yearned for more space, more land, more independence. All bravely set forth.
I also wanted to explore the impact of the railroad on the westward expansion of the 1800s and the creativity of pioneers who would find a way to turn the high desert of Idaho into arable land.
And I discovered politics of the time that led to an early feminist movement in California, Utah, Idaho, and surrounding territories; appalling treatment of indigenous people groups, blatant racism against anyone from another country, and the raw use of wealth and power to control markets and form unregulated monopolies.
The more I learned, the more I wanted to tell this story in a way that would satisfy historical fiction readers and draw pure fiction lovers into the truly wild West. I wove together relatable fictional characters with the real-life people who really did leave homes in the East to breathe the air and create the saga of the late 19th-century American frontier.
I’ve included my research on the series’ people and events for those who want to know more. Much of it comes from the passion, dedication, and generosity of content creators on such great websites as Legends Of America, Chip Schweiger’s cowboy site, and more whose citations were lost in my documents (but will be picked up again in books two and three!)
It is my hope that readers can find something in these stories to encourage our progress as a nation, and in the stories of these characters, real and created, to inspire their own journeys.
