Historical Fiction

My mother called me a dreamer. Sure enough, she was right. Whatever it was she saw led to an interest in fiction, then to creative writing. Historical fiction, which can engage, entertain, and inform the reader about rich yet little-known history, became my genre of choice.

The Utah War (1857-1858) is one of those fascinating events. In researching another historical episode, I stumbled into this one. I’d never heard of it, and its story, characters, and time period fascinated me. That “war” saw the longest winter march in U.S. military history—from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Fort Bridger, Wyoming. I read more. References to a military unit called the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican-American War (1846-1847) kept popping up. The volunteer unit made the longest march in U.S. military history—from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego. Four laundresses made the trek with the battalion, two of whom were pregnant.

Two historical novels grew from this interest. The first, Beyond the Rio Gila, relays the history of the Mormon Battalion and is told as a coming-of-age story with a U.S. dragoon as its protagonist. The sequel, Deseret Reckoning (a work-in-progress), follows the protagonist from the first novel through the Utah War in a tale of vengeance. Philip St. George Cooke commanded both units, the Mormon Battalion and the Second Dragoons, during those marches.