New Book Release: A New York Lady in Helldorado - by V.C. Williams

 

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There are many books and movies about the OK Corral and the men and women made famous because of those deadly thirty seconds. But there is another whose life was deeply impacted by that event. A NEW YORK LADY IN HELLDORADO, this story with true crime appeal tells about the first woman to win a case in the US Supreme Court without a man's help. Sarah Herring, now forgotten, didn't get there overnight. It took hard work and guts.

Wild and politically divided, Tombstone is the last place a New York schoolteacher expects to find her purpose. Despite her mother's schemes, it's not marriage. When smart, intuitive Sarah is enlisted by her attorney father to help Wyatt Earp develop his defense testimony, her eyes open to new possibilities. While the sensational reports of Thomas Sorin of the Tombstone Epitaph make nationwide headlines, Sarah faces danger and threats from outlaws and Wyatt's jealous mistress. Revealing his truth, Wyatt helps Sarah find hers. Love for the law convinces her to become a lawyer. But Thomas is a surprise. She loves him, too.

Conflicting passions force a bitter choice. Choosing the law, Sarah feels lost when Thomas leaves to chase his mining dreams. Her father's cold refusal to tutor her in favor of her brother adds to her despair. And when Wyatt, the man she thought she knew, runs to escape the law he swore to uphold, she wonders who to trust. With few options for women, her hope of passing the bar seems impossible. Yet, when tragedy strikes, Sarah proves she is as ruthless and strong-willed as the men who expect her to fail.

About the author:

V.C. Williams is a native Arizonan who makes her home high in the pines. She loves history and coming from a long line of pioneer women, writes Historical Fiction about strong, hardworking women who face the same demands women face today; juggling a desire for independence with marriage and motherhood. V.C. Williams has completed her next Historical Fiction about a strong woman who succeeds in a man's world without sacrificing those she loves. VC Williams is working on a cozy mystery and developing a Young Adult Historical Time Travel.

New Book Release: 100 Western Women: The Bold, Brave, Gutsy Women of Arizona's Past - by Jan Cleere

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History books record scant contributions women made in settling and developing the new territory of Arizona. Yet women were an integral part of civilizing the rough, rowdy, often dangerous land. For more than ten years, Jan Cleere has written about the women who influenced the growth and development of Arizona in her column "Western Women" that appears monthly in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. The famous, infamous and those not so well known are featured, each with a compelling story of surviving and thriving under less-than-ideal circumstances. Warriors, basket weavers, ranchers, artists, innkeepers, schoolteachers, politicians and entrepreneurs from a remarkable variety of backgrounds and cultures influenced the growth of Arizona.

Read about Larcena Pennington who had to crawl down a mountain to escape her Indian captors. Hopi artist Nampeyo continued to make exquisite pots even after she started losing her eyesight. Carmen Vasquez built a theater and brought in shows from as far away as Spain. Elizabeth Hudson Smith ran a successful hotel until the color of her skin turned a town against her. And Sarah Gorby allowed injured animals to live in her home until they could return to their desert habitats.

The 100 Western women featured between these pages are just a handful of those who came before and after them as the territory emerged and flourished into an amazing and diverse state unlike any other in the nation.

About the Author

Jan Cleere has been researching and writing about early Western women for over twenty-five years. Her work, including over a half-dozen books, has earned accolades from the writing industry including the Will Rogers Medallion awards, New Mexico/Arizona Book awards, Women Writing the West WILLA awards, Military Writers Society of America, National Federation of Press Women, Feathered Quill and Arizona Authors Association. The Arizona Newspapers Association recognized Jan for a series of historical profiles she wrote for Phoenix Woman Magazine, and the Nevada Women's History Project named her to its Roll of Honor for her significant contribution in the preservation of Nevada women's history. She is featured in several anthologies and her freelance work appears in national and regional publications.

New Book by Jan Cleere, Military Wives in Arizona Territory, Arriving March 1, 2021!

 

Preorder it HERE

When the US Army ordered troops into Arizona Territory in the nineteenth century to protect and defend newly established settlements, military men often brought their wives and families, particularly officers who might be stationed in the west for years.

Most of the women were from refined, eastern-bred families with little knowledge of the territory. Their letters, diaries, and journals from their years on army posts reveal untold hardships and challenges. They learned to cope with the sparseness, the heat, sickness, and danger, including wildlife they never imagined.

These women were bold, brave, and compassionate. They became an integral part of military posts that peppered the West and played an important role in civilizing the untamed frontier. Combining their words with original research and tracing their movements from post to post, this collection of historical narratives explores the tragedies and triumphs that early military wives experienced.

Author, historian and expert speaker Jan Cleere writes extensively about the desert southwest, particularly the people who first settled the territory. Her freelance work appears in national and regional publications including Arizona Highways Magazine, Persimmon Hill Magazine, Phoenix Woman, Tucson Guide Quarterly, The Desert Leaf, Chronicle of the Old West, and Arizona Garden. In 2001, Jan received recognition from Arizona Highways Magazine for her article, "Hostess to the West," the life of Elizabeth Hudson Smith, a Black entrepreneur in Wickenburg, Arizona, during the early 1900s.

Visit her website at: https://www.jancleere.com/