Book Blurb:
Embark on a harrowing trek across the rugged American frontier in 1850. Your wagon awaits, and the untamed wilderness calls. This epic western adventure will test the mettle of even the bravest souls.
Dorcas Moon and her family set forth in search of opportunity and a brighter future. Yet, what awaits them is a relentless gauntlet of life-threatening challenges: miserable weather, ravenous insects, scorching sunburns, and unforgiving terrain. It's not merely a battle for survival but a test of their unity and sanity.
Amidst the chaos, Dorcas faces ceaseless trials: her husband's unending bickering, her daughter's descent into madness, and the ever-present danger of lethal rattlesnakes, intensifying the peril with each step. The specter of death looms large, with diseases spreading and the eerie howls of rabid wolves piercing the night. Will the haunting image of wolves desecrating a grave push Dorcas over the edge?
With each mile, the migration poses a haunting question: Who will endure the relentless quest to cross the continent, and who will leave their bones to rest beside the trail? The pathway is bordered by graves, a chilling reminder of the steep cost of dreams.
A Grave Every Mile marks the commencement of an unforgettable saga. Start reading Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail now to immerse yourself in an expedition where every decision carries the weight of life, death, and the pursuit of a brighter future along the Oregon Trail
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/yw1AjJk
Author Bio:
David Fitz-Gerald writes westerns and historical fiction. He is the author of twelve books, including the brand-new series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail set in 1850. Dave is a multiple Laramie Award, first place, best in category winner; a Blue Ribbon Chanticleerian; a member of Western Writers of America; and a member of the Historical Novel Society.
Alpine landscapes and flashy horses always catch Dave’s eye and turn his head. He is also an Adirondack 46-er, which means that he has hiked to the summit of the range’s highest peaks. As a mountaineer, he’s happiest at an elevation of over four thousand feet above sea level.
Dave is a lifelong fan of western fiction, landscapes, movies, and music. It should be no surprise that Dave delights in placing memorable characters on treacherous trails, mountain tops, and on the backs of wild horses.
Editorial Review:
Editorial Review: “A Grave Every Mile”
Author: David Fitz-Gerald
Book 1 of 5: “Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail” Series
“I crack the whip furiously, but the team can barely pull the wagon. It sounds like someone is throwing rocks at the wagon. I glance into the water and see floating chunks of ice. I yell at the oxen like I’m shouting at the Devil, though I just want to throw my arms around their necks and weep for them. Instead I snap the bullwhip all about them furiously, as if their lives depend on it.”
Everything about “A Grave Every Mile” is evocative; from the title, to the descriptive language, to the author’s depiction of the relentless daily challenges of pioneer America. , and the people who risked everything to start a new life. The novel’s central characters are the Moon family – Dorcas, a resilient and forthright wife and mother, her husband Larkin, and their children. Dorcas is very much the protagonist, and it is through her eyes that much of the story is told. Larkin is more mild-mannered; the author has crafted him as very much secondary to Dorcas. He wears spectacles, “peers” at his pocket watch and he will not travel in the wagon, claiming seasickness. By contrast the almost six-foot-tall Dorcas is already a crack shot with a firearm, wrangling children, livestock, supplies, (and Larkin!) with ease.
The novel is written in first-person present tense, which puts the reader right at the center of the story. The immediacy of the writing style is effective. Dorcas arguably has more agency than would many women of her time (1850), but perhaps that is authentic for pioneer times where traditional life and roles were up-ended during great change. Dorcas is privately admiring of the men around her, which, while not a major moral transgression, may be jarring for some readers given the expectations of the time period and her lack of similar focus on her own husband.
“Even if I were unmarried, it would be foolish to think about such a handsome man. My mother always told me that the good looking ones are nothing but trouble. I tell myself that I am happily married, but sometimes, I am not a good listener.”
Challenges abound throughout the story, with the raw weather, the unforgiving natural environment and the inherent danger of the trip, however Fitz-Gerald also focuses on the daily reality of pioneer life on the trail. The early starts, the hurried meals, the tedium and the tension are effective at demonstrating the truth of life in a wagon. Dorcas’s explanation to her daughter of being like a turtle (in that they carry their home with them) is apt.
The reader is under no illusion as to the massive life decision made by the pioneers who attempted such a significant undertaking. The Moon family have saved for years and waited for months to travel the Oregon trail, having already travelled vast distances to join the group. Boss Wheel, the wagon-master, and Agapito are in charge. Boss Wheel’s warning about there being no guarantee of survival, or even reaching Oregon by winter, is stark. But still Dorcas and Larkin decide to continue, having reached the point of no return after giving up their old life. These references are particularly compelling for the reader and firmly ground the story in pioneer times.
Other aspects of the storyline seem more modern, with Dorcas discussing her dreams for her life with a mere acquaintance, with her thoughts of Joan of Arc, with her young son Andrew starting a newspaper for the journey.
The secondary characters in the novel are plentiful, as the Moon family are travelling in a large group with friends, with acquaintances, and contending with people they meet along the way. The differing family dynamics, the individual challenges, the personalities, and the way all in the group need to work together – or at least co-exist – makes for an interesting story!
“On overcast days, wildflowers dazzle, even more than when the sun shines brightly, and contrast with the lush green grasses. The cheerful flora turns my head, and my mind cartwheels along the prairie…”
The descriptive language used in the novel is another of Fitz-Gerald’s strengths.
But pioneer life is harsh and unforgiving, despite the beautiful landscape. Fitz-Gerald’s descriptive gift is also employed to describe appalling loss and danger, from wolves, from rivers, from fire.
“A Grave Every Mile” by David Fitz-Gerald is a highly readable novel set in America’s pioneering west. As the author notes, this novel is the first “segment” of five, which the author makes clear are intended to be read as one volume. The ending is unexpected and devastating; bringing the first novel to a definitive close, although the Moon family’s journey continues. We are told the Oregon Trail is a 1,300 mile journey and this reviewer is ready to head west!
*****
"A Grave Every Mile" by David Fitz-Gerald receives 4 stars from The Historical Fiction Company
To have your historical novel editorially reviewed and/or enter the HFC Book of the Year contest, please visit www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/book-awards/award-submission
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