Let's Go West!

My favorite tales have always been "fish out of water" stories, so I guess it's not really a surprise for me that while travelling along the writing path I continually find myself coming back to time travels. Now that I've embraced the fact that this is the genre I dream about, these are the stories my muse screams the loudest, I've decided to start taking you along for the ride to whatever time I'm currently trapped in...so, buckle up, we're going for a ride through time.

Let's Go West!

Welcome to Prosperity. A thriving town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in 1851, but nothing more than tumbleweeds and decayed buildings in 2012. When my heroine, Lilly Bennett, inherits the town from her grandmother, she steps through the saloon doors and gets the surprise of her life.

Now for some facts: In January 1848 James Marshall discovered gold while building a sawmill at a fork in the American River for his employer, John Sutter. By May, people were leaving their homes and pouring into California. They came by wagons across country or by boat from the East or from other countries. Any way they could get here - they did. Everyone came with the same dream - striking it rich!

As miners staked claims and pitched tents, towns sprung up and quickly took shape. Some survived a year or two and when the gold ran out - so did the inhabitants. Some towns remained tiny blips on the California map and still boast a small population to this day. Others were deserted and years later acquired by the state and are now wonderfully preserved tourist destinations, like the town of Calico.

No matter what the future looks like for my town of Prosperity, you can bet in 1851 it's filled with all the usual suspects, from a sheriff to miners and of course, some ladies of ill-repute! In the coming weeks I'll be introducing them to you, with a little of their history. history of the times and how they fit (or don't) with the rest of the town.

See you next week!