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TUMBLEWEED
ISBN
13: 978-0-8439-6104
Dorchester Publishing
Jane Candia Coleman
If you’re a western history
fan, you know the tales surrounding Wyatt Earp. But you might not
know Allie Earp’s story, wife of Wyatt’s brother, Virgil. Tumbleweed
will change that. Award-winning author Jane Candia Coleman creates a
riveting historical novel detailing Allie and Virgil’s decades long
love affair based on the actual diaries of Allie Earp.
Allie’s take on arguably the
most famous lawmen of the Old West is fascinating, but nothing
resonates so much as the feelings she has for her own hero, Virgil
Earp. It was love at first sight for both of them and despite trials
and tribulations, loss and grief, and moving around like tumbleweeds
caught in a harsh wind, their love endured until Virgil’s last
breath—and beyond that for Allie.
With perfect pitch, Jane
Candia Coleman gives voice to the true grit of Allie’s outspoken
nature and down home wisdom while also skillfully portraying the
deep, abiding love of her faithful husband. And having the word
faithful in the same sentence as the name of an Earp is unusual in
itself.
With two sister-in-laws who
were former prostitutes, gambling brother-in-laws who ran brothels
and an adventurous husband who wasn’t satisfied staying in one
place, Allie Earp’s life was nothing if not interesting. She was a
witness to much of the history of the West, events as well as the
culture of survival. She was in Deadwood when her friend and
childhood hero, Jim Hickok got shot in the back, she traveled with
Virgil, by wagon, to the shores of California, the mines of Colorado
and, of course, Tombstone, Arizona where death came calling on the
Earps in keeping with the town’s moniker. Allie may have been “no
bigger than a flea”, as one of her brother-in-laws described her
since she barely reached Virgil’s waist, but she made up for it in
grit, gumption and a generous heart.
Jane Candia Coleman combines a
wonderful ear for dialog, the sense of the extraordinary in the
ordinary and an amazing eye for detail to create a masterful,
fast-paced and exciting story of history in the making. Coleman
makes you feel like you are there, sitting across from Allie at the
kitchen table, listening as she takes you on a trip through time; a
fascinating guide who understood the meaning of love, loyalty and
living. A book I couldn’t put down and destined to be one of my
all-time favorites. !
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