Guest Post With Imogen Martin
Welcome, Imogen. With just two days to go before publication day, please tell us a little about novel three. Over to you!
My previous novel, To The Wild Horizon, is set in 1846 and is the story of pioneer Grace Sinclair. She’s accompanied on her 2,000 mile journey to Oregon by the stern Captain James Randolph and they gradually fall in love. At the end of the book, they ride off into the sunset together. Whilst I loved these characters, I waved them off and thought their story was over.
Then lots of readers asked what happened next and wanted a further book. I didn’t think there was a strong enough story if Grace simply became an army wife. But then I remembered: the California Gold Rush! That happened in the middle of the nineteenth century, didn’t it? Little bit of Googling later, and yes: gold was discovered in 1848, on the America River, California. Perfect.
If Randolph was looking for gold though, he couldn’t be in the
army anymore. What happened in 1847 that could make the change? The United
States was at war with Mexico – so Randolph must have been there, and something
awful must have happened (these characters really do take on a life of their
own!).
Now the book is written, this is how my publisher has described it:
A moving portrait of a marriage tested by trauma, secrets, and the wild promise of the California Gold Rush.
Oregon, 1848. Their love began on the perilous Oregon Trail, when Grace – an independent young woman on the run from the law – met her match in the surly Captain charged with getting her to safety.
Now their once-passionate marriage is fraying, as James, haunted by the crime
that led to his dismissal from the US army, refuses to tell his worried wife
what happened, and Grace hides her sorrow at her childlessness.
When rumours reach them that gold has been discovered in California, they set
off, Grace praying that a new start will save them. At first their efforts meet
with success, and she dares to hope that they can make a life for themselves in
San Francisco – that her husband will return to the caring and steadfast man
she married.
But when a fire takes everything they have, a devastated James decides to go
out into the gold fields alone. There, he is captured by the worst of men.
Desperate and broken, only one person can save him. His wife.
I am delighted by the reviews so far. One thing I wanted was that
this book could stand alone. Whilst I hope you will read To The Wild Horizon,
readers agree that you can easily start with The Mountains Between Us.
Buying link:
The Mountains Between Us is published on 18 February 2025.
UK: https://geni.us/763-al-aut-am
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Author Bio
Imogen writes
sweeping, historical fiction set in nineteenth-century America.
As a
teenager, she took the Greyhound bus from San Francisco to New York. Over those
three days of staring out of the window at the majestic mountains and endless
flat plains, stories wound themselves into her head: tales of brooding,
charismatic men captivated by independent women.
Since then,
she has worked in a coffee-shop in Piccadilly, a famous bookstore, and a
children’s home. She has run festivals, and turned a derelict housing block on
one of the poorest estates in the UK into an award-winning arts centre.
During 2020 Imogen was selected by Kate Nash Literary Agency as one of their BookCamp
mentees, a mentorship programme designed to accelerate the careers of promising
new writers.
Married with
two children, Imogen divides her time between Wales and Sardinia.
She hopes her
books will bring you the tingle of a new love affair whilst immersed in a
different time and place.
Thank you, Imogen. I'm so glad you did write The Mountains Between Us. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. It took me to a time and place I knew very little about and it was a book I couldn't put down.
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