Seventeen-year-old Sarah's father went on a business trip to New York a normal man, and returned home a Mormon. Sarah's mother was irate, to say the least, at his conversion, and further angered by his announcement that they were moving to the Great Basin to live with the other Saints. Much to her shock and dismay, she discovered they would be joining the first-ever experimental handcart company, and pulling a cart across the Mormon Trail to their new home. Little did Sarah realize, that halfway across Nebraska, her father would lose his life and her mother would fall apart. It would be up to her to take on the parental role, and lead her mother and three younger siblings to the Salt Lake Valley. With every step they took, they wondered if they would be able to make it there alive. Join Sarah, and her family, as they struggle to make it through the wilderness on their way to Zion. Follow their conversion to Mormonism, as they fight to keep from joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. South Pass is a series of books that follows Sarah and the Forbes family from Pennsylvania to Zion. They settled in Lehi, Utah and start a new life for themselves after the untimely death of their father. The books take place not only with the first handcart company, but also with Johnston's Army, the Utah War, Camp Floyd, the Pony Express, and other events in Mormon history. See how these events take place in the broader scope of United States History. Also watch for the following books of the series, Steve and Sarah, Johnston's Army, The Utah War, and Camp Floyd. The South Pass series begins with a family who suddenly finds themselves headed west with the first handcart company in history. Book One covers the family's conversion and their trek west; Book Two follows Steve and the handcart company after their split with Sarah's family, through their reunion and arrival in Lehi, Utah. Book Three looks at the origins of Johnston's Army, and the family acclimating to life in Lehi, while Book Four follows the army through the Utah War and down into Utah Valley, and the family's progression in Zion. Book Five takes place in the military fort and adjoining civilian town, Camp Floyd and Frogtown, and the nearby Mormon community of Lehi, introducing and intertwining the family with the soldiers. The other books in the series sprout out from there following the demise of the Pony Express, Camp Floyd, Frogtown, and the nation's involvement in the Civil War. They will also return to an early time in Utah's history and learn more about the mountain men, rendezvous period, and the Native Americans who participated. http: //www.mypublishingplace.com
About the Author: Roger Blomquist Ph.D. was born and raised in the Wild West of Utah, Texas, and the deserts of Southern California. He served an American Sign Language mission during the era of eighteen-month missions, and returned home to finish school in drafting and design. After working for many years as an architectural designer, he found himself dressed as a cavalry soldier in Johnston's Army. He was ordered to report to Alpine, Utah, to be in the LDS film, Mountain of the Lord. That moment in time changed his life. He worked on many historical and Western films after that, and discovered a dormant love of history deep within him. He decided to return to school and pursue an education, and a career, teaching history on the university level. He hoped he would be able to spark a similar love of history in his students, as had been awakened in him. He then earned his bachelor's and master's degree at Brigham Young University in American Frontier History. While studying under the renowned Fred Gowans, Roger decided that since he could not afford the period saddles he needed for film, he would learn how to make them himself. Fred informed him of an old saddlemaker who had been trying to get him to come and learn, so he and Roger made all the necessary arrangements. They studied together under this saddlemaker, and while in the process of learning, both made their own 1870s style saddle. Because of this, he wrote his thesis and dissertation on these historical saddles and their makers. Roger then went on to earn his doctorate degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is one of the top ranked universities in the country for Westward Expansion in American Frontier History. His saddlemaking has continued and True West Magazine awarded him as the Best Western Saddlemaker in 2005. He also continues to work in the film industry as a wrangler, actor, and scriptwriter/producer as the occasion requires. He wrote and produced the short museum film for the Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park and Museum, which is available for viewing on YouTube under Camp Floyd: Forgotten City in the Desert. He also taught history on the university level for about eight years when he decided to turn his hand to faith-based historical fiction writing.