It’s still spring but my thoughts keep racing ahead to the summer. This June I’ll be attending the 2018 Wild Deadwood Reads author-reader event. I’ve never been to Deadwood or even South Dakota, so I plan to spend several days being a tourist. What to see? I’m not sure yet. Research will be required. And there starts the fun!

RESEARCH: the spark that gets a historical romance author traveling & writing… 

My most recent writing research introduced me to DEADWOOD in 1876. That’s the setting for my upcoming book release, Rescuing Raven, a short story in a multi-author anthology where all of the stories are set in Deadwood.

Half of the stories are set in modern day, but I love history and delving into the early years of towns.

So what’s interesting about Deadwood’s early years? A lot!

INTRIGUING FACTS: Deadwood’s Early Years…

• Deadwood’s name came from its location. It was built in a gulch full of dead trees
• The town didn’t exist until gold was found in Deadwood Creek in 1875.
• In one year, Deadwood’s population went from a few hundred prospectors to several thousand residents and drifters of all sorts.
• At the end of 1876, Deadwood had its first mass meeting to address how the hastily built, tightly packed town was a fire hazard.
• By 1877 there were 75 saloons in town.
• In September 1879, a fire destroyed 300 town buildings and left thousands homeless. The fire started with an overturned kerosene heater in a bakery and spread to a nearby hardware store where it exploded eight kegs of gunpowder.

Today Deadwood’s well-preserved Gold Rush-era architecture has made it a National Historic Landmark District with a population of 1,270.

In my next blog, I’ll be share more intriguing research I’ve discovered about Deadwood’s history. And once I get my travel itinerary set, I’ll share that as well. Plus there will be Rescuing Raven‘s cover reveal!