Revisiting the Oregon Trail with Lacy Williams

Hi, readers! Lacy Williams here today to talk about wagon trains and the Oregon Trail.

I was surprised and delighted when my editor asked me to take part in the 2015 multi-author continuity (series) about couples finding love on the Oregon Trail. This series includes WAGON TRAIN REUNION by Linda Ford (April) and WAGON TRAIN PROPOSAL by Renee Ryan (June). The series follows siblings Ben, Emma (my heroine!) and Rachel as they travel west and fall in love along the way.

I had a lot of fun researching for this story. According to the Oregon-California Trails Association (www.octa-trails.org), it’s estimated that about 500,000 people followed the cross-country trails to California, Utah and the Pacific Northwest.

wikipedia.org

Does anyone else remember the old video game from the ‘90s, “The Oregon Trail”? I used to play it for hours, traveling with my fictional family to try and beat the computer… Yeah, good times.

I spoke with a reader recently who said, “I didn’t like that game—I didn’t like it when my characters died.” Unfortunately, from my research, I learned that the game was pretty realistic. Thinking about the rough conditions and limited medical knowledge and supplies, it is not surprising how many men, women and children didn’t make it.

I don’t know if I would’ve been brave enough to leave the “known” behind on the hope that something better was out there. But there were many courageous souls who did!

In my book, WAGON TRAIN SWEETHEART, hero Nathan is a trapper who has nothing to lose. He’s a loner with a past he’s ashamed of and when he is blamed for a series of thefts in the wagon train, he isn’t surprised.

Shy Emma hates injustice almost as much as she hates being the center of attention. Before she can find the courage to stand up and defend Nathan, he becomes unconscious from the onset of measles.

When no one steps forward to help Nathan, Emma is stuck with the job. She quickly discovers there is more behind the man’s enigmatic, quiet exterior.

Then the question becomes, will she stand up to her brothers, who want her to marry someone entirely different?

For Nathan, the only question is why a beautiful, intelligent woman like Emma wants to be friends with a slug like him. He’s never known anyone like Emma before and can’t stay away—even though he knows he should.

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Or, if you’d like to try out a sample of all three books in the series, grab the Journey West sampler (FREE!):

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What about you? Any favorite video games or computer games from the past? Let's talk in the comment box!