OVERVIEW

Adventures of Nebraska Wade

a historical cowboy novel

by Elaine North

 Adventures of Nebraska Wade is a cowboy adventure based on historical background with a great love story. This is the story of an elegant dressmaker, who travels throughout the Wild West and experiences intrigue, fun and great adventure. Everyone calls her Braska, and she grows up on the plains raised by her grandfather, who is a runaway slave and fur trapper that teaches her a world of wisdom. When Braska comes of age, she moves to Lincoln to stay with her cowgirl cousin, Sally Ann, who sells dinners at her house and all the black people in town come there to have a good time dancing and drinking whiskey. But Sally Ann is a ruthless cowgirl and gets Braska involved with selling whiskey to the indians, which leads to trouble. In Lincoln, Braska meets Henry Holmes, an intelligent black man, who is an adventurer that negotiates treaties with the indians for the white man. Braska and Henry get married, go out West and enjoy adventure together traveling to wild towns, panning gold, and encountering outlaws, lawmen, cavalrymen, preachers, saloon women, a phony nobleman, and dudes from back East.

Adventures of Nebraska Wade is the first book of a cowboy trilogy that spans from 1854 to 1895. Braska evolves from an innocent girl on the plains to a sophisticated woman in the city in the three books. This cowboy trilogy depicts dynamic and highly successful free black people in the western territories in the 19th century. The novel presents a new, refreshing image for the 19th century African-American woman as refined, free, smart and high-spirited, instead of the usual downtrodden and slave girl image for that era.

In Book Two of the trilogy, Travels in the Western Territories, during the Trail of Tears, Braska becomes lost from Henry, and spends the rest of her life searching for him. Trying to get to Denver, Braska becomes lost in the wilderness with some indians and almost dies with them. She encounters black intellectuals who address the race crisis in America after emancipation, and meets and marries a handsome rascally trickster black cowboy, one of the fastest guns in Arizona Territory.

Continuing her search for Henry, in Book Three of the trilogy, A Lady in the West, Braska travels to San Francisco where she becomes acquainted with a debonair and classy, rich black man, and meets a young man, whose family is wealthy from the Gold Rush. Braska also meets a lady, Christie Adams, who is a famous artist in the city and is also reckless and promiscuous. Braska and Christie have great fun as they attend a black ball in San Francisco, the opera, fashion shows, and meet with a back to Africa movement in Oakland. A devastating earthquake ends Braska’s fun in San Francisco, and she resumes her search for Henry. In Chicago, she encounters the treacherous political scene, and marries a conservative inventor, who takes her on a trip to London and Paris in the frolicking 1880s.

Additional characters and events in the cowboy trilogy include bank robbers, bandits, train robbers, cattle rustlers, gamblers, detectives, Civil War soldiers and gold prospectors. The cowboy trilogy is eloquent, hilarious and action packed with brawls, duels and shootouts.

 Published in 2004.

* * *

EXCERPT

ADVENTURES OF NEBRASKA WADE

Volume 1, of a Cowboy Trilogy

PROLOGUE: 

Nebraska Territory, 1854

There is a vast grassland in the valley where the Elkhorn River meets Logan Creek in northeastern Nebraska. In 1854, twelve families were settled in the valley. It was late morning on a warm day in mid May. Each farming family was busily working on their farm, which was six acres of land granted to them by the government Homestead Act. There were two Negro families amongst the farmers. One was Jeremiah Wade and his family. Jeremiah was a strong, handsome dark man of 24. He was working in his fields alone, and he had been plowing with a hoe since the break of dawn. 

When the sun was high, Jeremiah looked up from his hoe. He looked around at all the land he had broken that morning. Then he looked at the sky and wondered when rain would come showering down. He had been at the settlement for two months now and had seen little rain. But surely the settlers had been told that rain was plentiful in this region. Yet, the sky was clear blue with no sight of any rain cloud. Jeremiah wiped perspiration from his brow, and continued plowing. 

With the sound of the noontime bell at the community house, Jeremiah stopped working. He picked up his rifle and made his way from his fields. As he walked to the community house, a quarter mile away, he saw his wife, Lydia, coming from their small wood frame house. She smiled to him, and she was a pretty dark woman. Lydia was carrying their lunch in a pail, and holding their four month old baby girl, who was their first born. Jeremiah Wade wanted many children. 

Jeremiah joined Lydia, and they proceeded to the community house, which was a large hut made of sod brick. The community house was where the settlers gathered for town meetings, church service and parties. They also sat there together for their midday meals. Before the community house were picnic tables, which the homesteaders had made by laying slabs of wood over barrels. Half of the settlers had arrived at the community house for lunch and were standing by the picnic benches talking in small groups. 

While Lydia was placing their lunch on a picnic table, Jeremiah went to the road before the community house and watched other settlers coming from their farms. Lunch was the homesteaders’ favorite time together. They would talk about their bright futures, discuss plans on how they would develop their farms, and make plans for the little town they would establish by Logan Creek. Jeremiah saw Tommy Lee coming down the road from his farm and they waved to each other. Tommy Lee was the other black man on the settlement. He was a tall lean man with a brown complexion. Tommy Lee had it good, because he was older, 35, and already had five children that were helping him plow his land. Jeremiah had only himself and Lydia to till his land. Lydia was a hard working farmer, but with the baby she spent less time in the fields. 

As Jeremiah waited for Tommy Lee to reach him, he looked across the vast plains. It was now that he realized that this was dry land near Logan Creek, not fertile land as they had been told. There would be little rain here and extra hard work for the farmers. Jeremiah decided that he would ask Tommy Lee to come along with him to the river that afternoon to fill some barrels with water to irrigate their land. But as Jeremiah stood waiting for his friend to reach the community house, Tommy Lee was only ten feet away when Jeremiah saw a long arrow pierce through Tommy Lee. Jeremiah turned, startled. To the north he saw scores of indians on horseback charging at the settlement. 

The settlers ran to get inside the community house. Some got shot by arrows and fell. The community house was a three wall open structure with stacks of sod bricks before it. The farmers took cover behind the bricks with their rifles and opened fire, blasting at the indians. Jeremiah was shooting his rifle and his pistol. Seeing Lydia in the hut, he felt relieved. The baby was beside her. Like most women on the plains and in the West, Lydia had her pistol in hand shooting at the attackers along beside her man. The farmers still in the fields were also in combat, firing at the indian warriors. But they were soon slaughtered by arrows thrust from tall bows of the attacking indians. 

The indians continued charging at the community house, rapidly launching arrows across the settlement. The settlers had a large supply of ammunition stored in the community house and vigorously returned with a thunder of gunfire. Jeremiah saw indians falling from their horses. Most of the indians in the attack from the north had been shot and fallen. Jeremiah looked around, inside the community house, seeing two settlers dead and two wounded. He took a better position near the corner of the community house and continued shooting, waiting for the remaining indians to retreat. But then he looked to the east and saw more than a hundred indians on horses charging at the settlement. And to the west, hundreds of indian warriors on horseback appeared.

* * *

BOOKS AND SCREENPLAYS by Elaine North

 "Time Travels: Quantum Magic"

A Science Fiction Thriller. Ten diverse people time travel to the past at England 1692 and to Atlantis 2004; then they journey to the future, year 3500; and to Mars. The time travelers include a handsome former Air Force pilot and martial arts expert, the eccentric scientist who invented the time machine, a Japanese physicist, a German mathematician, an African-American couple, a pretty Chicago socialite, a greedy rich man, a square lawyer, and the wild, irresponsible nephew of the mad scientist. (published April 2011) ("Time Travelers: The Great Magician" is the first book of a trilogy, Books and Screenplays).

"Election 2000 Enchantment" 

A political romance novel. This hilarious political romance novel tells the whole story, all day-by-day events, of the 2000 derailed election. Two pretty young ballot recounters experience adventure, intrigue, romance, danger and deception as they meet people that come to Florida due to the election crisis.

"Adventures of Nebraska Wade"

a historical cowboy novel about an elegant black dressmaker who travels throughout the Wild West, and experiences intrigue, fun and romance. This novel presents a new, refreshing image for the 19th century African-American woman as refined, free, smart and high-spirited, instead of the usual downtrodden and slave girl image for that era.

"Stonefield," a detective, science fiction screenplay about a Sherlock Holmes type Chicago detective (not unlike Morgan Freeman), and his young partner, who hunt for a killer that has supernatural powers.

Book Purchase Information

To Order a signed copy of a book(s) by Elaine North, Call 312-543-9919

  Books by Elaine North can also be purchased at Barnes & Nobles,

 Other Leading Bookstores, and amazon.com

Elaine North is available for interviews and lectures, and welcome book reviews. Contact: authorelainenorth@yahoo.com

Lectures by Elaine North.  Elaine North presents lectures on How to Write Like a Pro, Writing a Science Fiction Novel, Writing a Historical Novel, Writing a Political Novel, and Books by Elaine North.

Learn How to Write Like a Pro!

Creative Writing Tutoring, Mentoring and Critiquing by Elaine North are available to aspiring writers.

Join the Author’s Mailing List at authorelainenorth@yahoo.com

Link your website to this website.  E-mail: authorelainenorth@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY BLOG 

August 29, 2011, I started a Blog where I will share my wealth of wisdom, discuss a lot of professional tips on how to write a great book; I'll write film and book reviews, share comments (my opinion) on topics in the news, and other exciting conversations. 

Go To:  editorchicago.livejournal.com and leave a comment if you like.

 

 

MY EDITING, GHOSTWRITING,  AND TYPING SERVICES

I am available to edit, type and format books, screenplays, dissertations, papers, grants, resumes, media kits, business plans, and more. I am also a ghostwriter, tutors writers, and presents lectures.

Contact: 312-543-9919 or writerchicago@yahoo.com

“Providing expert editing and writing services with integrity  for 20 Years”

 

THE LATEST BOOK BY

ELAINE NORTH

(published April 2011)