Gem of a Texas Historical Story

GONE TO DALLAS:
THE STOREKEEPER
1856 – 1861

LAURIE MOORE – MOORE

Genre: Historical Fiction / Texas Pioneers / Civil War

Publisher: Goat Mountain Press

Date of Publication: October 4, 2021

Number of Pages: 348 pages 

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Sara’s husband was a disappointment in life, but she had to admit he was a handsome corpse.

Climb aboard an 1856 Dallas-bound wagon train and join a plucky female protagonist for the journey of a lifetime in Laurie Moore-Moore’s richly entertaining new book, Gone to Dallas, The Storekeeper 1856-1861. Far from your average historical novel or western, Gone to Dallas is a compelling tale of migration, betrayal, death and dreams—peppered with real people, places, and events. With a cast of interesting characters and more bumps and hazards than a wagon trail, Gone to Dallas tells the unforgettable story of a formidable frontier woman in the context of true Texas history.

It had seemed so romantic when Morgan Darnell courted Sara in Tennessee, finally convincing her they should marry and join an 1856 “Gone to Texas” wagon train traveling along the “Trail of Tears,” through Indian territory, and across the Red River into Texas.

In a twist of fate, Sara arrives in Dallas a 19-year-old widow, armed with plenty of pluck, and determined to open a general store in the tiny settlement of log cabins on the Trinity River. Standing in her way as a young woman alone are a host of challenges. Can Sara (with the help of her friends) pull herself up by the bootstraps and overcome uncertainty, vandalism, threats, and even being shot?

Follow Sara as she strives to create her store while living Dallas’ true history — from the beginnings of La Réunion (the European colony across the Trinity) to a mud and muck circus, a grand ball and the mighty fire that burns Dallas to the ground. Dallas is a challenging place, especially with the Civil War looming.

Even with the friendship of a retired Texas Ranger and Dallas’ most important citizen — another woman — is Sara strong enough to meet the challenge? The risks are high. Failure means being destitute in Dallas!

In Gone to Dallas, The Storekeeper 1856-1861, author Laurie Moore-Moore spins a page-turner of a tale salted with historically accurate Texas events and populated with real characters. It’s Portis’ True Grit meets Texas history.

READER PRAISE FOR GONE TO DALLAS:

“Creative and captivating…five stars!”

“An unforgettable journey…superb writing.”

“I was hooked at the very first sentence.”

“Lovely work of historical fiction…can’t wait for the sequel.”

“Brilliant!”

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Gem of a Texas Historical Story

“Sara watched as the rising sun caught the yellow blossoms of Indian grass and the purple of blazing star and wild indigo flowers.”

Gone to Dallas The Storekeeper 1856-1861 is the first in a series by author Laurie Moore-Moore. This gem of a book is a fresh, historical story surrounding Sara. The killer first sentence of this book draws any reader in. Then the power of this story quickly turns to a business-savvy woman who can handle a gun.

Starting on a wagon train in Tennessee, Sara, a young bride starts a journey to Dallas with her new husband. The story soon becomes a resplendent historical fiction of the early days of Dallas, Texas – with a lot of truthful history.

While, Sara proves to be a resourceful, strong woman, Gone to Dallas is also a story that envelopes a cast of characters.

Gone to Dallas is historically accurate and is quite engaging, as well as well-researched.

“Summer hasn’t quite started and it’s already hot as the dickens.”

I can only imagine a landscape of the Blackland Prairie being covered in swathes of Indian blanket and the sounds of thundering hooves of bison. I can only imagine a town square of wooden buildings surrounding a central courthouse. I can only imagine the hardships the early settlers endured of hot summers, swarms of locusts, only riding in wagons, and not having books readily available. Moore-Moore’s story brings all of this to life and more.

If you are a lover of historical Texas fiction then this first book by Moore-Moore is a must-read.

From the author: “My husband, Roger, and I have been blessed with many adventures in life—from trekking across India’s Thar desert on a camel (and sleeping in the sand on our camel blankets) to repeating marriage vows in a remote Maasi village in Kenya (my dowery was one cow and one goat). My favorite adventure? As a fifth generation Texan, it is discovering more and more Texas history and writing about it!

We live in Dallas, Texas but sneak away when possible, to a mountain-top cabin overlooking a lake in former Indian Territory (the Oklahoma Ozark Mountains) The cabin is unique—there is a nine foot chainsaw bear in our entry hall. The house was built around it. Never thought I’d own a piece of chainsaw art, much less a nine-foot bear. Life is full of surprises. . . just like a good historical novel.”

Laurie Moore-Moore is a retired entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple businesses and served on the Board of Directors of an international corporation.

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Gone to Dallas
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