My debut novel, Blood to Rubies, is unique in historical fiction
in that it features 70 black-and-white images. Many are archival images from famous frontier photographers of the 1800s. Others are from some of the world's greatest contemporary photographers of the American West, landscapes, horses, and the Nez Perce.
During my many years of writing, researching and publishing my debut novel, Blood to Rubies, I met so many extraordinary people, among them Nez Perce elders and tribal members, photographers, authors, and historical scholars. I pored over hundreds of books with archival images of frontier photographers from the 1800s, some who became very famous, some who remain unknown today.
Paul Wakefield's atmospheric photograph of the rugged shoreline of Traethllyfn, Dyfed, in Wales, opens Chapter 18, "stowaway heart," page 83, in Blood to Rubies. This chapter tells the story of one of the main characters, Ransom Fallon, who is forced to escape his homeland of Wales after killing a wealthy English landowner who had just raped his true love from childhood. The misty, mysterious, even melancholy image seems to capture the Ransom's longing in "stowaway heart."
This image is from Paul Wakefield's beautiful book Wales: The First Place, Brockhampton Press Ltd., 1998. Paul Wakefield is a world-renowned photographer who has had exhibits all over the world and won many awards, including the prestigious D&AD (Design & Art Direction) Award, Association of Photographs Gold Medal, and the Grand Prix de L’APPM. View more of his work at:
ABOUT THE IMAGES IN BLOOD TO RUBIES
My debut novel is extremely unique in historical fiction since it features 70 black-and-white images. I searched high and low to find these images and worked with the world's most iconic libraries, including the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, National Archives, the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale University, the National Park Service, the Nez Perce Historical Park Service, the Polish Digital Equestrian Library, special private collections, and many state historical societies. The images help tell the story of my main character, a fictional frontier photographer, Frederick Cortland. Many are 1800s archival images from real frontier photographers. But some are from the world's leading contemporary photographers of the American West, of horses, and of the Nez Perce.
THANK YOU ALL FOR SHARING THIS JOURNEY WITH ME❣️🙏💙
You may also enjoy these related IMAGE SHOWCASES of other world-renown photographers featured in Blood to Rubies:
Originally posted January 5, 2024 on NotesfromtheFrontier.com and Facebook.
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