Sandra Dallas

True Sisters Sandra Dallas

Brief Description: In order to encourage Mormon converts to immigrate to Salt Lake City, a plan was implemented by Brigham Young himself. Outfitted with two-wheeled handcarts, the immigrants were then expected to walk, pushing the handcarts, for the 1,300-mile journey from Iowa City. Several "companies," as they were called, completed this perilous trek and successfully reached Salt Lake City. But for the Martin Company, one of the last groups to leave from Iowa City that year, the trip proved disastrous. More than a quarter of the 575 members froze or starved to death. True Sisters tells the story of four women, brought together on the harrowing journey of the Martin Handcart Company and united by the promises of prosperity and salvation in a new land. Through the ties of female friendship and the strength born from suffering, each one tests the boundaries of her faith and learns the real meaning of survival along the way. Though the characters in True Sisters are fictional, they are based oBiographical Note: SANDRA DALLAS is the author of eleven novels, including "The Bride's House," "Whiter Than Snow," "Prayers for Sale," "Tallgrass "and "New Mercies." She is a former Denver bureau chief for "Business Week "magazine and lives in Denver, Colorado. Review Quotes: "A born storyteller, Dallas excels not only at plot but also at peopling her novels with memorable individuals." --"Richmond Times Dispatch""" "Dallas offers a richly drawn fictional account of tragic true events." --"Booklist" "Dallas tells the story of . . . strong women and the beautiful relationships they can create even in impossible circumstances. . . . a memorable story." --"Publishers Weekly" "This fact-based historical fiction, celebrating sisterhood and heroism, makes for a surefire winner." --"Kirkus Reviews"Brief Description: Original publication and copyright date: 2012. Brief Description: Includes discussion questions and an excerpt from "Fallen women" by Sandra Dallas. Marc Notes: Subtitle from cover.; Original publication and copyright date: 2012.; Includes discussion questions and an excerpt from Fallen women by Sandra Dallas. Review Quotes: Praise for "True Sisters""A born storyteller, Dallas excels not only at plot but also at peopling her novels with memorable individuals." --"Richmond Times Dispatch""Dallas offers a richly drawn fictional account of tragic true events." --"Booklist""Dallas tells the story of strong women and the beautiful relationships they can create even in impossible circumstances a memorable story." --"Publishers Weekly""This fact-based historical fiction, celebrating sisterhood and heroism, makes for a surefire winner." --"Kirkus Reviews"Praise for "Whiter Than Snow" and "Prayers For Sale""Whiter Than Snow is a fast and engrossing novel that will capture readers' hearts from the first few pages." --- Deseret News on Whiter Than Snow"Her sense of time and place is pitch-perfect and her affection for her characters infectious." --- "Kirkus Reviews" on Whiter Than Snow"Whiter Than Snow adds to Dallas's luster as a superb storyteller whose work is grounded in the redemptive power of kindness." --- "Richmond Times-Dispatch" on Whiter Than Snow"This satisfying novel will immediately draw readers in and the unexpected twists will keep them hooked through to the bittersweet denouement." --- "Publishers Weekly" on Prayers for Sale"Forgiveness and redemption are the themes of this gentle novel about hardscrabble lives." --- "Kirkus Reviews" on Prayers for Sale"The idea of selling prayers conjures images of pre-Reformation Catholicism or, at the very least, stops you in your tracks to think a bit. Like the lives narrated, this novel runs the gamut of heartache, hardship, and happiness as Dallas skillfully weaves past into present and surprises everyone at the end. Fans of Lee Smith, Sue Monk Kidd, and Kaye Gibbons will love this book." --- "Booklist" (starred review) on Prayers For Sale "Putting down a Sandra Dallas read is nearly impossible. This book is filled with secrets revealed as the reader learns about the lives of the characters. The secret revealed in the final pages is top-notch." ---"Daily Camera" (Boulder, Colorado) on Prayers for Sale"Prayers for Sale is a finely crafted tale that celebrates women and their resiliency." --- "Deseret News"Praise for "The Bride's House""With a perfect blend of masterful storytelling, sympathetic and realistic characters and prose as crisp as a Colorado creek, Dallas again spins a timeless tale of love and tenacity, tenderness and redemption. And "The Bride's House" is ultimately a story of the confines of legacy and the fulfillment that can come when those chains are broken." --- "Richmond Times Dispatch""Putting down a Sandra Dallas novel is nearly impossible." --- Daily CameraPublisher Marketing: In a novel based on true events, "New York Times" bestselling author Sandra Dallas delivers the story of four women---seeking the promise of salvation and prosperity in a new land---who come together on a harrowing journey. In 1856, Mormon converts, encouraged by Brigham Young himself, and outfitted with two-wheeled handcarts, set out on foot from Iowa City to Salt Lake City, the "promised land." The Martin Handcart Company, a zealous group of emigrants headed for Zion, is the last to leave on this 1,300-mile journey. Earlier companies arrive successfully in Salt Lake City, but for the Martin Company the trip proves disastrous. "True Sisters" tells the story of four women whose lives will become inextricably linked as they endure unimaginable hardships, each one testing the boundaries of her faith and learning the true meaning of survival and friendship along the way: Nannie, who is traveling with her sister and brother-in-law after being abandoned on her wedding day; Louisa, who's married to an overbearing church leader who she believes speaks for God; Jessie, who's traveling with her brothers, each one of them dreaming of the farm they will have in Zion; and Anne, who hasn't converted to Mormonism but who has no choice but to follow her husband since he has sold everything to make the trek to Utah. Sandra Dallas has once again written a moving portrait of women surviving the unimaginable through the ties of female friendship. "" Review Citations:

Library Journal 11/15/2011 pg. 50 (EAN 9781250005021, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 02/20/2012 pg. 143 (EAN 9781250005021, Hardcover)

Romantic Times 05/01/2012 pg. 44 (EAN 9781250005021, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2012 (EAN 9781250005021, Hardcover)

Booklist 04/15/2012 pg. 38 (EAN 9781250005021, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Dallas, Sandra Sandra Dallas, a reporter for "Business Week" for twenty-five years, is the author of "Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, ""No More Than Five in a Bed "(also published by the University of Oklahoma Press), "Gaslights and Gingerbread, "many other books and articles on Colorado and the West, and several best-selling novels.