I am pleased and excited to announce that my historical fiction novel The Last of the Blacksmiths will be published by Coffeetown Press February 15, 2014.
The Last of the Blacksmiths is historical fiction about a 19th century blacksmith who comes to America from the Bavarian Rhineland inspired by Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, dreaming of flourishing wilderness, freedom and prosperity, only to meet with indentured servitude, anti-immigrant bigotry, and civil war, and to devote his life to a livelihood that, ultimately, will vanish.
Praise for The Last of the Blacksmiths
“… the writing quality was superb, the historical and geographic detail utterly convincing, the characters well-drawn, and the dialogue persuasive … Claire Gebben has extraordinary promise. Her prose is quite brilliant; I fully lived within her world.”
– William Dietrich, Pulitzer-Prize winning author
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Writing this 19th century German immigrant’s tale has been quite a journey. (For more background, see The Next Big Thing interview.)
And that journey continues. In light of this new title (the working title was “Harm’s Way”–former heading of this blog) and in preparation for a February book launch, this web site will be under construction for a few weeks. It might look different each time you visit, but eventually, the dust will settle on a shiny new look.
Meanwhile, happy summer, and thanks to all my friends and family who have lifted me up and helped me get to this milestone!
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