When I wrote Prickett’s Fort, I combined two true stories that occurred on the frontier a year apart. One took place at Bedford, Pennsylvania where the family fought their way to the fort and includes the harrowing story of the wife being forced to repair the sled as her husband and young son keep the Indians from rushing the rest of the family.
The second true story took place at Prickett’s Fort near Fairmont, WV. I combined the stories and set them at Prickett’s Fort at about the same time. I took the liberty to change one bit of fact because I wanted to explore the topic to help me understand why families raised their children amid the danger of the frontier.
Thankfully, the book received good reviews, one of which I’ll excerpt here:
“Hawkins has done his historical homework with this title, and the result is historically sound and exciting. Prickett’s Fort is an excellent novel and in many ways reminds me of some of Zane Grey’s own pioneer tales. Hawkins’ characters come across like real people, not cardboard cut-outs or shallow creations without substance, and he has obviously placed a lot of emphasis on research to show what life was like in the late 18th century when this area was a wild frontier and mountain men fought native Americans in savage conflict.”
– Blair Bones
After the book was published I arranged some book signings and was fascinated by the feedback given to me by readers. It seemed both men and women were emotionally caught up in the book. What surprised me was I thought the emotion provoked would have been reversed, with the men more concerned with what the women were concerned about, and vice-versa.
Since the book was first published, the internet has drastically changed how writers are published. I decided to make Prickett’s Fort available as an eBook. The price is right and you can instantly read the book. Order you own e-book and let me know what you think. (Coming Soon)
One of the questions I got from nearly everyone who read Prickett’s Fort was, “Are you going to write a sequel?” Well, I have good news; after more than a decade I’ve decided to do just that. As a matter of a fact, as of this writing, I have four chapters completed!
Take a look at what Blair Bones had to say about a sequel with his initial review.
“Prickett’s Fort is a great read and an instant classic in the genre of frontier fiction. Hawkins’ has wisely left room for a sequel, and readers may find themselves clamoring to know if Ethan really does make it to Kentucky after all. Amazingly, the book is Hawkins’ first novel, yet he writes with a seasoned maturity that is astounding.”
My plan is to post, in rough draft form, parts of chapters of the sequel and to engage readers who are also interested in frontier history. If you would like to be updated with the progress of the sequel and have a chance to be part of the writing process, please subscribe to this page.
I’m looking forward to interacting with fans of the frontier.