Why I Wrote To The Wild Horizon by Imogen Martin

My guest this week is Imogen Martin. Her second novel for Storm Publishing – To The Wild Horizon is published on 7 February 2024. Imogen is going to explain to blog readers why she wrote the novel.

Why I wrote To The Wild Horizon by Imogen Martin

Thank you, Morton, for inviting me onto your blog to talk about my second novel, To The Wild Horizon which will be published by Storm Publishing on Wednesday 7 February 2024.

When I was 19 – a little younger than my heroine, Grace – I worked in Maryland, US, for the summer. I then visited friends, travelling solo by Amtrac or Greyhound. I had friends dotted around North America because I had lived in the International Student House in London for six months (at the time I was neither international, nor a student, but that’s another story).

From Maryland, I travelled north to Chicago, north-west to Minneapolis, right across west to Victoria Island in Canada, sailed back to Seattle, then took the Pacific Coast Highway down to San Francisco. Finally, a three-day Greyhound journey from California to New York.

That’s a very long time sitting on a bus, talking To The sort of people who take the Greyhound (my US friends warned me that ‘regular’ Americans fly). Other times, I would sit by the window and stare out the extraordinary and huge landscape, letting stories wind themselves into my head. The stories have never left me; neither has my love for the American landscape.

The years went by and I got busy with work and having a family. Every so often, I would retreat to my bedroom and capture my ideas, scenes scribbled in pencil on narrow-lined paper. Eventually my daughters became adults and I had more time to shape the stories into something more like novels.

I love the bravery and confidence of the pioneers: to set off To The other side of the continent, not knowing what was ahead of them. This book is dedicated to my younger daughter Naomi who picked up the solo-backpacking gene. I had to get used to not hearing from her for weeks on end. Although one morning, when she was backpacking through Mexico, I did wake up to a text: “Hi Mum, just in case it’s on the news. There’s been an earthquake here. I’m fine.”

My heroine Grace and her brother Tom don’t face earthquakes, but they have a lot of other things thrown at them. I hope you’ll read my book, and find out why the hardest thing to find is love.

About Imogen Martin

Imogen writes sweeping, historical fiction. Her first two novels are set in nineteenth century America.

As a teenager, she took the Greyhound bus from San Francisco to New York. Over those three days of staring out of the window at the majestic mountains and endless flat plains, stories wound themselves into her head: tales of brooding, charismatic men captivated by independent women.

Since then, she has worked in a coffee-shop in Piccadilly, a famous bookstore, and a children’s home. She has run festivals, and turned a derelict housing block on one of the poorest estates in the UK into an award-winning arts centre.

During 2020 Imogen was selected by Kate Nash Literary Agency as one of their BookCamp mentees, a mentorship programme designed to accelerate the careers of promising new writers.

Married with two children, Imogen divides her time between Wales and Sardinia.

Contact details

Keep in touch with Imogen through her website and join her monthly newsletter: https://imogenmartinauthor.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImogenMartin9

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImogenMartin.Author/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imogenmartinauthor/?hl=en-gb

About To The Wild Horizon

Missouri, 1846: In the frontier town of Independence the sound of a gunshot shatters the night. As the pistol drops from her hand and clatters To The ground, Grace knows she has no choice but to leave. Now.

In this inspiring and deeply moving story of love, courage and endurance, a young woman on the run from the law sets off on a desperate journey of survival on the treacherous Oregon Trail.

This unputdownable and heart-wrenching historical novel shows the true strength and resilience of a woman’s heart, even when she has everything to lose and the odds are stacked against her. Fans of Kristin Hannah, Amy Harmon and Olivia Hawker will lose themselves in To The Wild Horizon.

What readers say about To The Wild Horizon:

“Incredible!!!!!” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“One of my favourite reads of the year. I absolutely loved it. A heartwarming, enticing, and intriguing tale of courage, love, compassion and resilience. This story will keep you on edge until the very last page.”Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t fall asleep because I had to know what was going to happen next. Incredible… I loved every second.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Purchasing link
To The Wild Horizon https://geni.us/179-al-aut-am