Women of the Colorado Gold Rush Era

Biographies & Memoirs

J.v.L. Bell

Jan Gunia

Community & Culture

The Filter Press, Westcliffe, CO

Filter Press

Elizabeth “Libby” Byers moved west to Colorado with her husband during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush of 1859. William Byers, was founder and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, Colorado’s first newspaper. Elizabeth was notable as a civic leader in her own right and described herself as part of the “advance guard of civilization” in the boom town of Denver City. The Byers saw Denver grow from a boom-and-bust town into the thriving state capital of Colorado. She faced many challenges as she was burned out of one home and flooded out of another, but she also found humor in the hardship. “There is much that is pathetic in a pioneer’s life, and much that is awfully funny,” she wrote in her memoir. “We often laughed through tears.” Elizabeth Byers: Denver Pioneer is Number 19 in the Now You Know Bio series from Filter Press. J.v.L. Bell is also the author of two mysteries: The Lucky Hat Mine and Denver City Justice.

Elizabeth Byers: Denver Pioneer (Now You Know Bio)

Children's Books

Biographies

Filter Press, LLC

2018 Will Rogers Medallion Award, Western Humor, Written What's a Southern belle to do in 1863? Wife-wanted ads are always risky business, but Millie Virginia never imagined she'd survive the perilous trip across the Great Plains to find her intended husband in a pine box. Was he killed in an accident? Or murdered for his gold mine? Stuck in the mining town of Idaho Springs, Colorado territory, without friends or means, Millie is beleaguered by undesirable suitors and threatened by an unknown assailant. Her troubles escalate when the brother of her dead fiancé, Dominic Drouillard, unexpectedly turns up. 
Dom is an ill-mannered mountain man who invades Millie's log cabin, insists that his brother was murdered, and refuses to leave until he finds the killer. Compelled to join forces with her erstwhile brother-in-law, Millie discovers the search for Colorado gold is perilous, especially with a murderer on their trail. 
The Lucky Hat Mine interlaces the tale of a feisty heroine with frontier legend and lore making for an engaging historical mystery.

The Lucky Hat Mine

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Hansen Publishing Group

Territory of Colorado, 1864. Millie and Dom Drouillard return with more murder, mayhem, and misadventures in J.v.L. Bell's latest novel, Denver City Justice. The newlyweds are barely settled into wedded bliss when their neighbor the Widow Ferris is found dead with an icicle piercing her cold heart. Suspects abound-Widow Ferris has been blackmailing most of the upstanding citizens of Idaho Springs, including its sheriff. Millie's new husband Dom soon becomes the main suspect and is hauled off to jail for a taste of Denver City justice. Can Millie arrive in Denver City in time? Joined by an unusual ensemble of proper matrons, her best friend Mary-a free black woman-and Idaho Springs' "fancy girl," Millie heads to Denver City willing to do anything to keep Dom from swinging from the end of a rope. Denver City Justice is a historical novel, rich in frontier lore, interesting Colorado history, and endearingly quirky characters.

Denver City Justice

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

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Books by J.v.L. Bell