Tough Luck: A Novel [Hardcover]

WWA Spur Awards Finalist in the Historical Novel category

In this homage toTrue Grit, a young woman makes a perilous journey west in 1863 in search of her gold-mining father.

After their mother dies, Haidie Richards and her younger brother, Boots, are put to work in an orphanage. Their father left four years earlier to find a gold mine in Colorado Territory, and since then hes sent only three letters. Still, Haidie is certain that he is alive, has struck gold, and will soon send for them.

But patience is not one of Haidies virtues, and soon she and her brother make a break for it. Boots and Haidie, disguised as a boy, embark on a dangerous journey deep into Western territory. Along the way, Haidie learns fast not only how to handle mules, oxen, and greedy men, but also that you are better off in a community. Hers includes a card shark, independent spinster sisters, and a very fierce dog. Once she arrives in Colorado and finds out the truth about her father, Haidie will need all her new friends for a get-even plot worthy ofThe Sting.

Filled with vivid period detail, colorful characters, and the irreverent voice of our scrappy heroine,Tough Luckcelebrates both the tenacity of youth and the persistence of the heart in the great American West.

Sandra Dallasis aNew York Timesbestselling author of nearly twenty adult novels, several children's novels, and numerous works of non-fiction about Western subjects. Her work has won numerous awards and prizes including the Colorado Book Award and, in 2021, she was inducted into the Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame. A former bureau chief forBusiness Weekmagazine, Sandra lives in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado with her husband.

Praise forTough Luck

Sandra Dallass tongue-in-cheek adventure is a gem.
Roundup Magazine/Western Writers of America

Calling your novel an homage toTrue Gl*