Endorsements for
Charley’s Choice
"CHARLEY’S CHOICE by Fern J. Hill is one of those charming historical novels that make you yearn for a time machine. Beautifully written and thoroughly accessible, this novel is also a celebration of the freedom of choice and the importance of equality. Brava!"
—JONATHAN MABERRY, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Bad Moon Rising and Patient Rising
American history is filled with stories of courageous women who served as soldiers, gold miners, spies, and powerful business leaders—in a time when women were forbidden such roles. CHARLEY’S CHOICE is the masterful tale of a frontier woman brave enough to spit in the eye of the Devil himself. Fern Hill’s portrait of Charley ranks as one of the finest characterizations I’ve read in a very long time.
—KATHLEEN O'NEAL GEAR, author of The Betrayal: The Lost Life of Jesus
"Fern J. Hill’s debut novel, Charley’s Choice The Life and Times of Charley Parkhurst, reveals a remarkable and memorable character. While one may not always agree with Charley’s choices, one can understand them because Fern J. Hill takes us inside Charley’s life in telling this fascinating story. There can be no doubt that here was a person with a great passion for horses and for driving big stages in an era when doing so meant both adventure and danger; and it was clearly not the purview of women. Fern’s fictional biography reminds us of what must be sacrificed to live a full life enduring the trials and triumphs that a dream demands; and of the friends we all need along the way. Kudos to Fern for bringing Charley Parkhurst to life!"
—JANE KIRKPATRICK, best-selling author of A Sweetness to the Soul, winner of the Wrangler Award for the Outstanding Western Novel.
"Charley Parkhurst’s life might seem unbelievable, but Fern J. Hill makes it not only credible but fascinating. I really loved this book, read it in one sitting because it was impossible to put down. But Charley’s exploits linger - an inspiration, a woman with a mind of her own who did what she wanted and showed ‘em all! Thank you Fern J. Hill."
—JANE CANDIA COLEMAN, author of The White Dove and Tumbleweed
"The story of Charley Parkhurst does not fall easily into place. Details of her life are scarce, yet Fern Hill artfully weaves them like golden threads among the warp and woof of a tale spun from fact and fiction. The result is a seamless tapestry with the rough texture of the old west depicting a woman’s struggle for equality in a world dominated by men. Charley’s Choice is my choice for the best fictionalized biography. A must read."
—JOHN EVANS, author of The Cut.
"Charley Parkhurst has long been an enigmatic figure in the Old West. In her first novel Fern Hill has skillfully blended historical research with fiction to give Charley a unique and entirely believable voice. And anyone who loves horses or understands driving them will be doubly rewarded."
—PERSIA WOOLLEY, author of How to Write and Sell Historical Fiction
"Charley’s Choice: The Life and Times of Charley Parkhurst is a fascinating tale of a well played lifetime masquerade and a good read. The basis in fact and the placement of the tale in the events and social structure of the time fit together to make the narrative whole. The author’s knowledge of horses grounds the story to make it believable for the reader. The inclusion of the few feminine friends adds to the realism as the need is part of the feminine psyche."
—JO-BREW, author of Marge, Back on Track
"A richly detailed, vividly imagined, and sympathetic life of the mysterious Charlotte Parkhurst, who courageously defied her gender's destiny to, literally, become her own man."
—JOANN LEVY, author of They Saw The Elephant: Women In The California Gold Rush
"With lots of pluck, and a little luck, Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst dared to lead a life denied to women of the 19th century. Fern Hill’s excellent grasp of the historical context provide vivid details of daily life, and intimate insights into family structure and the relationships between men and women. Although little is known of the real Charley, Fern Hill’s account of what Charley’s life could have been is fascinating and entirely plausible. In Charley’s Choice, the reader experiences vivid intimate details of one woman’s choice to overcome extraordinary difficulties in a man’s world."
—JANE BORG, archive volunteer of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association
"If you liked Forge Books’ “Women of the West” series, you’ll love Fern Hill’s Charley’s Choice. With her passion for historical detail and a good story about a strong, independent woman, Fern spins a fascinating tale that’ll make you want to find out which parts are fictional and which are historical."
—MELANIE GOLD, writer, editor and amateur historian
"The author gives Charley Darkey Parkhurst—a character ripped from the pages of American history—a voice so frisky that you can’t believe she’s been dead for more than a century and a half. You can feel the broken in leather of her coach driving gloves and smell the manure clinging to her boots and see the determined set of her jaw as she finds a way to buck discrimination against the weaker sex by living as a man. ... Good for Fern J. Hill for resurrecting this remarkable character—I won’t forget Charley, and what she sacrificed to live a life of her own design."
—KATHRYN CRAFT, writer and manuscript editor
