With all the swagger of a classic western, a legendary buffalo claims his
rightful place among the genre’s most iconic heroes.
Meet Rathuun. Born in an idyllic canyon, tragedy strikes on his first day. A
grizzly bear scatters the herd, devours his twin, and leaves him to shiver and
die. But the buffalo calf with a white spot on his chin survives.
The plains are changing fast. Wagons roll west in endless streams. Telegraph
wires stretch across the horizon. Locomotives scream down polished rails,
slicing through the earth. Extinction
seems imminent when everyone wants to kill the biggest buffalo on the prairie.
Native people shoot arrows and drive herds over cliffs. Hide hunters slaughter
millions. An obsessed buffalo assassin is determined to wipe them all out and
change the world forever. There’s an army of barking rifles, and they’re all
pointed at Rathuun.
Will the hunters take Rathuun’s head and leave his carcass to rot on the
prairie?
This sweeping epic thunders across the American West, taking listeners
to unforgettable western landmarks. If you like classic westerns, thrilling
action, and high-stakes historical adventures, grab your copy by the horns.
Welcome to the prairie!
Interview
- Tell us about your current release
Rathuun: King of the Prairie is the story of an American bison, told entirely from his point of view, from birth to death, as he roams the 1800s frontier. Every chapter features an iconic Western landmark. Along the way he runs headlong into danger and a world that’s changing fast. It’s meant to be an immersive experience, and I hope that readers feel like they’re migrating along with the herd.
- When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I enjoyed writing back in high school in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until I got lost in researching my grandfather’s dude ranch, built in the 1960s that I caught the writing bug. Now, ten years later, I’m over twenty novels into this wonderful obsession.
- Have you published any previous books?
Absolutely! Before Rathuun, I published several series including: A Seph Vermillion Western Adventure, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail, and the Adirondack Spirit Series.
- What can we expect to see from you in the future, any books on the backburner?
I’m hard at work on a new series, The Frontier Adventures of Alvah Nye. It is a spinoff from my Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail, featuring several familiar characters. A prequel novella is out now: Return to Independence. Books one and two are available for preorder and are scheduled for release August 6th and September 17th respectively.
- What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
It seems like I’m always writing. I also love to travel out west, read, and hike. Strangely, I also enjoy mowing the lawn and washing dishes but not cooking.
- Did you learn anything from writing your book? What was it?
I’d heard about the Great Die-Off but didn’t fully realize how absolutely devastating the winter of 1886-87 truly was. It is seldom mentioned, but had a catastrophic impact on cattle, men, and bison. When I think of it, I picture C.M. Russell’s painting, Waiting on a Chinook (Last of the 5,000).
- Some writers have something playing in the background, do you and what?
Each weekend, I pick a different artist and they become my writing partner. Mostly, I stick to classic country… Elvis, Dolly, George Strait, Marshall Tucker Band, CCR, and my new favorite, David Lewis. My favorite playlist, which always makes me want to write westerns kicks off with Ray Price’s Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes, followed by Goldie Hill’s I Let the Stars Get In My Eyes, then Eddy Arnold’s Cattle Call, and Gene Autry’s Home On the Range. There’s 41 songs on this Spotify playlist, and I’m happy to share. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0L8pC1RtIMedKjeIkpoKp5?si=-ahQ-tNrS52I2c-pVwU_mQ
- Tell us a little about yourself. Perhaps something not many people know about?
Before I became a prolific writer, I enjoyed long-distance hiking. I’ve been to the top of every mountain in the Adirondacks, and one day, May 5, 2018, I reenacted the 1960s fitness craze of walking fifty miles in one day. Maybe that’s why I love writing fiction set along a trail, and especially enjoyed plotting Rathuun’s migrations.
- What do you hope your writing brings to your readers?
I love it when people tell me that they felt like they were there. I hope that readers of Rathuun imagine what it’s like to have hooves and horns, to wallow, scratch, and migrate. Those ancient paths, carved by mammoths and followed by buffalo, are now interstate highways.
EXCERPT
From Chapter 1, opening scene
Rathuun heard a fierce roar that rattled between his ears.
He had just finished nursing for the first time since he was born a thrum, hours earlier. His mother’s warm breath had tickled his flank just moments ago.
It was a peaceful morning on the prairie, but in a flash, everything had changed.
The thunderous roar boomed again. The entire brum was on the move.
In his haste to lead his followers away from danger, Drumm sounded the alarm and leapt forward. The old bull crashed into Rathuun, sending the thrum sprawling.
Rathuun’s legs wobbled as he tried to stand. It was a miracle that the collision hadn’t broken him. There was an instinctive pull to follow the brum, and it was centered beneath his chin, between his front legs.
He blinked rapidly, whipping his head from side to side, searching for his mother. Moments ago, she had been beside him. “Hathah!” he bleated, searching for the young cow who was his whole world.
But he knew she was gone. Gone with all the others. Why had she left him behind?
He shivered at the realization that he was all alone. His heart throbbed against his ribs. It was a struggle to make sense of what had happened.
Everything turned upside down and sideways. The panicked brum quickly vanished as the plains swallowed the pounding hooves and flashing tails, leaving nothing but a faint echo of their distant bellows.
It was eerily silent in the wake of the wild scatter of the buffalos’ frenzied exodus. Rathuun took a tentative step forward, not knowing what to do or which way to go.
Dust choked the air. His third, translucent eyelid swept sideways across his eye, clearing away the grit kicked up by the fleeing brum. He stood, dazed and completely alone.
Or so he thought. The silence quickly gave way to horrible sounds.
Rathuun turned his head. Twenty feet away, something moved. A dark, hulking monster hunched over something. Rathuun’s blood pounded with fear. There was a heavy thump in his chest. Then he saw the creature.
It was a rumbler.
About the Author
David Fitz-Gerald writes frontier and pioneer western fiction from the
wilds of western Vermont—about as far west as you can get without
slipping into New York.
Though he’s never wrangled beeves to market, Dave was a top hand on his
grandfather’s dude ranch in the Adirondack Mountains… before he
turned ten. He’s lived most of his life on dirt roads. Whenever he gets
the chance, he travels west to recharge his spirit on the windswept prairies.
He’s an Adirondack 46’er which means that he’s hiked to the
top of every mountain in the park. In 2018, Dave completed the 1960s fitness
craze by hiking 50 miles in one day. That’s one heck of a long walk, but
not nearly as grueling as the iconic trails that he chases in his fiction.
Even after all these years, Dave still has his head in the clouds like Ken
from MY FRIEND FLICKA, and a quiet, self-reliant spirit like Sam from THE
TRUMPET OF THE SWAN. That blend of wonder, heart, and spirit runs through the
characters he portrays. His editor states he is “exceptionally good at
creating real moments between characters”—and readers seem to
agree.
Dave’s breakthrough series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail won
Chanticleer’s Grand Prize for Book Series. He’s now the author of
nearly twenty novels and counting, and as long as there’s coffee in the
kitchen, Dave will be plotting one adventurous story after another.
Contact Links
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Purchase Link
https://mybook.to/RathuunKingofPrairie
