Book One in The Oakleys Series
When his brother is kidnapped from their New Mexico cabin, 12-year-old Walter Oakley sets off in pursuit, launching a multi-generational saga. Following the Oakley family from 1800s frontier life among Apaches and Comanches through Prohibition-era Texas, Little Hatchet chronicles their courageous struggle for survival amid unimaginable tragedy, violence, and determination.
In the years after the Civil War, James Oakley moves his family to the banks of Little Hatchet Creek in New Mexico. When his little brother is kidnapped from the front porch of their cabin, 12-year-old Walter Oakley sets off in pursuit. In time, the Oakleys make their piece with the existing residents of their new neighborhood: the Mescalero Apaches, the Comanches, and the Tejanos. But new challenges await in Texas as the new century dawns. The hardships posed by the frontier pale compared with Walter’s efforts to keep his family together amid the decadence, drunkenness, and violence of Prohibition.
As the first installment in The Oakleys, Little Hatchet is an epic historical family saga that portrays the multigenerational struggle for survival, loosely based on the author’s kin. A tale of courage, determination, and endurance set against the unimaginable tragedies that beset the lives of Ada and Walter Oakley and their eight children.
Category: Historical Fiction, Westerns
Publication Date: March 1, 2024
ISBN (paper): 979-8-9879002-5-3
ISBN (ebook): 979-8-9879002-6-0
Pages: 308
Trim size: 6 x 9
Allen Houston, author of the Nightfall Gardens series“An epic in the mold of Larry McMurtry that follows the Oakley family from turn of the century New Mexico into Prohibition-era Texas. For those who like action, there’s plenty of that interspersed throughout the multi-layered character studies that make up the core of the novel. But it’s the humanity of the family and the deft hand for historic detail that is the real selling point here. Oakley has imbued his characters with a rare richness and their basic decentness in a world undergoing vast change is all too recognizable. This is storytelling with heart for those who like depth-filled characters contemplating on family, time’s passage, and hard lessons learned.”
Laura Smith, author of Monster“Great book! You get caught up in the story and you don't want it to end!”
Crystal Merrill, San Diego, California“I liked this book, and I ended it wanting more. Can’t wait for the next one. Always an adventure with the Oakley family.”
Allen Houston, author of the Nightfall Gardens series“An epic in the mold of Larry McMurtry that follows the Oakley family from turn of the century New Mexico into Prohibition-era Texas. For those who like action, there’s plenty of that interspersed throughout the multi-layered character studies that make up the core of the novel. But it’s the humanity of the family and the deft hand for historic detail that is the real selling point here. Oakley has imbued his characters with a rare richness and their basic decentness in a world undergoing vast change is all too recognizable. This is storytelling with heart for those who like depth-filled characters contemplating on family, time’s passage, and hard lessons learned.”
Laura Smith, author of Monster“Great book! You get caught up in the story and you don't want it to end!”
Crystal Merrill, San Diego, California“I liked this book, and I ended it wanting more. Can’t wait for the next one. Always an adventure with the Oakley family.”
Troy Dungan, author of Jesus Makes Salsa by the Seashore and longtime Texas television weather man“I just finished it! I continue to be fascinated with the Oakley family saga. And once again you have left me impatient to find out what will happen next.”
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