by Sylvia Ross (Author)

With an authentic background in early California statehood, EAST OF THE GREAT VALLEY champions the triumph of good against evil during one of the most brutal times in western history. The 2015 revision of the book includes maps and a guide to the characters indexed by first appearance. The novel is set in the Sierra Mountains during he period of new statehood, 1856-1876. Its story tells of the survivor of a slaughtered Indian band, and the struggles of the pioneering family who adopt her. The novel's realities are harsh. Its characters are true to the time. Good does triumph, but only at a cost. --The book also illustrates California's valiant contribution to the Civil War when men, the California 100, enlisted to go to the east and fight for the Union with the Massachusetts 2nd Cavalry while much of the state were Southern sympathizers. It brings to the foreground how the influence of a strong woman can have a lasting effect. The novel is set in the Sierra Mountains during 1856-1876. Its story is that of a child, the survivor of a Indian band slaughtered in 1856, and that of the enterprising, pioneer family that chooses to adopt her. EAST OF THE GREAT VALLEY also illustrates California's contribution to the Civil War with an inclusion of the story of The California 100, a battalion of men who enlisted to sail, then march across the Isthmus of Panama to ultimately fight for the Union as part of the Massachusetts 2nd Cavalry. For the factually interested reader, the book also contains research notes in its back pages. The author has also added two simple maps and an index to characters first appearance to the current edition.

Author Biography

Sylvia Ross is the author/illustrator of BLUE JAY GIRL and LION SINGER, books for children. Her short stories and poems have been included in a number of anthologies, and her work has frequently been included in "News from Native California," an award winning magazine. Her first novel, ACTS OF KINDNESS, ACTS OF CONTRITION was a finalist for the James D. Houston Award in 2011. Ross has also published a book of drawings, poems and short stories titled ACORNS AND ABALONE. She is the author of the historical crime novel, ILSA ROHE, published under the name Stephenson Ross. Sylvia Ross, an Oregon Trail descendant on both sides of her family, is listed on the 1950 California State Indian Roll as Chukchansi Yokuts through her maternal lineage. The character, Merab McCreary, is loosely based on the early life of her great grandmother. Ross was born and raised in Southern California where she attended parochial schools. After graduation, she worked as a cell painter for Walt Disney Productions in Burbank. After marrying and moving to the Central Valley, she earned an honors degree from Fresno State University and worked as a teacher at the elementary school that children from the Tule River Indian Reservation attended. She and her husband currently live in Exeter, California.

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