About the Books - Proving Her Claim

Proving Her Claim

The Civil War created countless spinsters and widows. Anna Olson was one of them. With no prospects for marriage and family, Anna pins her future on the frontier and heads west to stake a claim on the wide-open prairies. “Most women go from their father’s house to their husband’s house,” Anna said. “Here, I have […]

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About the Author - Lone Tree Claim

Lone Tree Claim

Like many Americans, Civil War widow Katie Rose Kelly was determined to build a new life for herself after the devastation of war. She was drawn to the Dakota frontier, where she claimed 160 acres and became a sheepherder. But that was just the beginning of her journey. As a woman alone on the wide-open […]

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Medicine Creek Claim book cover

Medicine Creek Claim

The Civil War ripped the state of Missouri in half – just as it ripped apart the nation. After their parents died, Charlotte Ward’s brother enlisted in the Union Army against her wishes. Disguised as a Union soldier, she followed him into battle, determined to bring him home. Lizzy Ward remained on the farm, at […]

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When the Chokecherries Bloom

Shining Water’s world was changing. When the Lakota girl was just a baby, her mother died from a disease brought by white settlers. Now, her father, the son of a Lakota medicine woman and a Scots fur trapper, has married a homesteader. And he expects Shining Water to leave her grandmother’s tipi to live with […]

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About the Author

Amazon best-selling author CK Van Dam is a daughter of the Dakota prairies. Lone Tree Claim is the second in her series of historical novels about the strong women who have built our nation and our world. Van Dam’s first novel, Proving Her Claim, received two Spur Awards from Western Writers of America.

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CK van Dam - About the Author

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Reader Reviews

This book kept me hooked. I couldn’t wait to sit down and continue reading!
Couldn’t put it down!Paula H.
I really enjoyed this book and reading about what life was like when the Dakota territory was created. The main character, Anna, is fiercely independent and I enjoyed how brave she was in many different aspects. I had a hard time putting down this book toward the end as it wasn’t predictable like some romance books are. Anna is a very likable character and you can’t help to want her to succeed.
Great Historical RomanceLisa L.
A great example of a woman who was brave enough to settle in the West all alone. Descriptive of the time just after the civil war and how some white people learned to coexist with Native Americans.
Easy to read as well as informative
I enjoyed this book for many reasons, not the least of which is that it was written from a woman’s perspective. I found CK VanDam’s novel to be an insightful look into a little-known factor of “How the West Was Won.” Women worked hard, alone or along-side their men, and the fact that they were more successful at sticking to their claims (as a percentage to men) is not to be overlooked. They plowed fields, prayed for rain, cooked over a fire, lived in sod houses, harvested natural bounty, bore and raised children, milked the cows, practiced healing arts, and learned how to get along with others, including Native Americans. It wasn’t all gunfights….fighting nature, and fighting human nature were just as powerful opponents as the marauding gangs that robbed banks and ran roughshod over the law at that time. There’s a little bit of everything in this lovely look at a woman alone on the Dakota Prairie, proving her claim, and proving to herself that she could be independent and choose her own way of life. If you liked “Sweet Land” I think you’ll enjoy this book as well.
Life on the PrairieRobyn W.
I loved this book. I was born and raised in South Dakota and have great-grandparents who proved their claim there so I found it fascinating. The characters were well developed and the story’s events seemed very believable. The description of the wide open spaces of South Dakota and the snow and cold of SD winters are obviously written by a native of the state.
Wonderful story of pioneers on the South Dakota prairieMary Y.
This book is so wonderful. It kept my interest and I did have a sleepless night after I started reading it. I highly recommend this book! You will love it!
just wow!
A well researched and written story that is based on fact even tho it is fiction! The author paints the scenes so you feel you are there. A nice relaxing story line. Kindle Reader
Fascinating and true to life!
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