Howard Frisk's Blog

My first novel, Peg Leg Annie, is now available on Amazon. Do a search on Howard Frisk and you will see it.

A gripping work of historical fiction set in the gold mining camps of 19th-century Idaho, Peg Leg Annie tells the story of a woman who refuses to be broken by the frontier.

Annie McIntyre comes west with the promise of a better life, only to discover how quickly a dream can curdle into a nightmare. She marries to escape one cage and finds herself locked inside another—beaten, controlled, and ultimately separated from the children she loves most.

When tragedy strikes and leaves Annie permanently injured, she is forced to remake herself in a world that offers women few choices and even fewer mercies. Emerging as “Peg Leg Annie,” she fights to survive in the brutal underbelly of frontier Idaho—among boarding houses, brothels, saloons, and mining towns where the law is fickle and justice is rarely kind to women.

Taking on the only roles the American frontier allows her—dance hall girl, madam, bootlegger—Annie builds an unlikely sisterhood with other marginalized women, forming bonds of loyalty and protection in a male-dominated world shaped by greed, violence, and desperation. Together, they carve out a fragile independence in a society determined to take advantage of them.

Annie wants more than survival. She wants her freedom. Her dignity. And the chance to reclaim the life that was stolen from her. Amidst heartbreak and betrayal, Annie must decide how far she is willing to go—and what she is willing to risk—to seize a future on her own terms.

Peg Leg Annie is a powerful novel of pioneer women, resilience, and defiance in the American West—perfect for readers of women’s historical fiction, frontier novels, and stories rooted in Idaho history and forgotten mining camps.

I’m excited to share some big news—I’ve just finished writing my first novel!

Many of you know my previous books focus on ghost towns and abandoned places in Washington and Idaho, and they are all non-fiction. While researching Idaho’s history, I came across a legendary figure from the gold mining towns whose life fascinated me. I mentioned her briefly in one of my books, and a friend said, “This deserves a novel.” I took that advice—and here we are.

The result is a historical fiction novel rooted in real people and documented events, with imagined dialogue that brings the past to life. The book is scheduled for publication next month and will be available on Amazon.

I’m currently looking for ARC readers. ARC readers receive a free PDF copy of the book before publication and, if they choose, can be among the first to leave a review on Amazon once it’s published.

If you enjoy historical fiction, western history, or stories set in rugged gold mining towns—and would like to be part of this early group—please message me your email address.

I am writing a historical novel about one of Idaho's legendary women. It should be published within the next week or so. Contact me if you would like a copy. Here is part of the blurb on the back cover:

Based on actual events and people, Peg Leg Annie tells the extraordinary story of Anna Morrow—a woman who lost everything multiple times yet still found the strength to rise again. From the raucous saloons of Rocky Bar and Atlanta, Idaho, to the rough-hewn streets of Boise, Annie’s life mirrors the boom and bust of the wild west frontier itself—vibrant with promise, then stripped bare by time and circumstance. Peg Leg Annie brings her story to life in a tale of grit, tragedy, hope, and the relentless pursuit of survival.

Surviving an abusive marriage, the loss of her children, and a crippling injury, she reinvents herself as a madam, business owner, and bootlegger. In the ashes of her fallen dreams she became a force that rivaled the world of men when options for women were few. Yet, in spite of the tragedies that befell her, she never lost her empathy for others, and became known as the Angel of Mercy.

"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything"
-Ernest Hemmingway

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
-Thich Nhat Hanh

Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.
-Malala Yousafzai

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
—Stephen King

For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived, for fiction, biography, and history offer an inexhaustible number of lives in many parts of the world, in all periods of time.

Louis L'Amour

Two of my series of books on abandoned places in Idaho will be released on July 31st:

Ghost Towns of Eastern Idaho: Exploring Boomtowns of the Past and Present

Abandoned Mines of Western ... Abandoned Mines of Western Idaho: Quests for the Motherlode

The first book in the series is Abandoned Idaho, which was released last May.

They will be available on Amazon. If you order one from me I will sign it for you.

"Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude"

- Victor Frankl