Preparation

by Graham Fontaine

August, 1853

The city of Nauvoo is behind them. Ahead lie hundreds of miles of prairie, uncertain roads, and a settlement known only by a single, hopeful Preparation.



Jacob Grant has promised his wife and three children that the life they leave behind will be repaid with something better. But as their wagon joins the westward migration across Iowa, each passing mile asks more of them than they ever imagined. Faith is tested. Families are changed. Not every promise survives the journey.



Inspired by the little-known history of Preparation, Iowa, Preparation is an evocative novel of family, conviction, and survival on the American frontier. The first book in A Prairie Testament, it explores what is gained, what is lost, and what it truly means to build a home in an unfamiliar land.

352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication December 1, 2026

About the author

Graham Fontaine is an author of fantasy and historical fiction who has always been a little too interested in old stories, strange history, folklore, and the places where the real world starts to feel just a little bit unreal.

Raised in western Iowa among the Loess Hills, Graham grew up surrounded by landscapes and stories that still find their way into his writing. His books range from sweeping fantasy rooted in myth to historical fiction about people and places that deserve to be remembered.

When he’s not writing, he’s usually working on another book before he’s finished the one he already started, buying more books than he has room for, or disappearing down a research rabbit hole that was supposed to take five minutes.