Eva Kelly Hutchison

The idea for this book was borne from one of our excursions into the Black Hills of South Dakota. One day my husband, Stan and I came across a little old cabin, hidden among some pine trees. It was well-shrouded with overgrown weeds and bushes that any passerby would not have seen it. Upon seeing that cabin, my imagination went into full gear. Who built that cabin? When was it built? What historical events were taking place in the Hills during that era? Who were its occupants? With that, I developed my characters, George and Mary Benson, the elk hunters, to be the key players in this drama. The little cabin turned into a haven when the Bensons were caught in an early, unexpected blizzard. During their stay, Mary finds a diary that takes her into another kind of storm and intrigue about a young couple who may have occupied that cabin nearly a century before. According to the diary, the couple had come West during the Gold Rush Days in the Black Hills. Because the cabin had been left well-stocked with food and personal belongings as if its occupants fully intended to return, the mystery arises as to what could have happened to the people?