Passage of Time is the first book of a planned time travel/historical romance trilogy featuring Kate Hunter and Nathan Walker.

After deciding to write a time travel saga, I then had to pin down the historical period and setting for this initial book. Perhaps it was from having watched so many TV westerns as a child that made me choose the American plains in the mid-1800's and the conflict initiated by the increasing encroachment by white settlers on land the Plains Indians had traditionally inhabited.

The idea of focusing on the Cheyenne tribe became entrenched in my mind early on in my reading of George Bird Grinnell's two-volume series on the history and ways of life of the Cheyenne Indians. As I read about certain customs, I would think "holy mackerel, that would make a great plot turn!"

Besides Kate and Nathan, readers will meet real historical personages, such as trading fort owner, William Bent, who longs for one of Nathan's possessions; mountain man, Jim Bridger, who might hold the key to how Kate can return to her time; prominent Civil War Confederate commander, James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, who finds his way into the novel as Nathan's friend; and Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner, who makes a surprising decision as he leads the charge against Nathan and the Cheyenne in the 1857 Battle of Solomon Fork.

To fully appreciate The Butterfly Shawl, it is important to know the events taking place at that time in American history.

On August 24, 1857, the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company failed because of bad agricultural investments and reported embezzlement of funds. People lost confidence and drained their bank accounts and sold off stocks and paper bonds, setting off the Panic of 1857. Thousands of businesses closed causing widespread unemployment, and many banks went under.

Those who lost their jobs came from all walks of life. Desperate to support their families, they headed west upon hearing gold had been found in the Pike’s Peak region. The most desperate made the weeks-long trek walking the entire way carrying their goods.

During the gold rush that began in 1858 and ended with the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861, the Cherry Creek fledgling settlements of Auraria and Denver City were the brief stop-over points for tens of thousands of gold seekers heading for the mountainous gold fields. Gamblers, hustlers and thieves flooded the two towns, looking to fleece the transient prospectors before they moved on.

Elsewhere, the slavery issue took centre stage, with states having to decide whether or not to be free. Lincoln was a rising star in the newly founded Republican Party, and southern states were threatening secession.