Synopsis

Fur, silver, and gold first lured men to Idaho Territory. Women soon followed. And what women they were! Molly B’Damn, Peg Leg Annie, Spanish Belle, Lou Beevers, Diamond Tooth Lil—the names alone promised excitement and intrigue.

In fact, these madams led complex, turbulent lives. Meet Maggie Hall, a devout Catholic whose husband used her to pay off his gambling debts. Working as a prostitute, Maggie made her way west and, as Molly B’Damn, became the guardian angel of an Idaho mining camp. Or Annie McIntyre, a young girl among the prospectors and ne’er do wells of Rocky Bar who amassed a small fortune as the local madam only to lose it all—along with both her legs.

Idaho Madams uncovers the enigmatic and salacious lives of 30 women who ran brothels in the Gem State from the 1850s to the 1980s. Here are the hedonistic and sometimes heroic exploits of Effie Rogan, Jennie Girard, Nettie Bowen, Ginger Murphy, Dixie Colton, and Dot Allen, but also the unsung sagas of Carrie Young, Grace Freeman, Willow Herman, Hattie Carlton, and many more. As told by author Milana Marsenich, the stories of these women come alive with voluptuous detail, historical photographs, and the social context of the times.

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Guest Post

Dogs and other Animals in Story Development

By Milana Marsenich

I love animals. Growing up, my family always had black labs. We also had a couple cats, cats my father swore would never live with us. My first dog as an adult was a malamute named Mush. I was living in Helena, Montana, when my boss gave me a mixed husky malamute puppy named Deja. I woke her frequently just to make sure she was still breathing.

A vivid dreamer, I often dreamt of dogs and cats who needed my help. The dream animals made their way into my daily conversations. So, it was no surprise to anyone who knew me that a ghostly white dog wandered through the mining town of 1917 Butte, Montana, and took center stage in Copper Sky, my first novel. In the sequel, Beautiful Ghost, a wolf dog crosses the continent as he tracks the 1918 influenza pandemic. Trumpeter swans, their history, and their near demise fill the pages of my novel, The Swan Keeper. Wilma, the kitten, can be found in the pages of my novel, Shed Girl.

In my short story, Bless the Moon, a wild pack of sled dogs tames a wild little boy. In my short story Wild Dogs, the dogs represent the freedom the woman in the story wants to feel. A dead bull stuck in the mud represents how she does feel. She wants to run but feels trapped and dead inside. The story is a reckoning of how she comes to terms with these two elements of her life, and the animals are a poetic representation of those two elements.

When writing about animals, you can play with their meaning, put them in dreams, or have them be the voice of the people. They can be mysterious, solid, or mundane. They can expand the narrative by what they know. Children can often talk to animals in ways they won’t talk to each other. Children will notice the subtle sounds and signs that come from nature’s world. Creating stories through vivid animal elements can transport readers to that world.

A wild dog howls. Fur trapped in a barbed wire fence reveals a deer passed through. A stray kitten finally gets brave enough to come close and cuddle the forlorn child. Coyotes howl in pastures, haunting the rancher. He pulls his rifle out for safety, not knowing who or what stirs the wild band. A large dog shows up and disappears, only to slink into the yard at the end of the night. First, there is one dog, then two, and then three dogs.

Or maybe a large buck jumps the fence and eats the apples, effectively cleaning the yard. Squirrels scatter across tree limbs. Birds, hawks, and eagles fly overhead. Bear play with their cubs. Animals can brighten and deepen the story. They can shape the emotional heart of the story, creating a profound effect capable of deeply touching the reader.

About the Author

Award-winning author Milana Marsenich lives in Northwest Montana near Flathead Lake at the base of the beautiful Mission Mountains. She enjoys quick access to the mountains and has spent many hours hiking the wilderness trails with friends and dogs. For the past 20 years, she has worked as a mental health therapist in a variety of settings. As a natural listener and a therapist, she has witnessed amazing generosity and courage in others. She first witnessed this in her hometown of Butte, Montana, a mining town with a rich history and the setting for Copper Sky, her first novel.

Copper Sky was chosen as a Spur Award finalist for Best Western Historical Novel in 2018. Her second novel, The Swan Keeper, was a Willa Award finalist in 2019. Her short story, Wild Dogs, won the Laura Award for short fiction in 2020.

She has an M.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling from Montana State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. She has previously published in Montana Quarterly, Big Sky Journal, The Polishing Stone, The Moronic Ox, BookGlow, and Feminist Studies. She has four published novels, Copper Sky, The Swan Keeper, Beautiful Ghost, and Shed Girl, and one popular history book, Idaho Madams. Her popular history book, Mary MacLane: Butte’s Wild Woman and her Wooden Heart, will be out sometime in 2025.

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