Orphan Train Presentation and Book Signing with Dianna Rostad

Calling all historical fiction fans! USA Today bestseller and award-winning debut author, Dianna Rostad, will be here on June 14th to give a presentation about the The Orphan Train Movement followed by a Q&A, and a book signing. You Belong Here Now has been called "Immersive and stunning! Reminiscent of This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. For readers who loved The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate."

That's quite a pedigree!

About the Author

Dianna Rostad is a USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author. Her debut novel You Belong Here Now is a 2022 WILLA Literary Award Finalist for Historical Fiction and was shortlisted for Reading the West’s Debut Fiction Award 2022. A favorite task of her creative endeavors is the discovery and research of people and places where her novels are set. She has traveled extensively to pursue the last artifacts of our shared history and breathe life, truth, and hope into her novels. Dianna was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and spends time volunteering for various causes. She loves reading, playing with Bennee her dog, and growing flowers in her garden. Dianna writes big-hearted novels for wide audiences everywhere.

About the Book

Montana 1925: Three brave kids from New York board the orphan train headed west. An Irish boy who lost his whole family to Spanish flu, a tiny girl who won’t talk, and a volatile young man who desperately needs to escape Hell’s Kitchen. They are paraded on platforms across the Midwest to work-worn folks and journey countless miles, racing the sun westward. Before they reach the last rejection and stop, the kids come up with a daring plan, and they set off toward the Yellowstone River and grassy mountains where the wild horses roam.

Fate guides them toward the ranch of a family stricken by loss. Broken and unable to outrun their pasts in New York, the family must do the unthinkable in order to save them. 

Nara, the daughter of a successful cattleman, has grown into a brusque spinster who refuses the kids on sight. She’s worked hard to gain her father’s respect and hopes to run their operation, but if the kids stay, she’ll be stuck in the kitchen.

Nara works them without mercy, hoping they’ll run off, but they buck up and show spirit, and though Nara will never be motherly, she begins to take to them. So, when Charles is jailed for freeing wild horses that were rounded up for slaughter, and an abusive mother from New York shows up to take the youngest, Nara does the unthinkable, risking everything she holds dear to change their lives forever.

Additional information

• This is a free, live event.
• There will be a limited amount of seating. Early arrival is recommended.
• Photographs will be allowed at the author's discretion.
• Pre-ordering or reserving your copy in advance helps to ensure there are adequate amounts on-hand, but you may also purchase a book at the event.
• Receipt or other proof of purchase is required before autographs can be personalized.