Meet the Author of Dark Prairie, Book Signing at Howell Branch

Meet the Author of Dark Prairie, Book Signing at Howell Branch

If you love stories with grit, history, and moral weight—this is your invitation to meet the author behind Dark Prairie in person.

On Saturday, March 14, 2026, Howell Branch welcomes readers for a special local author signing featuring Dark Prairie, a historical fiction novel that brings overlooked Black frontier stories back into the light. Come by any time during the signing window to say hello, get your copy signed, and share a conversation about history, legacy, and the hard choices that shaped the West.

About Dark Prairie

Dark Prairie: Forged by Blood, Bound by Choice is set in the sweltering American South of 1867, where vengeance and survival collide—and where the cost of freedom is never abstract.

When two formerly enslaved men take brutal revenge on their master, the act sends shockwaves across generations and marks a young sharecropper’s son, John Ware, forever. Fleeing South Carolina, his family heads west and crosses paths with legendary figures like Nat Love and Mary Fields. Meanwhile, the frontier grows more dangerous: Cherokee Bill moves like violence given flesh, and U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves closes in with relentless justice.

This novel blends real historical figures with imagined lives to honor the untold stories of Black cowboys, outlaws, and women who carved survival from hostile land—stories rarely preserved in textbooks, but carried in memory, consequence, and blood.
(If you’d like to read the full description or order a copy, link to the Dark Prairie book page on this site.)

What to expect at the signing

This is a relaxed, in-person meet-and-greet designed for real conversation. You can:

• Meet the Author of Dark Prairie and get your copy signed
• Ask questions about the history and research behind the novel
• Talk storytelling, faith, legacy, and the realities behind Western myth

About the author

Meet the Author of Dark Prairie

Lonesome B. Augustine writes to punch through myth and bring overlooked history into focus, with stories grounded in faith, consequence, and lived truth. His work explores Black legacy, moral struggle, and redemption, restoring voices mainstream narratives too often ignore. At 67 years old, he brings the full weight of lived experience, hard-won wisdom, unflinching honesty, and a deep respect for untold history, to his storytelling.

Born with a keen eye for injustice and a love for American storytelling, Crutchfield Sr. is dedicated to giving voice to those who history tried to erase and those unseen in todays urban environment. His work dives into the overlooked chapters of Black American legacy, both rural and urban, violent and tender.

His first novel, ICE, explored the collision of crime, love, and politics with a cinematic edge. With his second book, Dark Prairie, he shifts to the Western frontier, reimagining the lives of real historical Black cowboys and outlaws in the post-Civil War South and West. The novel walks in the blood-soaked footprints of men like John Ware, Nat Love, and Cherokee Bill, refusing to let them be forgotten.

A late bloomer by publishing standards but a natural-born storyteller, Crutchfield Sr. proves it’s never too late to write history back into the light. He lives and writes with purpose, passion, and an unrelenting belief in truth told through fiction.

Plan your visit

Howell Branch is located at 806 Lyons Boulevard in Fredericksburg. Meet the Author of Dark Prairie, Book Signing at Howell Branch (Mar 14 | 10 AM–1 PM) 2026

For directions and branch information, link out to the library’s Howell Branch page (recommended below). If you need accessibility accommodations, the library notes it strives to make buildings and events accessible; arranging specific aids ahead of time is encouraged. (Link out to the library branch page and/or accessibility info.)

Meet the Author of Dark Prairie, Book Signing at Howell Branch (Mar 14 | 10 AM–1 PM) 2026

Meet the Author of Dark Prairie — Book Signing at Howell Branch If you love stories with grit, history, and moral weight—this is your invitation to meet the author behind Dark Prairie in person. On Saturday, March 14, 2026, Howell Branch welcomes readers for a special local author signing featuring Dark Prairie, a historical fiction novel that brings overlooked Black frontier stories back into the light. Come by any time during the signing window to say hello, get your copy signed, and share a conversation about history, legacy, and the hard choices that shaped the West.

Event Type: Event

Event Attendance Mode: OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Event Status: EventScheduled

Performer: Person

Performer Name: Lonesome B. Augustine

Performer URL: https://lonesomeaugustine.com/events/

Start Date: 2026-03-14 10:00

End Date: 2026-03-14 13:00

Ticket URL: https://lonesomeaugustine.com/events/

Entry Price: 00

Currency: USD

Availability: InStock

Availability Starts: 2026-03-14T10:00:00

Stock Inventory: 100

Editor's Rating:
5