The year is 1885 and Abigail Peacock is resisting what seems to be an inevitable future—a sensible career as a teacher and marriage to the earnestly attentive local storeowner.

But then she buys a rifle, and everything changes.

This Godforsaken Place is the absorbing tale of one tenacious woman’s journey set against dramatic myths of the Canadian wilderness and the American Wild West. Abigail's adventure introduces her to some of the most infamous characters of her time—including Annie Oakley and Gabriel Dumont—and brings the high stakes of the New World into startling focus.

Cinda Gault holds a PhD in Canadian national identity issues in women’s writing of the 1960s and 1970s. She teaches and writes about Canadian literature, and lives in Toronto, Ontario.

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"The underlying question [of This Godforsaken Place] is certainly a fascinating one: in a fledgling society, determined to do things 'better,' how much does the fate of the individual matter? And should an individual be willing to accept injustice in the name of the greater good?" —My Book Strings blog

"This Godforsaken Place is a good adventure story with a strong female protagonist, but the best part...was learning more about Annie Oakley and the Wild West, as well as the Metis Rebellion in Saskatchewan with Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont. Gault managed to smoothly weave these two very different historical episodes into the story of Abigail Peacock from Wabigoon, Ontario." —Consumed by Ink blog

In her Year in Review, Naomi at Consumed by Ink chose This Godforsaken Place as one of her Top Seven debut novels of 2015.

Cinda Gault chats with Naomi of Consumed by Ink blog and talks about her inspiration for Abigail's story, whether or not she'd make the same decisions as Abigail, and what she's working on next.

Al Lit Up's character study of Abigail Peacock, the heroine of This Godforsaken Place, is extremely accurate.

All Lit Up features the all star cast of This Godforsaken Place for their Baseball themed PanLit Games post.