Title
Author
Genre
Sub Genres
Category
Publication
ISBN numbers:
Salt People of the Cloud Houses: The Story of Sarah Rapalje and Dutch Manhattan
Fawn Brokaw Doyle
Historical Fiction
Biographical Fiction, Action, Romance, Political Intrigue
Dutch Colonial America, Women's History
June 9, 2025 (Sarah Rapalje’s 400th birthday)
paperback: 979-8-9985762-0-1
hardcover: 979-8-9985762-2-5
ebook: 979-8-9985762-1-8
Logline
A coming-of-age story for a frontier woman, but also for the city that would become New York.
Blurb (101 words)
In 1625, the first European child born in New York was a French girl, raised among Native Americans, in a Dutch colony called New Netherland.
Sarah Rapalje is confronted with upheavals of war, navigating love and loss amid shifting allegiances. One peril leads to another, forcing Sarah to question—are the biggest threats from the Natives, the English, or the Dutch West India Company that has failed to protect New Netherland? She must ensure the survival of her family, but at what costs?
It's a coming-of-age story for a frontier woman, but also for the city that would become New York.
Blurb (182 words)
In 1625, the first European child born in New York was a French girl, raised among Native Americans, in a Dutch colony called New Netherland.
Growing up, Sarah Rapalje helps her parents run their tavern on the southern tip of Manhattan, serving merchants and fur trappers. She looks after her siblings and works alongside Natives to farm the land. But in the rowdy trade outpost, Sarah must grow up quickly.
Just as she thinks she’s found security in marriage, poor leadership propels the settlement to the brink of ruin, pitting her colony against her Native friends. As Sarah navigates personal loss and second chance love, she must start over, again and again.
One peril leads to another, forcing Sarah to question—are the biggest threats from the Natives, the English, or the Dutch West India Company that has failed to protect New Netherland? She must ensure the survival of her family, but at what costs?
It’s a coming-of-age story for a frontier woman, but also for the city that would become New York.
Quote
“I was raised a French Walloon, became a Dutch New Netherlander, and soon I’ll be an English New Yorker…" -Sarah Rapalje
Bio (31 words)
By day, Fawn Brokaw Doyle is a design professional, wife, and mother. By night, she is a genealogist, historian, and novelist. Salt People of the Cloud Houses is her debut novel.
Bio (128 words)
Fawn Brokaw Doyle is a lifelong history nerd and writer with degrees in Communications and Industrial Design. While researching her genealogy, her creative spirit ignited to share the story of her 8th-great-grandmother, Sarah Rapalje.
By day, she’s a flatware designer and toddler mom who enjoys traveling, state parks, historic sites, and learning handicrafts, herbalism, and mycology. By night, she is a genealogist, historian, and novelist.
Historical fiction is her favorite genre because it’s transportive and connects modern readers with the human experience of history. She loves exploring lesser-known eras and short, intriguing side notes that inspire and deserve a fully rendered story arc. She plans to continue writing historical fiction with that focus.
Salt People of the Cloud Houses is her debut novel.
Speaking/ interview topics
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Research on Dutch NY (colonial court records, family genealogy books from the 19th century, historic sites in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley)
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The multicultural foundations of New York originating in the Dutch colonial period
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Walloon/ Huguenot immigration
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How women’s rights differed in Puritan vs Dutch colonies
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Understanding history through genealogy
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Food, drink, and material culture of Dutch Colonial New York
Fun facts
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Fawn hand-sewed a 17th-century working-class woman's outfit (chemise, skirt, stays, apron, and coif) for research (and because she enjoys historical reenactments).
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Growing up in upstate western New York gave Fawn unique insight into the 17th century. She attended Haudenosaunee Pow Wows hosted by the local Seneca Nation since she was a child and watched her Amish neighbors' farming practices that generally avoid modern technologies.
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Her first publication contribution was instructions to make a side table she designed for the book PlyDesign: 73 Distinctive DIY Projects in Plywood.
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Fawn has biked up the Hudson River Valley from New York City to Montreal, leading a group of teenagers for a bikepacking adventure program.