Sandra Dallas books

Sandra Dallas is an American historical fiction author known for novels set in the American West, including The Persian Pickle Club and Prayers for Sale, as well as non-fiction books about Colorado history and architecture.

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
No More Than Five in a Bed 1962 Buy
Gaslights and Gingerbread 1965 Buy
Cherry Creek Gothic 1971 Buy
Yesterday’s Denver 1974 Buy
Sacred Paint 1979 Buy
Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps 1985 Buy
Colorado Homes 1986 Buy
The Quilt That Walked to Golden 2004 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Buster Midnight’s Cafe 1990 Buy
The Persian Pickle Club 1995 Buy
Prayers for Sale 1997 Buy
The Diary of Mattie Spenser 1997 Buy
Alice’s Tulips 2000 Buy
The Chili Queen 2002 Buy
New Mercies 2005 Buy
Tallgrass 2007 Buy
Whiter Than Snow 2010 Buy
The Bride’s House 2011 Buy
The Quilt Walk 2012 Buy
True Sisters 2012 Buy
Fallen Women 2013 Buy
Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky 2014 Buy
A Quilt for Christmas 2014 Buy
The Last Midwife 2015 Buy
Hardscrabble 2018 Buy
The Patchwork Bride 2018 Buy
Someplace to Call Home 2019 Buy
Westering Women 2020 Buy
Little Souls 2022 Buy
Tenmile 2022 Buy
Where Coyotes Howl 2023 Buy
Tough Luck 2025 Buy

Sandra Dallas started her writing career with non-fiction about Colorado’s history, covering everything from Victorian architecture to ghost towns and mining camps. Her first book, No More Than Five in a Bed (1962), explored Colorado’s hotel history, and she spent the next two decades documenting the state’s buildings, neighborhoods, and cultural heritage.

In 1990, Dallas turned to fiction with Buster Midnight’s Cafe and quickly found her audience. Her novels are set against the backdrop of the American West, often in small Colorado towns during periods of hardship. Quilting is a frequent thread in her stories, both as a craft her characters practice and as a way of connecting women across generations. Books like The Persian Pickle Club, Alice’s Tulips, and A Quilt for Christmas center on female friendships formed around the quilting frame.

Dallas has published steadily for over six decades, with recent novels like Where Coyotes Howl (2023) and Tough Luck (2025) continuing her focus on strong women facing difficult circumstances in the rural West. Her work has earned comparisons to other regional fiction writers, though her particular combination of quilting culture, Colorado settings, and historical detail is very much her own.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Sandra Dallas written?

Sandra Dallas has written 32 books across two series.

What was Sandra Dallas's first book?

Sandra Dallas’s first book is No More Than Five in a Bed, published in 1962.

What are Sandra Dallas's most popular books?

Sandra Dallas is best known for The Persian Pickle Club, Prayers for Sale, and Tallgrass. Her quilting-themed novels and stories about women in small Colorado towns have built a loyal readership over more than three decades of fiction.

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