I have to admit a certain personal aversion to working historical figures into works of fiction. I am so hardhearted on this fact that I even found Shakespeare in Love, the darling of the 1999 Academy Awards, a bit hard to swallow. Still, I began Forever Rose with the high hopes that it would blend historical fact with riveting fiction in a way that was both accurate and entertaining. Alas, we need to wait even longer for such a book. Forever Rose fails in this task.

The first problem lies in the plot itself, which includes everything but the kitchen sink. When Taylor Rose Martin travels from modern-day San Diego into the old West with the predestined mission of preventing the murder of Wyatt Earp, she brings with her the paranormal elements of fortune-telling, seances and her father’s ghost. Once she arrives, she meets Earp’s killer-to-be, the devastatingly handsome Jackson Hoyt, who is out to avenge the death of his father. As soon as she meets Jackson, she “knows” she is meant to be with him because she hears voices that tell her so. Still with me? One paranormal element is enough, but how many spooks and spirits is Taylor expected to meet up with before things stop being eerie and start becoming just plain weird? And how are we expected to believe in Jackson as a hero when he plans to commit murder to avenge the death of a man he never knew? A man who was shot while committing a crime?

Anyone who’s passed high school history knows that Taylor succeeds in her mission – Earp lived to the ripe old age of 80. Unfortunately, this is the only fact that author Wellington succeeds in getting right. The rest of her research seems to have been conducted from Gunsmoke reruns and Buffalo Bill revivals.

Earp, who is portrayed as citizen of the month, was in reality a confidence man who bilked hundreds out of their money before he became a lawman. Before he killed cattle rustlers at the O.K. Corral, he got in trouble for horse stealing himself. His saloons, which are drawn in the book to be the cleanest in the west, had a reputation for rigged gambling tables. His wife Josie, written as the only love of his life, was not his first wife. Even his appearance is wrong. In Forever Rose, Earp is described as being blonde and classically handsome. In reality, he was darker-haired and nondescript. How do we know this? Because photos of him still exist.

Earp was an interesting historical figure, but the book never answers the question of why Taylor must prevent his death. Surely, nothing adverse would have happened outside of his immediate family if he was murdered. Wyatt Earp was not a politician or a world leader. Frankly, her mission seems more than a little pointless.

Taylor’s entire character, in fact, could have been drawn with more clarity. It is never explained why she masquerades as a man from time to time or why she sees nothing wrong with the fact that she’s been spirited away to 1888. She lands in the new time and casually wanders into a saloon for some cards and whiskey. In fact, Taylor is awfully complacent about everything. When Jackson mistakes her as a prostitute, she happily goes along with the charade because she’s in love with him. She then questions whether he’s in love with her or simply wants sex.

Other characters pop in from time to time including no less than two ghosts, three fortune tellers and the stereotypical madame with a heart of gold (Wellington claims in her author’s notes to have based this character on fact, but she reads more like Miss Kitty). None of these people are very interesting, and a few of them seem completely unnecessary. There’s even a reincarnation at the end, if you haven’t yet had your fill of the supernatural.

If you’re looking for a literate, accurate portrayal of life in the old west, check out anything by Laura Ingalls Wilder or Anne Seagraves. If you’re looking for a more fact-based rendering of the life of Wyatt Earp, rent a copy of Tombstone. But stay away from Forever Rose. It’s not worth the trouble.