Books
Brothers By Blood
Alone in the world of the white man, half-Sioux and half-white, thirteen-year-old Blue Fox with Two Hearts must learn to face the reality of discrimination and hatred. Left by his mother upon her death in the care of Ben and Sarah Walters, Blue Fox must accept he is alone among people he doesn’t know or trust.
The years spent with Ben and Sarah are tumultuous, full of harsh words and bitter disappointments. But when Blue meets George Hawkins, a bond of friendship beyond race is formed. After years of being nearly inseparable, George goes away to West Point to become the soldier of his dreams and Blue’s world falls apart.
When White Oaks, the ranch Blue has finally come to call home, is attacked several times by a ruthless, racist man, Blue is forced to decide his place in life. Realizing Ben or Sarah, whom he has grown to love, could be hurt or killed because of the attacks aimed at him, he sets out to find his heritage among the Sioux.
Locating the tribe who’d been with his mother, uncle and Sarah, he quickly learns acceptance among the Sioux will not come easily. Wild Wolf, a young warrior holds an unknown, bitter hatred of Blue, making his life difficult. But Blue’s road is set and he travels far among The People, counting coup, learning their ways, and finally, participating in the Sun Dance to pass into manhood.
Faced with the choice of saving the life of his enemy, Blue rides to the aid of Wild Wolf, killing a Crow brave only seconds before the warrior would drive his tomahawk into Wild Wolf’s back. Following a revealing explanation for his hatred, Wild Wolf and Blue become friends, eventually to become "brother-friends" a relationship even stronger than the bond of brothers of blood.
Leaving a Crow village raided by the Sioux, Blue spots a white woman trying to escape into the woods. Taking her as his captive, he vows she’ll willingly become his some day. But she hides a dark secret that keeps her from giving herself to Blue. And when the wall surrounding her heart finally crumbles, the world around them spirals out of control.
This is a story of coming of age, of learning to deal with the hatred and inability of people to accept another human being for what they are. It is, finally, a story of understanding, acceptance and love.
Read an excerpt from Brother's By Blood here.
Tomorrow's Promise: Survival on the Plains
Sarah Walters, naive, pampered and from a wealthy, eastern family, strikes out on the Oregon Trail with her husband, Ben, in search of a promising, new life out West. But what she finds is far different than what she sought. Captured by Sioux Indians following the massacre of her wagon train, Sarah struggles to survive, learning and, ultimately accepting, during a year spent in captivity. When rescued by her thought-dead husband in the factual battle of Ash Hollow, Sarah fights to regain Ben's love. He, in turn, is unable to accept her captivity and the fact that she "cared" for her captor. Through indifference, rejection and the eventual outbreak of the War Between the States that takes Ben away from her again, Sarah grows and learns to survive in a world of hate and cruelty.
Ben Walters, young, proud and sworn to uphold his duty, tries to break through the scars that surround his heart as a result of Sarah's capture by the Sioux. Fighting an inner battle, he seeks an understanding as to why he stays with his wife. Is it because it is his duty, or does he still love her, his feelings buried deep beneath the walls that surround his battered pride? Wrestling within himself to find the answers, the Civil War breaks out and he enlists with the Union cause. Captured at the Battle of Lexington and sent to Libby Prison, he finally understands Sarah's desperate desire to survive--no matter what. But each time he tries to return to her and tell her he understands, another obstacle blocks his path. Now, is it too late?
Man-Who-Runs-Swiftly, the Sioux brave who carried Sarah from the scene of the wagon train attack, teaches Sarah how to live again following her capture. Teaching her his Indian ways, he grows to love her, becoming her mentor, friend and husband, saving her numerous times from death. But when the Indian village is attacked by the U.S. Cavalry, Sarah can't save him from her own people.
Caleb, a runaway slave Sarah rescues from slave catchers, becomes a trusted friend. When set upon by William Clarke Quantrill and his raiders, Caleb is nearly killed trying to keep Sarah from harm. Their friendship grows as the two struggle throughout the lean Civil War years. But when Sarah is abducted by Quantrill and his men at the close of the war, Caleb is by Ben's side when he sets out to bring her back.
From the Oregon Trail to the camps of the Lakota Sioux and throughout the Civil War, Ben and Sarah learn to survive. Through them we live the battle of Wilson's Creek, Lexington and Shiloh; feel the filth and privation of Libby Prison; share a friendship that grows between a white woman and a slave, and live the destruction of a country torn apart by war.
Journeying back in time to one of the most explosive periods in our history, this is a story of perseverance, learning, determination, forgiveness--and love.
Read an excerpt from Tomorrow's Promise here.The Journey
Blindsided by her husband’s infidelity, Rosemary must face the hard truth she’s no longer part of a couple—only single and alone. When her best friend since kindergarten wakens her in the middle of the night with the news her husband has been killed in a car accident, Rosemary’s pain becomes secondary to helping her friend through this tough time. Between the pain of betrayal and the pain of helping her friend cope with the death of a husband she is still very much in love with, Rosemary must find a way to move forward with her own life. To leave the past behind and start anew.
When an young, attractive, full-of-life, new teacher comes to work at the elementary school where Rosemary and Joy teach, Rosemary wants to dislike her because of her youth and attractiveness, but it takes only a few days for Kristen to win Rosemary and Joy over with her exuberance and honesty. The three become good friends, coining themselves as “The Three Musketeers.” When Kristen invites them to Europe on a trip of a lifetime, and after a good deal of badgering and convincing, Rosemary and Joy agree to join her.
Arriving in the City of Lights, the three women are assaulted by very different emotions. Rosemary is filled with excitement, is leery of what the next month holds in store for her, and hides her fear of being a foreigner in a foreign country. The loss of Joy’s husband affects her more deeply than anticipated, as she tries to enjoy the vacation she and her husband had always dreamed of taking together, while Kristen wants only to make memories to last a lifetime in a place where dreams can come true.
As each woman confronts her own fears, dreams, and emotions, what they expect, and what actually happens, emerge as two completely different things.
Read the complete first chapter here.Echos In The Dark
The day Adam Weber met Belinda Hawthorne was the day his life began—and the day his life spiraled toward Vietnam. From the moment he stepped off the plane in Da Nang, Adam knew his life would never be the same. He wanted only to survive his tour and return to Belinda to start his life with her. He learned quickly the harsh country he’d been thrust into—the frailty of life and reality of death. Returning home from Khe Sanh, in his words as “only half a man,” Adam must begin to rebuild his life, while dealing with such issues as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, alcoholism, Survivor’s Guilt, anger, and finally, how to forgive the parents who, in essence, sent him to Southeast Asia.
Come with Adam and Belinda, and Alice and Owen as they live through the years of the Vietnam War in their struggles to survive while learning that love can blossom and rekindle no matter how much the world tries to tear it apart.
To read an excerpt from Echoes In the Dark, click here.