The Messengers

After numerous negotiations the Indigenous still remained scattered throughout the wilds of Northern Ontario, Canada. In spite of treacherously cold conditions, they remained steadfast to the land, refusing to give up their lifestyle while trying to survive from Mother Nature’s unpredictable temperament. Captain Jesse Burn’s illegitimate son was among them. Father and son, a pair of strong-willed rival enemies, co-existed in a strange and deadly kinship while getting caught up in a changing way of life that neither would accept.

It was during November 1898. when Jesse had received his orders as a dedicated, respected officer in the Armed Forces. He had a job to fulfill regardless of the number of lives lost during the process. After Colonel McEwan shook Jesse’s hand and walked out, Jesse stared at the closed door for a long time. He glanced at the document containing the list of names he was to apprehend, knowing that most of those men would rather die in battle than be taken alive. Jesse scanned further down the list and suddenly froze. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey hidden near the back. After many swallows, he leaned back in his chair; his eyes were pools of liquid blue. His son’s name was on that list. 

The Brandy Mud

The year is 1840 and the perilous trade of whaling threatens to dash both fortune and sanity against the rocks for seasoned schooner Captain Stanley Knowles. Professionally adrift and beset by passionate entanglements, Stanley charts a course through hazardous waters, seeking to salvage his affairs while clinging to personal morals amidst mounting turmoil.

When ship and shore alike promise danger, every decision carries gut-wrenching risk. Stanley’s path requires outmanoeuvring lethal storms, hostile pirates, political schemes and amorous pitfalls alike with equal dexterity. One false move could reduce all – his principles, his mind, and his crew’s very lives – to flotsam in the winds of fate.

This steamy and exciting historical saga captures the adventures of a desperate captain warring within while struggling to steer crew and lovers toward a better life. Yet time and chance wait for no one. On the waves or in the sheets, one thing is certain: explore forbidden treasures at your own peril, lest the rising tide swallow you whole.

Roots & the Remittance Man

In Roots & the Remittance Man, a captivating historical fiction, we follow a diverse family tree as its branches converge in the Carrot River Valley of the Northwest Territories in 1902. From Sweden, Muskoka, and Iowa, these intrepid settlers make their way to homestead near Melfort, Saskatchewan.

A Scottish family, burdened by loss from an epidemic, travels by wagon train, finding salvation in a Cree chief. In Sweden, tragedy strikes, and a widowed wife and her daughters board a cattle ship for Halifax. They arrive in Winnipeg, accept a cook position at a Melfort hotel, and embark on a grueling journey through forest and muskeg.

A young Norwegian man walks 700 miles to the United States-Canadian border, immerses himself in Indigenous history, and follows a freight swing to his homestead. Settlers and Indigenous peoples unite against prairie fires, forging bonds that transcend their differences.

Through decades, the family experiences joys and sorrows, weathering the storms of two World Wars, prohibition, swamp fever, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Great Depression. As technology advances, women gain the right to vote and become legally recognized as persons.

At the outset of World War II, a remittance man from Scotland enters the picture, his life becoming significantly entwined with the descendants of these resilient pioneers. Roots & the Remittance Man is a sweeping tale of perseverance, unity, and the indomitable human spirit that shaped the Canadian frontier.

No Borders for Truth

Two disparate souls, a young Iranian woman with a promising nursing career, and an American collegiate athlete seeking a career in the intelligence field, meet by happenstance. Realizing their mutual passion to serve others, the two connect intellectually and romantically, not knowing they are both connected to secrets that will force their worlds to collide and reveal truths unknown to not only both of them, but also the world. 

No Borders for Truth explores love and loss within family and country, and the richness of the great people of the enduring nations of Iran and America. Through the characters of Richard Holmes and Shideh Ghasemi, the reader peers through a window of real people sharing human commonalities despite culture differences, transcending current stereotypes and biased cultural assumptions. 

Kat's Dilemma

Kat’s Dilemma is a work of fiction. Created out of bits and pieces of research into the social and cultural challenges encountered by women and men in America at the turn of last century. Only two of the characters are based on real life people in the history of my family. Katherine Gehm was my great grandmother. Some of the known family incidents and resulting emotions are reflected in the character Kat.

Johann Wuenderlich was a young German Lutheran who immigrated to the US, converted to Methodism, and returned to Germany to introduce and spread that Christian sect. A memoir of his experience came into my possession, was translated by my daughters, and provides the basis of some of that character’s words and actions.

The US Constitution and Bill of Rights were meant as a foundation of government for all American citizens. But, the men and women of that era (and ours), influenced by societal norms or religious dictates, have never fully understood its real meaning. Therein lies the promise and the struggle between principle and prejudice in Kat’s Dilemma.

An Irishman's Story of Survival

Every life is a tapestry of challenges, with resilience as its weft and weave. Amidst the torrent of trials that threaten to engulf one’s spirit, there stand the unyielding souls who, with a spark of defiance in their eyes, dare to face the tempest and emerge on the other side. They are the survivors, the dauntless hearts who tread the rocky path with an unwavering resolve.

Kevin O’Donnell is a beacon of such indomitable spirit, grappling with life’s relentless waves that seek to subdue him. In the turbulent era of mid-20th century, the world could be a harsh, unforgiving place for a young Irish lad. Yet, within Kevin lies a burning desire to carve out his niche, to transcend the barriers that life hurls his way and grasp the reins of a fulfilling existence.

Can his resolute will and earnest endeavor outshine the adversities that loom? Can he navigate the maelstrom and anchor himself to the shores of a prosperous life? Traverse the chapters of his journey within these pages, and unveil the saga of a young man’s undying spirit amidst the trials of time. Through Kevin’s eyes, explore a testament to the enduring human spirit that resonates with every beating heart that refuses to yield to life’s storms.

All in a Lifetime

It has taken over 40 years to piece together the story of Anya, Willi, and the Icon, like trying to put together a priceless Faberge egg shattered intentionally without a clue as to how it once looked. Anna (Anya) and Wilhelm (Willi) lived in a small German village when we met half a century ago. Their remarkable life stories are the heart of this novel. Real life has many detours and contradictions, each piece of their stories led to another story. An Icon hung on the wall of the entry to their home and it was there that fact met fiction. Weaving related stories into this novel, preserving the memory of each individual and the times in which they lived, required some manipulation of facts. It is the story of a much-travelled Icon and a treasure (not an ARC “Traveling Treasure”) including the lives it touched. And it is a story of love found late in life.