Saturday, August 15, 2026

Samuel Colt and his Revolver

by Sherry Shindelar

Samuel Colt was only sixteen years old in 1830 when he designed the first working model of the gun that would revolutionize firearms: the Colt revolver. It took him six years to obtain a patent and two years after that, he found a manufacturer. But no one wanted the gun. The US didn’t even have a cavalry yet, and ordinary people viewed the new pistol as an impractical oddity.

Samuel Colt 1855 engraving by John Chester Buttre

The Republic of Texas ordered 180 Colts for their Navy and another forty for their Army. But there’s no evidence that the guns were used. Until…

Around 1843, Captain Jack Hayes and his Texas Rangers discovered the firepower of the Colt revolver. At the battle of Walker Creek in 1844, Hayes and his Rangers, proved the worth of these revolutionary weapons. Caught in the open, Hayes and his fourteen men took on seventy-five Comanches. Their five-shooters vs. arrows, lances, and single-shot weapons, left twenty Comanche dead and thirty wounded and one Ranger dead and three wounded.

Hayes and his band of Rangers were sold on the weapon, but meanwhile, Colt’s factory had filed for bankruptcy in 1842, and Colt was broke. His dreams for a six-shooter revolver and success seemed unreachable. His revolver had flaws, and no one appeared to see the value of his invention.

Colt Walker (3rd generation)

Then, in 1846, he heard from the distant frontier of Texas that someone had found a use for his gun. Excited, Colt wrote to one of the Rangers, Samuel Walker. Walker wrote back telling him that the revolver had a made a world of difference in their battles with the Comanche, and he suggested improvements for the gun.

Captain Samuel Walker, photo by Mathew Brady

Shortly after that, the Mexican War started, and the Rangers volunteered to fight alongside the U.S. Army troops. The high command of the Army was amazed at the effectiveness of the Colt revolvers used by the Rangers, envisioning for the first time what a difference the weapon could make, especially in battles that took place on horseback.

The army contacted Colt and ordered 1,000. However, at this point, Colt didn’t have a factory, and he hadn’t made a gun in over five years. He didn’t even own one of his revolvers and had to advertise in the newspaper to try to find one. But he wasn’t about to turn down the order.

Colt Paterson and Colt Walker Reproductions By Michael E. Cumpston  

He persuaded his fellow inventor, Eli Whitney, to manufacture the weapon, and he contacted Ranger Samuel Walker, for ideas on how to make the gun the best that it could be. They made it heavier and more rugged, gave it a larger handle, lengthened the barrel, enlarged the caliper, and gave it a sixth chamber. From obscurity, the Walker-Colt became one of the most effective side arms ever invented, and Colt became one of the wealthiest men of the 19th century. And it all could have been lost if he’d given up in 1842 when all the evidence he could see said that he’d failed.




Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she isn’t busy writing, she is an English professor, working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is a multi-award-winning author. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of over forty years. She has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Connect with Sherry: website newsletter Amazon FB


The man who destroyed her life may be the only one who can save it.

Maggie Logan (Eyes-Like-Sky) lost everything she knew when a raid on a wagon train tore her from her family. As the memories of her past faded, Maggie adapted—marrying a Comanche warrior and having a baby. But in one terrible battle, the U.S. Cavalry destroys that life and takes her captive. Forced into a world she wants nothing to do with, Eyes-Like-Sky’s only hope of protecting her child may be an engagement to the man who killed her husband.

Captain Garret Ramsey finds himself assigned to the Texas frontier, where he witnesses the brutal Indian War in which both sides commit atrocities. Plagued by guilt for his own role, Garret seeks redemption by taking responsibility for the woman he widowed and her baby. Though he is determined to do whatever it takes to protect them, is he willing to risk everything for a woman whose heart is buried in a grave?

Friday, August 14, 2026

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park by Denise M. Colby


On a recent trip, I had the privilege to visit the Lincoln Birthplace National Park. Located in Larue County, Kentucky, it is comprised of a visitor center (with museum and gift shop), grounds to walk around and picnic on, and a memorial building housing a replica of the one-room log cabin Lincoln was born and raised in until he was two.

What is the Lincoln Birthplace National Park?

The actual location of the park is where Lincoln was born and lived until he was two. Originally when they built the memorial they believed the cabin was the original, but later it was discovered it was not. That is marked clearly on one of the signs providing details of the park.

There is a second park called Knob Creek connected to this one. Down the way about 15 minutes, is where the family moved when Lincoln was 2. He lived there until age 7 and then the family moved to a homestead in Indiana (which is preserved as the Lincoln Boyhood National Museum.

The Memorial Building

They built the memorial building with key features. Sixteen windows, Sixteen rosettes on the celing, sixteen fence poles, all represent what number president he was. There are 56 steps from the base to reach the building representing what age Lincoln died.





Theodore Roosevelt began construction and President Taft was the one who dedicated it after completion.

There is a sinking spring deep underneath the memorial, which is where the original farm had gotten its name.

The Visitor Center

The museum in the visitor center highlights the family history (tracing back to 1550) and displays furniture and tools used during the timeframe of Lincoln’s birth. His father was a carpenter and there’s a table he built on display. There’s also a family Bible. There’s even a game called Gateway to the Presidency.

 




Other Lincoln Things to See

The general vicinity celebrates the connection to Abraham Lincoln. In nearby Springfield, there’s a Lincoln Legacy Museum. We didn’t stop, but according to TripAdvisor it is a great spot to stop. Springfield proudly promotes that they are where Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks met and were married before leasing the land at Sinking Springs.



As we drove through Hodgenville, they had a statue of Lincoln in the center of town facing a statue of Lincoln as a young boy. The boy statue includes a dog, and I was hoping it was Fido, but Fido was Lincoln’s dog as an adult and this one was his childhood pet.

 

In downtown Lexington, there is the Mary Todd Lincoln house. We toured that as well, and I’ll share that in another post. I will say it was interesting to see the differences with how each of them were raised.



Book 4 in the Best-laid Plans Series releases May 26, 2026



California, 1870. Pastor William Baker built his life on steady faith and safe choices, but the arrival of Lydia Spencer upends everything. Independent and outspoken Lydia is unlike any woman he’s ever known. Lydia is a Pinkerton detective, undercover as a schoolteacher while tracking a dangerous crime boss. She’s determined to protect her friends in Washton even if it means keeping her distance from the kind, steadfast pastor who sees too much. But when Will and Lydia are thrown together in a search for truth they find themselves fighting not only for justice, but for a future neither had planned.




Denise M. Colby writes historical romance sweetened with faith, hope, and love. She finds history fascinating and contemplates often how it was to live in the 1800's. Her debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, is a 2025 Carol Award finalist. Sign up for her newsletter at www.denisemcolby.com or follow Denise on Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, Pinterest, or GoodReads.

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Life Before the Lights: How Families Survived Without Electricity in Rural Kentucky

Electricity lights up our lives—literally.

It’s hard to imagine life with no electric power. We rely on electricity to light our homes and our streets, to cook our food, to heat and cool our homes, and—especially these days
to power our phones and computers.

Antique wood-burning stoves can still be
found,  but at one time they were a vital part
of family life.
But even as late as 1940, many homes in rural areas of the United States had no electricity. Running power lines was expensive, and the utility companies saw little return in running wires to every individual farm, often miles apart.

The communities around Golden Pond and Trigg County in western Kentucky were served primarily by Pennyrile Rural Electric Cooperative, which was organized in 1937, with a low-interest loan from the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). The first lines were energized on September 2, 1938, serving 175 homes. By the end of 1938, about 600 rural members had electricity.

The network expanded year by year. Rather than wiring an entire county at once, crews built new lines as funding became available and enough nearby farms signed up. Families often watched poles being set for months before electricity finally reached their road.

I’ve written about the TVA’s Kentucky Dam and Barkley Dam, built by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which created lakes that eliminated entire towns.

A washtub in the middle of the yard
was a common site in 1930s rural areas.

But before those dams allowed electrical lines to be built inexpensively, what was life like for families in the area Between the Rivers of western Kentucky and Tennessee?

They cooked on wood stoves.

Water typically came from a hand pump outside,
though "modernized" homes might have had
a pump  at the kitchen sink.
They pumped water by hand and hauled it to the house, or carried it from a nearby stream.

They cooled food in springhouses.

This AI-created image shows a woman
canning jam in a country kitchen without
electricity.





















They canned almost everything.

They raised gardens and livestock.

They heated with wood and coal.

They washed clothes by hand.

Washday before electricity meant heating water in a tub, typically
outside over a wood fire, and scrubbing clothes on a washboard.
Even the children helped out.
They ironed with cast-iron irons heated on the stove.

Churning butter was not as easy
 as going to a grocery store.
They read by kerosene lamp.

They listened to battery-powered radios (if they had one).

They often raised their own food, including chickens for eggs and meat, cows for milk and butter, and vegetables they could "put up" for winter.

They relied on neighbors instead of appliances.

Children contributed meaningful work every day.


Thanks to vintage photos and with the help of AI, we can visualize what life was like before electricity simplified our lives. And we can be grateful for our modern conveniences.

The real "heroes" of history weren't just famous people—they were ordinary families who relied on their resilience, ingenuity, faith, and community before they had all the conveniences we take for granted.

Sources:

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on the Between the Rivers Legacy series, historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. The first book of the series, Moonshine River, releases September 22 and includes descriptions of many details of everyday life before electricity. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

The historical short story, “All That Glistens,” is loosely based on a real character from Golden Pond, Kentucky. It was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Live Theater Growing Pains

By Kathy Kovach



By the turn of 19th century, British influence had been suppressed in colonial America thanks to the American Revolution. The new nation was free to create its own identity, and live theater accepted the challenge. Some hotspots, of course, still remained, most notably the Astor Place Riot that occurred in New York City on May 10, 1849. More on that later.

In 1832, William Dunlap, known as “The Father of American Drama”, characterized theater as a powerful engine.
“No arts can be made more effectual for the promotion of good than the dramatic and the histrionic. They unite music, poetry, painting, and eloquence. The engine is powerful for good or ill—it is for society to choose.”
Even though some southern states had already embraced live theater, three northern cities became the nerve center: Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.

Boston’s growing pains didn’t stem from British prejudice, but from Puritan resistance. Heavy hitters such as John Hancock and Sam Adams contributed to the religious, as well as artistic, suppression.
Poster of The Boston Museum, circa 1847
However, creativity cannot be squelched. Theaters were masked under names such as Exhibition Hall and Boston Museum. A comedic play, The Contrast, was billed as “a moral lecture in five parts” according to an advertisement in Boston’s Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advisor (October 18, 1792).

Beginning in the late 1700s, Philadelphia claimed to have been the center of theater entertainment until New York commanded the stage after the 1830s. In the 19th century alone, Philadelphia built over 100 theaters. The Chestnut Street Theatre, first opened in 1794 with a capacity of entertaining 2,000 patrons. In comparison, the Gershwin Theatre in New York is considered the largest on Broadway and holds 1,933 seats. The Chestnut Street Theatre was also the first in America to be lit by gaslight.

The Arch Street Theatre opened on October 1, 1828 and boasted a magnificent 108-year run. The notoriously infamous John Wilkes Booth joined the stock company there in 1857.
Louisa Lane Drew as Ophelia c. 1840-48
The Arch was the first theater to employ a female manager. In 1860, stockholders suggested veteran actress Louisa Lane Drew replace her husband, John Drew, due to his mismanagement for ten years. It thrived under her watchful eye until her retirement in 1892.
Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore, c. 1904
Drew Barrymore, 2014
Born into a performing family, Louisa Drew started acting as a child. The genes must have been strong as she went on to become the grandmother of Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore. Establishing herself as the matriarchal ancestor to the famous Barrymore-Drew acting family, spanning four centuries.

New York City live theater started small. The first appeared on Nassau Street in 1732. Nearly twenty years later, the New York Theatre became the first to present a musical in 1750.
Bowery Theatre

Park Theatre

Opening in 1826, the Bowery Theatre, located on the rowdy lower east side of Manhattan, became popular. Audiences there were known to disrupt performances, going as far as throwing projectiles. Their polar opposite competition, the elite Park Theatre, was located in what is now the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan. They catered to imported British actors, presenting Shakespeare.
Astor Place Riot
In 1847, the Astor Place Theatre, located in lower Manhattan, had been built to attract the upper crust of society. European entertainment fit their bill. A dress code was implemented, insisting on “freshly shaven faces, evening dress, and kid gloves”. While attempting to establish an air of refinement, no one could envision the tragedy that would ensue less than two years after its opening.

Yes, the Revolutionary War had helped America to establish its own identity, and yes, much of the British influence had been suppressed, but not eradicated. Sixty-four years after the war, pockets of loyalists remained on both sides.

William Charles Macready
Edwin Forrest
Enter William Charles Macready, a renowned British thespian, and Edwin Forrest an equally loved American actor having established himself at the Bowery Theatre. Both performed notable Shakespearean characters. Both were accomplished in their art.

Astor Place Riot
On the surface, the Astor Place Riot may have looked like a rivalry between the two men and their supporters, Macready’s fans preferring the gentility of the British style, and Forrest’s championing his robust, athletic technique. Forrest exacerbated the feud by hissing at Macready from a private box seat in the audience during a performance of Hamlet in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was in retaliation of the European audience doing the same to him while delivering his interpretation of Macbeth, of which his style of acting was unsuited.

In a plot twist, once Isaiah Rynders became involved, things got ugly.

Hollywood actor Edward G. Robinson as a mob boss
Isaiah Rynders was an underworld figure (I read that as gangster) who was known for organizing election fraud and participating in voter intimidation. When Macready performed Macbeth at the Astor Place Theatre on May 7, 1849, three days before the riot, Rynders stirred up the audience, encouraging them to throw things and be disruptive. On May 10, he went too far, and in an attempt to make a point against the British, he handed out handbills and free tickets throughout saloons and various places in the city, inviting patriots to Macready’s next performance in order to demonstrate their feelings about the British.

When the play opened that evening, 10,000 people lined the streets. The riot broke out and vegetables and shoes were replaced with stones. Some attempted to set fire to the building.

The militia was called in, as were the police. In all, 600 soldiers and law enforcement personnel fought against angry civilians answering Rynders’s question: “Shall Americans or English rule this city?”

In the end, nearly two dozen rioters were killed and forty-eight were injured. The militia and policemen also suffered wounds. The theater never was the same, and ended up closing after the next season. Edwin Forrest’s reputation took a hit, as well, because some still saw it as one rival actor attacking another.

Whether this tragedy opened people’s eyes, or the stigma of British rule simply faded, I’m not certain, but at some point in American theater’s four-decade history, things have settled down.

To finish on a happy note, who’s up for musical theater?


A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.


Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.
To buy: Amazon


Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.


Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Into the Air Against Germany - Diary of a B-17 Pilot's 20th Combat Mission in 1945

By Mary Dodge Allen 

Our country is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. To honor those who have served our country and put their lives on the line during WWII, I am revisiting the blog I wrote in 2022 - the summary of pilot Ralph "Lee' Minker's diary of his 20th B-17 mission. The co-pilot on this mission was my uncle, Gordon Dodge.

Lt. Ralph "Lee" Minker, Pilot
U.S. Eighth Air Force,  447th Bomb Group, 709th Squadron

"Hey, men, the board is red, and the sky is clear. Get some sleep!"


WWII combat bomber crews stationed in East Anglia, England are on red alert to fly a bombing mission tomorrow. Before preparing for bed at 20:00 (8:00 P.M.), letters are written to mothers, wives and sweethearts back home. Idle gossip is exchanged, along with speculation about tomorrow’s target. In the background, the A.F.N. (Armed Forces Network) broadcasts the latest hit songs, such as “Rum and Coca Cola” by the Andrews Sisters.

At 02:30 (2:30 A.M.) the C.Q. (Charge of Quarters) awakens us from our fitful, nervous sleep. We wash, get dressed and then stop to eat a tasteless breakfast of soggy powdered eggs before reporting to the group briefing room. One by one, we file into the large bare room and sit as crew units on the wooden benches. Some of us engage in hushed conversation, while others fidget restlessly as they stare at the large white sheet covering the map of Europe and the combat route for today.

Promptly at 03:30 (3:30 A.M.) the briefing officer pulls back the sheet. We all focus on the end of the black tape marking the target—Frankfurt am Main. An excited buzz breaks out. “We were sure hit hard by the Luftwaffe over there last month... This ain’t no milk run brother...” 

All quiet down as the officer begins briefing the target M.P.I. (mean point of impact): the city railway marshaling yards, a hub connecting vital enemy areas of the Ruhr, Bavaria and Berlin. He describes the bomb–run, possible flak and fighters, radio interference, decoy planes and messages. The weatherman flashes a meteorology chart on an improvised screen. He concludes by warning us about fog at takeoff. A veteran who flew with the R.A.F. (Royal Air Force) in the Battle of Britain gives the briefing for takeoff, formation, flight altitudes and fighter escort. The C.O. (Commanding Officer) emphasizes tight defensive formation and bombs on target and wishes us happy landings.

Pilots, navigators, bombardiers and radio operators separate for specialized briefing before getting dressed for the mission. Gunners dress right away and head out to their B-17 bombers to put the fifty calibers in fighting order.

Dressing for a combat flying mission— where temperatures can reach 45 degrees below zero centigrade at 30,000 feet—requires layers of clothing, beginning with long winter underwear. Over that, I wear a khaki shirt and khaki pants (my lucky pair), and then an electrically-heated rayon suit, topped with a cotton flying suit and a wool-lined flying jacket. Wool socks are covered with electrically-heated felt slippers and wool-lined flying boots. 

I pull on skin-tight silk inner gloves and electrically-heated leather outer gloves, which I detest for their clumsiness. Before takeoff, I will don a wool-lined flying helmet equipped with radio earphones. I’ll also wear a parachute and harness, which has a “Mae West” water float that inflates around the chest, if necessary. I worry about working up a sweat, which can freeze at icy high altitudes.

By 04:30 (4:30 A.M.) I am driven with the rest of my crew to our B-17 G, Boeing Flying Fortress. Al, our ground crew chief from Tennessee, informs me that he’s completed preflight checks of all four engines and we’re ready to fly. (Al and his Connecticut-born assistant, Art have been up all night working on the number two engine fuel line, which gave us trouble on yesterday’s mission). I call a last-minute crew briefing, and then we pause for a quiet prayer together. My crew is ready to go.



Front row, L-R: Joe Trambley (Tail Gunner); Max Shepherd (Ball Turret Gunner); Olaf Larsen (Radio Operator); Jim Shannon (Engineer); Harold McKay (Armorer, Waist Gunner)
Back row, L-R: Lt. Gordon Dodge (Co-Pilot); Wesley Pitts (Navigator); Johnny Rosiala (Bombardier); Lt. Ralph “Lee” Minker (Pilot)


Number one engine sputters, coughs and then turns over with a steady blasting roar. We start the other three without undue trouble. They warm up as we slowly taxi out and join the line of bombers ready for takeoff. When we get a green light flash from the control tower, we roar down the long black runway and enter the air. The powerful surge and lift of a plane into flight always thrills me, for “I have slipped the surly bonds of earth…”

The bombers circle as they jockey into formation. I glance down at the patterns of land, visible through the blue haze of fog beneath us. We leave the English coast, and tension builds during the dull, tiring monotony of flight over the sinister black North Sea. I chew gum to moisten my mouth and relieve stress. Crew members take their last smokes and exchange nervous chatter on the plane interphone as we approach the enemy coast.


WWII B-17 Bombers in flight formation (Public Domain)


We don our oxygen masks and heavy flak helmets and jackets as we climb to a bombing altitude of 27,000 feet. A dull, penetrating cold surrounds me as I guide the bomber forward. Up ahead over the target, I see a black, hypnotizing cloud of flak explosions. It looks thick enough to walk on. The number two engine prop governor surges erratically. I can feel myself sweat.

We reach the I. P. (Initial Point) and begin the bombing run, flying straight and level with the bombardier in control. Flak explodes around us, cruel and close as we maintain a steady flight course toward the target. Ugly black bursts shake the bomber’s frame.

“We’re hit in the tail!” Joe shouts over the interphone.

“Hold steady, men!”

Johnny shouts, “Bombs Away!” Our plane surges upward at the release of the bomb weight.

“Let’s get the hell out of here!”

We turn and dive sharply. German FW 190 (Focke-Wulf) fighters attack. The loud, booming fire of our fifty-calibers breaks out. Our P-51 Mustang fighters drive the fighters away without serious damage to our plane. Our group reassembles, and I see planes missing from red squadron. 

Our number two engine quits, and I feather the prop. We’ll have to sweat out the flight back over the North Sea. We begin a painfully gradual descent. At 10,000 feet, I take off my oxygen mask and taste the wonderful fresh cold air as I eat a delicious frozen chocolate bar. The crew is talkative, happy. Our beautiful home base comes into view. We circle and land on the asphalt with a squeal of our tires at 15:30 (3:30 P.M.) and then taxi to our hardstand.

We are totally drained... so tired we talk in hand jerks as we unload. “Number two engine went bad again, Al. Better patch up that tail.” A G.I. truck picks us up. We drink Red Cross coffee, along with a couple of relaxing shots of Scotch, and gulp down donuts and sandwiches. Then the pilot debriefing: we hit the target, but two of our planes and their men are believed lost.

We return to the barracks and find that the damn board is red alert for another mission tomorrow.

_____________

Ralph “Lee” Minker flew 37 combat missions in the B-17 he named Blue Hen Chick, in honor of the name given to the Delaware soldiers in the American Revolution – the fightin’ “Blue Hen Chickens.” Ralph returned to the U.S. in August, 1945 at the rank of Captain. In September, he returned to Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. He wrote this mission summary for his Winter, 1946 WWII History class. The nearly 700 letters he exchanged with his family during the war are held in The Ralph Minker/Minker Family Letters Collection at the Delaware Historical Society. Below is the link:



Lt. Gordon B. Dodge, Co-Pilot on Minker's crew

Gordon Dodge completed 35 missions and returned to the U.S. in 1945



On February 15, 2015, Uncle Gordon, age 95, flew with us on a B-17 at a Venice, FL airshow. He met with the other riders and answered their questions about his combat missions. He said he enjoyed this flight because, "nobody was shooting at me."

Note: Crew photo and photo of bombers in formation, Public Domain.
Individual photos, used with permission of the Minker and Dodge families.

_______________


Mary Dodge Allen is currently finishing her sequel to Hunt for a Hometown Killer. She's won a Christian Indie Award, an Angel Book Award, and two Royal Palm Literary Awards (Florida Writer's Association). She and her husband live in Central Florida. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers. 


Recent release, anthology devotional: El Jireh, The God Who Provides


Mary's story, entitled: A Mother's Desperate Prayer, describes her struggle with guilt and despair after her young son is badly burned in a kitchen accident. When we are at the end of all we have, El Jireh provides what we need. 

Click the link below to purchase on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/El-Jireh-God-Who-Provides/dp/1963611608


Mary's novel: Hunt for a Hometown Killer won the 2022 Christian Indie Award, First Place - Mystery/Suspense; and the 2022 Angel Book Award - Mystery/Suspense.

Click the link below to buy Hunt for a Hometown Killer at Amazon.com:


Link to Mary's Spotlight Interview:   Mary Dodge Allen Author Spotlight EA Book