Showing posts with label Christian historical fiction. Show all posts

Saturday, May 30, 2026

HHH May 2026 Book Day!

Books You Don't Want to Miss!

A WHOLE NEW PLAN

by Denise M. Colby

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.

DUTCH DAWN

by Linda Shenton Matchett

Will they survive the 500-mile journey to freedom? Isak Westgard is only six missions short to be rotated stateside. Then the unthinkable happens, and he crashes in the occupied Netherlands where the chances of him making it back to England are slim to none. The beautiful and tough-as-nails resistance courier begs to differ and claims she hasn’t lost anyone yet. The problem is the longer they’re together, the less he wants to escape.

HEART'S PROMISE
Book Three of Heart's Desire
by Linda Hoover

Welcome back to Jacob and Julia's Iowa farm.

In 1893, their children are eleven and ten. When Jacob and Julia adopted Annaliese as an infant, they were told God had a special plan for her. As Annaliese grows up, she wonders if the plan will be world-changing.

Julia's old friend, Edward Harrington, comes to visit, along with his wife and son, Robbie. Their time at the farm is the beginning of a like/hate relationship and later something more between Robbie and Annaliese. When the families travel to San Francisco in 1900, a shocking revelation from Edward's wife could change everything for Annaliese.

LISSA AND THE SPY

by Camille Elliot

In Regency-era London, Miss Lissa Gardinier enters her second Season seeking a marriage in order to escape her mother's constant criticism. So she represses her cheeky remarks behind a quiet, innocent facade. The enigmatic Lord Jeremy Stoude is dismayed when a chance encounter with Miss Gardinier entangles her in his world of secrets and subterfuge. He cannot afford to be distracted by Lissa’s charming smile and unflappable demeanor. As danger stalks them and true feelings come to light, can Lissa and Jeremy navigate the labyrinth of society’s expectations and their own insecurities to find love?

SCHOOLED IN LOVE

by Kimberly Keagan

Rule-breaking American heiress Beatrice Dennison discovers a rare book in her uncle’s library, and promptly enlists buttoned-up Cambridge academic Lord Henry Tisdale to help translate it. But the centuries‑old text holds more than history—it draws them into long days in the library, whispered discoveries, and a partnership neither expected.

As they work side by side, Tris and Harry must face meddling family, academic rivals, and an attraction that threatens everything they’ve built on opposite sides of the Atlantic. When the truth about the manuscript forces a choice, they must decide whether to cling to their carefully ordered lives—or risk everything for a once‑in‑a‑lifetime love.

SECRETS OF EPHESUS SERIES

By Liisa Eyerly

The award-winning series unveils gripping historical mysteries set in the perilous world of ancient Rome. In Obedient unto Death, a scribe is murdered during an illicit Christian gathering. Sabina, a fearless believer, navigates a treacherous world of deceit and betrayal to discover the killer. In Fortunes of Death, our sleuth returns—risking everything to expose murder, magic, and corruption beneath the empire’s glittering surface.

Reviewer Deborah Anneraves: “Murder mystery—Intrigue—Love—Fellowship through Christ. This series has it all! Eyerly is wonderful! If you’re tired of boring—read this series! I love a good mystery!” Prepare to be hooked!

TEXAS FORSAKEN

by Sherry Shindelar

Maggie Logan (Eyes-Like-Sky) lost everything when a raid tore her from her family. She adapted—marrying a Comanche and rebuilding her life. But the U.S. Cavalry destroys that life. Forced into a world she wants nothing to do with, Eyes-Like-Sky’s only hope may be an engagement to the man who killed her husband.

Plagued by guilt, Captain Garret Ramsey 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?

TEN TEXAS TALES

by Thomas Goodman

FREE! A deadly train stunt. A governor's "pardon palace." A UFO crash in 1897. A town that outlawed dancing. Here are ten true tales from turn-of-the-century Texas.

THE QUILTING CIRCLE SERIES Box Set
Historical Romance Series

By Mary Davis

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily her loved ones?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *SELAH & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects turn in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *SELAH Winner* – Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) – Complications arise when a fancy French lady steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

THE RELUCTANT HEALER OF HALIFAX

by Terrie Todd

(releases August 1, 2026)

Three days ago, Pearline Campbell's family was whole and Oliver Hamilton still loved her. But upon returning to Halifax disfigured and shellshocked, Oliver ended their relationship. Then came Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the Halifax harbor was leveled by a tremendous explosion. . .and Pearline fears nothing will ever be whole again. Her parents are dead, her brother is missing, and her sister refuses to speak. Pearline must fortify herself to open her home to needy orphans, including an unidentified baby. Where can she find the strength for each new day as misery grips the city?

THE SCHOOLMARM AND THE MINER

by Denise Farnsworth

Adelaide Duncan's dream of teaching is within reach until her father's gambling forces her to start over. She takes a position in the gold rush town of Dahlonega, where unruly students, rules against teachers courting, and her feelings for a certain widowed father threaten her hard-fought independence.

Wade Coulter walked away from the law after he lost his wife and son. Raising his daughter alone is safer than letting anyone in. But Lotty’s new teacher makes him question everything. Just as he begins to trust again, a dangerous man from Wade’s past threatens both the women he loves.

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Author Spotlight on Naomi Musch

Hello, friends! Welcome to my wilderness! That greeting puts a lot of my writing into a nutshell because I like to write my stories with settings in wilderness or rural areas. Some works are set in small towns, but I usually stay clear of the big cities, mainly because I've never been a city girl, and I don't think I could write about city living authentically. I'm a country gal through and through! The picture on my banner is from the edge of my yard. It's quite literally "the back forty".

My love of history is heavily influenced by stories of the colonial frontier--of the frontiersmen, explorers, trappers, traders, and indigenous people who populated the land in the central and upper parts of our country over 200 years ago. I always figured that most of my stories would be set in the Revolutionary or pre-Revolutionary period. Alas, I could never have imagined I’d eventually be writing stories from that time all the way up to post WWII! May I introduce you to my writing journey over several periods of history?

My first published series was set during the mid-late 1800s in Wisconsin. The Empire in Pine series chronicles the rise of the logging and railroad era via a family saga of three generations of women who experience the adventure and romance of the period. It's a mix of historical women's fiction that contains romantic threads and redemptive themes. Titles include The Green Veil, The Red Fury, and The Black Rose, and they are best read in order.

It was easy going back to my Empire in Pine research when I recently wrote a lighter romance called Not for Love, just released in Barbour’s new Lumberjacks & Ladies novella collection. In that story, a young widow writes a letter to the lumber camps in search of a man willing to marry her and act as a husband "in name only" to help her keep and run the farm she started to build with her deceased husband.

Lumberjacks & Ladies is my first book available on audio. What a thrill!

After my Empire in Pine series, I went back to writing a story which had long lived on my heart: Mist O’er the Voyageur. It’s a story that takes place in my beloved Lake Superior region during the fur trade--a romantic adventure between a voyageur and Metis woman who disguises herself to join a voyageur's brigade while searching for her fur-trade father in the wilderness. Now the sequel is out too: Song for the Hunter, in which Metis hunter Bemidii Marchal puts his life on the line for the love of a French woman who may reject him when she learns the devastating secret he hides.

Another story set in an even earlier period is A Tender Siege, a novella of the French and Indian war involving a Highland soldier wounded in the wilderness near Fort Pitt when it is under siege by Pontiac’s Native forces. Readers can find it in part of a collection called The Highlanders.

Then one day I got the idea for a story idea based on Genesis 29, when Jacob married Leah and later Rachel, but set in a different period. So of course I wasn’t going to write a novel about a man marrying two women, but what if, during WWI, a man—a farm hand—married one farmer’s daughter while he pined for the other? Sounds nasty, but I promise it doesn’t cross lines. It’s a story about a man and woman who God deals with in deep ways. These characters carry such deep burdens in their marriage that only the Echoes of the Heart can express them. The Deepest Sigh turned out to be one of my favorite novels. In fact, it compelled me to write a series, continuing with The Softest Breath, and The Brightest Hope. Each book tells the story of another character that comes along, and about a hero who has an involved character arc. Readers have said that people who love Francine Rivers will enjoy these books.

By the time I signed to write a story for Barbour's new Heroine’s of WWII series, I’d long since shed my notions of sticking to the colonial period—though I hope to write something set during that era again. I had some practice writing about the post-WWII era when I published The Love Coward a sweet story of second chances, and now my novel Season of My Enemy, set on a Wisconsin farm during WWII, will release in June. Literally a few days ago, Barbour pulled down the cover we’d worked on for the book and came up with a new one. I'm not 100% sure it's final even yet, so watch for the official re-reveal soon.

I’ve become more and more open to writing in different eras. I feel quite at home in the Americana period of the first half of the 20th century, but also in the 1800s of the upper Midwest and the rough and tumble wilderness frontier of the 1700s. I’ve even written a couple contemporaries that are a romp to spin out from time to time, though my first and biggest love is still historical. I’m not sure where it’ll all lead to next. I’m working on another possible WWI story about spies and sabotage in a Wisconsin port town. We’ll see how it goes! It’s all in God’s hands, and I’m content to leave it there.

Thanks for traveling with me down memory lane as I reflect back to writing these books. If you’re interested in these or other stories I’ve written, catch me at the usual social and bookish places. I do a monthly drawing in my newsletter Northwoods Faith & Fiction. In March I’ll be hosting a drawing for a signed copy of Song for the Hunter, so don’t miss the chance to get on board!

Until later,

Naomi

https://naomimusch.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/naomi-musch

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4617551.Naomi_Dawn_Musch

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Naomi-Musch/e/B00727J758

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NaomiMuschAuthor/

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/naomimusch

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naomimusch/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nmusch/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NMusch

Monday, December 30, 2019

A Soldier's Lighthouse Christmas

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, Newfoundland. Photo by Annlynn Ward.

Christmas 1943 (a true story)

Private William Duval shivered as he rubbed his hands together over the small stove heater in his barracks. Man, this place was cold! Despite sharing a room with 19 other guys, the room never warmed up.
Some of the guys didn’t mind the cold so much. But back home in Louisiana, it just didn’t get as cold as here in Newfoundland. Why couldn’t he have been sent somewhere warm?

But then again, that’s where a lot of the fighting was – in the Pacific islands. Guess he should be thankful he wasn’t sent there. Who would’ve thought he’d end up in Canada, on a US base built to protect the northern coastline from German invasion?

He glanced at the pinup calendar hanging over his bed, his heart squeezing at the sight of his girlfriend’s picture thumbtacked over the movie star’s photo. Christmas was just weeks away, and what he wouldn’t give to spend it with Angela back home. Home where it was warm, where family and friends gathered together for food and fun. He could just see them all going around singing Christmas carols to their neighbors. If only the war would end before Christmas. Chances were slim with all the heavy fighting going on, but a guy could hope, couldn’t he?

His buddy Pete came in, slamming the door against a blast of frosty air. “Billy! We’ve been invited to the lighthouse for Christmas. Wanna go?”
“The lighthouse? What would we do at a lighthouse?”
“I hear the family there is swell – and real big too! Seems folks all around here go to the lighthouse for Christmas. Sounds good to me!”
“Well, it’s gotta beat staying in this barn. Sure, I’ll go.”

When Christmas day arrived, Billy and a bunch of other soldiers climbed into an Army Truck. After plowing through the deep snow, they reached the end of Cape Bonavista where the white lighthouse with vertical red stripes gleamed in the sunlight. Billy stepped inside the house and an array of tantalizing aromas drew him toward a table laden with food. Trays of Christmas cookies lay beside towering cakes and golden-crusted pies. At the other end of the table, platters of sliced meats and bowls of steaming vegetables invited.

A teenage girl ran up and introduced herself as one of Lightkeeper Hubert Abbott’s eleven children. Soon Billy’s stomach was full of Christmas dinner. Afterwards, he joined in the singing as everyone gathered around the family parlor while a man played Christmas carols on an accordion. After singing, the folks played a variety of games, just like they did back home. As daylight began to dwindle over the Atlantic Ocean, Billy said his goodbyes to the hosts.

“Thank you, Mr. Abbott, Mrs. Abbott. You really made me feel like family today.”
“We’re glad you came, Billy. We’re all part of God’s family, and what better time for a family to be together than Christmas?”
Billy didn’t get to go home for the holidays, but thanks to the Abbotts, he didn’t spend the holiday alone.

The holidays can be a lonely time for people separated from their families. Many find the holidays especially difficult because their loved ones are no longer alive to share them. God wants us to reach out to others, not just at Christmas, but all year long. Perhaps this Christmas season you can invite someone into your home, or find others who are alone and create a family environment together.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in," Matthew 25:35

I pray you all had a blessed Christmas.

This is my last post for the Heroes, Heroines and History blog, as I've taken on more responsibilities and need to let go of others. I will miss you all, but hope to stay in touch by reading this blog along with you. As a parting Christmas gift, I'm offering a drawing for a copy of my book, The Christmas Gazebo. To enter, please leave a comment with your email address so I can reach you if you win.

The Christmas Gazebo

by Marilyn Turk and Lenora Worth

Two Christmas Romances of past and present

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Gazebo-Romances-past-present/dp/1947523724/

A “literary archaeologist,” Marilyn Turk writes historical fiction flavored with suspense and romance for Barbour Books, Winged Publications and Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. One of her World War II novels, The Gilded Curse, won a Silver Scroll award. She has also written a series of novels set in 1800 Florida whose settings are lighthouses. In addition, Marilyn’s novellas have been published in the Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides collection and Crinoline Cowboys. Marilyn also writes for Guideposts magazine and Daily Guideposts Devotions. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and Word Weavers International.

When not writing, Marilyn and her husband enjoy boating, fishing, playing tennis or visiting lighthouses.

Marilyn is a regular contributor to the Heroes, Heroines and History blog. https://www.hhhistory.com). Connect with her at http://pathwayheart.com, https://twitter.com/MarilynTurk, https://www.facebook.com/MarilynTurkAuthor/, https://www.pinterest.com/bluewaterbayou/, marilynturkwriter@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

For the Love of History

Gabrielle Here:

I've always been fascinated with history, since the time I can remember. When I was little, and learned about the Civil War era, I begged my mother for a hoop skirt and gown. My sister and I repeatedly embarrassed our older brothers by parading about in our historical garb, with our horrible southern accents (I was born and raised in Minnesota, so you can about imagine how bad it sounded), when their friends were around.

As I grew older, I fell in love with historical fiction. For the space of a few hours, I could immerse myself in the times and places that so captured my imagination. No longer was I living and breathing the 1860's. After I discovered my love for books, I was a princess in a medieval fortress, a lady-in-waiting in Queen Victoria's court, a brave pioneer on the American Frontier, a gold-digger in the California hills, and a young woman coming of age in a charming turn-of-the century Midwestern town. The options were endless and I reveled in them.

Here I am sitting near the Lindbergh piano, portraying
Evangeline Lindbergh (Aviator Charles A. Lindbergh's
Mother) in a living history event at the
Lindbergh Historic Site.

I went on to work at a historic site, and later a county historical society. I delved deep into the history of my own hometown on the banks of the Mississippi River, and I swam with abandon. I sang with the voyageurs as they plied the lakes and rivers, I shot the rapids with Zebulon Pike on his search for the headwaters, I stood on the lookout with Chief Hole-in-the-Day as he watched the white men come into his region, I rejoiced and cried with the men and women who toiled to start my hometown, I balanced on the billions of logs as they floated downriver to the mills, and I waved toward the sky when Charles A. Lindbergh, our hometown boy, became a national hero and world-renown pilot. The stories of these brave men and women, many of them as common and ordinary as me, did extraordinary things with the time and resources they were given.

These people from the past began to speak to my heart, and I longed to tell their forgotten stories. People who lived, fought, and sometimes died so I could enjoy the "simple" luxuries of life. They harnessed the falls in the Mississippi for power to cut logs, mill grain, and ultimately produce electricity. They cleared, leveled, and paved roads so I can drive down the street with ease. They constructed bridges, so I can effortlessly traverse the wild Mississippi River several times a day. They hauled thousands of wagon loads of dirt to fill a massive ravine, so commerce could fill our downtown, and make life easier for all of us. They designed the courthouse, with its high tower, and built it from local, handmade brick, and did it all before modern technology produced skid steers and power tools. The list goes on and on.

As I discovered all these things, and began to share my love of history with those around me, I realized that most people think of history as dry and boring. To me, it's anything but boring! History is alive, it's active, it's dangerous and fierce. History allows us to look at the past from a place of safety and step into the shoes of the people who lived it out. It teaches us lessons on what to do and what not to do. It's full of wisdom, insight, and experience.

When I was in college, it became my deepest desire to tell the stories of the men and women forgotten by history. I don't want to retell the stories we all know so well; I wanted to resurrect the names and places of people that didn't make it into the textbooks. The stories I love telling are found in old letters, dusty journals, faded photographs, and yellowed newspapers. Their stories are like buried treasures, waiting to be discovered and unearthed, full of untold riches for those lucky enough to find them.

One of those stories was told in my novel, A Family Arrangement, which released with Harlequin's Love Inspired Historical (LIH) line last December. A second came when Inherited: Unexpected Family released in September with LIH, and the third is found in The Gift of Twins, which releases this December with LIH. All of these stories are inspired by real people, places, and events in my hometown's history--and they are just a morsel of the stories I long tell.

Your Turn: What are some true stories you've heard about your hometown? What do you love about history? What's your favorite era? How were you first introduced to history?

Gabrielle Meyer lives in central Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing fictional stories inspired by real people and events. Her next novel, The Gift of Twins, releases with Love Inspired Historical in December 2017.

Find her on Facebook
Find her on Amazon
Find her on Goodreads
Find her on My Website
Sign up for Her Newsletter

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Books Make Great Gifts--Shop Early!

We have some exciting new releases this month and some older favorites. (The women who blog here are certainly prolific writers!)

If you can't find a good book to give as a gift, maybe it's because you'd rather get it for yourself. Add it to your wish list for someone to buy for you and then send them here.

(With all the choices this month, the gift's in the bag!)

(Yee-hah!)

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN TEXANS, Romance Collection

by Vickie McDonough, Susan Page Davis, Erica Vetsch,
and More

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

SHATTERED MEMORIES
by Debbie Lynne Costello

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

THE COWBOY'S BRIDE COLLECTION

By Nancy Farrier, Susan Page Davis, Miralee Ferrell,

Vickie McDonough, and More

Pages