Unsung Heroines in American History – by Donna Schlachter

With Women’s Month a blip in our rear view mirror, I wanted to share some fascinating stories about women in American History. We often think of Molly Brown, Calamity Jane, and Amelia Earhart when we consider women who made a difference in our history and culture, but there were many more we never hear about.

In researching this post, I found an article from Time magazine, my primary source. Feel free to check it out here: https://time.com/5786065/womens-history-month-women-to-know/ . All photos came from that article. (Please note, there are women featured in this article that I chose not to highlight primarily because of their political leanings and affiliations.)

Emilia Casanova de Villaverde

Emilia Casanova de Villeverde: She lived most of her life in New York City, serving tirelessly as an abolitionist. She formed a women’s club and raised funds to support the elderly, widows, and orphans. Her mansion in the South Bronx hid weapons and ammunition, to aid the liberation army in Cuba, in a series of vaults. Emilia passed in 1897.

If you’re thinking about writing about your own heroine who uses her wealth and position of influence in society, you might want to use Emilia as your model.

Dorothea Dix

Dorothea Dix: Dorothea’s focus was on asylum and prison reform. During her lifetime, 1802-1887, women were silent victims in both of these institutions. A husband or her parents could have a woman committed to an asylum indefinitely without a court hearing or psychological examination, merely because she spoke out against popular topics such as abolition, women’s rights, and many other topics.

Dorothea headed the Union Nurses during the Civil War, inspected prisons, jails, poorhouses, and workhouses. She forced states to allocate land, money, and legislative attention on the creation and improvement of these institutions.

A heroine in a story based on Dorothea might be portrayed as standing up to irate wardens, judges, and husbands to force better conditions for the incarcerated.

Laura Cornelius Kellogg

Laura Cornelius Kellogg: Laura was a Native woman, but also an activist, author, orator, and policy reformer. She helped found the Society of American Indians, which was run for and by American Indians. In doing so, she resisted the government’s policy to send Native American children to boarding schools, a direction that hoped to eradicate Native culture and language.

A Native American heroine based on Laura could share the story of Native children learning their tribal language in secret, for example.

Mary Tape at around 11 years old

Mary Tape: Born in China in 1857, Mary emigrates to the United States with her family, ending up as a servant in a brothel in San Francisco. She ran away, took on a different name, then met Joseph Tape while he was delivering milk. They marry, and together they build a prosperous transportation and immigration brokering business.

Despite their fabulous wealth, they are not immune from anti-Chinese sentiment and racial hostility. In 1884, their daughter is denied admission to public school, sparking the landmark court case Tape v. Hurley, which guarantees Chinese children the right to a public school education.

Perhaps this triggers an idea for a book about a rags-to-riches heroine who overcomes her past.

Maggie Lena Walker

 

Maggie Lena Walker: Maggie was the first black female bank president in the United States, founding the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903. She was also a member of the Independent Order of St. Luke (IOSL), a secret society for women of color that was founded in the 1850s. In the 1920s, she, her bank, and the IOSL, provided financial services to more than one hundred thousand members in over twenty states, and was the largest employer of professional, white-collar black women in the country.

Regardless of color, any book featuring a heroine who was among the movers and shakers of her time would thrill readers.

Of course, there are plenty more unsung heroines in our history, but this sample of different ethnicities, different backgrounds, and different heart focus is a good example of what can be accomplished when we stand up for what is right.


About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She is taking all the information she’s learned along the way about the writing and publishing process, and is coaching committed career writers. Learn more at https://www.donnaschlachter.com/the-purpose-full-writer-coaching-programs Check out her coaching group on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604220861766651



www.DonnaSchlachter.com Stay connected so you learn about new releases, preorders, and presales, as well as check out featured authors, book reviews, and a little corner of peace. Plus: Receive 2 free ebooks simply for signing up for our free newsletter!

www.DonnaSchlachter.com/blog

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor

Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-schlachter

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=donna+schlachter

The Purpose-Full Writer: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604220861766651

Need a writing coach? https://www.donnaschlachter.com/the-purpose-full-writer-coaching-programs

The Legacy of a Writer

Elaine Marie Cooper I’ll never forget hearing the news in 1995 that my favorite author, James Herriott (Alf Wight) had passed away. My heart sank as he was the one writer I had hoped to meet in person one day. My opportunity had slipped away forever. Good writing has that ability to connect reader and writer in a relationship both unique and loyal. Through an author’s words, readers are led on a series of emotions that can run the gamut from fear to joy to tenderness. It is, to me, a special bond.

Alfred Wight (James Herriott was his pen name) graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939. It was an era without benefit of modern treatments such as antibiotics to kill infections. It was also an era that led to the outbreak of war against Germany. Herriott managed to weave the historical aspects into the stories that he shares which captivate reading audiences. Herriott (Wight) practiced veterinary medicine for nearly fifty years. When I picked up a copy of Herriott’s first novel, All Creatures Great and Small, many years ago, I was spellbound. Totally enraptured by the 1930’s era story of the young vet hired by a country practice in the hills of Yorkshire, England, who could not relate to the new graduate’s sense of feeling like a fish out of water? The city vet meets the mud and challenges of large animal practice while trying to not make a fool of himself. Of course, he often makes a fool of himself, which only endears him to us more. Herriott painted such vivid word-portraits of the surrounding countryside as well as the intriguing characters, that each chapter flowed easily into the next. When the sequels emerged, I was first to purchase each one, eagerly anticipating more adventures of the country vet, his friends, and the animals that grew to touch us in so many heartfelt ways. I cannot recall just how many chapters left me either in laughter or tears.

I was not the only loyal fan of the Herriott books. A series was created for television and lasted for several years. Audiences tuned in faithfully, viewing reruns over and over. That first series was filmed in 1978.

Imagine my joy to discover that a whole new series based on the books is soon to be presented on PBS. I am delighted to watch the tales (and tails!) all over again. The power of words. They transport us to times past that seem to be lost to the ages yet bring us renewed understanding of the lives who came before us. But the true power of words is their ability to envelope us in the common human condition that brings both joy and sorrow. It takes a special author to infuse those feelings through the words and into our hearts. Well done, James Herriott. Elaine Marie Cooper has two historical fiction books that released in 2019: War’s Respite (Prequel novella) and Love’s Kindling. They are the first two books in the Dawn of America Series set in Revolutionary War Connecticut. This series will re-release with a new publisher beginning in 2021. Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her 2016 release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul and HomeLife magazine. She also penned the three-book historical series, Deer Run Saga. Her upcoming release, Scarred Vessels, is about the black soldiers in the American Revolution. Look for it in October 20, 2020. You can visit her website/ blog at www.elainemariecooper.com

Authors from Lincoln, Illinois

by Guest Blogger Tisha Martin

It's always fun to dig into the history of the town you're writing about.

Many famous people grew up in small towns, which is really surprising. Ronald Reagan grew up in Dixon, Illinois, and Abraham Lincoln in New Salem, Illinois (and Kentucky). However, several authors who wrote famously about this small, Midwestern town grew up in the town and moved away after graduation, only to write about their towns later in life.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Renowned theologian and author
Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr
 grew up in Lincoln, Illinois.

Doing a bit of research behind the author of the famous poem, "The Serenity Prayer," I discovered that Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. His father was the administrator of the state-of-the-art Deaconess Hospital in Lincoln. One of his brothers, Walter, was managing editor of the Lincoln Daily News-Herald newspaper, until he passed away in 1946.

 

Siblings, Left to Right: H. Richard, Reinhold,
Hulda, and Walter Niebuhr

A theologian, Reinhold was Dean and Professor of Applied Christianity at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. His photo was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1948. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, and was in the top 100 most influential people in the twentieth century (Life magazine, 1990).

While he did not write much about his hometown as other authors who grew up there did, Niebuhr wrote about thought-provoking and often controversial subjects. He wrote about the spirituality of man and direction of its society shortly after WWII. Several of his titles are Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Nature and Destiny of Man, The Irony of American History, Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, among other titles that explored society, the human soul, and politics.

William Maxwell

William Keepers Maxwell, Jr.

William Maxwell was one of two locals who wrote extensively about their hometown. His stories and novels are often deep, exploring the social and psychological aspects of people living in a small town. According to online research, Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois on August 16, 1908. His parents were William Keepers Maxwell and Eva Blossom (née Blinn) Maxwell. He attended Senn High School. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in 1930 where he was class salutatorian, poetry editor of The Daily Illini, and a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. Maxwell earned a master's degree at Harvard University. Maxwell taught English briefly at the University of Illinois before moving to New York. 

Maxwell wrote of tough but necessary topics, such as social and psychological strains of the small town and how various events affected him. Only three of his short stories held happier moments and included people from his childhood. For example, Miss Vera Brown was a popular fifth-grade teacher, whose death devastates her male students ("Love" in All the Days and Nights 245-248). Another example is Mr. Danforth, the venerable horse veterinarian whose advice is quietly sought by many townspeople (Time Will Darken It). A third example is Lincoln College biology Professor Chris Oglevee, who ably mentors the Cub Scout troop of the First Presbyterian Church ("With Reference to an Incident at a Bridge" [For Eudora Welty] in All the Days and Nights 265-269). (D. L. Henson, Finding Lincoln Illinois.)

But one incident happened in his life that he wrote searchingly but fondly of. During the Spanish Flu of 1918, young Maxwell and his mother became ill. Maxwell recovered but his mother did not. Her death devastated the family, and his father sent the boy to live with relatives in Bloomington, a town nearly an hour away, which would have been quite a trip in 1918. He later rejoined his father in Chicago. Maxwell's story They Came Like Swallows depicts this event so vividly and shows how such a wide-spread epidemic (that spread all the way to Philadelphia) affected an eight-year-old boy from a small Midwestern town.

Photos: Courtesy of D. L. Henson and Wikipedia

So, the next time you're writing historical fiction or reading historical fiction, appreciate the amount of research the author took to create even a small scene to "get the facts just right." It really adds meaning to the depth of the novel.

What interesting town research have you read about or uncovered?

Tisha Martin edits and proofreads for publishers and private clients by day and writes historical fiction set in the Midwest by night.

Her award-winning WWII short story "Puddle of Remorse" is free to readers who sign up for her quarterly newsletter.

Visit www.tishamartin.com to sign up and learn more about all things vintage, history, and books.

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

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS BRIDES

by Susan Page Davis and Others

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

A HOUSE LOVE BUILT

by Martha Rogers

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

(Holly Jolly!)

A PLAIN AND SWEET CHRISTMAS

by Ramona K. Cecil and More 

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

HIS PRAIRIE SWEETHEART

by Erica Vetsch

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  

REBEL LIGHT

by Marilyn Turk

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

BEFORE THE SEASON ENDS

by Linore Rose Burkard

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

  RUMORS AND PROMISES

 by Kathleen Rouser

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

DAWN OF LIBERTY

by Amber Schamel

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  

SOFI'S BRIDGE

by Christine Lindsay

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

MESSENGER BY MOONLIGHT

by Stephanie Grace Whitson

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

VALLEY OF THE SHADOW

by J.M. Hochstetler

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH Romance Collection

by Linda Farmer Harris and More

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

SUMMER'S SURPRISE

by Martha Lou Rogers

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE 

HIS STEADFAST LOVE

by Golden Keyes Parsons

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

RESURRECTION OF HOPE

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

                                         THE LEGACY LETTERS

                                by Alanna Radle Rodriguez and More

                                         CLICK TO PURCHASE

                                           LEFT AT THE ALTAR

                                         by Margaret Brownley 

                                                            CLICK TO PURCHASE

Now don't say we never gave you any nifty gift-giving ideas! Will you give books as gifts this Christmas? Why or why not?

Summer Reading Checklist--Don't Miss These!

 

 

Once again we've got a handy-dandy checklist of sizzling reads to keep you mersmerized this summer. Whether your days are lazy and hazy or frantic and full, you'll  appreciate winding down to escape into a good book--and we've got one to fit your every reading mood, from sweet and romantic to mysterious or downright suspenseful. Pick a few books--and be ready for summer! 

                                                      

Happy reading!

We proudly recommend the following.

Why? Because they're ours--they come right from our hearts--the authors who write the posts for this blog each day.

Click on the Book Covers to Get Your Copy!

The Charleston earthquake has left destruction like nothing Doctor Andrew Warwick has ever seen. On a desperate mission to find the lady who owns his heart, he frantically searches through the rubble, where he finds her injured and lifeless. After she regains consciousness, the doctor’s hopes are quickly dashed as he realizes she doesn’t remember him. Things only get worse when he discovers she believes she’s still engaged to the abusive scoundrel, Lloyd Pratt. Now Drew is on a race with the wedding clock to either help her remember or win her heart again before she marries the wrong man.

Waking in a makeshift hospital, Olivia Macqueen finds herself recovering from a head injury. With amnesia stealing a year of her memories, she has trouble discerning between lies and truth. When her memories start returning in bits and pieces, she must keep up the charade of amnesia until she can find out the truth behind the embezzlement of her family’s business while evading the danger lurking around her.

New from Vickie McDonough!

Dusty Starr is unstoppable in the rodeo arena, but when it comes to love? He was bucked off long ago. Now he has a second chance at love, but will he have what it takes to win? 

In 1942, Lexie Smithfield becomes heir to her family's vacation home on Jekyll Island, and a mysterious telegram beckons her return. Ten years before, tragedies convinced her mother the island was cursed, and the home in the exclusive Millionaire's Club was abandoned.  Russell Thompson knows what really happened, but swore never to tell. Will Lexie discover the real danger before it's too late? 

Three riveting short stories follow Samuel Adams as he struggles through the events surrounding the Declaration of Independence and evokes the Dawn of Liberty.

Liberty comes with a price. Can a fledgling nation bear the cost?

British forces advance upon a struggling colonial army. The time of decision has come. Declare independence, or give up the fight. The weight of a nation rests on Samuel Adams' shoulders as he joins the delegates of the Second Continental Congress. Can he raise the cause of Liberty above the fear of the King's wrath in the hearts of his countrymen?

Seattle debutante Sofi Andersson will do everything in her power to protect her sister who is suffering from shock over their father's death. Charles, the family busy-body, threatens to lock Trina in a sanatorium--a whitewashed term for an insane asylum--so Sofi will rescue her little sister, even if it means running away to the Cascade Mountains with only the new gardener Neil Macpherson to protect them. But in a cabin high in the Cascades, Sofi begins to recognize that the handsome immigrant from Ireland harbors secrets of his own. Can she trust this man whose gentle manner brings such peace to her traumatized sister and such tumult to her own emotions? And can Neil, the gardener, continue to hide from Sofi that he is really Dr. Neil Galloway, a man wanted for murder by the British police? Only an act of faith and love will bridge the distance that separates lies from truth and safety.  

Orphaned Annie Paxton and her brothers have lost the only home they've ever known and are determined to make a better future in St. Joseph, Missouri. Annie dreams of a pretty house with window boxes, having friends, and attending church every week. But then her brothers land jobs as Pony Express riders, and Annie puts her dreams on hold to work as a cook at Clearwater Ranch on the Pony Express route.  Annie struggles to adapt to her new job, and the gruff station owner doesn't seem inclined to make her life any easier. A friendship has just begun to blossom and builds between them when Annie attracts the attention of a refined, dashing lieutenant from nearby Fort Kearney. Annie must learn how to trust her instincts and follow her heart--even if she's conflicted about which way it's leading her. 

From heart-pounding battles on the high seas to the rigors of Valley Forge and the Shawnee’s savagely fought wars, Valley of the Shadow continues the thrilling saga of America’s founding.

New from Susan Page Davis! 1918, Rural Maine. Judith Chadbourne gave up her teaching job after her mother’s death to help her father with her five siblings. But when her brother Joel is drafted, the household chores and farm work may overwhelm her. Their neighbor, Ben Thayer, seems rich and mysterious, but his heart aches from his own loss. Judith accidentally breaks the antique ornament her mother loved. The splintering star echoes her family’s shattering. Joel falls ill at the army camp, and Ben’s concern may bring the beginnings of trust. Can love take Judith beyond the frozen Maine winter?

Beautiful historical romance novellas written just for you by some of today's best-selling and award-winning Christian authors! Sit back and relax while these four talented women whisk you back to simpler times in America's past... but with that simplicity came hard work and change, so curl up in your favorite spot and see what Mary, Ruthy, Pam and Cara have brought your way as you "Spring Into Love" with this new delightful Christian romance collection!

Meet 12 adventurous Victorian era women—a beekeeper who is afraid of bees, a music teacher whose dog has dug up a treasure, a baker who enters a faux courtship, and six more—along with the men they encounter while making summertime memories. Will these loves sown during summer be strengthened by faith and able to endure a lifetime?

Risking all their hopes and dreams on promises of fertile land in the Northwest, thousands set off on the Oregon Trail between 1843 and the 1890s. Despite the majestic landscape and daily opportunities for fireside chats, the trail was hardly the place these migrants expected to find romance. In these nine novellas, travelers on the wagon trains experience all the challenges and dangers of the trail. Some will lose much, settle down along the trail, and even turn back home, while others endure to the end. Readers will enjoy traveling along with the romantic adventures in which faith is honed.

New from Martha Lou Rogers! Summer Patterson, a photo-journalist for a popular magazine, is on a mission to capture the charm and nostalgia of the old Route 66 through the West Texas Panhandle in story and picture, but when her car breaks down in a "middle of nowhere" town, her mission takes a turn she never expected. Cody Harper is a retired rodeo champ filling in as a mechanic until he can get his own ranch. Repairing Summer's foreign car will take days, so he arranges for her to stay with his grandmother Ellis. Meeting the people of McLean, Texas and riding with Cody to discover the beauty of a part of Texas she'd never seen leads her in a direction she had no plans to take. She returns to her busy life in the city of Dallas, but her heart is back in West Texas where she lost it along Route 66.  Getting it back will be no easy task, especially if Cody has his way.

It's the spring of 1861 on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Amanda never thought she would marry because of a promise she made to her dying mother, but her attraction to Captain Kent Littlefield is undeniable.
When Texas secedes from the Union, her brother Daniel aligns with the Confederate States, while Kent remains with the Union troops.
Her heart is torn between the two men she is closest to and the two sides of the conflict. Amanda prays to God for direction and support, but hears only silence. Where is God in the atrocities of war―and whose side is He on?

Discover four heroines in historical Austin, TX, as they find love--Jane Austen style. Volume 1 includes:

If I Loved You Less by Gina Welborn, based on Emma
A prideful matchmaker examines her own heart when her protégé falls for the wrong suitor.

Refinements by Anita Mae Draper, based on Sense and Sensibility
A misguided academy graduate spends the summer falling in love . . . twice.

One Word from You by Susanne Dietze, based on Pride and Prejudice
A down-on-her-luck journalist finds the story of her dreams, but her prejudice may cost her true love . . . and her career. Alarmingly Charming by Debra E. Marvin, based on Northanger Abbey
A timid gothic dime-novel enthusiast tries to solve the mystery of a haunted cemetery and, even more shocking, why two equally charming suitors compete for her attentions.

  

In this action-packed sequel to PULSE, author L.R.Burkard takes readers on a heart-pounding journey into a landscape where teens shoulder rifles instead of school books, and where survival might mean becoming your own worst enemy.

Now that an EMP has sent the United States into a Dark Age, Andrea, Lexie and Sarah have more to worry about than the mere loss of technology. Threats of marauders and rumors of foreign soldiers mean no one can let down their guard. The appearance of FEMA camps might be reassuring--except military outfits seem determined to force people into them...With evil threatening on every side, can the U.S. recover before everyone--and everything--is destroyed?  

Do you make time for fun summer reading? Where's your favorite place to read--beach, bed, lazy chair? Where do other readers enjoy reading most? Leave a comment and let's compare notes!  

Got Summer Reading? (Get it right here, right now!)

Use today's post as a checklist--we've got summer reading covered! Whether your days are lazy and hazy or frantic and full, you'll  appreciate winding down to escape into a good book--and we've got one to fit your every reading mood, from sweet and romantic to mysterious or downright suspenseful. Browse our  "bookstore" below, and get ready for summer. Happy reading!

We proudly recommend the following.

Why? Because they're ours--they come right from our hearts--the authors who write the posts for this blog each day.

Click on the Book Covers to Get Your Copy!

The Charleston earthquake has left destruction like nothing Doctor Andrew Warwick has ever seen. On a desperate mission to find the lady who owns his heart, he frantically searches through the rubble, where he finds her injured and lifeless. After she regains consciousness, the doctor’s hopes are quickly dashed as he realizes she doesn’t remember him. Things only get worse when he discovers she believes she’s still engaged to the abusive scoundrel, Lloyd Pratt. Now Drew is on a race with the wedding clock to either help her remember or win her heart again before she marries the wrong man.

Waking in a makeshift hospital, Olivia Macqueen finds herself recovering from a head injury. With amnesia stealing a year of her memories, she has trouble discerning between lies and truth. When her memories start returning in bits and pieces, she must keep up the charade of amnesia until she can find out the truth behind the embezzlement of her family’s business while evading the danger lurking around her.

Now together for the first time, six complete Christian, historical, western romances from bestselling authors you know and love. Each of these stories, whether novella length or full length, will transport you back to a time when outlaws ran free, the land was wild, and guns blazed at the drop of a hat!

Ride onto the open range alongside cowboys and cowgirls who embrace the adventures of living in the Old West from Kansas to New Mexico, Colorado to Texas. Whether rounding up cattle or mustangs, training horses, fending off outlaws, weathering storms, competing in rodeos, or surviving drought these cowboys work hard each day. But when hardheaded men have their weaknesses exposed by well-meaning women will they stampede away or will a lasting love develop? Find out in this exciting collection of nine historical romances. 

In 1942, Lexie Smithfield becomes heir to her family's vacation home on Jekyll Island, and a mysterious telegram beckons her return. Ten years before, tragedies convinced her mother the island was cursed, and the home in the exclusive Millionaire's Club was abandoned.  Russell Thompson knows what really happened, but swore never to tell. Will Lexie discover the real danger before it's too late? 

Three riveting short stories follow Samuel Adams as he struggles through the events surrounding the Declaration of Independence and evokes the Dawn of Liberty.

Liberty comes with a price. Can a fledgling nation bear the cost?

British forces advance upon a struggling colonial army. The time of decision has come. Declare independence, or give up the fight. The weight of a nation rests on Samuel Adams' shoulders as he joins the delegates of the Second Continental Congress. Can he raise the cause of Liberty above the fear of the King's wrath in the hearts of his countrymen?

Seattle debutante Sofi Andersson will do everything in her power to protect her sister who is suffering from shock over their father's death. Charles, the family busy-body, threatens to lock Trina in a sanatorium--a whitewashed term for an insane asylum--so Sofi will rescue her little sister, even if it means running away to the Cascade Mountains with only the new gardener Neil Macpherson to protect them. But in a cabin high in the Cascades, Sofi begins to recognize that the handsome immigrant from Ireland harbors secrets of his own. Can she trust this man whose gentle manner brings such peace to her traumatized sister and such tumult to her own emotions? And can Neil, the gardener, continue to hide from Sofi that he is really Dr. Neil Galloway, a man wanted for murder by the British police? Only an act of faith and love will bridge the distance that separates lies from truth and safety.  

Orphaned Annie Paxton and her brothers have lost the only home they've ever known and are determined to make a better future in St. Joseph, Missouri. Annie dreams of a pretty house with window boxes, having friends, and attending church every week. But then her brothers land jobs as Pony Express riders, and Annie puts her dreams on hold to work as a cook at Clearwater Ranch on the Pony Express route.  Annie struggles to adapt to her new job, and the gruff station owner doesn't seem inclined to make her life any easier. A friendship has just begun to blossom and builds between them when Annie attracts the attention of a refined, dashing lieutenant from nearby Fort Kearney. Annie must learn how to trust her instincts and follow her heart--even if she's conflicted about which way it's leading her.  

From heart-pounding battles on the high seas to the rigors of Valley Forge and the Shawnee’s savagely fought wars, Valley of the Shadow continues the thrilling saga of America’s founding.

Beautiful historical romance novellas written just for you by some of today's best-selling and award-winning Christian authors! Sit back and relax while these four talented women whisk you back to simpler times in America's past... but with that simplicity came hard work and change, so curl up in your favorite spot and see what Mary, Ruthy, Pam and Cara have brought your way as you "Spring Into Love" with this new delightful Christian romance collection!

Meet 12 adventurous Victorian era women—a beekeeper who is afraid of bees, a music teacher whose dog has dug up a treasure, a baker who enters a faux courtship, and six more—along with the men they encounter while making summertime memories. Will these loves sown during summer be strengthened by faith and able to endure a lifetime?

Risking all their hopes and dreams on promises of fertile land in the Northwest, thousands set off on the Oregon Trail between 1843 and the 1890s. Despite the majestic landscape and daily opportunities for fireside chats, the trail was hardly the place these migrants expected to find romance. In these nine novellas, travelers on the wagon trains experience all the challenges and dangers of the trail. Some will lose much, settle down along the trail, and even turn back home, while others endure to the end. Readers will enjoy traveling along with the romantic adventures in which faith is honed.

After a broken engagement weeks before the wedding, Amanda Russell's trust in men is at point zero. Reed Benson is working on changing his college days reputation as a lover boy. When Reed meets Mandy, he is immediately attracted to her but fears his reputation will turn her away. By hiring her interior design firm to make over his condo, he hopes to win her heart as well until a girl from his past reveals his reputation. God has a great plan for them both if they will forget the past and trust God's designs for their life.

It's the spring of 1861 on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Amanda never thought she would marry because of a promise she made to her dying mother, but her attraction to Captain Kent Littlefield is undeniable.
When Texas secedes from the Union, her brother Daniel aligns with the Confederate States, while Kent remains with the Union troops.
Her heart is torn between the two men she is closest to and the two sides of the conflict. Amanda prays to God for direction and support, but hears only silence. Where is God in the atrocities of war―and whose side is He on?

Discover four heroines in historical Austin, TX, as they find love--Jane Austen style. Volume 1 includes:

If I Loved You Less by Gina Welborn, based on Emma
A prideful matchmaker examines her own heart when her protégé falls for the wrong suitor.

Refinements by Anita Mae Draper, based on Sense and Sensibility
A misguided academy graduate spends the summer falling in love . . . twice.

One Word from You by Susanne Dietze, based on Pride and Prejudice
A down-on-her-luck journalist finds the story of her dreams, but her prejudice may cost her true love . . . and her career. Alarmingly Charming by Debra E. Marvin, based on Northanger Abbey
A timid gothic dime-novel enthusiast tries to solve the mystery of a haunted cemetery and, even more shocking, why two equally charming suitors compete for her attentions.

  

In this action-packed sequel to PULSE, author L.R.Burkard takes readers on a spell-binding journey into a landscape where teens shoulder rifles instead of school books, and where survival might mean becoming your own worst enemy.

Now that an EMP has sent the United States into a Dark Age, Andrea, Lexie and Sarah have more to worry about than the mere loss of technology. Threats of marauders and rumors of foreign soldiers mean no one can let down their guard. The appearance of FEMA camps might be reassuring--except military outfits seem determined to force people into them...With evil threatening on every side, can the U.S. recover before everyone--and everything--is destroyed?  

What genres do you love to read? Did we have something that fits the bill? Let us know in the comments. Also, if you've read one of these books, please let us know. We love to hear from readers!