I heard a song today. As the sweet strains of 'Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms', played charmingly on flute and piano, filled the air, I took a journey down memory lane. I could see the green banks of Polecat Creek and hear the trickle of the water; I could picture a young girl sinking down on the ground, her water-splattered white skirts spread out about her. She was exhausted from her journey over a shaky single log, and tearful with the fright of the crossing, and around her stood a group of embarrassed young men, unsure how to comfort her. It brought a smile to my lips, remembering. I've been going to Polecat Creek regularly for years, always in the company of Martitia Howland and the Gardner brothers, and I've always enjoyed it immensely - despite timid Martitia's distress in having to cross it on a log! 

Is there a Polecat Creek? Well, I don't know. I suspect it is pure invention. But whenever I hear 'Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms', I think of They Loved To Laugh and remember the lovely times I've spent reading about Martitia and the Gardners. It's as if I really visited the creek, or stood on the porch of the hip-roofed house and watched Jonathan stand on his head, or sat in the kitchen and smelled the fresh-baked bread. 

And that's the best part of books. You can travel across the world, or back through time; you can visit a summer creek in the midst of winter, or shiver through a blizzard in the heat of summer. And once you've been somewhere, it becomes part of you, just like a hands-on experience. It stays with you. And all you have to do is smell a scent, or hear the strains of an old, sweet song...

​Do you mean you will accept the position?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, of course. When can I start?”

His face lit up. “That’s good news! As soon as you like. Today isn’t too early for me, if I only thought we could make that bedroom presentable for you.”

“I’m afraid that’s a little soon for me,” said Margaret, smiling. “I still need to pack up and settle with my landlady. Tomorrow? I can come about nine and get settled in, if you don’t mind a simple dinner.”

“We’ve had so many failed dinners lately, I’m sure the simplest of meals would satisfy us,” Dane answered with a chuckle. “All right, let’s draw up the contract.”

On September 10, 1813, Oliver Hazard Perry won a 'signal victory' over the British Navy on our very own Lake Erie. This is his dispatch, telling the good news to the Secretary of the Navy.

I love to crochet. And I love to create exactly what I need or want. When I was a little girl, I always whipped out a crochet hook when my dolls needed skirts, bonnets, shoes or dresses. Now that I'm a big girl, I still like to settle down with my yarn to make just the hat, dishcloth, or shawl I need. But the best part of it? I get to share them with you! Check out my Author Page on Amazon to see all the fun patterns I've been creating lately. 

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The day has come at last, and I couldn't be more happy to introduce my newest book - The Reluctant Bride! I've fallen even further in love with America, the 19th century, and the Polish immigrants who built our country; and I hope you'll all enjoy this story as much as I have!

This book would make a wonderful Christmas gift for any historical fiction lover on your list!
​Available in Paperback or Kindle eBook.

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This historical novel is set in the Carolinas during the 1830​s, and bears the charm of far-off days. With beautiful descriptions, quaint speech, and touching dialogue, you'll be taken back in time! 

Martitia Howland is a 16-year-old orphan who is accepted into a large Quaker family after the tragic death of her parents. As she works through her grief, she must also maneuver a new world of cooking, cleaning, weaving, farming, and teasing with the Gardners' five lively sons and one disapproving daughter. While her hands begin to learn unaccustomed skills, will she also learn the grace of heartfelt laughter?

    It was inspired by a true story: Polish parents urging their daughter to travel to America and marry a recent immigrant who wanted a wife from his homeland. The girl was already attached to a young man in her hometown, and her sister took pity on her and agreed to take her place. But what if there had been no sister...?
​    As Polish men immigrated to the United States, they longed for a wife to share their fortunes - a woman from their own homeland, who shared their language, culture, and background. So they wrote home.
    "I would like to marry Zoska," one young man penned. "So, please, send me Zoska."*
    And girls like Zoska went, to make a home in a new land, sometimes for a man they had never met before in their lives. And they not only built homes; they built America.
    The Reluctant Bride is an immigrant story, a love story, a story of hope and hardship. It's the story of America. And I can't wait to share it with all of you!
*The Story of Ellis Island by R. Conrad Stein

There's nothing more convenient than a paperback you can spread before you. Now you can use this handy guide anywhere while you read or write! 

Don't you love that cover drawing by Ruth? I just want to move in and start hanging pictures!

It was a pleasure to be interviewed by Homeschooled Authors about my book, Lighten Our Darkness. Sarah Holman and the rest of the crew do such a great job promoting home educated authors, current and alumni, and I'm so happy to have my second interview with them published! Read more here: