Many Southerners were losing everything they had, many more people than just those few who had held slaves. While most tried to stay and hang on to the decorum of Southern gentility, a few decided that rather then lose their family farms and businesses it would be better to build a new life elsewhere. This is the story of one such group, who determined that their future and the futures of their friends and families was to be found in Texas. Jed Simpson and his partner Roscoe Sartain are joined by families from both North and South, black and white, and on the advice of a fellow Confederate, they stop in Rusk. Finding an old, now vacant, plantation, they manage to buy it and start rebuilding it as a small ranch, The Chalice. All is going better than any of them expected, until Jed’s past comes calling. Aided by friends both new and old, blood flows freely as Jed tries to put that past behind him once and for all. But the toll it takes may be too much for him as he faces down the last of his tormentors.

     “A thoroughly entertaining read.” Customer review “I was drawn to the novel for the farming aspect, and was not disappointed by discovering such a wonderful read.” Discovering Diamonds SET DURING THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY Moorend Farm, Yorkshire, Before the First World War. William and Emma Sinclair have settled into life at Moorend Farm in West Yorkshire and live happily with their growing family, believing they have left the shame of their past behind. William is determined to prove his success to his embittered mother, and chart a secure living for his sons. DISCOVER A BEAUTIFUL AND HEART-WARMING TALE When Emma takes Jamie and Meg to visit her parents in Scotland, they receive a warm welcome from all their relations, except 'Grandmother Sinclair'. She sows seeds of doubt in Jamie's mind, telling him he is not a Sinclair. Her animosity stems from a secret in her own past. This also affects the happiness of her eldest daughter, Maggie, who is on the threshold of discovering it is never too late to experience the tenderness of love. WILL SECRETS FROM THE PAST DESTROY THEIR FUTURE? PERFECT FOR FANS OF NADINE DORRIES, GLENDA YOUNG, DILLY COURT OR SHEILA NEWBERRY. ALSO BY GWEN KIRKWOOD SINCLAIR FAMILY SAGA Book 1: Moorland Mist Book 2: Moorend Farm

     Ari Thorgilsson builds a cargo ship, the Uxi, in a desperate attempt to save the family from poverty and ruin. Ari sails it out of his home in the fjords of Norway to the Orkney Islands and then into the Irish Sea, where a chance encounter makes an enemy of Ivar the Younger, a son of the Danish Viking Ivar the Boneless. While pursued by Ivar the Younger, a storm drives the ship onto the rocky coast of a hostile land, where the ship is wrecked he and the crew are captured by native Britons. Execution or enslavement seem to be their fate. But there is yet hope, for Artgal, king of the British kingdom of Alt Clut, is in need of warriors. He promises Ari a new ship if he and his companions garrison a fortress on the border with the Picts to the north, while he takes an army to fight the Angles in the east. Ari and his friends accept the offer, and plunge into a year of intrigue and battle in the depths of the land that one day will be known as Scotland, testing their mettle and their commitment to their honor. A Pictish invasion seems to spell the end of Ari’s dream of a new ship. And then a fleet of Danish Vikings sails into the River Clut to lay siege to Artgal’s fortress, thrusting that dream well beyond his grasp. Or does it?

    Meanwhile, Ailith is forced to disguise herself as a man and become a troubadour, and Fauston contemplates losing the love of his life, Bonjute, when she returns to England. Roger commands an undermanned city against the army of Saladin, Henry of Deraa comes face to face with Qaymaz, and Richard rides into legend as the Third Crusade comes to a close.

    

     In 1806, the return to St. Louis of Lewis and Clark from their epic journey across the unexplored American West with their tales of untold abundance of valuable furbearers excited the populace. Manuel Lisa, St. Louis businessman and trader with local Indian tribes, responded to such tales by forming an expedition that boated up the Missouri and down the Yellowstone to the mouth of the Bighorn River to establish a fort and trading post. There he initiated trade with the Indians, the principal harvesters of animal furs in America, and sent out his company trappers. Thus begins Ofer’s adventures when his father Yossef released Ofer and his four brothers from their lives as ranchers, to go forth into the American West as fur trappers to satisfy their desires for adventure as foretold by Lewis and Clark. Shortly thereafter, Ofer and his brothers ventured upstream on the Missouri and down the Yellowstone with Lisa, helped construct his fort and then with a mentor named Jan “Bear Trap” Driessen, continued their journey as fur trappers. In the years following, Ofer and his brothers trapped beaver in the lands of the white man-hating Blackfeet and Gros Ventre Indians, battled Indians agitated by competing British fur interests, fought grizzly bears, endured extremes of weather, killed horse thieves and joined the brotherhood of adventurous explorers and fur trappers known today as “Mountain Men”. “Four Scalps” Ofer Tal, Mountain Man, is an epic story of a ‘wilderness man’ whose love for the unexplored American West burrowed into his soul and rested there forever, as did he… Terry Grosz began his 32-year career in wildlife law enforcement in 1966 as a Fish and Game Warden with the California Department of Fish and Game, and later as a Special Agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protecting ‘those’ in the world of wildlife ‘who have little or no voice’… In 1998 he retired from the Service and began a second career as a writer.

    The Brewer children have all grown up and started families of their own and Dovie Pearce is content. She’s married to a wonderful man, Gabe, and her adoptive daughter, Ellie, is a wonderful companion. But one cold March night, the peace is broken with a midnight knock at the door that ends with the cries of an abandoned baby by sunrise. Joy Smith has fallen into her own quiet life. At sixteen, she has little to worry about, until she finds the marriage certificate of her parents that doesn’t make sense. She questions her family members, trying to figure out the mysterious document, but once she discovers the truth, her life is shattered.Jaded by her parent’s lack of trust, Joy finds a kinship with baby Jeffery. When she finds out who the abandoned baby belongs to, she vows to make things right for him. Will her actions give Jeffery the life he deserves or is she putting him in the hands of the very person who will destroy him?

    At its heart is a cast of characters who draw us into their lives from the defeat of Dunkirk to final victory:Tony, a young man barely in his twenties who experiences the horror of Britain’s first defeat and offers his unique talents to the war effort, only to find that his secret work threatens his relationships with those he loves. David, Tony’s elder brother, fighter pilot and hero of the Battle of Britain. Sarah, whose work with the VAD’s brings her into contact with so many, forcing her to choose between a man with loyalty and honour or another with all the characteristics of a coward. Bobby, a young American GI for whom a posting to England brings love and hope. And at the centre of it all, Heronfield, the manor house set amongst the gentle rolling downs of southern England, one time home for Tony and his family and now a war-time hospital.Heronfield, witness to six long years of loyalty and love, anger and hatred, loss and betrayal.

    His first big purchase is a simple beach house in a place called Bluepoint, a town on the far edge of the flexed arm of Cape Cod.It's in Bluepoint, during the summer of 1952, that Arthur's teenage son, Hilly, makes friends with Lem Dawson, a black man whose job it is to take care of the house but whose responsibilities quickly grow. When Hilly finds himself falling for Lem's niece, Savannah, his affection for her collides with his father's dark secrets. The results shatter his family, and hers.Years later, haunted by his memories of that summer, Hilly sets out to find Savannah, in an attempt to right the wrongs he helped set in motion. But can his guilt, and his good intentions, overcome the forces of history, family, and identity?A beautifully told multigenerational story about love and regret, Wise Men confirms that Stuart Nadler is one of the most exciting young writers at work today

    Instead they live out of doors, only minimally protected from the elements, and must travel long and difficult distances each year to protect themselves against the vagaries of weather. As a consequence of the long treks each year these people fail to accumulate tools and treasurers to make their lives easier. Two young friends wish to change the migratory pattern of their people's lives by living through the winter which they call The Dark Times, instead of making the annual, long and hazardous journey southward.

    They say, every wish can be fulfilled. Kito is a little orphan, living in a village, who got to know about a magical tree, that can make his innermost desire true. But at the same time all the other villagers want their desires to be fulfilled as well...

    

    But they may have found one in the shape of the Holy Lance.Bohemond of Taranto realises that the pilgrims must fight or die.But to fight they must know their enemy. Bohemond instructs Edward Kemp, an English knight, to gather intelligence on Kerbogha and the Muslim army. But in attempting to save the crusaders, Edward may damn himself.Triumph and tragedy await on the plains of Antioch, where the course of the crusade - and history - will be altered forever.Recommended for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane & Conn Iggulden.Richard Foreman's new bestselling series on the First Crusade provides an entertaining insight into history - and the significant players in the armed pilgrimage, including Bohemond of Taranto and Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy. Foreman shines a light on the epochal moment, with humour and humanity, which still shapes the story of Europe and the Middle East today.

    Beauregard Kearny be all that he seems? Will he find it in his heart to forgive her when he finds out the whole truth she’s been hiding? Can Summer rise above her misfortune and find true love and happiness?Will they survive what Mother Nature has in store for them?So come on down and hang out with the folks at Laramie including intimidating US Marshal Beauregard Kearny with a menacing smile, happy Mary, and of course beautiful petite feisty Miss Summer Percy from Pennsylvania.… “a story of hope, fear, romance, suspense and true love.” Rayne's Meadow ~ Book #2 Meet Rayne, she ain’t getting any younger, and its slim Pick'ens for eligible men in her tiny Wisconsin town of Taylor falls. What is it that Wyatt Earp’s brother told Rayne that shakes her trust in her fiancé and their love before it even starts? Will she find it in her heart to get over the secret about him that she discovered? Will Mr. Joseph Hunter be all that he seems? Can she find true love and happiness in these Montana Meadows?Mother Nature can be cruel, will they be able to survive what is coming their way? June's Choice ~ Book #3 Meet June Dennings her husband died she’s running out of money there is no good local man left to marry. Her generosity and kindness has her meet a stranger named Belle one fateful afternoon.What is it that she has in here power that can save her fiance’s cattle ranch and their lives? Will she find it in her heart to forgive him when she finds out the whole truth? Can June rise above her misfortune and find true love and happiness?Will they survive what some no good for nothing cattle rustlers have in store for them?So come on down and hang out with the folks at Amarillo including the tall handsome cattle farmer Mr. Jarrod Bedford that scares the heck out of our pretty miss June, the faithful friend foreman Yancey Williams and Belle the attractive strong woman who holds the key to their lives.… “a story of hope, fear, romance, suspense and true love.” April's Dilemma ~ Book 4 Meet April at 23 years old if she doesn’t find a husband soon it will be too late and her native town of Ohio holds no hope for a husband.she had no choice….… waiting for her future husband to appear. Despite her appearance of bravado, her heart thundered, her palms grew clammy, and if knees really could knock, hers would certainly be doing so. For a second she felt a wave of uncertainty passed through her….

    Amongst his few possessions is a dagger which bears an unknown heraldic symbol. He joins a band of mercenaries heading for Venice where the Christians are assembling for the Crusade. On his journey from boy to manhood, discovering a surprisingly natural aptitude for combat, he encounters a secret Brotherhood and their avowed enemy The Order of the Blooded Cross. “The Crusader’s Blade” is the first of three novels that draw heavily on historical detail, intermingling real and fictitious characters and events to give an enthralling portrait of the religious battles of the age.