Book picks similar to
Beneath a Dakota Cross by Stephen Bly
western
westerns
historical-fiction
fiction
The Writing Desk
Rachel Hauck - 2017
Now that her second book is due, she’s locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer’s block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart’s been missing.A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she’ll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn’t know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand new way all on her own.Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.
Deadman's Revenge (The Deadman Series Book 3)
Linell Jeppsen - 2014
Heartsick, he traces a convoluted trail of murder, mayhem and deceit… from the high gates of the Walla Walla State penitentiary, to Seattle and on into Billings, Montana. Although Matthew feels that he must bear the burden of a “deadman’s revenge” by himself, he will find help and succor in his travels from his friends, Sheriff Roy Smithers, Deputy Dicky McNulty, Calamity Jane, Liver Eating Johnson… and his son Chance. Deadman’s Revenge- Book three of the best-selling, award-winning series of novels, Deadman’s Fury and Deadman’s Lament
The Ringmaster's Wife
Kristy Cambron - 2016
As the daughter of an earl, she’s grown up with every comfort money can buy. But when hard times befall the family’s Yorkshire estate in the aftermath of the Great War, Rosamund’s father sells her beloved horse, setting the stage for a series of events that would extend beyond even her wildest dreams.Though expected to marry for a title instead of love, Rosamund feels called to a different life – one of adventure outside the confines of a ladies’ parlor. She abandons all she’s known and follows in pursuit as her horse is shipped to the new owner – an American entertainer by the name of John Ringling. Once introduced to the Ringling Brothers’ circus and knowing she has much to learn, Rosamund agrees to a bareback riding apprenticeship in the shadow of the Ringlings’ winter home—Ca’D’Zan. It is at that mansion, in what would become the last days of the enigmatic Mable Ringling’s life, that Rosamund finds a deeper sense of purpose in the life she’s been given, and the awakening of faith in her heart.With a supporting cast of characters as mysterious and dazzling as the Ringlings’ big-top world, Rosamund’s journey takes her from the tradition of the English countryside to the last days of America’s Roaring ‘20s—a journey that forever changes what one life might have been.
Delivered with Love
Sherry Kyle - 2011
Claire James, age twenty-three, is ready to make it on her own. When she's fired from her job as a waitress and subsequently kicked out of her sister's home, she sees it as an opportunity to start over. But even before moving, a thirty-five-year-old love letter written to her mother keeps Claire stuck in the past. Michael Thompson, a middle-aged real estate agent, wants to keep the past where it belongs--at least until his grown daughter is married. But, then a young woman comes to town . . .
Send Down the Rain
Charles Martin - 2018
She'd already lost the beloved waterfront restaurant her parents started and now losing her husband, no matter how unfulfilling their marriage was, might just push her over the edge.Joseph's time in Vietnam left him with scars that never seemed to heal. No matter how he's tried to love or what he's tried to do since then, he can't pull himself out of the wreckage of his former life. His trust and security shaken, he isolates himself in a cabin. But every morning, he faithfully pours two cups of coffee, drinking his while he sits with the second, and then pouring out the full cup.It's no small coincidence that Joseph found a mother and her two young children lost in the woods near his cabin. Or that when he helps them return to family in Florida, he's near enough to see that explosion. Near enough to know it's close to home. Near enough to know that his childhood sweetheart needs him.The years have built so much distance between them, but it's the secrets that may be their final undoing. Send Down the Rain reminds us of the beauty of truth . . . and the power of love to wash away the past.
The Apothecary's Daughter
Julie Klassen - 2009
Villagers whisper the tale, but her father refuses to discuss it. All the while, she dreams of the world beyond—of travel and adventure and romance.When a relative offers to host her in London, Lilly discovers the pleasures and pitfalls of fashionable society and suitors, as well as clues about her mother. But will Lilly find what she is searching for—the truth of the past and a love for the future?
While We're Far Apart
Lynn Austin - 2010
Young Esther is heartbroken when her father decides to enlist in the army shortly after the death of her mother. Penny Goodrich has been in love with Eddie Shaffer for as long as she can remember; now that Eddie's wife is dead, Penny feels she has been given a second chance and offers to care for his children in the hope that he will finally notice her and marry her after the war. And elderly Mr. Mendel, the landlord, waits for the war to end to hear what has happened to his son trapped in war torn Hungary. But during the long, endless wait for victory overseas, life on the home front will go from bad to worse. Yet these characters will find themselves growing and changing in ways they never expected and ultimately discovering truths about God's love. . .even when He is silent.
Even Still
Hannah Jo Abbott - 2017
At twenty-two she thought she would be graduating from college and starting a career. But the loss of her parents changed everything, and instead she spends her days working as a waitress and spends her nights, weekends, and everything in between taking care of her five younger siblings. Now her life is completely focused on her family, and despite the urging of those close to her, she doesn’t find time for a life of her own. When Russell Pierce returns to his childhood hometown he is eager to focus on success in his new career. Meeting Paige wasn’t part of his plan either, but once he does he can’t stop thinking about her and how he wants to help her. But she can’t let go of her fears, and refuses to allow him to get close. Will she ever be able to open up and consider a life with anyone? Is she ready to give life a second chance?
A Hearth in Candlewood
Delia Parr - 2006
She finds her purpose in caring for her guests, ministering to them with a generous dose of wisdom and humor. But when a "runaway grandma" lands on her doorstep, Emma's need to fix every wrong places her in the midst of a family feud.Emma's concerns heighten when her attorney, Zachary Breckenwith, delivers life-changing news, leaving Emma reeling from the implications. With her future suddenly uncertain, Emma longs to restore the peace of Hill House--for her guests and within her own heart.FIND A WELCOME RETREAT IN CANDLEWOOD AS YOU EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY, FRIENDSHIP, AND FAITH IN THE LIVES OF ITS QUAINT AND COLORFUL CHARACTERS.
Will Fain, U. S. Marshal
R.O. Lane - 2016
S. Marshal sent into West Texas by President U. S. Grant. He comes to West Texas with six of the finest thoroughbred horses to build a life and build up a horse ranch in San Angelo, Texas, which becomes his base of operations. Fain seeks to establish law and order at a time when the U.S. Cavalry is in constant battle with Comanches and Kiowas. Soldiers desert regularly and often become criminals themselves. People without a conscience, murderers, robbers, rapists, counterfeiters, card sharps are all over West Texas. Fain seeks to bring to justice the worst of the worst criminals. Fain and his deputy, a former Buffalo Soldier named Isum Wood, have encounters with cattle rustlers, buffalo hunters, card sharps and a host other criminals. Will finds that horse racing is the favorite pastime of westerners, so be races his thoroughbreds against the finest quarterhorses in the West. While these criminals inhabit Fain's work world, he finds great joy by marrying a widow with two children, who give purpose to his life and bring him the greatest love he's ever known.
The Lawmen
Robert Vaughan - 2003
In Risco, Texas, John Carmack and Charley Dawson had both held the office of sheriff and built two competing basis of support. But the rivals shared a granddaughter, Lucy, born to Charley's son and John's daughter. Now, Lucy Goodnight has come back to Risco with a desperate Plea: Her banker husband has disappeared. And while most people think he was in on the bank heist, Lucy is sure he was forced to help rob the bank and is now a prisoner of a vicious outlaw gang. For Lucy, the two former lawmen will put aside their differences and strap on their guns one more. In a town where they have nothing but enemies, they must use their wits, their courage, and their skill to free an innocent man, and against a hail of hate and lead, live or die side by side...
The Widow's Plight
Mary Davis - 2018
She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future? Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first, but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother. Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
Blowing on Dandelions
Miralee Ferrell - 2013
In 1880, three years after her husband’s death, she struggles to run an Oregon boardinghouse and raise two girls alone. Things don't get easier when her critical, domineering mother moves in. Katherine must make the situation work, but standing up for herself and her family while honoring her mother isn't easy. And with a daughter entering the teenage years, the pressure on Katherine becomes close to overwhelming. Then she crosses paths with Micah Jacobs, a widower who could reignite her heart, but she fears a relationship with him might send things over the edge. She must find the strength, wisdom, hope, and faith to remake her life, for everything is about to change.
Waiting for Summer's Return
Kim Vogel Sawyer - 2006
With her husband and children lost to illness, she has no desire to continue on farther west to where she and her husband planned to build their future. Instead, she seeks employment in a small Mennonite community in order to be near the graves of her family. Widower Peter Ollenburger, the local gristmill owner, needs someone to teach his young son. When he hears of a "learned woman" in town, he believes she is the answer to his prayers. He soon discovers, however, that helping this outsider may have troublesome consequences. There is little this father will not do for his son, but as the boy begins to look at Summer as more than a teacher, Peter must make a choice. Does he marry this woman to give his son a new mother, or does he marry only for love? Will Summer's broken heart ever be able to love again?