Book picks similar to
Under the Distant Sky by Al Lacy


fiction
historical
historical-fiction
christian-fiction

Skip Rock Shallows


Jan Watson - 2012
    Her beau, Paul, is doing his residency in Boston and can't understand why Lilly would choose to work in a backwater town. But having grown up in the mountains, Lilly is drawn to the stubborn, superstitious people she encounters in Skip Rock--a town where people live hard and die harder and where women know their place. Lilly soon learns she has a lot to overcome, but after saving the life of a young miner, she begins to earn the residents' trust.As Lilly becomes torn between joining Paul in Boston and her love for the people of Skip Rock, she crosses paths with a handsome miner--one who seems oddly familiar. Her attraction for him grows, even as she wrestles with her feelings and wonders what he's hiding.

The Shunning


Beverly Lewis - 2000
    Why else would her Amish mother, a plain and simple woman who embraces the Old Order laws, hide the beautiful baby dress in the attic? But nothing could have prepared Katie for the startling news that stumbles out of her anguished parents on the eve of her wedding to Bishop John. Will Katie suddenly find herself a stranger in the community she has always called home?

A Rose Blooms Twice


Vikki Kestell - 2012
    . . even to a country she does not know.Set in the American prairie of the late 1800s, this story of loss, disillusionment, rebirth, and love will inspire, challenge, and encourage you.

A Bride for the Texas Ranger


Charlotte Dearing - 2019
    He must, however, work a deal with her. She needs money to save her ranch and he needs access to the spring on her property. Seems simple, right? But nothing’s ever easy with Pearl. The woman is steely and stubborn, but she’s lovely too, with a carefully concealed, vulnerable side. As much as he tries not to notice, thoughts of Pearl distract him plenty. She stirs all sorts of protective notions. He yearns to shield her from the dangerous outlaws that lurk in the nearby canyons. When whispered rumors turn into deadly threats, Levi vows to do whatever it takes to keep Pearl safe.

A Most Precious Gift


Jacqueline Freeman Wheelock - 2014
    Having never cooked a day in her life, she is terrified of being found out and banished to the cotton fields as was her mother before her. But when she accidentally burns the freedom papers of Jonathan Mayfield, a handsome free man of color to whom she's attracted, her fear of the fields becomes secondary.A gifted cabinetmaker, Jonathan Mayfield's heart is set on finally becoming a respected businessman by outfitting a bedroom at the palatial Riverwood—until a beautiful new slave destroys his proof of freedom and his fragile confidence along with it. When the mistress of Riverwood orders Dinah to work alongside the sullen Mr. Mayfield, sparks fly setting the two on a collision course. Is their mutual love for God strong enough to overcome deep-seated insecurities and set the couple on a path toward self-acceptance and love for each other?

Yellow Rose Trilogy: Every Little Thing About You / A Texas Sky / City Girl


Lori Wick - 2002
    

The Wishing Jar


Penelope J. Stokes - 2001
    Widowed at fifty and burdened by the care of an ailing mother and a cantankerous teenaged daughter, Abby wishes her life were simpler and her responsibilities fewer. Abby's daughter, Neal Grace, devastated by the loss of her doting father and the illness of her beloved grandmother, wishes for change, for the chance to break free from other people's expectations. And Abby's mother Edith wishes only to be liberated from life itself.But wishes often backfire. As their wishes begin to come true, the Quinn women start to wonder: Could it be that their old life wasn't so bad after all? Is it possible that the answer to their deepest longings has been right in front of them, all along?

The Gunman's Bride


Catherine Palmer - 2010
    But spirited Laura Rose had made a fresh start for herself. She hadn't left her controlling father in Kansas to let some gun-slinging outlaw ruin her hopes--no matter what scandalous past they shared six years ago. Or how his green eyes beckoned!Rosie was his light in the darkness--Bart would do anything to win back her trust. But he was a wanted man. Would the past, with its dangerous demands and debts, conspire to destroy their new beginning? Or would his faith in God--and in Rosie--be rewarded?

Love Finds You On Christmas Morning


Debby Mayne - 2011
    Love finds a home on Christmas morning in two heartwarming holiday stories. "Deck the Halls" In 1925, the wealthy William Tronnier becomes smitten with the lovely but penniless Lillian Pickard. As Christmas descends on the picturesque town of Cary, North Carolina, William plans to make Lillian a proposal she can't refuse. DEBBY MAYNE is the author of more than a dozen books and lives with her husband in Florida. Read more at www.debbymayne.com. " 'Tis the Season" Nikki Tronnier moves back home in Cary, North Carolina, with plans to buy back the Tronnier family home built by her great-grandfather, William, for his bride, Lillian. But before she is able to make an offer, the handsome Drew Cornell buys the house just before Christmas.

Until the Dawn


Elizabeth Camden - 2015
    Fascinated by Dierenpark, an abandoned mansion high atop a windswept cliff in the Hudson River Valley, Sophie knows no better option despite a lack of permission from the absent owners.The first Vandermark to return to the area in sixty years, Quentin intends to put an end to the shadowy rumors about the property that has brought nothing but trouble upon his family. Ready to tear down the mansion, he is furious to discover a local woman has been trespassing on his land.Instantly at odds, Quentin and Sophie find common ground when she is the only one who can reach his troubled son. There's a light within Sophie that Quentin has never known, and a small spark of the hope that left him years ago begins to grow. But when the secrets of Dierenpark and the Vandermark family history are no longer content to stay in the past, will tragedy triumph or can their tenuous hope prevail?

Gentle Courage


Connie Johnson - 2019
    Though, one month out of the Kansas Territory, Hank disappears leaving Rebecca and Jace, their older son, responsible for finding the wagon train in his absence. Without Hank, Rebecca is forced to kill an outlaw who threatens her and her children. The courageous act thrusts her on a course of unforeseen danger. Rebecca finds it necessary to make one critical decision after another for the survival of her family. Joining the wagon train, Rebecca begins the long journey west. Two thousand miles of untamed wilderness and overwhelming adversities draw her closer to the group of travelers whom she soon considers family. Their strength overshadows her fears of retaliation by the outlaw’s brothers determined to make good on their promise. Music by the campfires, starlit nights, and God’s constant presence make the unrelenting wind and long, hot days bearable. Along with the unexpected romance which catches Rebecca by surprise. Gentle Courage tells the story of a woman with extraordinary faith and courage to give her children a future. With powerful insight, author of the Tales of Hackett County series, Connie Johnson captures the essences of the historical epic of the Oregon Trail seen through the eyes of Rebecca Quaid.

Prelude


JoAnn Durgin - 2014
    Lewis and Sarah Jordan, parents to Sam Lewis, the core character of The Lewis Legacy Series. Prelude gives insights into Sam’s family history in this involving, heartfelt story of family, friendship, and love. A story of never letting go of our dreams, and how faith, sacrifice and trusting our lives to the Lord’s guidance will always triumph over our human fears, temptations, insecurities and frailties. On April 24, 1962, U.S. Air Force Captain Samuel Lewis returns home to small Rockbridge, Texas. Six years older than Sarah, Sam is the boy who moved four doors down when she was ten. A teenager who nicknamed her Tomboy and teased her like an older brother. That boy is now a fully grown, incredibly handsome man who makes her heart race, but what does she know of love or life? In another year, she’ll be able to save the five thousand dollars she needs to attend nursing school in Austin. Besides, everyone in Rockbridge expects Sam to date her older sister, Tess, the prettiest girl in town with the beauty queen titles to prove it. Not to mention Tess announces her intention of marrying Captain Lewis. After his return stateside, Sam Lewis finds Sarah Jordan occupying his favorite pondering spot at Thornton’s Creek. After his years away from home, first at the Air Force Academy and then serving in the Air Force, Sam finds himself unexpectedly drawn to Sarah. The sassy, funny girl he used to tease has grown up into a beautiful, charming woman with wit and intelligence who challenges him more than any other woman he’s ever met. Sarah’s frequent reminders that she’s leaving Rockbridge, along with her encouragement to date any other girl in town, unsettle him. During the eventful summer of 1962, their friendship grows deeper and blossoms into love. Sam knows he can’t hold Sarah back from achieving her dreams. Besides, he has no plans to leave town since he’s stepped into place beside his father as the vice president of Rockbridge Savings & Loan. Sam's heart is torn. All seems hopeless when she tells him it’s her dream to work as a nurse on mission fields across the world. When an unexpected financial gift gives Sarah the needed funds to enter nursing school in the fall, she faces saying good-bye to Sam earlier than expected. Are Sam and Sarah destined to be together or to spend their lives apart? Can these two find a place where their hearts can meet or does the Lord have a much better plan that only He can design? Prelude releases on December 19, 2014.

The Sister Circle


Vonette Bright - 2016
    In a matter of days she opens a busy boardinghouse and must cope with the lives and emotions of the most incompatible group of women ever gathered under one roof. How will a meek woman like Evelyn manage? "The Sister Circle," Book One of this charming contemporary series introduces Peerbaugh Place, the quaint Victorian house that becomes a refuge to seven women of vastly different ages, personalities, and backgrounds. This heartwarming and timeless story reveals their struggles and triumphs, as the women forge a special bond of sisterhood and come together through faith and love.

Eyes of a Stranger


Carol Warburton - 2005
    

Valley of Promises


Bonnie Leon - 2001
    However, the colonists meet resistance from earlier homesteaders in the Valley and their leader, Ray Townsend. Laurel, Will’s daughter, who put aside her own desires and dreams to follow her family to Alaska, finds herself torn between two men vying for her love—Adam, a reporter writing a story on the colony’s experiences, and Robert, a colonist who can offer Laurel the stability she needs. For the colony to survive, they must all learn to trust God’s promises.