Introduction of “Reflections” and Cleared for Planting

Welcome to the launch of “Reflections –  Past, Present, and Future with God.” As a former history teacher, I find that reflecting gives me a better perspective, allows me to make better choices now, and enables me to have a more joy in the future with God’s direction. I hope the same for you.

I’m a writer. For more information about me, go to the “About” page.  I have manuscripts written in the categories of historical Christian fiction, Christian romance, contemporary Christian, young adult Christian, and Christian non-fiction.

My first book, published by Ambassador International, a Christian publisher out of Greenville, SC and Belfast, Ireland, is scheduled to be released in November. In Part One of Cleared for Planting , in 1804, Emma Cagle and her family move from the flatlands of North Carolina to the mountains of what would become Watauga County.                             

                

Emma hopes the move will give them a new start. Her family has been poor tenant farmers, and her father’s drinking problem has made life even harder. When they finally make it up the mountain, a mishap causes her to meet the Moretz family. Edgar seems interested in her, and she even likes his teasing ways. But life on a mountain farm can be rough, and tragedy takes many forms.

Edgar helps Emma understand the Christian faith better, and she relies on God when she’s captured by the Cherokee. Ironically, it’s Edgar’s faith that falters for a while. Can they clear the problems in the same way they clear the land for planting?

In Part Two, Clifton, Emma’s son, has just returned home after completing his medical training. He looks forward to spending a summer in the mountains he loves, while he tries to make decisions about his future. He meets a pretty red-head, and at first thinks she may be the woman meant for him, but she proves self-centered, materialistic, and a social climber.

When Connell O’Leary and his Cherokee wife come to visit, Clifton is taken with their beautiful daughter, but he’s afraid someone so attractive must have hidden flaws. What he hadn’t planned on was the trouble his first interest would cause or the prejudice many hold against the Indians.

I hope you fall in love with these characters the way I have. I still tear up when I get to a certain point in the book, although I’ve read through it many times. I laugh at myself then. Don’t worry, though. All my books tend to have happy endings. I think fiction needs to do that to compensate for the real life ones don’t always. But, for the Christian, the best happy ending of all will come in Heaven, so all of my books contain a thread of faith.