Historical Family Saga

**Deadley Obsession** captivates readers with the gripping tale of two families from starkly different backgrounds. This is part 1- The Seduction of Speed- Frank Cartland is born as the motoring era begins, his family from a lineage of village blacksmiths. Hardships marked his upbringing, yet he carried an unwavering optimism that set him apart. In sharp contrast stands George Marshall, born into old money and privilege. Despite their differences, both men find common ground in a shared, exhilarating passion for racing machines. The scars left by the First World War profoundly influenced ...

Being repeatedly burned out of his home is not something anyone gets used to, but Paul and Maggie Cowan came to know how to survive such events in the Borders area of 16th-century Scotland. Danger and hunger were their constant companions as repeated border wars between the English and Scots continued for centuries. To add to their miseries, general lawlessness by cattle thieves and robbers was the order of the day. This family saga recounts the lives of four generations of Cowans as they struggle for survival in a time of great upheaval. You will read about how decisions made by English ...

1946, Liverpool. Bella Harrison cannot believe the devastating war that stole the lives of her father and sister is truly over at last. She wonders how they will ever rebuild Victory Street with the city in ruins, and half their neighbors gone. But for now, she and her childhood sweetheart, Bobby, are happy newlyweds, doting on Bella’s little son, her child with Black American pilot Earl Franklin Junior.

Against the chaotic backdrop of World War II, Grace Murphy is working as a midwife in Doncaster Royal Infirmary with her two friends, Clodagh and Patsy. In between delivering babies and tending wounded airmen, the girls endure bombing raids, rationing and the hardships and heartbreak that war brings. But in the faces of the new babies she welcomes to the world, Grace always looks for hope, as she dreams of a time when the war will end.

Cliffehaven, 1946. The war is over and those who have spent years fighting behind enemy lines are finally coming home. Peggy Reilly is over the moon that her husband Jim is safely back from Burma. But after the horrors he has endured, adjusting to life at Beach View will not be easy. Can he and Peggy find a way through? Meanwhile evacuee Ruby Clark has much to contend with when her estranged mother turns up, having completed a long prison sentence. There is huge heartache still to come for Ruby, and she will need her Beach View family more than ever.

Bonnie never expected those closest to her to bring the family to ruin. Now she must do everything she can to survive. In the heart of Victorian York, Bonnie Acklam's life takes a harrowing turn when her father, a renowned tailor, is struck blind and their prestigious dressmaking shop falls into disarray, threatening the family's once secure future. Forced into action, Bonnie takes up her father's craft with the help of William, his apprentice. Together, they strive to preserve the shop's reputation, where Bonnie and William form a sweet bond. But when William becomes entangled in a scheme ...

Two years have passed since Hitler swept to power and the Golden Age the Nazis promised has come to pass—for some. When a mysterious fire burns down the factory, the police dismiss the investigation. Seamus will start down a path to finding the truth and discovering who has a grudge against them strong enough to risk everything. Faced with financial ruin, Seamus will have to decide to accept an offer of sale and break up his family or submit to the needs of rearming the Wehrmacht.

Liverpool, 1951: Dora Rodgers is settling into a new life with her daughters Carol and Jackie, moving on from the betrayal of her husband. But then an unexpected knock at the door rips her family in two. Carol is taken away by a welfare officer to live with Dora's estranged husband, Joe. Dora is determined to fight for her child, but she struggles to cope when shocking news from Joe breaks her heart once more.

From the primitive ruggedness of the Amazon rainforest to the privileged society of New York, three generations experience triumph and tragedy in this saga of loyalty, corruption, greed . . . but one woman has the power to change it all. In 1907, Julian Welch and Alan Reid meet by chance in the jungles of the Amazon attracted by the riches of the rubber boom. Pioneers in an era of uncertainty, they form an unlikely alliance and establish the foundation for a successful empire, Reid & Welch. However, with Julian's death, the empire is left to Alan, as is the responsibility for Julian's ...

When the Shepards' car breaks down in pre-World War II New York City, a chain of events occurs that transforms the lives of the Shepards and the Drakes, as Evan and Rachel meet, court, and marry. But betrayal, disappointment, and secret schemes are on the horizon....

Charleston, South Carolina, 1860. For nine long years, Clare Stratford has struggled to understand her mother's final choice. The truth comes at a devastating price. Clare's lifelong love, Dr. David Lazare, risks everything to heal her wounded body. But only the medicine of David's Cheyenne brother, Ésh, can mend Clare's shattered soul.

Betty Slight has never known such misery in the whole of her life. Losing both her parents in the same week, the landlord forces her from her home only days later. At just 17, and with nowhere to go and no hope for a future, she sets off to make her way to London where she prays she can find work, anything to survive now that she’s suddenly on her own. But Simon Bleath, a horrible and miserable man and the landlord’s partner, catches up to her outside the village and takes the last of her innocence in a vile act, leaving her beaten and broken inside and out. But Betty is a fighter. And ...

Germany, 1937. Fear and betrayal stalk the streets. People disappear. Persecution of the Jews has become a national pastime. When Ruth Friedman's husband is arrested by the SS, she is left to fend for herself and her four children. She alone stands as their shield against the Nazis. But where can she go? Where will her family be safe? Ruth must overcome the indifference, hatred and cruelty that surrounds her as she and her family race to escape the advancing Nazi army's final solution.

Caught in the middle... What begins as a quiet summer turns hectic and unsettling as May Rose is burdened by the troubles of the preacher, rivalries among friends, and the potential loss of dear ones. Though discontent and unhappiness abound, she’s uplifted by the blooming of other hearts and encouraged by the return of two people she never thought she’d see again. Hearts and Souls is the ninth book in the Mountain Women Series, bringing to life the struggles, triumphs, friendships and loves of women in a small West Virginia town in the early 1900s. ––––––––––––...

Elaine Littau is the best selling author of ten published books and many magazine and newspaper articles. She is a mentor/coach for other authors and enjoys teaching book marketing techniques as well as public speaking for groups. Many enjoy listening to her humorous take on life. Even the most simple activity takes on a life of it's own when Elaine is involved in the telling of it. Some of her favorite events have been speaking to young people about pursuing their dreams. She has been a church secretary, led women's groups, taught pre-school and Sunday school, and was a mentor for the ...

Nobel Reeves had his hands full when he found a little toddler wandering in the tall grass of the Great Plains. Who was this child? Where were her parents? How would he evade the law long enough to see that she was safe? Would he ever have a home of his own or was he to remain a fugitive? Kidnapped on her way home from school, fifteen-year-old Myrtle Jennings finds herself in the clutches of unsavory men. Their intent is to give her over to their boss who gathers young girls for his traveling brothel. She must escape, but how? If she does get away, how will her family and friends accept her...

In 1894, 12-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie, and he's wanted by the troopers. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. "You'll never catch me alive," said he....

Dashing French pirate Jean-Philippe Beauvisage revels in a life of complete freedom...until the night at a ball in Georgian London, when a Russian beauty quietly steals his heart. Heartbroken Antonia Varyshkova, who has lost her parents and her home in a St. Petersburg fire, stops in London en route to a new life with her brother in America. When her arrogant ship's captain, Tobias Ormond, insists that she attend a ball with him, Antonia reluctantly agrees.

Life after the State Department was supposed to be a peaceful respite for Mike Lacondeguy, but an unlikely friend and the Russian mob surfaced with other plans. In FISHING WITH TOLSTOY, the exhilarating introduction to The New Americans trilogy, ex-diplomat Mike Lacondeguy snaps out of his retirement blues and into a world of deception and betrayal. This time, the fight is on his turf. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine draws two Cold War adversaries back into the game to stop the hostilities from escalating. Mike worked with the State Department for three decades in and around Russia, while ...

Thomasin Marwood is one of Queen Catherine's ladies-in-waiting at the court of Henry VIII, and she does not trust Lady Anne Boleyn. But when an accident forces Thomasin and her family to take refuge at the Boleyn family home at Hever Castle, Thomasin is entrusted with an unexpected mission by Anne's mother.