Novels

Tug of the Wishbone

Tug of the Wishbone was released December 8, 2016.  It is classified as contemporary fiction, women's fiction, literary fiction, and psychological fiction. Excerpts from this book were published in The South Dakota Review, Frigg, and three other literary magazines. The book is available at Amazon, in print and in Kindle, and at Barnes & Noble , Ingrams, and other outlets.

Maureen doesn’t plan to repeat the mistakes of her divorced parents.  In the 1960's, she and her siblings seek passage from their trauma and a town that thrives on the poultry industry. Maureen pursues photography as a longterm commitment. But in her personal life, she enjoys romance and explores relationships until she ponders real reasons for avoiding marriage. Eventually this leads to a depression that she feels her career can conquer. When a man she would readily date hires her at a magazine and with work that revives her, her future is imperiled.

This subtly psychological novel covers thirty years during a shift in society's approach to relationships. With Minnesota settings, the book's comic relief reflects that resource in Maureen.

"Wonderful story!...Maureen is one of those characters that you root for, you cry for, and you laugh along with ...the environmental settings add to the story and the depth of the journey Maureen takes."  Amy's Bookshelf Reviews

"Beautifully crafted and written...Recommended to all who seek a genuine literary read." - Lance Morcan, author and publisher, Sterling Gate Books

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The Swan Bonnet

A historical novel with a YA protagonist...   

Ebook and paperback are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  The book is also available in hardcover.

Unknown to Dawn, her grandfather has shot an old swan out of mercy. In their coastal Alaskan town, her father buys the swan pelt, preventing her Uncle Alex, a fur trader, from selling it for export. Dawn’s father surprises her part-Aleut mother with a hat she helped to make and also with an idea to catch poachers. Shooting swans has become illegal but Alaska is a territory and Prohibition occupies the Sheriff. Dawn and her mother become involved with suspicious inquiries about the swan bonnet besides its haunting effect. Because Dawn’s grandparents see the swans first, Dawn agrees to secretly watch the migration with the Deputy Sheriff’s son. But after she and her mother encounter women from a ship and find out about a hunting party, they ride to the inlet. There are also townspeople roving the shore but who is the vigilante and who is the poacher?

Cover by Paul Beeley

The Swan Bonnet reached the HarperCollins Editor's Desk at Authonomy.com in 2010.  

"What a relaxing, classic, and vibrant story..."  -  from the HarperCollins Editor's Desk review at Authonomy.com 

"An interesting mix of environmentalism and historical fiction ...the combination works very well." - Heikki Hietala, author of Tulagi Hotel


"Wonderful, resonant book." - Annabelle Page, author of Matty and the Computer Crooks  


"Beautiful characterizations and clear insights into frontier days in the Alaska of the Prohibition era, this historical yarn has much to recommend it." - Sterling Gate Books


"This is a story I will come back to again.  Highly recommended for YA readers and their families." - George Polley, author of The Old Man & the Monkey


"...many readers will find this nostalgic 'study' of individuals in a time and place when life was both simple and complex but 'closer to earth' most thought provoking and enjoyable." - The Historical Novel Society

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