A first love is never easily forgotten... and coming face to face with that person again can be awkward when the heartstrings are still holding on to the “what ifs.” In settings from 1865 to 1910, nine couples are thrown back on the same path by life’s changes and challenges. A neighbor returns from law school. An heiress seeks a quick marriage. A soldier’s homecoming is painful. A family needs help. A prodigal son returns. A rogue aeronaut drops from the sky. A runaway bridegroom comes home. A letter for aid is sent. A doctor needs a nurse. Can love rekindle despite the separation of time and space? First Things First by Susanne Dietze 1877 – South Texas: Texas rancher’s daughter Georgie Bridge mourned when her first love, Ward Harper, left town to study the law, but now he’s back—as opposing counsel in a case against her father. A Most Reluctant Bride by Cynthia Hickey 1880 – Ozark foothill ranch: Maggie Spoonmore marries her father’s former foreman, Zach Colton in order to salvage her reputation, yet struggles to believe he married her for love and not her inheritance. Weeping Willow by Marcia Gruver May of 1861 – Port Royal, Virginia: In Civil War Virginia, tables are turned for Willow Bates when Julian Finney, her childhood crush and steadfast defender, returns from the war a broken man in need of rescue. His Anchor by Carrie Fancett Pagels 1894 – Mackinac Island, Michigan: Robert Swaine, a ship captain, returns to Mackinac Island where his first love, Sadie Duvall struggles to support her siblings. Will she anchor him to the island he has vowed to leave behind? After the Ball by Martha Rogers 1910 – Dallas, Texas: Chase Thornton, a wealthy oil man yearns for the life of a cowboy and his first love, Susannah King, but can she trust him to keep his word to leave the city and stay on the ranch? Lighter Than Air by Lorna Seilstad 1900 – St. Louis, Missouri: After Titus Knott crashes his hot air balloon behind Ella Mason’s boarding school, he must convince his former sweetheart that his words are true and not full of hot air. In Due Season by Connie Stevens 1901 – Whitley, Kansas: Leah Brown accepts her role of town spinster until Gareth Shepherd unexpectedly steps back into her life. Now she’s faced with a choice. Can she forgive the man who jilted her? Heartfelt Echoes by Jennifer Uhlarik 1875—Virginia City, Nevada: A short, urgent letter mentioning his childhood love, Millie Gordon, forces deaf Travis McCaffrey to turn to his estranged birth father for help rescuing the woman he can’t forget. Prescription for Love by Erica Vestch 1905 – New Orleans: Erstwhile fiancée Natalie Morrison is the last person Dr. Mackenzie wants as his new nurse, but when an epidemic hits, Phin finds she’s come back into his life at the perfect time.
In a land fraught with religious strife, they must break the barriers between status and faith to forge a fresh future in a new world...After her Huguenot father is arrested, aristocrat Suzanne Richelieu escapes Versailles. Handsome German peasant, Johan Rousch, risks his life to bring her to the safety of his family’s farm in the Palatinate duchy, but when Suzanne’s brother and the French army arrive with a warning that they plan to burn the area, she and Johan are forced to flee. With no money or options, both become indentured servants in exchange for safe passage to Philadelphia. Suzanne falls gravely ill aboard ship and marries Johan, only to survive with no memory of the wedding—a reality made worse when Johan spots the “priest” who married them working as a surveyor and later in Quaker cleric garb. Are their wedding vows valid? When Suzanne's former fiancé arrives in port, planning to abduct her, Johan must save her again—but can he do so before Suzanne is lost to him forever?
4 Teachers Find More Than They Bargained for in Their Contracts Something Old, Something New by Kathleen L. Maher New York, 1840s Her father’s sudden death makes Gilda Jacobs the new schoolmaster, but to teach Christian curriculum she partners with fire-and-brimstone revivalist Joshua Blake, who learns a lesson in love. Love in Any Language by Susanne Dietze Kansas, 1870 Mary Clarence teaches English to the children of Swedish immigrants, but when her favorite students’ widowed father, Kristofer Nilsson, is accused of robbery, she’s determined to clear his name. In Desperate Straits by Carrie Fancett Pagels Mackinac Island, Michigan, 1894 Desperate for work, Margaret Hadley dresses as a young man to secure a dray driver’s position. When soldiers at the fort threaten her, Mackinac Island’s newest teacher, Jesse Huntington, intervenes. A Song in the Night by Rita Gerlach Virginia, 1904 Karin Wiles longs to share the uplifting power of music with children. But when she seeks to improve a poorly run school and include orphans, Nathaniel Archer delivers harsh words of opposition from the school board.
The Grand Hotel Slowly Reveals Her Secrets Walk through Doors to the Past via a new series of historical stories of romance and adventure. Two successful women, a hundred-and-twenty-years apart, build walls to protect their hearts. Modern-day Willa, a successful interior decorator, is chosen to go to Mackinac Island and consult for the Grand Hotel’s possible redesign. During work on a room, she discovers a journal detailing the struggles of a young woman, Lily—which reveals dark secrets. The renowned singer wasn’t who she pretended to be. As Willa reaches out to Lily’s descendant, a charismatic and prominent landscape artist, she lets down her guard. Should she share the journal with him—revealing hidden history—or once again erect a wall as she struggles to redesign both the Grand and her life? CARRIE FANCETT PAGELS, Ph.D., awarding-winning author of over twenty Christian fiction books, is a former psychologist of 25 years and enjoys spending her summers at the Straits of Mackinac, where this story is set.
Journey now to Mackinac Island where... A Tangled Gilded Age Love Story Unfolds. Although the Winds of Mackinac Inn has been in her mother’s family for generations, Maude Welling’s father refuses to let her run it without the guidance of a husband. So she seeks to prove her worth and independence by working incognito as a maid at the Grand Hotel. Undercover journalist Ben Steffans, posing as a wealthy industrialist, pursues a story about impoverished men chasing heiresses at the famed hotel. While undercover, he becomes attracted to an intriguing maid. By an act of heroism Ben endears himself to the closed-mouthed islanders—including Maude—and he digs deep for his story. But when scandal threatens, will the growing love between Maude and Ben be scuttled when truths are revealed? More from My Heart Belongs in Series... My Heart Belongs in Fort Bliss: Priscilla's Reveille by Erica Vetsch (January 2017) My Heart Belongs in the Superstition Mountains: Carmella's Quandary by Susan Page Davis (March 2017) My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho: Rebecca's Plight by Susanne Dietze (May 2017) My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley: Lily's Dilemma by Andrea Boeshaar (September 2017)
Seven women seek husbands to help them rebuild a Kansas town. Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas’, finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn’t return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved? Abigail’s Proposal by Cynthia Hickey When her father never returned from the war, Abigail Melton stepped into his role as town mayor. The town needs men, and she needs a husband—and she has a big idea how to find both—but her first duty is to hire a sheriff. And drifter Josiah Ingram will do just fine. The Kidnapped Groom by Susan Page Davis Riding through the Flint Hills on his way to Dodge City, cowboy Sam Cayford finds himself the kidnapping victim of two children. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner—whom the kids insist he should marry—Sam starts to question God’s plans versus his own. A Clean Slate by Susanne Dietze Schoolmarm Roberta “Birdy” Green won’t marry any of the prospective grooms flocking to town. After losing her fiancé in the war, the only love her broken heart can bear is for her students. But then she takes on a new pupil—Drew Cooper, one of the gentlemen drawn to Kansas by the advertisement for grooms. Sunshine of My Heart by Darlene Franklin Debbie Barker longs to bring beauty to her new home on the prairie, where her family moved after the war, and seeks a husband to help her father run the ranch. Zack Gage returned home from the war to a life in ruins—family dead and business bankrupted. He answers the mail-order husband ad to seek a fresh start. But neither Debbie nor Zeke know what they are doing when it comes to ranching. . .or love. Come What May by Patty Smith Hall Chardy Stevens is at the end of her rope. Between running her late father’s store and tending to her four younger brothers, she barely has time to breathe, much less look for a husband to help her. The boys scare off most of her prospects and throw Chardy together with her childhood friend Luke, a disabled veteran who seeks her happiness above his own. Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn—and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has no plans of finding a mail-order groom. Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a “cowboy holiday” when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas. When he answers an old “help wanted” ad, Caroline misconstrues Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful and fiesty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home? Louder than Words by Gina Welborn After years of writing abolitionist pamphlets and chronicling soldier life during the war, J.R. Lockhart is bored and jumps at the opportunity to investigate an advertisement for husbands for an article in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Jane Ransome would like to help the charming-but-oblivious-to-life-out-West man chronicle the courtships developing in town, but she has her own husband to find—one who will fit perfectly in her picket-fenced Kansas home.
Lighthouses have long been the symbol of salvation, warning sailors away from dangerous rocks and shallow waters. Along the Great Lakes, America’s inland seas, lighthouses played a vital role in the growth of the nation. They shepherded settlers traveling by water to places that had no roads. These beacons of light required constant tending even in remote and often dangerous places. Brave men and women battled the elements and loneliness to keep the lights shining. Their sacrifice kept goods and immigrants moving. Seven romances set between 1883 and 1911 bring hope to these lonely keepers and love to weary hearts. Anna’s Tower by Pegg Thomas 1883—Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse Anna Wilson's plan to be the next lighthouse keeper is endangered when Maksim Ivanov is shipwrecked on Thunder Bay Island. Handsome and capable, he could steal her dream. Or provide a new one. Beneath a Michigan Moon by Candice Sue Patterson 1885—New Presque Isle Lighthouse Ava Ryan’s father has passed, leaving her alone, and ill, to tend the light with nowhere else to go. Logging foreman Benjamin Colfax needs the height of the lighthouse to determine the best cutting route, but he senses something amiss in Ava and her determination to remain reclusive. Can he get her to open up, or will she keep herself locked away? Safe Haven by Rebecca Jepson 1892—Old Mission Point Lighthouse Rose Miller was found on the lighthouse doorstep as an infant, and now she must hide her quest to find the child who left her there from Captain Nathan Perry, the man she loves to hate. Love’s Beacon by Carrie Fancett Pagels 1898—Round Island Lighthouse Valerie Fillman's best hope for a future lies on the tiny island that holds her worst memories. Can Paul Sholtus, the new lightkeeper, and his daughter help bring healing? And love? The Last Memory by Kathleen Rouser 1899—Mackinac Point Lighthouse Natalie Brooks loses her past to amnesia, and Cal Waterson, the lighthouse keeper who rescues her, didn’t bargain on risking his heart—when her past might change everything. The Disappearing Ship by Lena Nelson Dooley 1902—Whitefish Point Lighthouse Romance and mystery collide at Whitefish Point Lighthouse when unemployed doctor Norma Kimbell and Drake Logan, owner of a steamship line, search for evidence of a supposed shipwreck. The Wrong Survivor by Marilyn Turk 1911—Au Sable Lighthouse Lydia Palmer's dream for happiness as a lighthouse keeper's wife shatters when her fiancé Nathan Drake drowned in a shipwreck, but his brother Jesse survived.
Meet nine men and women whose competitive goals take them to state and county fairs between 1889 and 1930. From baking pie to polishing pigs, from sculpting butter to stitching quilts, everyone has something to prove to themselves and their communities. But in going for the blue ribbon, will nine women miss the greatest prize of all—the devoted heart of a godly man?
Love on Colonial America’s Frontier Travel into Colonial America where eight women seek love, but they each know a future husband requires the necessary skills to survive in the backcountry. Living in areas exposed to nature’s ferocity, prone to Indian attack, and cut off from regular supplies, can hearts overcome the dangers to find lasting love? Shenandoah Hearts by Carrie Fancett Pagels 1754 - Great Wagon Road, into the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia) As the French-Indian War commences, Magda Sehler wonders if Jacob Owens lost his mind to have abandoned his Philadelphia business and moved to the Shenandoah Valley. Or has he lost his heart? Heart of Nantahala by Jennifer Hudson Taylor 1757 - (North Carolina) Joseph Gregory plans to buy a lumber mill, but Mabel Walker becomes a formidable opponent. When she’s forced to make a painful decision, she must choose between survival and love. Her Redcoat by Pegg Thomas 1763 - Fort Michilimackinac (Michigan) during Pontiac’s Rebellion Laurette Pettigrew grew up in the northern frontier. Henry Bedlow arrived against his will. Their chance meeting changes everything. Will a deadly clash of cultures keep them from finding happiness? A Heart So Tender by Debra E. Marvin 1764 – (New York) As thousands of Native warriors converge on Fort Niagara, jaded British Lieutenant Archibald Walsh and idealistic schoolmistress Susannah Kimball learn the greatest risk lies in guarding their hearts. A Worthy Groom by Angela K. Couch 1771 - Sapling Grove settlement on the Holston River (Tennessee) The Cowden temper has been Marcus’s lifelong bane. A trait Lorinda Cowden curses. Now, winning the heart of his bride hinges on fighting a war without raising a fist. Across Three Autumns by Denise Weimer 1778-1780 – (Georgia) Fighting Loyalists and Indians, Jenny White settles for strength over love . . .until Scottish scout Caylan McIntosh leads her family on a harrowing exodus out of Georgia’s Revolutionary “Hornet’s Nest.” The Counterfeit Tory by Shannon McNear 1781 – (South Carolina) Tasked with infiltrating an infamous Tory gang, Jed Wheeler has no wish to endanger the leader’s cousin, Lizzy Cunningham. He risks not only his life. . .but his heart. Love’s Undoing by Gabrielle Meyer 1792 - Fur Post on the Upper Mississippi River (Minnesota) When Englishman Henry Kingsley meets Abi McCrea, the daughter of a Scottish fur trader and Indian mother, will their worlds keep them apart, or have they finally found somewhere they truly belong?
Selah Award finalistWhen new lumberjack, Tom Jeffries, tells the camp cook, Jo Christy, that he'll marry her if she can make a fruitcake, "as good as the one my mother makes," she rises to the occasion. After all, he's the handsomest, smartest, and strongest axman her camp-boss father has ever had in his camp-and the cockiest. And she intends to bring this lumberjack down a notch or three by refusing his proposal. The fruitcake wars are on! All the shanty boys and Jo's cooking helpers chip in with their recipes but Jo finds she'll have to enlist more help-and begins corresponding with Tom's mother.Step back in time to 1890, in beautiful Northern Michigan, near the sapphire straits of Mackinac, when the white pines were "white gold" and lumber camps were a way of life. Jo is ready to find another life outside of the camps and plans that don't include any shanty boys. But will a lumberjack keep her in the very place she's sworn to leave?
Experience a Dickens of a Christmas Faced with the daily extremes of gluttony and want in the Victorian Era, nine women seek to create the perfect Christmas celebrations. But will expectations and pride cause them to overlook imperfect men who offer true love? One Golden Ring by C.J. Chase 1855 Devonshire, England Wounded soldier Tristram Nowell returns home to indulge his mother’s wish for a family Christmas—and encounters Marianna Granville. Can he forgive the former heiress who jilted him years before? Star of Wonder by Susanne Dietze 1875 County Durham, England This Yuletide, Bennet Hett, Lord Harwood, offers Lady Celeste Sidwell matrimony and the Star of Wonder diamond necklace, as their fathers arranged. When the diamond disappears, will they find a greater treasure? The Holly and the Ivy by Rita Gerlach 1900 near Washington, DC A glass ornament. Love letters tied in red Christmas ribbon. Lily Morningstar and British antiquities expert Andrew Stapleton are drawn into a family secret that binds their hearts together. Love Brick by Brick by Kathleen L. Maher 1857 Elmira, New York SarahAnn Winnifred overcomes orphanhood apprenticing with pioneering doctors. Rufus Sedgwick, relocating his English estate, seeks help for his ailing Mum. Christmas reveals the secret wish of both hearts—for love. A Christmas Vow by Gabrielle Meyer 1899 Cambrigeshire, England Lady Ashleigh Arrington is hosting a houseful of guests for Christmas when railroad executive Christopher Campbell unexpectedly arrives from America with a mysterious agreement signed by their fathers before their birth. The Sugarplum Ladies by Carrie Fancett Pagels 1867 Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and Detroit, Michigan When Canadian barrister Percy Gladstone finds his aristocratic British family unexpectedly descending upon him for Christmas, he turns to American social reformer Eugenie Mott and her fledgling catering crew for help. Paper Snowflake Christmas by Vanessa Riley 1837 Framlingham, England How can widow Ophelia Hanover give her son a perfect Christmas when his guardian, the Earl of Litton, arrives early to take permanent custody of the boy? Father Christmas by Lorna Seilstad 1880 Blackpool, England Widowed harpist Beatrix Kent believes love can only come once in a lifetime, but this Christmas, carpenter Hugh Sherman hopes to pull on the musician’s heartstrings and prove her wrong. The Perfect Christmas by Erica Vetsch 1887 London, England Melisande Verity might be in over her head trying to create the perfect Christmas window display, but if she succeeds, will she finally attract the attention of her boss, Gray Garamond?
The Grand Hotel Slowly Reveals Her Secrets Walk through Doors to the Past via a new series of historical stories of romance and adventure. Two successful women, a hundred-and-twenty-years apart, build walls to protect their hearts. Modern-day Willa, a successful interior decorator, is chosen to go to Mackinac Island and consult for the Grand Hotel’s possible redesign. During work on a room, she discovers a journal detailing the struggles of a young woman, Lily—which reveals dark secrets. The renowned singer wasn’t who she pretended to be. As Willa reaches out to Lily’s descendant, a charismatic and prominent landscape artist, she lets down her guard. Should she share the journal with him—revealing hidden history—or once again erect a wall as she struggles to redesign both the Grand and her life? CARRIE FANCETT PAGELS, Ph.D., awarding-winning author of over twenty Christian fiction books, is a former psychologist of 25 years and enjoys spending her summers at the Straits of Mackinac, where this story is set.
Journey now to Mackinac Island where... A Tangled Gilded Age Love Story Unfolds. Although the Winds of Mackinac Inn has been in her mother’s family for generations, Maude Welling’s father refuses to let her run it without the guidance of a husband. So she seeks to prove her worth and independence by working incognito as a maid at the Grand Hotel. Undercover journalist Ben Steffans, posing as a wealthy industrialist, pursues a story about impoverished men chasing heiresses at the famed hotel. While undercover, he becomes attracted to an intriguing maid. By an act of heroism Ben endears himself to the closed-mouthed islanders—including Maude—and he digs deep for his story. But when scandal threatens, will the growing love between Maude and Ben be scuttled when truths are revealed? More from My Heart Belongs in Series... My Heart Belongs in Fort Bliss: Priscilla's Reveille by Erica Vetsch (January 2017) My Heart Belongs in the Superstition Mountains: Carmella's Quandary by Susan Page Davis (March 2017) My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho: Rebecca's Plight by Susanne Dietze (May 2017) My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley: Lily's Dilemma by Andrea Boeshaar (September 2017)
Meet nine men and women whose competitive goals take them to state and county fairs between 1889 and 1930. From baking pie to polishing pigs, from sculpting butter to stitching quilts, everyone has something to prove to themselves and their communities. But in going for the blue ribbon, will nine women miss the greatest prize of all—the devoted heart of a godly man?
A first love is never easily forgotten... and coming face to face with that person again can be awkward when the heartstrings are still holding on to the “what ifs.” In settings from 1865 to 1910, nine couples are thrown back on the same path by life’s changes and challenges. A neighbor returns from law school. An heiress seeks a quick marriage. A soldier’s homecoming is painful. A family needs help. A prodigal son returns. A rogue aeronaut drops from the sky. A runaway bridegroom comes home. A letter for aid is sent. A doctor needs a nurse. Can love rekindle despite the separation of time and space? First Things First by Susanne Dietze 1877 – South Texas: Texas rancher’s daughter Georgie Bridge mourned when her first love, Ward Harper, left town to study the law, but now he’s back—as opposing counsel in a case against her father. A Most Reluctant Bride by Cynthia Hickey 1880 – Ozark foothill ranch: Maggie Spoonmore marries her father’s former foreman, Zach Colton in order to salvage her reputation, yet struggles to believe he married her for love and not her inheritance. Weeping Willow by Marcia Gruver May of 1861 – Port Royal, Virginia: In Civil War Virginia, tables are turned for Willow Bates when Julian Finney, her childhood crush and steadfast defender, returns from the war a broken man in need of rescue. His Anchor by Carrie Fancett Pagels 1894 – Mackinac Island, Michigan: Robert Swaine, a ship captain, returns to Mackinac Island where his first love, Sadie Duvall struggles to support her siblings. Will she anchor him to the island he has vowed to leave behind? After the Ball by Martha Rogers 1910 – Dallas, Texas: Chase Thornton, a wealthy oil man yearns for the life of a cowboy and his first love, Susannah King, but can she trust him to keep his word to leave the city and stay on the ranch? Lighter Than Air by Lorna Seilstad 1900 – St. Louis, Missouri: After Titus Knott crashes his hot air balloon behind Ella Mason’s boarding school, he must convince his former sweetheart that his words are true and not full of hot air. In Due Season by Connie Stevens 1901 – Whitley, Kansas: Leah Brown accepts her role of town spinster until Gareth Shepherd unexpectedly steps back into her life. Now she’s faced with a choice. Can she forgive the man who jilted her? Heartfelt Echoes by Jennifer Uhlarik 1875—Virginia City, Nevada: A short, urgent letter mentioning his childhood love, Millie Gordon, forces deaf Travis McCaffrey to turn to his estranged birth father for help rescuing the woman he can’t forget. Prescription for Love by Erica Vestch 1905 – New Orleans: Erstwhile fiancée Natalie Morrison is the last person Dr. Mackenzie wants as his new nurse, but when an epidemic hits, Phin finds she’s come back into his life at the perfect time.
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