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Historical Suspense & Historical Adventure
Paranormal Suspense & Paranormal Mystery

THE WILDE FLOWER SAGA: A CONTRARY WIND

Revolutionary France and the seas all around
In the war-torn world of 1795, Kate Senlis, an American seabound healer, is caught in European waters between countries and accusations of espionage. When she's captured by French Revolutionaries, who now call themselves Republicans, they toss her into prison with a nasty rap on the head. How she escaped is a mystery, but it's not the first time she doesn't remember.

Now she has terrible headaches, and Kate has begun to dream about her family's tragic past: When she was a child, their small settlement was attacked by a mysterious force—only she survived the grave or being taken by the Natives . . . but most of it she does not remember.

Can she find out who was really behind that attack before they find out that she's starting to remember that terrible day—and why it happened? Otherwise she might end up the same way as all those others.

"True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher." - John Petit-Senn

WILDE FLOWERS ON THE FORTRESS MOUNT

Langue D'Oc region in southern France, 1243-44
The Pope has declared their beliefs heretical and ordered a Crusade to route the Devil—by fire, if needs must. When their village is attacked, two women who are herbal healers—and their students, a group of little girls—must flee from rampaging Crusaders else they may all be burnt as witches. They are helped by a knight, who is on a secret quest of his own that might have something to do with his Templar order, and his brother—a priest, who thinks they are all damned anyway.

They flee from their village on the river into the mountains but must remain mostly hidden on their journey, as the Inquisitor has spies everywhere. People would turn them in for reword or good favor, hoping to escape the pyres themselves. The party is heading to the fortress mount at Montségur, hoping others in their village, including their families, have taken shelter there as well.

THE FACTS: An early Christian sect called the Pure Ones, or Cathari, believed that life was really just a means of proving your soul worthy of Heaven. If you led a good and noble existence on Earth, you would become closer to Perfect and ascend into Heaven at your end. If not, you would not go to Hell, but would return to another life and try again in whatever circumstance you deserved then—which for some was the same thing as Hell.

In 1244, after years of Holy Crusade against them for heresy, over 200 Cathari, a devout Christian sect, were burned by the armies of the Pope at the foot of the fortress mount at Montségur, in the Langue d'Oc region of present-day France. The Cathari believed that if you did not lead a pure life, you would be sent back to earth to try again. . . and again. Some believe that Templars escaped the seige with a great and secret treasure. . . perhaps even the Holy Grail.

The Wilde Flower Saga: Port Royal (Coming Soon)

Pirate Era, Caribbean
A woman on the way from England to her father's holdings in the Caribbean is shipwrecked on an island instead. Given she was going there to be married against her wishes to a man she's never met, Calliope doesn't complain much about the state of affairs.

She's a young woman with her wits about her, everybody back home said. Truth was, she had far more survival skills than a young lady of her standing should have, mostly due to the fact that their father had left them alone for so long. After her mother died, it was fend for themselves or die trying. She manages nicely on the island, thank you—until some from the Royal Navy comes to save her. She's not as grateful as they think she must be.

Back on course to marry, it seems, roaming pirates have other ideas. She ends up in unfriendly waters, but manages to find a ship of her own. It's named after some exotic native bloom, but being English, and most sensible too, she just calls it the Wilde Flower.

The Garden House in a Burning City (Coming 2014)

Revolutionary France in 1794-95, Near Paris
Up to now, their neighborhood on the river on the outskirts of Paris had missed out on most of the fighting. Some called it Revolution; others called it rebellion. The fighting was intense, and the battles were still raging in little pockets of resistance all over the country between Republicans and Royalists.

When an explosion rattles their street, Riada realizes the battles have finally come here. She doesn't know who to trust, so seeks shelter and solace in the Garden House, the semi-abandoned grand house down along the river where the gardens yield all sorts of herbs that Riada and her mother use to make healing tonics and ointments in their shop. But she's being watched . . .

The house belonged to an aristocratic family, and just that would make it suspect. But now some of the family are being sought for Royalist intentions, though rumor has it that most of them have long ago fled to America. It's hard to say who is friend or foe now, but Riada and some others from the neighborhood must flee or be suspected in this bloody time called The Terror. Their journey would take them across France to a southwestern port and a ship heading to America—if they can make it that far.

A COLLECTION OF MYSTERIES, MEMORIES & GHOSTS OF THE PAST

A collection of stories, some with a quirky dark theme like wandering into the Twilight Zone without a clue or a compass. Tales include shady pasts, mysterious disappearances, memories of lost loves and people wrong-doing (and thinking they got away with it). Add a few ghosts and maybe some angels, plus some updates on American folklore, just because . . .

ISLAND OF GHOST NOISES (Coming 2013)

Dahlia Vandenburg moved to Alaska for a short term contract in the computer field. She had a habit of taking remote assignments—she liked the travel and had no one waiting at home. But she fell in love, got married within weeks of first seeing his smile and landed in the middle of the Aleutian Islands, where her husband Jessup Rhine is a state wildlife trooper.

This is a magical place—the scenery with the chain of islands and volcanoes that stretches out a thousand miles into the ocean and the history here too. But Dahl might be going through what Jess calls 'technology withdrawal' because she has started hearing . . . things.

She's smart enough not to really tell anyone about it, but her new husband can see there's a problem with his bride. He thinks she needs some hobbies, which might help her meet a few folks in the town of only about 4500. As she learns more about these islands and the native people here as well as those who came after, those sounds start making more sense—they are ghost noises: Find us . . . help us . . . remember us . . .

Dahl puts together their stories, learning about a basket weaver from Kodiak who was taken in a raid long before Russian traders first came here, a Russian fur trader who never figured he'd die that way, and a few Japanese soldiers who thought they were meant for glory. And then she learns about herself.

Cornish Legacy, Vol 01:
The Dowager's House (Coming 2014)

Cornwall, UK, Present Day
Leoni Trelawny—sounds more like the name of a 1940s film siren than a 21st century failure. With no family, no job, and an eviction notice looming, Leoni's luck does a complete turnaround: She inherits a fortune, along with an ancient manor in Cornwall from a relative she didn't know she had. She also finds tragic and deep family secrets that someone seems more than willing to kill to keep—perhaps not for the first time, it seems. But who is the culprit: the people or the place?

Cornish Legacy, Vol 02:
The Spirits of Foolish Deeds (Coming 2014)

Cornwall, UK, Present Day
Leoni Trelawny is living the American dream, but she has to do it in Cornwall—it's a stipulation of the will. After inheriting a fortune and a grand old house, she finds that life here is everything she could have hoped for . . . so far. But given her track record where happiness was concerned, it's no surprise that bad things start happening.

Turns out that she's not the person she thought she was, and Leoni is beginning to be glad that most of her family is dead. Some her her ancestors are traced back to unsavory deeds, while others float back to the times of ancient religions and Standing Stones, which really might be mystical. Things are not as they seem— they are worse than she imagined, and that's really saying something.

"The spirits of our foolish deeds haunt us, with or without repentance." - Gilbert Parker

Cornish Legacy, Vol 03:
Nuthatch Farm: Now and Then (Coming Soon)

New York State, Present Day
When police psychologist Faedra March watched the man jump off the ledge, she didn't expect him to fall into her past, taking her down on the way. These are the intertwined stories of a group of high school friends: what happened to them twenty years ago now to make things so twisted with them now. But Faedra needs some help in this place to figure it all out.

Sylvie Trelawny is a long time resident of the Nuthatch Farm and Restorative Center. People here aren't really sure why she's here, but someone pays to keep her in place, and it's been so long, that no one questions it. Turns out she's not crazy, it's more like a case of fear: She might be hiding from danger, because usually she's just like one of the staff . . . until her only visitor comes. The man comes to visit regularly— some say it's to gloat.

Sylvie and Faedra have become great friends, but there is still speculation if Faedra helped Sylvie escape—and where did she go, and who are those people from Cornwall now asking about Sylvie after all this time?

The Costume Shop (Coming Soon)

New York, modern day/Cornwall, UK, 1820s
Sheba Smith inherited a costume shop from her last living relation, an aunt who got hit by a bus. Sheba doesn't realize there's something special about the costumes—and the mirror in the fitting room—until she falls into it wearing one. Just as quickly she got yanked back again, just in time not to be shot in some dark, dirty alley where everyone was speaking in French and wore the same period clothes.

Finally convincing herself she's not crazy, Sheba does a little digging, and finds that her aunt had a small and discrete client list who paid quite a lot for their fancy clothes. Occasionally, a costume was listed as lost, and for some reason, her aunt had put next to the name a small cross—as in RIP. Gradually, through trial and error and a few careful questions (don't want to spook them!) from her new clientele, Sheba figures out the details of what's going on. But when someone breaks into the costume shop, the cop who answer the call seems vaguely familiar to her.

Had she seen someone very similar on one of her . . . trips? If she seems a bit skittish when he starts messing with the costumes during the investigation, who can blame her? Turns out that when a house's foundation is made with Cornish Standing Stones that might have been used by Druids . . .

SPEAK OF ME IN WHISPERS

A story between Revolutionary Russia in 1918 and Nazi Germany in 1943
What do young members of the Romanov family, supposedly all killed in 1918, have to do with Russian Imperial treasures sold on the black market by Nazis in 1943? Hitler sends enforcers to stop the repeated thefts of his looted treasures—not that he has any right to them anyway. Turns out most of the thefts were originally taken from Russia, from Imperial holdings.

While her mother was Russian, it's true, the woman has been gone for years—but that still leaves her. Lena Schiller must give the Nazis a scapegoat before the Gestapo starts hauling people away—including her.

"Remember my name, my daughter, my dear one. . . but speak of me only in whispers."

ONCE UPON A TIME OF WAR:
Stories of European Women in World War II

Europe, World War II, 1939-45
This is a collection of short stories of European women and their struggles during the Second World War, inspired by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose and others.

Remembrance: A Message in the Flowers (Coming Soon)

A story of two women who lived 200 hundred years apart, one leaving a message in the flowers that she planted in her garden. Is it a way to say hello over the generations... or could it be a warning that is still valid?

The Rest of the Song (Coming Soon)

A trilogy of novellas about European women in World War I:

IN THE SHADOW OF THE CATHEDRAL

In a small city in Oregon, mid-1970s
While these times might bring change for women, some crimes remain the same. Susan Hannah is the first female detective in this small city whose only claim to fame is the seminary and cathedral of an old religion that is dying out in modern times. The town has had a series of rapes that mimic unsolved crimes from decades before—during World War II.

Interesting that so many of the men in this town were here back then too. Is it the same perpetrator coming back for more? That would give her a different kind of suspect list—not just the college and the seminary students, but one that might include her own father too.

But something else here seems too familiar—the people, the events—the touch and feel of evil—like this has all happened before . . .

Resemblance to anyone now-living with anyone long-dead is not coincidental. If the past is playing out once again—even if only in one person's mind—will it turn out better for the victims this time? For some, the answer is already been given: It will not.

CROSSING OVER THE BRIDGE

"There is is a bridge between life and death, and only those whose life has been worthy and who's work is truly done may crossover here. As to where any soul might end up next depends too on who holds them most dear." - Keeper of Souls, Book of Purgatory

Is it ever too late to help out a friend, even when one of you is dead?

Julia Coles came to Seattle to marry a man she met on the Internet. That's what the cops said, but instead of jumping into wedded bliss, she took a dive off the Aurora bridge. Cops aren't romantic at all.

Emi Rye, Julia's best friend who has some experience with covert operations, has come to Seattle to find out what really happened, because even if the cops ruled it a suicide, there are others whose judgment matters more: Suicides don't get into Heaven.

AVENGE ME: The Past Keeps Changing

The past plays out in Natalya's dreams like scenes from an old black and white movie—but lately, the endings have been . . . changing. She has every reason to avenge her parents, but when the bodies started dropping, she was nowhere near them . . . or so she claims.

Mid-1990s, Seattle, Wa, USA
A child of the Cold War, Natalya McAran lived in Baku, a beautiful Soviet city on the Caspian Sea, until her parents were murdered. She might have been killed too, but she had a protector. A mathematical genius, Natalya was inducted into the KGB by the time she was a teenager. When the Soviet Union collapsed, security lapsed and Natalya learned the truth of her past: She had always been a US citizen, her father had always seen to that. She escaped her post in Moscow to find a new life in America, in Seattle and her father's family home.

Natalya now runs a corporate security firm, and is living the American dream. So when a body is dumped near her front door, Natalya can't help but take it personally. Is it a threat from old enemies who have now found her again or an offering on the altar of revenge?

Corporate espionage bleeds into international intrigue when a few cookie-cutter corpses in designer suits are found floating in the lakes around Seattle. Normally, that might be considered quite a tragedy, but no one seems to miss the men much, no one has reported them missing.

Assistant City Prosecutor Leo Bright is only interested now because he's running for Congress, but his helping the case is more like a hindrance. But murder is the usual fare for Lt. Caison Diego, a homicide detective in the city. Now clues have led his team to the door of Natalya McAran, but Cais has to ask: Is she the murderer . . . or the motive?

"The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!" - Emily Bronte, 'Wuthering Heights'

RED TALKERS: LOST ANGEL (Coming 2013)

Mid-1980s and 1950s.
Last seen on a late-night, deserted winter highway, Kimber's twin sister has been missing for months now—presumed dead under the ice of a frozen Montana river. But just lately, Kimber's been having dreams about her twin: Kerry is driving late at night when headlight brights flash in the rear view mirror. Her sister is scared, but not alone—Kerry is talking to some one named Angeline, though Kimber cannot see anyone else in the dream.

Kimber goes to the town where Kerry lived—Prayer, Montana—no kidding. What she finds is a secluded religious colony near town, mostly German-speakers who keep mostly to themselves, and a small but even more secure military base that was built during the last part of the Second World War.

Rumor has it that it was not to hold prisoners-of-war—not for long anyway. Things went on out there then . . . and maybe now. Kerry might have stumbled onto the answer, and now Kimber might end up the same way: MIA.

Red Talkers - Referring to neighboring tribes, from a Native American phrase meaning "people of a different speech."

Down Here in the Low (Coming Soon)

Near Future or near past . . .
When Kea says her father fell for her mother, she really means it. But what becomes of the earthbound offspring of a fallen angel and a demoness when caught—not in the usual struggle between good and evil that has always plagued mankind—but the time-forgotten truce between the forces of Shadow and Light. While it's true that Alfadir could resolve this in an instant, but he's been on Seventh-Day since before this whole thing began, and no one has had the nerve to tell him his Garden of Eden has been scorched beyond recognition.

Now a copter has gone down in an isolated, restricted region of Iraq—what the Ancients called the Land of Sumer. Remnants of the great war before have left the air filled with a sort of metallic vapor that blocks out modern-day surveillance equipment. As an expert on ancient writings, Kea knows this area very well and is called in to find the survivors before they stumble onto the Disa and break the truce in the War of No Repent.

Disa. . . The Aramaics called it "the door." The ancient Katuliqa called it "the portal." Today, it's often just called "the Rapture."

The Guardians Fall
The angels who held with Lucifer when he rebelled,
In heaven, those Morning Star legions no longer dwell

But those battle-wasted in the War of No Repent
Weren't the first angels burnt and bereft, lessened and spent

The first mutiny in the Heavens truly began,
When the angel-watchers fell for the daughters of man

Children cross-coupled from fair and fiery Lilith's breed,
Roam free between Earth and Disa to heal, teach, and lead

But the issue of angel with sweet and docile Eve,
Still bitter, search for Rapture so they may be redeemed.

WILD WEST WOMEN OF SOME GUMPTION*

Wild West: 1840s - early 1900s -
*Gumption: A bustle and six-shooter.

Annie Oakley, Belle Starr, Calamity Jane—those were just the famous ones. This is a collection of stories about the other women who made the American West (or died trying and took a few varmints with'em). Some tales might be inspirational, the others are just for fun.

After all, it could have happened that way. . . no really!

Grace the Good Traveler (Coming 2013)

American West, mid 1880s
When she was young, Grace Ryman's parents left America to avoid the American Civil War. The family traveled to China where they spent several years as missionaries, but tragedy struck the family, and her father lost his faith. That's how they ended up in hell.

On closer inspection, Grace decided she likes it here in the Arizona territory. She doesn't know the whys and wherefores of how people are supposed to act around here, especially when it comes to dealing with the natives, saloon girls, and an outlaw or two, but she's determined to make a home in this hell that has become her promised land: The winds of grace are always blowing; all we need to do is raise our sails. - author unknown

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." - Lao Tzu

Jenny Waltz: Dance with the Devil's Daughter (Coming Soon)

American West, mid-1880s
Jenny Saffire only meant to take the prisoner his Sunday supper as usual, but this time the old man was alone and too weak to eat on his own. He'd been beaten by the sheriff who sometimes did that for pleasure. Or maybe the sheriff was also looking for the treasure map, which is how the man ended up here in jail in the first place.

But Jenny found the map, along with a small nugget of gold and a twenty year old picture of the man's wife and child. Well, not exactly found it, the old man told her where it was as a matter of last confession (rest his soul). She promised to take the map to the old man's daughter, but Jenny isn't sure now if she really meant it.

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, I have friends in both places." - Mark Twain

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company." - Mark Twain

"But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?" - Mark Twain

"All right, then, I'll go to hell." - Mark Twain

Wild West Women: Gall and Good Sense (Coming Soon)

Wild West: 1840s - early 1900s -
More tales of women in American West.

Zombie apocalypse meets global warming: The melting ice caps released a form of paleo-virus that transforms some people into zombies. Who gets changed and why is still a mystery, and these are not those in the movies anyway: When these bite you, it's because you are food; there's no turning into one too. Instead, you become their bowel movement . . . yeah, zombie poo.

Usually you could just double tap one to the head to make a zombie go down, but in their zeal for profits, the gun manufacturers started cutting corners on lead or powder or something. Now the ammo hasn't been effective, and the only thing left is taking off its head, but offing a zombie like that is harder than it looks.

People flee to colder locations, mostly because those have been isolated, and there's plenty of OLD ammo there . . . and it turns out even better thing is that they have these huge bears.

Slow moving zombies meet hungry bears . . . in Alaska, of course, because there's only penguins in the south.

Genie got scared by a bee one day and was suddenly somewhere else than she was a minute ago. It took a while to figure it out, but now she can come and go whenever wants, she just doesn't get to decide where that is. Turns out there are other kids like her, and if they hold onto each other, they can travel around together . . . but can they ever get back home?

Sure those wizards and witches are great with their wands, but did anyone ever ask how those things are made? It takes a lot of effort to gather that stuff, and the effort is called: wandering. Ask any wanderer about how they go about collecting such interesting stuff that are used to make wands: all sorts of woods (some from enchanted forests), dragon heart strings, unicorn mane, griffin wings. Do you think those things just get pulled out of thin air?

This is a primer on the practical aspects of wands: not how to use them, but how to make them, but first you have to find the stuff, and so have to go wandering about.

Isabel lives in Fae Normandie amongst the orchards of apples and groves of ash wood. Her father is the younger son to the king, and her mother is an Adept, which is a twin who practices High Magick. But when she got married, she gave that stuff up as it scared the local people around here. Her mother only uses Low Magick now, like household stuff, but Isabel can't help but be curious about the other.

When she was born, Isabel was bound to three sprites, Sylphs who are Air Elementals. They are meant to watch out for her for the rest of her life. Holly, Fern and Poppy are the first to tell on her when she does something she shouldn't have: "Gonna tell, gonna tell, gonna tell on Isabel!"

And she has: Isabel finds her mother's Grimoire, the book of High Magick used by all Adepts. She can't help but try a few spells, which only leads to all sorts of trouble that even Zeke, her Amulet (in the shape of a tabby cat), can't help the trouble that comes from that.

With the help of her aunt, who is her mother's twin sister and also an Adept, Isabel and Zeke must travel to the realm of the Earth Elementals in search of the secret of the glow stones.

Isabel travels to the ends of the known world to search for her mother, risking the wrath of the Water Elementals, the Undines who own the seas and the night skies above which sailors use to guide them.

Isabel and Zeke end up in the realm of the Fire Elementals, where they make glass and forge all sorts of metals. They learn the secret of the glow stones, and why the Salaman are so upset that they might start a war amongst the Elementals.

Lexicon for the Applewood Chronicles, includes descriptions of places, characters and Elementals.