Historical Fiction Books

Families of Two Fires: Forging America’s Frontier, 1776–1832 is now available. I wrote it thinking about a middle school audience but I think anyone who enjoys learning about US history would enjoy it. I mix characters I created with historical figures. I studied a number of historical documents as I researched the book and tried to make that period of history come alive. The book is available through the Indiana Historical Society Bookstore. See the link below. 

Families of Two Fires: Forging America's Frontier 1776-1832

 

Luke’s Summer Secret and A Winding Road to Freedom

I visited the Levi and Catharine Coffin House several times while writing Luke’s Summer Secret and A Winding Road to Freedom. The new interpretive center is outstanding. I highly recommend it as a place to visit and learn more about an important part of American history. When you visit the Levi and Catharine Coffin house, I hope you will imagine the scene where seventeen fugitive slaves were in the kitchen at the same time. I also hope you’ll stand outside and imagine a traveler slipping out of a hiding place in a wagon and walking through the side door of the house to a welcoming Levi and Catharine.

https://www.indianamuseum.org/levi-and-catharine-coffin-state-historic-site

Families of Two Fires

In 2023, my new book Families of Two Fires will be published. In this book, I tell the story of Richard Rue and George Holman both of whom fought with George Rogers Clark in the Midwest during The Revolutionary War and then moved from Kentucky to what became Richmond, Indiana. Rue and Holman fought against Shawnee warriors during the war and were taken captive and lived with Shawnee families for three years. Then when they moved into what is now eastern Indiana, they built cabins in what had always been hunting grounds for Shawnee, Delaware and many other Indigenous peoples. I try to give my readers a glimpse of what life was like in the time period of 1776-1832 and tell a story filled with adventure that is based on narratives from that time period. I hope readers will enjoy the story and appreciate the history.