My current work in progress is a follow-up to the series, MY BROTHER'S FLAG. Maryland was a border state torn down the middle by divided loyalties. I want to explore what happened after the Civil War ended, how the planters and the former slaves adapted to emancipation, and how families and friends divided by the war learned to live together as fellow citizens of the United States.

​This story will follow two characters introduced in Book 2, FOR THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM. When Charlie disappeared and Abigail was concerned as to his whereabouts, her friend Clara introduced her to Mariah Wright, a woman whose husband was serving in the same regiment as Charlie, and who was able to provide insight into his current location. Unfortunately, Mariah's husband is killed at Petersburg, just prior to General Lee's surrender and the ultimate conclusion of the War Between the States.

​While serving in the Confederate Army, Charlie Turner had befriended a Queenstown resident, Isaac Roberts. Isaac and Charlie had served together in the First and Second Maryland Infantry since the onset of the war in 1861. When they are paroled at Appomattox, the men return to the Eastern Shore and the lives they had left behind. Isaac, however, returns home to discover that not only has he lost his business during the war, but his wife's faithfulness as well. She has taken up with the man whom Isaac had entrusted with her care in his absence.

​Following is the synopsis of FROM FIELDS OF PROMISE:

Belonging neither to the South where its sympathies lay, nor to the North which held it captive, Maryland’s Eastern Shore must forge a new path through the havoc left by the Civil War.

Mariah Wright, a Confederate widow, has to find a way to keep her husband’s farm from falling into poverty and ruin. Most of the slaves have headed north to freedom and there aren’t enough hands to work the fields. Left with the care of her aging mother-in-law and young sister-in-law, Mariah strives to carry the burdens the war has left her.

Isaac Roberts, a veteran of the Confederate Army, returned from Appomattox to discover that the life he left behind has moved on without him. Disillusioned from the loss of a cause to which he had given everything, and damaged from the savage realities of war, Isaac fears he has nothing left to live for.

With nowhere else to turn, Isaac accepts the challenge of helping a fallen comrade’s widow save all she has left of her husband’s legacy. As the fractured nation struggles to come together after four bitter years of fighting, Mariah and Isaac must find their place in a world which has changed forever.
​

Do you ever wonder if God hears your prayers? If he cares about you at all, let alone the inconsequential details that are actually incredibly important to you? Lately I went through a bit of a funk where I was feeling overwhelmed by life and a little overlooked by the God to whom I was praying. And just when I felt like I was wasting my time in prayer, my Heavenly Father showed me that he hears and he cares.

​Point in case: I know this sounds silly, but I was praying for someone to help me paint my house. My husband can sand and caulk, but he doesn't have the patience or ability to paint a straight line (and when you are working with a Victorian four color scheme, that matters). I really want to get the front of the house finished before December, and it's a lot of painting for one person.

​And lately, painting the exterior of my house seemed to be all I did in my free time, followed by laundry, house cleaning, and more laundry. I prayed for God to provide me with time to write again and to invest in my creativity, which are the things that bring me joy. I was also troubled by the way my work schedule (I'm also a nanny) was hindering me from getting my daughter involved is some things which were of interest to her. My frustration was compounded by guilt.

​Then, one day as I was painting, a perfect stranger walked up to me and volunteered to help. I assured her that I could not pay for her time. She said she wasn't worried about that. She just loved to paint and it looked like I could use some help. She didn't seem sketchy or to have any ulterior motives, and so I gladly accepted! Last Monday she arrived and spent most of the day outside with me painting, and left with the promise to come again! All I can say is Thank You God! Maybe it will be done by December after all!

​And a woman at church whom I greatly admire has come alongside me in homeschooling my daughter and has been such an incredible blessing! In addition to all she already does for us, she is now running Elizabeth to her drama classes in the evenings when I can't get home in time to get her there. So grateful!

The Rain is a funny thing for me to be thankful for, because if you know me, you know I LOVE sunshine! But rain means I can't do anything but hole up in my office and write or invest in my pinterest projects. Hehe! And so I've had the blessings of time to make things I hope to sell at a craft show next month, repaint the bookcase a second time, and get back into writing again! Which means you'll start seeing more historical posts again soon (like it or not).

​And as a bonus, God impressed upon my husband's heart that every barn needs a barn cat. Ok, I admit it, I actually brought home four barn cats from the Animal Shelter, but they really needed a home and now Ben won't have to worry about rodents getting into his tools. :) You know, when I was a little girl and I told my mom that I was going to have eight cats when I grew up, she was sure that it was just a phase and I would grow out of it.

Apparently not, since I just turned forty... Lucky Ben!