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Back on Track

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  The house has settled back into its comfortable silence, and with it, so has my focus. Last week felt like finding my footing again — Book Two is officially released, and the cover and full outline for Book Three are finished. That means I get to share a small treat with you: an early sneak peek at the Book Three cover. Now the real work begins. I’m deep into writing Book Three, back in the rhythm of early mornings, quiet rooms, and stories that refuse to be rushed. Here is a brief blurb about book three: When the land takes a man, the world comes for what he leaves behind. Laura Clark has survived widowhood, hard winters, and the quiet grief of raising two children alone in the North Idaho mountains. But when a county investigator knocks on her door, she learns that kindness can hide sharper intentions — and that being a woman without a husband makes her household fair game. Jeffrey McAllister has buried too many people he loved and learned to keep his distance from family and p...
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New Release: The Outlaw's Second Chance

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New Release The Outlaw's Second Chance Finally, the second book has been released. I was a little behind on my schedule and I greatly appreciate all of your patience over the last few weeks as I dealt with family.  Button What a whirlwind these past two weeks have been! I wanted to pop in with a quick update, especially for those waiting on the other versions of the new book. So far, only the ebook is live. I’m working as quickly (and sanely!) as possible to get the print and audio versions ready. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, family came to visit for the holiday—wonderful, but completely unplanned. I thought they’d be heading home right after Thanksgiving, but life had other ideas. It all started on a Monday morning. My husband was at a doctor’s appointment when his parents called: they were stranded on the side of the road near his work. That turned into a full-day ordeal—towing the car, diagnosing  multiple  issues, deciding what to do—and by that evening, they...
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Holiday Chaos, Book Edits, and a Baby on the Way.

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  It's that time of year when I'm either going to lose my mind or come out on the other side feeling like an Amazon warrior. Speaking of Amazon, don't forget to stop by my  author page  and pick out another one of my books while you're doing your Christmas shopping—like I am from the comfort of home. Those of you who know me will completely understand this: I do  not  like shopping. Never have. I've always considered it a chore, not an escape. I know for some of you ladies, that's sacrilegious, but not to me. So am I grateful to be living in an era where I can have my groceries and other items delivered right to my door? One hundred percent. But guess what? You all benefit from my quirky personality. While you're out shopping, doing the things most women enjoy, I'm sitting right here working on your next great read. Speaking of which, book two of the Pack Saddle Ranch series is done, and I'm deep in the editing process. I'd hoped to give you a pu...
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When the Old Ways Became the Only Way

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  How Gary McAllister saved Pack Saddle by returning to his father’s “obsolete” pack trains There’s an irony at the heart of 1920s Idaho: the world kept telling people the pack train was dead while the mountains kept needing one. Trucks, rail, and roadbuilding pushed progress into valley towns, but steep passes, dense timber, and snow-choked trails didn’t read the newspapers. Where roads failed, pack strings still worked.  Idaho State Historical Society+1 The practical truth By the mid-1920s, the headlines hailed motor freight and paved highways. In practice, however, steep canyons, high ridges, and foot trails left whole pockets of North Idaho beyond the reach of wheels. Mines, logging camps, isolated lodges, and Forest Service lookouts still relied on packers to move everything from flour and nails to stoves and radios. The pack train wasn’t nostalgia — it was logistics.  NPS History+1 Why pack trains still mattered • Terrain: Some trails climbed where trucks couldn’t g...
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Welcome to 1927 North Idaho: Where Dreams Were Buried in Stumps

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  Step into the world of Pack Saddle Ranch, where clearing land could cost you everything The first thing you need to understand about northern Idaho in 1927 is this:  the land didn't want you there. Not in a mystical sense—though the old-timers might argue otherwise after too much whiskey. No, the land resisted in a far more practical way. After the great lumber companies swept through like locusts, harvesting centuries-old pines and leaving behind a moonscape of stumps, the real work began. Welcome to stump ranch country. What Was a Stump Ranch? Picture this: You've just bought "cleared" timberland at a bargain price. The lumber company took the trees—those magnificent western white pines and Douglas firs that once towered 150 feet high. What they left behind were stumps. Hundreds of them. Some ten feet across, roots running twenty feet deep, refusing to surrender even in death. Your new "farm" looks like a graveyard of wooden tombstones. This was the real...
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Book One of Pack Saddle Ranch Done. What Next?

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  Hello, dear readers! I'm thrilled to share that  Book One of the Pack Saddle Ranch series is now available in paperback-link below!  If you haven't grabbed your copy yet, now's the perfect time. What's Next? I'm finalizing the outline for Book Two and will begin writing within the next couple of days. My goal is to have it ready by the end of November—ambitious, I know, especially with family celebrations and Thanksgiving on the calendar!  Book Three  is expected to be published by the end of December. After that, I'm diving back into the  Woolsey Saga series  with a story about Henry and Daniel Woolsey, the father and son who served as Revolutionary War soldiers. I'm doing additional research to bring their story to life, with a target release in time for April and the 250th celebration of America. Holiday Gift Idea Christmas is just around the corner! Do you have a mother, grandmother, or someone on your list who loves historical fiction?...
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