Kirjahaku

Harke DeJong had loved Lainie Van Huel since the moment he first saw her, but her family were members of the liberal elite who ruled the Dutch government, and Harke's father was the leader of a group of Dutch Seceders who secretly opposed the liberal views of the state church. When Lainie's body is discovered floating in a rain-swollen stream, her brother, Dirk, threatens to bring ruin upon Harke's family in retaliation for her death. Haunted by grief over Lainie's death and consumed by guilt for the hardships now facing his family, Harke flees his homeland to seek a better life in America. Armed with an old promissory note from George Washington and a packet of love letters written to his grandmother by a Dutch privateer, he sets out to pursue his fortune. On the way to America, he befriends Jelle Schippers, a na ve young man traveling to Wisconsin in the hopes of rescuing his uncle from financial ruin, and Catherine Weller, the independent daughter of an American railroad baron. Hank soon learns that his ability to survive in the American West depends on his ability to navigate a world filled with greed and graft, fueled by the siren's call of railroad speculation. When Catherine is kidnapped and Jelle is murdered in an attempt to recover the promissory note, Harke is forced to come to grips with his guilt and leave the past behind in order to find redemption and learn to love again.The Dutchman is a heartfelt and moving account of a young man's journey to redemption and self-awareness set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age of railroad expansion in America. It is a novel unique in style and scope, skillfully creating compassionate characters with a range of emotions.

The windswept Flint Hills of Kansas promised bountiful wildlife and fertile valleys, but for Virginia, Helen and Leah it was an empty promise. Dreams here often withered and died from starvation or the harshness and unpredictability of the climate. Eventually each woman must face the decision to set aside her own hopes and dreams in the struggle to maintain home and family against impossible odds.Set against a historical backdrop of major economic and cultural changes of the past century, Windborne is an elegantly timeless tale about the nature of love, loss and awakening.

For nearly a century the old stone house has kept its secrets hidden deep in the limestone hills of central Indiana. But when a charismatic young minister embarks on a controversial mission to develop the site as a retreat for ecumenical thought, there are forces working against him that cast a dark shadow over his plans.Reverend Simon Kingsley returns from observing the proceedings of Vatican II in Rome filled with radical new ideas concerning long-held religious beliefs. But first, he must combat the fear, distrust, and hatred that runs rampant through society. Set in the birthplace of the John Birch Society during the turbulent years of the early 1960's, The Stone House Legacy, reveals mankind's stubborn inclination to repeat the mistakes of past generations. It is a fast-moving tale of youthful idealism in conflict with mid-western isolationism against a backdrop of fear and greed.

Newly widowed and finding herself alone and responsible for two young sons and an aging mother, Tessa Kingsley must find her way through a 1970s world filled with sexual harassment and shady business deals.With only a year of college and no work history, Tessa must support her family in a world where women's roles are clearly defined and there are few opportunities. She falls into a rebound relationship with a charming Irishman. Unfortunately, his addictions lead to entanglements from her past as old villains resurface to threaten her family.As the situation worsens, it becomes apparent that if Tessa does not break free of this relationship and stand independently on her own, she not only risks financial ruin, but she puts the lives of her family in danger.Filled with passion and intrigue, The Steel Canyon Legacy is a gritty and poignant story that will captivate all who read it.

Corporate greed clashes with the art of musicmaking in the final chapter of the Legacy Trilogy.It's 1983. A battle rages in the office suites of the world's record companies between the old and the new approach to musicmaking. Chris Kingsley arrives in Los Angeles to find a world of greed, egos, rivalries and cynicism. When a naive young singer overdoses on drugs, Chris and his beautiful coworker embark on a dangerous journey to expose a blockbuster mentality that deflates artists' careers and gouges consumers. In the process, old enemies resurface, and old scars are reopened.For Chris and his family, the journey can either drive them apart or cement them together."...vivid mental images...Reminds me of John Updike's minimalism. Good stuff."- Thomas Dodson, author of Hot Trod