She had packed some apples from the orchard and then wrapped a few beaten biscuits into a gingham towel. Then Maureen gently drew open the drawer in the pantry. Her father’s gun was in there. There were lots of strangers on the road these days, not all of them good. She lifted the gun out and shoved it in the canvas haversack. She hoped she would never need it.

DIVIDED LOYALTIES is now available online at Black Rose Writing, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Greetings and Readings in Hunt Valley, Md., and the Washington County Visitor Center, 6 N. Potomac Street, in downtown Hagerstown also plan to carry my book on their shelves.