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…
DIVIDED LOYALTIES said hello to the world today. I didn’t see it, mind you, until someone brought it to the house after it arrived on her doorstep. But today was its release day. Launching a book was a nerve-wracking process. I didn’t have to do anything. It was just a date on the calendar. On…
Maureen was a only a girl. Why would anybody want her to help them? Her father grumbled at her when she insisted she would volunteer in a battlefield hospital. Nothing could make Father change his mind. She begged and pleaded. What would it take to convince him she could make a difference helping soldiers wounded…
Like her brother Joe, Maureen longed to serve her adopted country. An Irish immigrant, she had found a home in the Maryland farming community of Sharpsburg. Instead of famine, she had found abundance. Instead of English troops marching by, she had found peace. She and her family had a new life filled with such promise.…
Maureen and her friends, Eliza and Amy, who lived on the next farm, didn’t know what to expect when they ventured out away from their homes. They weren’t even sure they wanted to see after they’d heard the thunder of battle for a long, horrible day. Amy, married to a Union soldier, led the way…
Divided Loyalties begins in the summer of 1862. It’s been a difficult summer for Maureen, an 18-year-old Irish immigrant, and her brother, Joe. After their father was injured in a fall earlier in the season, care of the farm became their responsibility. And then they begin to see troops, Union and Confederate, on the road…
7 days to publication While I count down the days until publication of DIVIDED LOYALTIES, I have created a short book trailer to give a hint of what my book is about. Since my website doesn’t support video, here’s the link to my Facebook page where you can see it. Thought it’s not for a…
Even though release day for my book DIVIDED LOYALTIES isn’t for two more weeks, impatient readers can preorder it at a 10 percent discount. It is available only here, on Black Rose Writing’s website For purchases made before the publication date of July 27, use the promo code: PREORDER2017 to receive a 10 percent discount.…
The Queen’s Dollmaker, Christine Trent’s historical novel, set in the final years of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s reign, spins a story of hard work, perseverance and hope. All at the hands of a young orphan girl. Claudette loses everything when fire destroys the neighborhood where she has grown up. Her father, a well-loved dealmaker, and her…
Hooking into a significant small event in your past is a way to open your heart and connect with your readers. I came across this sentence in a wonderful post by Fae Rowen in the blog Writers in the Storm. As I think about my upcoming book, I wondered how my summers past fit into…
Mary K. Tilghman, writer 