Divided Loyalties, my Civil War-era saga of an Irish teen who volunteers to serve the men wounded after the Battle of Antietam, will be officially re-released in paperback July 1 with a brand new cover. I am delighted to introduce it now. It is very different from the original cover, darker but softer, I think.…
The Historical Novel Society North America will celebrate historical fiction at National Harbor on the Potomac River with a special event for all readers during their national convention in June. The Historical Readers Festival and Book Signing will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor Saturday, June 22, 1…
When the Battle of Antietam was over, the casualties numbered more than 23,000. No single day of battle has every been more horrific. I have always been amazed by the stories of those who showed up to help, especially the women who rolled up their sleeves and fed wounded soldiers, read to them, offered a…
The soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who fought at Antietam (Sharpsburg, if you like) are remembered for their courage and the sacrifices they made. Some paid the ultimate price. Others paid with pain and suffering for the rest of their lives. But they weren’t the only heroes on the battlefield that day and in the…
I spent many hours contemplating the ultimate sacrifice given by so many during the Civil War Battle of Antietam while I wrote DIVIDED LOYALTIES. Some 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. Last week, while on my way to a travel writers’ conference, I took a…
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…
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…
I have to stop doing this. Every time I turn around, I’m saying goodbye to Maureen. Again. This time, she was minding her own business, saving the world she lived in, the world of Sharpsburg at the time of the Civil War. And this time, for a change, I didn’t want to disturb her. This…
