Gritty red dust clouded the air and stung their faces as Pa pulled the horses up to the starting line. Jenary braced her hands against the sides of the rough boards of the wagon. A part of her still dreaded the rough ride to the land Pa talked about, yet Jenary felt a butterfly spark of impending excitement flutter in her tummy. A blast of gun fire echoed, signalling the start of the race. The crowd shouted, "Oklahoma or Bust!" The race was on. Mother held on to her bonnet as Pa shouted. "Yeehaw! Giddyup, Sade! Come on Prince!" His voice seemed lost, yet added to the chorus of hundreds of yelling people. Whips cracked in the air. Excited horses lurched forward and the wagon bounced along the bumpy ground. Wagon boards creaked and shuddered. Spring less wheels jarred the bench where Mother sat. Jenary had heard Pa tell about the open land into Oklahoma Territory. He had warned them about the deep ravnies and streams, and the crossing of the Cimarron River. It was her and Billy39;s job to take care of their belongings in the wagon. Jenary closed her eyes. For a moment she was afraid to open them. What if the wagon flipped or crashed? Would it hold together until they crossed the Cimarron River?

 

ISBN: 978-1947191280

Rocks, Logs and Concrete Blocks presented in fractionally fictionalized form traces four generations of the author’s family beginning with the latter 19th century. Requisite changes of some names and geographic locations have been made in the interest of protecting identity, innocence and/or guilt of persons living and/or deceased. Certain more painful events are purposely omitted; however, all events herein described occurred in the life of the author, a/k/a Ariel as they are set forth; not masked in political correctness or politeness.

 

Ellis Island, Gateway to America, was that door to opportunity for all four of Ariel’s Grandparents. They left familiar Swedish homes and communities, families and native language to carve out new lives in the new land; traveled to Minnesota, found employment and met spouses.

 

Under somewhat unusual circumstances in Minneapolis the sole surviving son of one and a daughter of the other met, whereupon Ariel’s tale began.

 

That Ariel’s birth parents both suffered mental illnesses was irrefutable:

One diagnosed, committed, released, controlled, the other devoid of professional evaluation, albeit behaviorally evidenced.

 

From earliest memory, guarded secrets, hidden whispers, ghost-wisps of reference, vague hints, silent questions perplexed the isolated, solitary child. She was to remain in the background, not seek attention, speak quietly and most of all, infrequently. Rationale for the insulation from peers was never clarified; just the norm.

 

Was there some deep unrevealable mystery lurking somewhere? Or, were adults in her life just different?

 

Did answers to family secrets, some perhaps generations old, exist?

 

Would she ever achieve any degree of emotional strength or confidence, financial security, personal freedom, or … find love? What was love anyway? Ariel was ignorant of that emotion in every possible manner.

 

What if fear and dread come to be clearly identified, and choice is reduced to flee or die?

 

                                                  Flight could allow survival, or not.

                        Trust is required. Can trust be placed in any human? In God maybe?

                                         What happens when love discovered, is taken?

                                                         Can joy be found again?

                                                                      Even love?

ISBN:  978-1-947191-58-7

Laura is a mentally ill young girl whose sickness is only getting worse as she is carted in and out of "Gymnopedie," a famed mental hospital. While she is going through this, another woman, Lilith, is living in Gymnopedie in the 19th century, and though neither woman is aware of the other their stories overlap with an eerie synchronicity as they both slowly try heal themselves against the inauspicious odds with their shared enduring passion: writing. But Gymnopepdie is a strange world, with many strange wonders.

ISBN:  978-1-947191-84-6

Dr. Sommers fresh out of Medical school finds a job in a secluded village of Mississippi. There he met by hazard a stunning young lady that he fell in love with but their romance met the opposition of her parents and every person in that very conservative town. Sommers using his knowledge of genetics and medicine decided to face and challenge those prejudices to conquer love and happiness.

 

(THIS VERSION IS A PAPERBACK VERSION)

The dinner party was over as Caroline staggered halfway up the stairs. Dropped her wineglass when she leaned on the stair rail, "Etienne." she said, "Are you going out tonight or shall I wait up for my nightly bang?" There was a stunned silence, then the guests shrugged into their wraps and cloaks as they hurried to leave. --Dangerous Compulsion is the story of four generations of the Deveraux family that encompassed the years between the Civil War and 1977. The story was told from a different perspective.