When Gracie McNeil’s beloved Gran dies, Gracie is stunned to inherit the family home in Philadelphia – and her uncle is infuriated that he was bypassed. But this is Gracie’s chance to fulfill her dream of opening a yarn shop – and to overcome her lifelong history of failure. As Gracie is performing renovations on the house, she uncovers a mysterious door leading to a cellar. With the help of C... Read Article

They waded ashore in chest-deep water in Algeria and took shelter behind sand dunes. Snipers and strafing fighter planes aimed for them. They ate cold rations and dug slit trenches and dealt with fleas, mosquitoes, lice, and flies. And they were women. When I was researching nursing in the Mediterranean Theater (North Africa, Sicily, and Italy) in World War II, I was struck by the conditions these young women worked ... Read Article

Delia Vittoria doesn’t mind being her mother’s understudy at New York’s Academy of Music, but then her mother’s respiratory ailment thrusts Delia onto stage – and into the limelight. The new operatic diva takes New York society by storm, but will her newfound acclaim overcome the stigma of being the daughter of a woman of ill repute and an absent father, a child of divorce? Well-establis... Read Article

For the average American in World War II, the Victory Garden was a practical way to contribute to the war effort. Some 20 million Victory Gardens were planted (US population in 1940 was 132 million), and by 1943, these little plots produced 40 percent of all vegetables consumed in the US. It’s estimated that 9-10 million tons of vegetables were grown. The Need for Victory Gardens Wartime needs stretched agricul... Read Article

Although rationing was an important part of life in America during World War II, the US government was apprehensive about gasoline rationing. As a symbol of freedom of movement, the automobile represented everything American, and politicians feared riots and rebellion if they curtailed that freedom. Gasoline Shortage In early 1942, German U-boats ravaged Allied shipping off the US East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico... Read Article

All of the restfulness of a lakeside retreat and none of the mosquitos! There’s nothing like a retreat in nature to refresh you. Getting away from work relieves you of the burden of stress you didn’t realize you carried. Spending time with loved ones reminds you why you love them. Fun activities revive a youthful sense of energy. And best of all, the beauty of God’s creation stirs the heart toward t... Read Article

In July 1942, the armies of democracy battled the armies of totalitarianism, but a smaller battle raged between US Army Engineers and a little bird called the sooty tern. While researching the Army engineers for my novel With Every Letter (Revell, 2012), I ran into an intriguing little story in Barry Fowle’s Builders and Fighters: US Army Engineers in World War II (Fort Belvoir VA: Office of History, US Army ... Read Article

  Kieran Lucas is living untethered. Raised in foster homes, she’s finally connected to her “Granny Mac.” But Granny Mac is slipping into dementia. In her agitation, she relives her past when her mother was killed and the family lost their home in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If only Kieran could find the little stone bird Granny Mac says is buried on the old homestead. Park histori... Read Article

To help their country, he must silence his voice—and she must find hers. Today I’m pleased to reveal the cover for my upcoming novel, The Sound of Light, which is scheduled to release from Revell Books on February 7, 2023. This is the third of three standalone novels, each following Americans living in Nazi Europe before and during World War II. The Sound of Light is now available for pre-order at Baker Book ... Read Article

Letters in World War II During World War II, letters were essential to the health of relationships. Soldiers and sailors who shipped overseas couldn’t make phone calls, and of course, e-mails and text messages hadn’t been invented. That left letters. The average soldier wrote six letters a week. Those letters took anywhere from 1-4 weeks to cross the ocean to the United States. Each letter received at home assure... Read Article