“These people, so fervently demanding war, want to gather a crop of fame when they have hardly begun to sow the seed. And once the yield is realized, it will certainly be one bitter and deadly harvest.”
This new series depicts all the hardships, triumphs, heartbreak, and madness during America’s bloody Civil War within the households of several families in Culpeper County, Virginia: some influential, some lowly, yet all related by blood, business, marriage—and murder.
Josiah Bainbridge Spaulding—Grieved by resigning from the U. S. Army as the young nation stands on the brink of Civil War, he must follow his chosen destiny and seek peace in his beloved Culpeper, Virginia. Yet increasing hostilities and turmoil within the community and his family sadden his heart. Can he come to grips with his warring passions and his sense of honor and duty, especially after meeting a Northern-born actress?
Eden Napier Parkhurst—Battling society’s prejudice against women’s rights, and her Calvanistic father’s personal prejudice against her, she will stand undaunted. But when she is torn between her love of the theater and her affections for one man, she will embark on a journey from which there is no turning back.
Heath Jarret Kingsbury—Driven by an insatiable need for his tyrannical father’s acceptance, he will put into motion a desperate scheme against the Spaulding clan—and willingly destroy anyone who stands between him and the power he covets.
Elias Bainbridge Spaulding—The love for one woman and his lust for another will become too much for a young man whose uncontrollable passions and impetuous nature lead him down a path to heartache and utter despair.
Mona Armstrong Kingsbury—Her beauty and power of seduction have allowed her to gain the affection she craves. Yet when it’s not enough to gain the attentions of her chosen beau, will she find tranquility and acceptance forcing him into a loveless marriage?
One Bitter And Deadly Harvest—the first book in the American Civil War series, The Culpeper Chronicles.
Doctor Edward Hollister comes from a good background. After setting up a comfortable practice in Baltimore, the Civil War breaks out and he unwillingly enlists in the Union Army, despite his disinterest in the political struggle. The trauma of war makes a cynical, disillusioned man of him and he gradually loses his medical practice. He heads west, where he makes his living playing cards and hunting wanted men.
Sanchez, the mayor and banker of a small Mexican town, wants Doc to enlist men to escort wagons to the border. The only men willing to take on the work are a bunch of ex-Confederate soldiers Doc finds over the border in Mexico. Together they take over a disused ranch in the middle of Apache territory and, despite the dangers, establish a thriving business. Along the way they help a wagonload of bar girls, who promptly move into the ranch and go into business. Sanchez, the mayor, secures Doc a contract to escort a mysterious government shipment to the border. When Doc and his men are deep in the Apache hills they learn what they’re carrying—guns! Since the Apaches know from their Mexican allies what the shipment contains, can Doc and his men defend both the wagon train and themselves?
Shots slam into a back alley of post-Civil War Washington, D.C. Two government agents fall. A traitor lurks in the upper ranks of the Grant Administration and conspirators kill the operatives to protect their mole. Kathryn Devereaux and Jared Bentley of the espionage organization, Dark Watch, carry on in the footsteps of their fallen comrades. They're driven by a hidden agenda. The dead spies were their fathers. Revenge stokes the flames of the official assignment as they seek to uncover the deadly knowledge their fathers possessed, and the rebels who killed them because of it.
The Dark Watch pair follows a tangled web of deceit, all the while struggling to protect their secret love for one another. Stakes skyrocket when a third player surfaces. A reviled adversary from the War is hell-bent on destroying their mission—and their relationship. The fight becomes personal and no one is safe from her wrath. As Kathryn and Jared battle to safeguard the Presidency, their family, and their love, an unexpected ally offers them a timeless perspective revealing the truth about their present and lending clarity to their past and future.
