Jane Kirkpatrick

German immigrant and farm wife Hulda Klager possesses only an eighth-grade education—and a burning desire to create something beautiful. What begins as a hobby to create an easy-peeling apple for her pies becomes Hulda’s driving purpose: a time-consuming interest in plant hybridization that puts her at odds with family and community, as she challenges the early twentieth-century expectations for a simple housewife. Through the years, seasonal floods continually threaten to erase her Woodland, Washington garden and a series of family tragedies cause even Hulda to question her focus. In a time of practicality, can one person’s simple gifts of beauty make a difference? Based on the life of Hulda Klager, Where Lilacs Still Bloom is a story of triumph over an impossible dream and the power of a generous heart. “Beauty matters… it does. God gave us flowers for a reason. Flowers remind us to put away fear, to stop our rushing and running and worrying about this and that, and for a moment, have a piece of paradise right here on earth.” From the Trade Paperback edition.

One of the incidents that made a profound impression upon the minds of all: the meeting of eleven wagons returning and not a man left in the entire train; all had died, and been buried on the way, and the women returning alone. --from the journals of Ezra Meeker, 1852THEIR LIVES WOULD BE TEMPERED BY ADVERSITY, EXPANDED BY FAITH, POLISHED BY PERSEVERANCE--For Madison "Mazy" Bacon, a young wife living in southern Wisconsin, the future appears every bit as promising as it is reassuringly predictable. A loving marriage, a well-organized home, the pleasure of planting an early spring garden--these are the carefully-tended dreams that sustain her heart and nourish her soul.But when her husband of two years sells the homestead and informs her that they are heading west, Mazy's life is ripped down the middle like a poorly mended sheet forgotten in a midwestern storm. Her love is tried, her boundaries stretched, and the fabric of her faith tested. At the same time, she and eleven extraordinary women are pulled toward an uncertain destiny--one that binds them together through reluctance and longing and into acceptance and renewal. Based on an actual 1852 Oregon Trail incident, All Together in One Place, Book One in the Kinship and Courage series, speaks to the strength in every woman and celebrates the promise of hope that unfailingly blooms amidst tragedy and challenge.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Continuing the Tender Ties Historical Series, Every Fixed Star brings readers more of the dramatic, fictionalized account of Marie Dorion: the real-life woman who was the first mother to cross the Rocky Mountains and remain in the Northwest. In Book Two of the series, Marie learns the value of a tender heart, the faith of distant friends, and the act of holding life's circumstances in open hands. Following the family tragedy, the great battle for survival, and the test of faith described in A Name of Her Own, Marie relocates her family to the Pacific Northwest territory's Okanogan settlement. The year is 1814 and, as is customary of her life out West, Marie faces constant challenges simply to keep her children clothed and fed. Yet inside each challenge awaits a gift to be unwrapped. Countless times, Marie has proven herself a survivor. Incredibly, she must now endure further realizations of a woman's fears: an abrupt ending to love, distance from friends, the disappearance of one child, the consequences of another's poor choices. Through it all, Marie is tempted to believe that she doesn't deserve God's love in the everyday places. When blessings arrive, she struggles to accept them, fearing they will be followed by more difficult challenges. But ultimately, the threads of past friendships and their prayers, a faithful love, and her own service to others all lead her to God's gift of a full and abundant life.From the Trade Paperback edition.

A CIRCLE OF COURAGEOUS WOMEN DISCOVERS THE MEANING OF INDEPENDENCE, FORGIVENESS, AND LOVE Ruth Martin had a dream: to become an independent woman and build a life in southern Oregon for herself and her children. But when her friend Mazy's inaction results in a tragedy that shatters Ruth's dream, Ruth must start anew and try to heal her tender wounds. Her friends are also moving on. Mazy wrestles with her understanding of what faith and family really mean; Tipton discovers that marriage requires more than she's ready to give; and Suzanne's challenge is to keep seeing with new eyes. Together, the turn around women travel to arenas of untested promise where they'll find a hope that sustains them and relationships they'll cherish all their days.THE FINAL BOOK IN THE KINSHIP AND COURAGE SERIESFrom the Trade Paperback edition.