Carrie Fancett Pagels

A tangled Gilded Age love story unfolds against the backdrop of beautiful Mackinac Island, encircled by azure waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Maude's Mooring

My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island

Almost destitute, Lilly has run out of hope when she inherits her great-aunt's home -- but it's not the Tea Shop that a handsome young gentleman thinks it is. Lilly's inherited house is crammed full of tea cups. Theo, a Soo Locks engineer, visits frequently in the hopes he will find the perfect antique teacup for his mother and is charmed by the lovely 'Shoppe owner.' Lilly can't turn the bachelor away when he persistently peruses her aunt's collection, which she's trying to pack up and remove from the house. Is the man only interested in the teacups, or in her? When Theo begins referring people to Lilly, and the genuine Tea Shoppe owner sets the police on Lilly for her lack of a business license, sparks fly!

A Teacup Courtship Novella

Tea Shop Folly

Visit the Grand Hotel of Mackinac Island where Lily, a popular soloist, is questioning her sanity in a journal rediscovered 125 years later.

Behind Love's Wall

Rita Gerlach

Vanessa Riley

Susanne Dietze

Lorna Seilstad

Erica Vetsch

C. J. Chase

Kathleen L. Maher

Gabrielle Meyer

Experience a Dickens of a Christmas as you celebrate with nine fictional couples who meet and fall in love during the Victorian Era.

9 Women Dream of Perfect Christmases During the Victorian Era

The Victorian Christmas Brides Collection

Darlene Franklin

Cynthia Hickey

Gina Welborn

Jennifer AlLee

Angela Breidenbach

Tiffany Amber Stockton

Becca Whitham

Niki Turner

Meet nine men and women whose competitive goals take them to state and county fairs between 1889 and 1930. From baking pie to polishing pigs, from sculpting butter to stitching quilts, everyone has something to prove to themselves and their communities. But in going for the blue ribbon, will nine women miss the greatest prize of all—the devoted heart of a godly man?

9 Historical Women Win More than a Blue Ribbon at the Fair

The Blue Ribbon Brides Collection

Maggie Award Finalist 2016 in Romance NovellasA Christmas Carol meets It¿s A Wonderful Life A letter for Sonja¿s deceased friend arrives at the post office in Michigan, and with it a proposal. With her father threatening to kick her out of his home, Sonja impulsively responds, offering to travel west to be a substitute bride. At the same time, Louis¿s railroad promotion sends him back to Michigan, the one place on earth he¿d hoped to never return¿where Christmas past was full of pain. A mysterious stranger leaves him marked copies of ¿A Christmas Carol¿ as he considers romancing Sonja in Christmas present. Will Louis discern the best choices for Christmas future? Does it include the Poor House, again? Even so¿will God bring healing and love to him this year?

A Novella

The Substitute Bride

4 Teachers Find More Than They Bargained for in Their Contracts Something Old, Something New by Kathleen L. Maher New York, 1840s Her father’s sudden death makes Gilda Jacobs the new schoolmaster, but to teach Christian curriculum she partners with fire-and-brimstone revivalist Joshua Blake, who learns a lesson in love. Love in Any Language by Susanne Dietze Kansas, 1870 Mary Clarence teaches English to the children of Swedish immigrants, but when her favorite students’ widowed father, Kristofer Nilsson, is accused of robbery, she’s determined to clear his name. In Desperate Straits by Carrie Fancett Pagels Mackinac Island, Michigan, 1894 Desperate for work, Margaret Hadley dresses as a young man to secure a dray driver’s position. When soldiers at the fort threaten her, Mackinac Island’s newest teacher, Jesse Huntington, intervenes. A Song in the Night by Rita Gerlach Virginia, 1904 Karin Wiles longs to share the uplifting power of music with children. But when she seeks to improve a poorly run school and include orphans, Nathaniel Archer delivers harsh words of opposition from the school board.

4 Schoolteachers Find More Than They Bargained for in Their Contracts

Lessons on Love

C.J. Chase

Experience a Dickens of a Christmas Faced with the daily extremes of gluttony and want in the Victorian Era, nine women seek to create the perfect Christmas celebrations. But will expectations and pride cause them to overlook imperfect men who offer true love? One Golden Ring by C.J. Chase 1855 Devonshire, England Wounded soldier Tristram Nowell returns home to indulge his mother’s wish for a family Christmas—and encounters Marianna Granville. Can he forgive the former heiress who jilted him years before? Star of Wonder by Susanne Dietze 1875 County Durham, England This Yuletide, Bennet Hett, Lord Harwood, offers Lady Celeste Sidwell matrimony and the Star of Wonder diamond necklace, as their fathers arranged. When the diamond disappears, will they find a greater treasure? The Holly and the Ivy by Rita Gerlach 1900 near Washington, DC A glass ornament. Love letters tied in red Christmas ribbon. Lily Morningstar and British antiquities expert Andrew Stapleton are drawn into a family secret that binds their hearts together. Love Brick by Brick by Kathleen L. Maher 1857 Elmira, New York SarahAnn Winnifred overcomes orphanhood apprenticing with pioneering doctors. Rufus Sedgwick, relocating his English estate, seeks help for his ailing Mum. Christmas reveals the secret wish of both hearts—for love. A Christmas Vow by Gabrielle Meyer 1899 Cambrigeshire, England Lady Ashleigh Arrington is hosting a houseful of guests for Christmas when railroad executive Christopher Campbell unexpectedly arrives from America with a mysterious agreement signed by their fathers before their birth. The Sugarplum Ladies by Carrie Fancett Pagels 1867 Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and Detroit, Michigan When Canadian barrister Percy Gladstone finds his aristocratic British family unexpectedly descending upon him for Christmas, he turns to American social reformer Eugenie Mott and her fledgling catering crew for help. Paper Snowflake Christmas by Vanessa Riley 1837 Framlingham, England How can widow Ophelia Hanover give her son a perfect Christmas when his guardian, the Earl of Litton, arrives early to take permanent custody of the boy? Father Christmas by Lorna Seilstad 1880 Blackpool, England Widowed harpist Beatrix Kent believes love can only come once in a lifetime, but this Christmas, carpenter Hugh Sherman hopes to pull on the musician’s heartstrings and prove her wrong. The Perfect Christmas by Erica Vetsch 1887 London, England Melisande Verity might be in over her head trying to create the perfect Christmas window display, but if she succeeds, will she finally attract the attention of her boss, Gray Garamond?

9 Women Dream of Perfect Christmases during the Victorian Era

The Grand Hotel Slowly Reveals Her Secrets Walk through Doors to the Past via a new series of historical stories of romance and adventure. Two successful women, a hundred-and-twenty-years apart, build walls to protect their hearts. Modern-day Willa, a successful interior decorator, is chosen to go to Mackinac Island and consult for the Grand Hotel’s possible redesign. During work on a room, she discovers a journal detailing the struggles of a young woman, Lily—which reveals dark secrets. The renowned singer wasn’t who she pretended to be. As Willa reaches out to Lily’s descendant, a charismatic and prominent landscape artist, she lets down her guard. Should she share the journal with him—revealing hidden history—or once again erect a wall as she struggles to redesign both the Grand and her life? CARRIE FANCETT PAGELS, Ph.D., awarding-winning author of over twenty Christian fiction books, is a former psychologist of 25 years and enjoys spending her summers at the Straits of Mackinac, where this story is set.

Martha Rogers

Connie Stevens

Jennifer Uhlarik

Marcia Gruver

A first love is never easily forgotten... and coming face to face with that person again can be awkward when the heartstrings are still holding on to the “what ifs.” In settings from 1865 to 1910, nine couples are thrown back on the same path by life’s changes and challenges. A neighbor returns from law school. An heiress seeks a quick marriage. A soldier’s homecoming is painful. A family needs help. A prodigal son returns. A rogue aeronaut drops from the sky. A runaway bridegroom comes home. A letter for aid is sent. A doctor needs a nurse. Can love rekindle despite the separation of time and space? First Things First by Susanne Dietze 1877 – South Texas: Texas rancher’s daughter Georgie Bridge mourned when her first love, Ward Harper, left town to study the law, but now he’s back—as opposing counsel in a case against her father. A Most Reluctant Bride by Cynthia Hickey 1880 – Ozark foothill ranch: Maggie Spoonmore marries her father’s former foreman, Zach Colton in order to salvage her reputation, yet struggles to believe he married her for love and not her inheritance. Weeping Willow by Marcia Gruver May of 1861 – Port Royal, Virginia: In Civil War Virginia, tables are turned for Willow Bates when Julian Finney, her childhood crush and steadfast defender, returns from the war a broken man in need of rescue. His Anchor by Carrie Fancett Pagels 1894 – Mackinac Island, Michigan: Robert Swaine, a ship captain, returns to Mackinac Island where his first love, Sadie Duvall struggles to support her siblings. Will she anchor him to the island he has vowed to leave behind? After the Ball by Martha Rogers 1910 – Dallas, Texas: Chase Thornton, a wealthy oil man yearns for the life of a cowboy and his first love, Susannah King, but can she trust him to keep his word to leave the city and stay on the ranch? Lighter Than Air by Lorna Seilstad 1900 – St. Louis, Missouri: After Titus Knott crashes his hot air balloon behind Ella Mason’s boarding school, he must convince his former sweetheart that his words are true and not full of hot air. In Due Season by Connie Stevens 1901 – Whitley, Kansas: Leah Brown accepts her role of town spinster until Gareth Shepherd unexpectedly steps back into her life. Now she’s faced with a choice. Can she forgive the man who jilted her? Heartfelt Echoes by Jennifer Uhlarik 1875—Virginia City, Nevada: A short, urgent letter mentioning his childhood love, Millie Gordon, forces deaf Travis McCaffrey to turn to his estranged birth father for help rescuing the woman he can’t forget. Prescription for Love by Erica Vestch 1905 – New Orleans: Erstwhile fiancée Natalie Morrison is the last person Dr. Mackenzie wants as his new nurse, but when an epidemic hits, Phin finds she’s come back into his life at the perfect time.

9 Historical Romances Where First Loves are Rekindled

First Love Forever Romance Collection

Susan Page Davis

Patty Smith Hall

Seven women seek husbands to help them rebuild a Kansas town. Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas’, finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn’t return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved? Abigail’s Proposal by Cynthia Hickey When her father never returned from the war, Abigail Melton stepped into his role as town mayor. The town needs men, and she needs a husband—and she has a big idea how to find both—but her first duty is to hire a sheriff. And drifter Josiah Ingram will do just fine. The Kidnapped Groom by Susan Page Davis Riding through the Flint Hills on his way to Dodge City, cowboy Sam Cayford finds himself the kidnapping victim of two children. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner—whom the kids insist he should marry—Sam starts to question God’s plans versus his own. A Clean Slate by Susanne Dietze Schoolmarm Roberta “Birdy” Green won’t marry any of the prospective grooms flocking to town. After losing her fiancé in the war, the only love her broken heart can bear is for her students. But then she takes on a new pupil—Drew Cooper, one of the gentlemen drawn to Kansas by the advertisement for grooms. Sunshine of My Heart by Darlene Franklin Debbie Barker longs to bring beauty to her new home on the prairie, where her family moved after the war, and seeks a husband to help her father run the ranch. Zack Gage returned home from the war to a life in ruins—family dead and business bankrupted. He answers the mail-order husband ad to seek a fresh start. But neither Debbie nor Zeke know what they are doing when it comes to ranching. . .or love. Come What May by Patty Smith Hall Chardy Stevens is at the end of her rope. Between running her late father’s store and tending to her four younger brothers, she barely has time to breathe, much less look for a husband to help her. The boys scare off most of her prospects and throw Chardy together with her childhood friend Luke, a disabled veteran who seeks her happiness above his own. Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn—and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has no plans of finding a mail-order groom. Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a “cowboy holiday” when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas. When he answers an old “help wanted” ad, Caroline misconstrues Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful and fiesty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home? Louder than Words by Gina Welborn After years of writing abolitionist pamphlets and chronicling soldier life during the war, J.R. Lockhart is bored and jumps at the opportunity to investigate an advertisement for husbands for an article in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Jane Ransome would like to help the charming-but-oblivious-to-life-out-West man chronicle the courtships developing in town, but she has her own husband to find—one who will fit perfectly in her picket-fenced Kansas home.

A Newspaper Ad for Husbands Brings a Wave of Men to a Small Kansas Town

Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands Romance Collection

Blurb: Three generations of women unexpectedly head out to the family's cottage at the Straits of Mackinac for a small-town Michigan summer together. Each has her own journey to pursue during this short respite time from "normal" life. One of them has a secret that will change all of their lives. Can she make this one special summer to remember or will all be devastated? Faith for family and friends will be tested, with some finally able to put the past behind them and begin anew.

Carrie Fancett Pagels

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