Rick Barr

February "Val" Calendar is one of twelve adopted sisters, and she loves her entire huge and utterly crazy family. She really and truly does. It's just that lately...well, lately, she's been wondering about this empty feeling inside, this desire to be a part of something more.She wonders if it's a result of not knowing her birth family, and Val's initial research has indicated a few options open to her. She's determined to use them all in her search...

Reign Phillips has just earned her PhD in ancient languages when her Professor returns from Greece with treasure for the University of New Mexico; fifty-six mummified remains and a puzzling sealed gold casket that doesn't seem to fit any time period. Accompanying him is the man responsible for brokering the deal with the university, Damon Sarantos. Unknown to anyone, Damon himself had buried the casket almost two thousand years before. Reign is a...

When America declared war on the German Empire in 1917, young men were drafted and thrown into the conflict on the Western Front. A group of young women decided to help the war effort by writing to the soldiers. As Matrice Hamilton corresponds with several young men, only one claims her heart. Will he come home to her if he survives the carnage on the frontlines? If so, can they find love and fulfillment together, or will the dark clouds of war overshadow...

What if you discovered the man running for sheriff was also working the wrong side of the law? And what if that man was your intended husband. Last Chance in 1895 is a shadow of what it once was, filled with too many women competing for the few men left to save them from poverty, starvation, and spinsterhood. Closed businesses and broken dreams rule the day, drawing a diversity of men to the struggling town; men on both sides of the law. Esther Sorenson...

In this suspense-filled, neo-monster, horror novelette, a writer named Gene Winfield discovers an ominous, handwritten book among the belongings of his late, adventurer aunt. As Gene reads, he becomes captivated with the volume's account of a savage, unearthly creature. In spite of the book's warning, with his writing career failing, Gene can't resist the inspiration. Near the roaring fire in his aunt's otherwise cold, empty manor, Gene begins a story...

Emmaline Holton was five years old when the blizzard of 1878 left her an orphan. Her uncle wanted to raise her, but his difficult wife objected. That left only one relative to help Emmaline, her cousin Rachel and her new husband, Samuel. Fifteen years later, Last Chance has suffered through a severe drought and crop failure. As a result, many people have left town. Emmaline, now twenty, wonders if she too will need to leave town to find love and a...

Vivianna Risler enjoys interacting with the young women of her daughter's acquaintance. But when the girls form the Ladies Victory League and undertake a letter writing campaign to the Doughboys, she supervises the activities with a mother's eye toward propriety and protection. However, the vivacious widow is intrigued by the idea and finds an unexpected pleasure in furthering her acquaintance with a family friend. For Dr. Zechariah Stewart, there...

Rosella Tihold and her family spent years as travelling musicians with Hammerman's Cultural Musicale. But when her brother is injured at Gettysburg, the young singer's priorities shift, and the lure of a place to call home settles in Rosella's heart. Longing for stability, Gier Knudsen risks everything when he sends for a mail-order bride. But the secret he is hiding will certainly be a detriment to his well-laid plans. So he requests that the marriage...

To say Maeva Stewart is not a patient young woman is an understatement. Full of ideas, she meets life head on – usually with her best friend and neighbor, Ruby Risler. Aside from Ruby's good qualities as a friend, she also has a brother, Leo. After giving cookies to the men leaving the train station for Camp Douglas, Maeva begins writing letters to those she doesn't know. Then, drawing upon an untapped well of courage, she writes to tell Leo how...

Chased from their life by scandal, Ilianna Winters and her mother desperately seek a new beginning. But tragedy continues to plague the Winters as they seek out a place to rebuild their lives. As the world totters on the brink of madness, Ilianna finds compassion among her companions in the Ladies Victory League. Still, social constraints and dark secrets hamper the young woman's potential within high society - until she is blessed to find a kindred...