Books I've Written

The Once Upon a Western collection features retellings of favorite fairy tales transported to Wild West settings. Readers will enjoy seeing the characters, plots, and other familiar elements of well-known fairy tales transported into the non-magical world of America's Old West.

Once Upon a Western
book four: My Rock and My Refuge



2023 WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction

2023 PenCraft Award 2nd place winner for Christian Historical Fiction

Beauty and the Beast… re-imagined.

Marta knows she shouldn't feel this way toward Mr. Wendell. She needs to keep her job as his servant, especially because her family back in Germany depends on the money she and her brother Jakob send home. Marta's new feelings can't be as important as helping her family save their bakery, can they? 

Marta doesn't want to believe the rumors that Mr. Wendell profited from another's tragedy to gain his wealth. Although his face bears terrible scars, she sees past them to his kind and generous heart. Still, she wonders why he never leaves his big house high in the Colorado mountains. Does he hide himself away because of his disfigured face, or because he has a guilty conscience? 

While Marta tries to push away her questions, others are determined to find answers. Their efforts lead to a fresh tragedy that threatens Marta's hope of finding happiness with Mr. Wendell. Will Marta fail her family and her new friends, or will God bless her efforts to build a happy future for them all?


Once Upon a Western
book three: One Bad Apple

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs... re-imagined. 

When a wagon train of Black pioneers rescues the seven orphaned Dalton cousins from the side of the trail, it seems like an answer to their prayers. As they roll west toward Kansas, fourteen-year-old Levi Dalton is dazzled by the beautiful Mrs. Mallone. She's a healer, and her knowledge of medicines and herbs inspires Levi to want to become a doctor. Maybe then he can stop people from dying of fevers and illnesses like his folks did.

But Mrs. Mallone's stepdaughter, Hopeful, warns Levi not to become too attached to the healer. Levi dismisses her warnings and his own misgivings until the day he sees something dreadful.

Levi knows he needs to tell someone what he’s seen before it’s too late. But will anyone believe the story of a fourteen-year-old orphan? Will anyone stand up to evil, no matter how beautifully it’s packaged?



Once Upon a Western
book two: Dancing and Doughnuts

+ Buy it in paperback from Northwestern Publishing House
Buy it in paperback or for Kindle from Amazon
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Add it to your to-read shelf on Goodreads here.

Twelve Dancing Princesses... re-imagined. 

Fifty dollars just for asking a few questions? Jedediah Jones figures it must be his lucky day. What dancing and doughnuts have to do with anything, he neither knows nor cares. He's only interested in earning that money so he can finally eat something other than the apples he's been living off for days. Once his stomach and his pockets are filled again, he plans to move on.

But answering the advertisement plunges him into a forest of painted trees, twelve pretty sisters, trouble, and more trouble. And, yes, doughnuts.

So many doughnuts.

Can Jedediah Jones solve the mystery and earn that fifty dollars when the whole town has failed? Or will the twelve sisters lose their family's business no matter what he does?



Once Upon a Western
book one: Cloaked

+ Buy it in paperback from Northwestern Publishing House
Buy it in paperback or for Kindle from Amazon
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Add it to your to-read shelf on Goodreads here.

2017 Peacemaker Award Finalist for Best Young Adult/Children's Western Fiction

Little Red Riding Hood... re-imagined. 

Mary Rose feels uneasy around Mr. Linden from the moment she meets him on the stagecoach ride to her grandmother's ranch in Wyoming Territory. But he works for her grandmother, so that means he's trustworthy, doesn't it? Everyone else seems to view him as honest and respectable, and Mary Rose wonders if she's overreacting.

She tries to ignore her suspicions until one night, she discovers his real reason for being at the ranch. Now, if she's going to save her grandmother -- and herself -- she's going to need to run faster than she's ever run before.





The novella that started it all: 
 The Man on the Buckskin Horse

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Sleeping Beauty... re-imagined.

When local midwife Miss Emma learns that a hired gunman is headed to the Owens homestead to inflict who knows how much harm, she rushes to warn the family. But nothing she can do will stop the changes in store for the Owens family…and for herself.

4 comments:

  1. Your books sound fantastic! It gives me hope that maybe I can publish one day, too. I also love the layout of your blog!

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    1. Thanks, Thunderbird Queen! Self-publishing is definitely do-able, though a lot of work :-) Good luck with your writing!

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  2. Hello Hamlette! I finally got around to reading Cloaked yesterday - thought I would just *start* reading it, ended up reading past my bed time to see everyone through the thrilling conclusion ;) While I did feel that I wasn't quite the intended audience (since hey, I'm not a teen/young adult reader anymore!) that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. There were a number of descriptions and lines of dialogue which were a lot of fun, such as "My goodness, Deputy Small, your opinion of yourself is almost as high as your head." I also enjoyed and appreciated how you took several opportunities to provide some education for your reader without turning it into a lecture. Thank you for writing this story.
    - VT

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    1. VT, I'm so glad you enjoyed Cloaked :-) Thanks for stopping by to let me know! I had so much fun writing it :-)

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