Through the Deep Waters by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Through the Deep Waters

1883 – Kansas

A past filled with shame can be washed away with a love that conquers all

Born to an unloving prostitute in a popular Chicago brothel, timid seventeen-year-old Dinah Hubley was raised amidst the secrets held in every dark, grimy room of her home. Anxious to escape, Dinah pursues her dream of becoming a Harvey Girl, waiting tables along the railroad in an upscale hotel. But when she finds out she isn’t old enough, her only option is to accept a job as a chambermaid at the Clifton Hotel in Florence, Kansas. Eager to put everything behind her, Dinah feels more worthless than ever, based on a single horrible decision she made to survive. The Clifton offers a life Dinah has never known, but blinded to the love around her, Dinah remains buried in the shame of her past. When a handsome chicken farmer named Amos Ackerman starts to show interest, Dinah withdraws further, convinced no one could want a sullied woman like her. Despite his self-consciousness about his handicapped leg and her strange behavior, Amos resolves to show Dinah Christ’s love. But can she ever accept a gift she so desperately needs?

The Marshal’s Ready-Made Family by Sherri Shackelford

The Marshal’s Ready-Made Family

1881 – Kansas

Gentlemen don’t court feisty straight shooters like JoBeth McCoy. Just as she’s resigned to a lifetime alone, a misunderstanding forces the spunky telegraph operator into a marriage of convenience. Wedding the town’s handsome new marshal offers JoBeth a chance at motherhood, caring for the orphaned little girl she’s come to love. Garrett Cain will lose guardianship of his niece, Cora, if he stays single, but he knows no woman could accept the secrets he’s hidden about his past. The lawman can’t jeopardize Cora’s future by admitting the truth. Yet when unexpected danger in the small town threatens to expose Garrett’s long-buried secret, only a leap of faith can turn a makeshift union into a real family.

Echoes of Mercy by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Echoes of Mercy

1904 – Kansas

Sometimes a secret must be kept for the truth to be revealed.

When a suspicious accident occurs at the famous Dinsmore Chocolate Factory in Sinclair, Kansas, Caroline Lang goes undercover as a factory worker to investigate the circumstances surrounding the event and how the factory treats its youngest employees—the child workers. Caroline’s fervent faith, her difficult childhood, and compassionate heart drove her to her job as an investigator for the Labor Commission and she is compelled to see children freed from such heavy adult responsibilities, to allow them to pursue an education. Oliver Dinsmore, heir to the Dinsmore candy dynasty, has his own investigation to conduct. Posing as a common worker known as “Ollie Moore,” he aims to find out all he can about the family business before he takes over for his father. Caroline and Oliver become fast friends, but tension mounts when the two find themselves at odds about the roles of child workers. Hiding their identities becomes even more difficult when fate brings them together over three children in desperate need. When all is revealed, will the truth destroy the love starting to grow between them?

Call Of The Prairie by Vickie McDonough

Call Of The Prairie

1873 – Kansas

A Young Woman Dreaming of Freedom…

Sophie Davenport feels like a prisoner in her own house. In her twenty–two years, her overprotective parents have taken every possible measure to keep her from anything that might exacerbate her asthma–in other words, just about everything but reading and needlework. Yet Sophie longs for adventure…and for love. She corresponds clandestinely with a would–be suitor, until they meet and her wheezing scares him off. It seems her fragile health just might sentence her to a lifetime of monotonous inactivity.

A Young Man Dreaming of a Family…

Josh Harper is far more bookish than his brawny brothers. The middle child, he enjoys helping at his family’s stagecoach stop in Kansas, where he spends a great deal of time crafting furniture and other items out of wood. But, before long, his book smarts draw him to the nearby city of Windmill, where he begins work as manager of his uncle’s bank. He also looks after his niece and nephew, who spend their weeks in town to attend school. The change of scenery is welcome, but Josh yearns for a family of his own. Too bad eligible females are not plenteous on the prairie.

A Reality That Seems to Stand in the Way…

When Sophie’s aunt, a resident of Windmill, falls ill and requires help, Sophie volunteers. Despite his hesitation, her father finally relents and lets her go, as there is no other option. Her new role brings her into contact with the children boarding at her aunt’s home–and with the handsome uncle of two of them. Is there a larger purpose in her coming to Windmill? Or will Josh Harper reject her, if not for her frail health, then for the rocky nature of their relationship?

A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears

A Bride for Keeps (Unexpected Brides Book #1)

1876 – Kansas

Although Everett Cline can hardly keep up with the demands of his homestead, he won’t humiliate himself by looking for a helpmate ever again–not after being jilted by three mail-order brides. When a well-meaning neighbor goes behind his back to bring yet another mail-order bride to town, he has good reason to doubt it will work, especially after getting a glimpse at the woman in question. She’s the prettiest woman he’s ever seen, and it’s just not possible she’s there to marry a simple homesteader like him. Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. Having finally worked up the courage to leave her life in Massachusetts, she’s determined to find a place where people will value her for more than her looks. Having run out of all other options, Julia resorts to a mail-order marriage in far-away Kansas. Everett is skeptical a cultured woman like Julia could be happy in a life on the plains, while Julia, deeply wounded by a past relationship, is skittish at the idea of marriage at all. When, despite their hesitations, they agree to a marriage in name only, neither one is prepared for the feelings that soon arise to complicate their arrangement. Can two people accustomed to keeping their distance let the barricades around their hearts down long enough to fall in love?

The Preacher’s Wife by Brandi Boddie

The Preacher’s Wife (Brides of Assurance)

1870 – Kansas

Can this small-town girl trade her tarnished past for a respectable life?

During the hot, windy summer of 1870 in the burgeoning prairie town of Assurance, Kansas, Marissa Pierce is fed up with her abusive boss. She longs to start a new life and is growing weary of convincing townsfolk that she is most certainly not a prostitute. Civil War veteran and preacher Rowe Winford arrives in town intent on leaving the tragic memories of his deceased family behind. Although Rowe has no plans to fall in love anytime soon, the plans of God rarely match those of man. Faced with adversity and rejection from the town and Rowe’s family, can Marissa overcome her past, renew her faith, and experience the life of love that God has planned for her?

What was Once Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer

What Once Was Lost

1890 – Kansas

A woman meant to serve, a child in the dark, a man standing apart—can these three souls embrace a God with new plans for them?

On a small Kansas farm, Christina Willems lovingly shepherds a group of poor and displaced individuals who count on her leadership and have come to see the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor as their home. But when a fire breaks out in the kitchen leaving the house inhabitable, she must scramble to find shelter for all in her care, scattering her dear “family.” With no other options, Christina is forced to approach Levi Jonnson, a reclusive mill owner, to take in a young blind boy named Tommy Kilgore. Levi agrees with reluctance but finds himself surprised by the bond that quickly grows between him and Tommy. As obstacles to repairing the farm pile up against Christina, she begins to question her leadership ability and wonders if she can fulfill the mission to which she’s dedicated her life. And when an old adversary challenges Christina, will she find an unlikely ally—or more—in the aloof Levi? Can Levi reconcile with the rejection that led to his hermit-like existence and open his heart and life to something more, especially a relationship with a loving God?

Keeping Faith by Hannah Alexander

Missouri to Kansas

The wagon train ride from Missouri to Kansas territory is rife with perils. But there are bigger obstacles for Dr. Victoria Fenway than cholera or creek floods. Years ago, she and wagon-train captain Joseph Rickard were deeply in love. Now, Victoria is tracking the man who killed her late husband, and she is determined to continue his work rescuing slaves. She can’t allow herself to fall for Joseph again—not when he abandoned her once before. Joseph told Victoria he’d love her forever, and he’s been as good as his word. Misunderstanding led to her marrying another man. But with dangerous slavers on their trail, he’ll do anything to keep her safe until they reach a new home—and a second chance.

The Grace That Leads Us Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer

The Grace That Leads Us Home: A Short Story Prequel to What Once Was Lost

1887 – Kansas

They were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together…

In the wake of her husband’s death, Alice Deaton will do anything to hold her family together. But with life handing her challenge after challenge, will her faith crack under the strain? Or will a kind stranger be able to offer refuge that Alice and her two small children so desperately need?

Into the Wilderness by Laura Abbot

Into the Wilderness

1869 – Kansas

He survived a battlefield massacre and, before that, his fiancée’s betrayal. Cavalry officer Caleb Montgomery is unable to trust in anything now, especially himself. But then he’s stationed in Fort Larned, Kansas, where Lily Kellogg, the lovely army surgeon’s daughter, begins to rekindle his faith—and his hope. Caleb is the kind of gallant, surprisingly sensitive man Lily never expected to find on the Western frontier. Since childhood, she has longed for the stability and culture only the big city can offer, and her most cherished wish is suddenly within reach. Still, putting both their dreams to the test is the one way she and Caleb can find their road home…to each other.

Whispers on the Prairie by Vickie McDonough

Whispers On The Prairie (Pioneer Promises Series, Volume 1)

1868 – Kansas

A City Girl Far from Home…

Sarah Marshall just wants to go home. It wasn’t her idea to leave Chicago and head west in search of gold, but her uncle’s ambition left her no choice. Neither was her intention to settle in Kansas City with her ailing aunt, but being penniless and without possessions brings little bargaining power. Pretty soon, she resigns herself to her fate, however unfortunate. It isn’t as if she has a home to go back to.

A Country Boy Seeking to Right a Wrong…

Ethan Harper, the youngest of three brothers, enjoys a peaceful existence helping run his family’s stage shop along the Santa Fe Trail. Only one cloud continues to darken his horizon—guilt over the tragic death of his oldest brother’s wife. The only acceptable penance Ethan can think of is finding another woman to marry his brother and help raise his motherless children.

A Match so Incompatible, It Just Might Work…

When a series of misfortunes strands Sarah Marshall and her aunt at the Harpers’ Stage Stop, the status quo is overthrown as the presence of an attractive young woman, however unversed in the ways of prairie living, wreaks havoc on the lives of the Harper brothers, all three of them vying for her attention. But will any of them prove himself worth giving up the life Sarah always dreamed of?

A Cowboy at Heart by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith

A Cowboy at Heart (The Amish of Apple Grove)

1886 – Kansas

Jesse Montgomery is beginning to feel restless. Though he’s grateful to his friends Colin and Emma for helping him get on his feet again after a few bad choices and some hard living, surely the Lord doesn’t want him to stay in Apple Grove forever. Doesn’t the Almighty have plans for this reformed rowdy cowboy to build a life of his own?

When an unscrupulous cattle baron tries to steal Amish land, Jesse intervenes and is wounded. Lovely Katie Miller, the young healer in the district, attends to him while trying to guard her heart. This sweet Amish widow cannot risk falling in love with an Englisch cowboy, charming though he may be. And yet–she believes God has a life for her too that is more than what she can presently see. Could there be a future with Jesse only He could bring about?

A Home in Drayton Valley by Kim Vogel Sawyer

A Home in Drayton Valley

1880 – Kansas

Fed up with the poor quality of life in 1880 New York, Tarsie Raines encourages her friends Joss and Mary Brubacher to move with their two children to Drayton Valley, Kansas, a booming town hailed in the guidebook as the land of opportunity. She offers to help with expenses and to care for Mary and the children as they travel west by wagon train. But when tragedy strikes on the trip across the prairie, Tarsie is thrown into an arrangement with Joss that leaves both of them questioning God and their dreams for the future. As their funds dwindle and nothing goes as planned, will Tarsie and Joss give up and go their separate ways, or will God use their time in Drayton Valley to turn their hearts toward him?

A Plain and Simple Heart by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith

A Plain and Simple Heart (The Amish of Apple Grove)

1884 – Kansas

Several years earlier, young Rebecca Switzer lost her heart to Jesse Montgomery, a rugged but dissolute cowboy on a dusty cattle trail near the Amish settlement of Apple Grove. Now she is grown up, and when she hears one day that he has been spotted nearby, her desire is plain and simple: She must see him.

Sheriff Colin Maddox is counting the days until he can leave law enforcement and follow his dream of starting a church. When a lovely woman, new to town and looking travel weary and a bit lost, gets caught up in the middle of a temperance riot, she is arrested along with the leaders. He can hardly believe she is what she claims–a Plain and simple woman. Nor can he believe how quickly he loses his heart to her. Can Colin convince her to forget Jesse and give him a chance?

Christmas at Holly Hill by Martha Rogers

Christmas At Holly Hill (Winds Across the Prairie)

1898 – Kansas

It is October 1898, and Clayton Barlow has just returned home after serving time in prison for his part in a bank robbery. His family welcomes him, but the townspeople are skeptical. Bored with life in the small town but determined to make a new start, he goes to work with his father, hoping to regain the town’s trust.

Clayton recognizes the schoolteacher at the Prairie Grove School as his childhood friend, Merry Lee Warner, and old feelings surface. Still, he doubts that he could ever get a woman like Merry to love him.

As the townspeople prepare for Christmas, their suspicions about Clayton lead to trouble. Will the trusting heart of an unlikely new friend be enough to restore Clayton’s relationships with his neighbors and reunite him with God and Merry?

Winning the Widow’s Heart by Sherri Shackelford

Winning the Widow’s Heart

1870s – Kansas

When Texas Ranger Jack Elder stormed the isolated Kansas homestead, he expected to find a band of outlaws. Instead, the only occupant is a heavily pregnant woman—and she’s just gone into labor. A loner uneasy with emotion, Jack helps deliver widow Elizabeth Cole’s baby girl and can’t get back on the trail fast enough. The robber and murderer he’s after killed one of Jack’s own, and he vows to catch the man. But when he returns to check on Elizabeth and her little one, he discovers that she may hold the key to his unsettled past—and his hoped-for future.

The Heart’s Frontier by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith

The Heart’s Frontier (The Amish of Apple Grove)

1881 – Kansas

An exciting new Amish-meets-Wild West adventure from bestselling authors Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith weaves an entertaining and romantic tale for devoted fans and new readers.

On a trip to visit relatives, Emma Switzer’s Amish family is robbed of all their possessions, leaving them destitute and stranded on the prairie. Walking into the nearest trading settlement, they pray to the Lord for someone to help. When a man lands in the dust at her feet, Emma looks down at him and thinks, The Lord might have cleaned him up first.
Luke Carson, heading up his first cattle drive, is not planning on being the answer to anyone’s prayers, but it looks as though God has something else in mind for this kind and gentle man. Plain and rugged—do the two mix? And what happens when a dedicated Amish woman and a stubborn trail boss prove to be each other’s match?

Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Song of My Heart

1895 – Kansas

Sadie Wagner has always been devoted to her family. So when her stepfather is injured and can’t work, she decides to leave home and accept a position as a clerk at the mercantile in Goldtree, Kansas. Goldtree also offers the opportunity to use her God-given singing talent–though the promised opera house is far different from what she imagined. With her family needing every cent she can provide, Sadie will do anything to keep her job.

Thad McKane comes to Goldtree at the request of the town council. The town has been plagued by bootlegging operations, and Thad believes he can find the culprit. After he earns enough money doing sheriff work, he wants to use it to pay for his training to become a minister.

Thad is immediately attracted to the beautiful singer who performs in Asa Baxter’s unusual opera house, but when he hears her practicing bawdy tunes, he begins to wonder if she’s far less innocent than she seems. And when Sadie appears to be part of the very crimes he’s come to investigate, is there any hope the love blossoming between them will survive?

Amelia’s Journey by Martha Rogers

Amelia’s Journey: A prequel to the Winds Across the Prairie series

1876 – Kansas

For Ben Haynes it is love at first sight, but can a Boston socialite find true happiness with a cowboy from Kansas?

Once childhood friends, Ben Haynes is taken with Amelia Carlyle when he runs into her at her sister’s wedding. Although he will be returning to Kansas and life on his father’s ranch, Ben calls on Amelia several times, and they find they have more in common than they first realized. As he leaves for Kansas, they promise to write.

Back in Kansas, Ben begins to save money toward a home for Amelia even though he has not made his intentions known. He’s relying on God to make a way. Meanwhile, Amelia is presented to society and has several young men vying for her attention.

Although Ben has captured Amelia’s heart, her parents make every effort to discourage the relationship, even forbidding Amelia to correspond with him. Amelia tells Ben that she will wait for him as long as it takes, but will the love and loss they experience along the way bring them closer or drive them apart forever?

A Bride’s Portrait of Dodge City, Kansas by Erica Vetsch

A Bride’s Portrait of Dodge City, Kansas
1870s – Kansas

Hoping to leave the shadows of her shady yesteryears behind, Adeline Reid is focusing on her photography career. But when her ex-boyfriend’s compatriot in crime shows up in Dodge City her entire past is threatened by exposure. Can Addie keep her secrets while helping to catch a killer? Deputy Miles Carr’s investigation into a shopkeeper’s murder leads him to Addie’s door. Will his attraction to this female photographer keep him from catching the true culprit? Or will Addie lead him off course in more ways than one?

A Hopeful Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer

A Hopeful Heart

1888 – Kansas

Dowryless and desperate, Tressa Neill applies to the inaugural class of Wyatt Herdsman School in Barnett, Kansas, in 1888. The school’s one-of-a-kind program teaches young women from the East the skills needed to become a rancher–or the wife of one. Shy and small for her twenty-two years, Tressa is convinced she’ll never have what it takes to survive Hattie Wyatt’s hands-on instruction in skills such as milking a cow, branding a calf, riding a horse, and cooking up a mess of grub for hungry ranch hands. But what other options does she have?

Abel Samms wants nothing to do with the group of potential brides his neighbor brought to town. He was smitten with an eastern girl once–and he got his heart broken. But there’s something about quiet Tressa and her bumbling ways that makes him take notice. When Tressa’s life is endangered, will Abel risk his own life–and his heart–to help this eastern girl?

Fields of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Fields of Grace

1872 – Kansas

With their eldest son nearly to the age when he will be drafted into military service, Reinhardt and Lillian Vogt decide to immigrate to America, the land of liberty, with their three sons and Reinhardt’s adopted brother, Eli. But when tragedy strikes during the voyage, Lillian and Eli are forced into an agreement neither desires. Determined to fulfill his obligation to Reinhardt, Eli plans to see Lillian and her sons safely settled on their Kansas homestead–and he’s equally determined that the boys will be reared in the Mennonite faith. What he doesn’t expect is his growing affection for Lillian–and the deep desire to be part of a family.

A Promise for Spring by Kim Vogel Sawyer

A Promise for Spring

1874 – Kansas

England-born Emmaline Bradford pledged her life to Geoffrey Garrett and then bid him farewell when he sailed to America. Although Geoffrey anticipated only a short separation, several years passed before he was able to send for Emmaline. By then the fiery flame of her youthful love had all but died. Shocked by the conditions on Geoffrey’s Kansas sheep ranch, Emmaline wishes to return to England immediately. Geoffrey offers a compromise: If Emmaline promises to stay until spring, he’ll pay her return fare if she decides to go back to her home country. When spring arrives, will Emmaline return to England, or will she marry Geoffrey and carve out a life with him in Kansas?

Where the Heart Leads by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Where the Heart Leads (Waiting for Summer’s Return Series #2)

1904 – Kansas and Massachusetts

After his graduation from college, Thomas Ollenburger is filled with big dreams and many questions. What will he do for a career? Should he marry? Where will he call home? Torn between his Mennonite roots on the Kansas prairie and his love for the big city of Boston, as well as his affection for a girl in each location, Thomas is unsure of his place in the world. He has always sought God’s leading in his decision-making, but now it seems as if God is staying silent. Has Thomas’s heart led him astray?

Where Willows Grow by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Where Willows Grow

1936 – Kansas

Anna Mae isn’t sure her husband is being completely honest about his job with the Works Progress Administration. They’re building a castle? In Kansas? Harley promised he’d be at the worksite only long enough to earn enough cash to keep their farm. But the money hasn’t arrived, and Anna Mae fears Harley may be gone for good.

Harley Phipps has never been a man in need of luxuries, but he wants to do right by his wife and two little girls. He was about to lose all he’d worked for if he didn’t do something–there was no way he could pass up the government job, even if it meant leaving his family for a while. Anna Mae was awful mad when he sold the mules, packed his bag, and headed out. If only she’d send him a short note to let him know she and the girls are all right…

Waiting for Summer’s Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1894 – Kansas

After losing her husband and children to typhoid, Summer Steadman lacks the desire to forge ahead to Oklahoma. Instead she seeks employment in the small Mennonite community of Gaeddert, Kansas, to be near the graves of her family. Widower Peter Ollenberger, the local gristmill owner, needs someone to teach his son. When he hears of a “learned woman” in town, he believes she is the answer to his prayers, despite the fact that he faces censure for helping an “outsider.” There is next to nothing Peter will not do for his son. But when the boy begins looking at Summer as more than a teacher, Peter battles with himself. Does he marry this woman to give his son a new mother, or does he marry only for love?

Maggie’s Treasure by Sandra Waggoner

Goodreads ~ Purchase

1930s – Kansas

Maggie Daniels is haunted by the accident. She sees it when she closes her eyes, and she hears it in her father’s words: “Maggie should’ve come and gotten me.” They are constant reminders of the tragic event. Her mama is gone and Maggie is to blame.

When her daddy marries another woman, it’s a chance for a fresh start. But Maggie can’t let go of the past. She clings to a few precious mementos—all she has left of her mother. They become secret treasures, her only link to a past filled with tenderness and joy. She focuses on these items, closing herself off to everyone who cares for her.

But when a second tragedy threatens to tear her world apart, will Maggie’s treasure be enough to sustain her? Or will she finally turn to God, and to the people who have tried so hard to love her?

Emily’s Place by Tracey Bateman

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1885 – Kansas

When given the opportunity to buy the local mercantile, Emily St. John snaps it up – mostly because it will allow her to work side by side with the man she’s loved since childhood. Surely, he’ll finally pay attention to her. But Jeremiah Daniels can’t believe it. He’s scrimped and saved in order to buy the store he works in… and he’s waited to court Emily until he had it and could provide well for her. Now, he figures, she can just keep her store and spend her spare time working for women’s suffrage. He’s going to open a shop of his own. All is fair in love and war, it’s said – but can this stubborn pair rise above their pride and see God’s plan is for them to be together?

Tarah’s Lessons by Tracey Bateman

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1800s – Kansas

Already frustrated by the incorrigible students she teaches on the Kansas frontier, Tarah is further troubled when Anthony Greene, the one man she has always loved, returns to town. And she is certainly not ready to graciously accept his apparent preference for the simpering Louisa Thomas, the banker’s daughter who obviously has designs for the handsome young preacher. But the appearance of two abused children in the community changes everyone. How will Tarah be able to win the trust of Laney and Ben and help them to build a new life? Will she be able to accept the gifts of friendship from Anthony, if that is all he is willing to offer? And will her heart be open to lessons God has for her in a situation that seems to offer only heartache and loneliness?