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A gritty western saga and timeless love story, Orphan Moon gallops across the bleeding edge of the American frontier.

FIVE-STAR REVIEW FOR ORPHAN MOON:

It's no surprise this book gained acclamation in several book awards. Orphan Moon is a gritty, tell-it-like-it-is, in your face, tale about a courageous young woman who fights to regain her life after a terrible massacre. As I read along, this novel had me cheering, crying, and white knuckling my kindle. Barleigh Flanders looses everything after her family is massacred. Determined to fight for her money so she can rebuild her life and take care of her young sister, she sets out on an incredible journey for a young woman to make alone. Along the way, she works for the famous Pony Express and is befriended by the rugged and strong Hughes Levesque. The book flows with themes of romance, dark family secrets, past family conflicts, hope and dreams, and the primal instinct of survival! Orphan Moon is Book 1 of a trilogy. There are three stories within that intertwine, making this a rich and satisfying read. Definitely one of my favorites and not a surprise it received notice in several awards for historical and western fiction! Thank you to the author and publisher. (THE CURIOUS DAME - Amazon Review)

1860 – Palo Pinto, Texas: Under the spectacular glow of a Comanche moon, a family is slaughtered, their homestead torched. Nineteen-year-old Barleigh Flanders survives the terrifying midnight raid. Fiercely determined to rebuild, she seizes an opportunity meant for another. Desperate, near penniless, her foolhardy, reckless scheme could prove calamitous or miraculous, yet it’s her only hope.

Her grueling physical journey stretches from Texas, to Missouri, and into the rugged Utah Territory. However, it’s her emotional journey that takes her to places of uncharted darkness, discovery, and redemption when old family secrets are revealed. What she accepted as her past turns out to be a convoluted lie that reaches across generations, reshaping her memories of the Grandfather she despised, the father she adored, and the mother she never knew.

Along her journey she encounters a mysterious stranger. In Hughes Levesque, Barleigh gains an unsought ally with dark secrets of his own. A Texas Ranger turned hired gun, Hughes makes it his personal mission to keep Barleigh safe. Doing so may cost him his life, his job, and his heart, none of which he’s keen to lose.

Orphan Moon is a heart-wrenching saga of family love, loss, and betrayal. Both a gripping adventure and a timeless love story, it gallops across the bleeding edge of the western frontier. 

Writers’ League of Texas 2015 Top Five Finalist—Historical Fiction

Readers' Favorite Five Star Award

The Wishing Shelf - International Book Awards 2015 Finalist (winners to be announced April 1, 2016)

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