Chain-breaking fiction: Tales of identity and purpose.

Contemporary Romance

Tiago and Quinn’s story: Loving the Rodeo Queen

Quinn Mulroney, former rodeo queen, lost it all. Now, she’s dreaming of becoming a veterinarian while caring for her daughter. She’s never forgotten the one man she called hero.

Tiago Vargas is seeking his passion, hoping to prove himself to his exacting father. When fate brings Quinn back into his life, he sees a second chance at his first love and offers her a job.

But she’s not the same woman he rescued. She carries a secret, and if Tiago discovers it, will he still be her hero, or will her hidden life destroy her last shot at happiness?

A second-chance, twist on the secret baby, ex-rodeo star romance that carries you along on a journey of identity and purpose and leaves you filled with hope and happily-ever-after.

Sully and Rhiann’s story: drafting

After a horrific lapse of judgment in the Collegiate National Finals Rodeo barrel racing competition leaves Rhiann James and her horse with lifetime souvenir limps, she runs away to Nashville to support her high school best friend’s attempt to sing her way to stardom. Instead, Rhiann’s voice is the one everyone raves about, though she performs only once at her friend’s urging.

Working as a stable hand at Elite Equine Therapy, Rhiann meets Shadowfax, a horse with a storied past, and an arena full of kids who, with the help of volunteers, are fighting to overcome their pain and hardship.

“Sully” Sullivan once dreamed of crooning ballads amid bright lights and applause, but since he failed to rescue his nephew from a house fire he feels responsible for, his throat and his heart are covered in scar tissue. Until he’s drawn to Rhiann’s singing from the stall shadows.

When Elite Equine’s largest supporter backs out, Sully and Rhiann will need to pull together a major fundraising campaign or lose their own chances for healing. If braving the spotlight with a song is the business’s only hope, can they rely on God, each other, and a horse’s unlikely story to pull off a miracle?

Near-past journey of faith with a hint of romance

Strength to Stand

Lee Russell is a lost cause—a failure—just like her parents said. As her opportunities in horse racing shrink due to gender prejudice, losing mounts to unscrupulous agents, and her own growing dependence on drugs, Lee wonders if she should abandon her dream. Is it too late to listen to friends who insist a loving God waits to forgive her? A God whose words have been so twisted she doesn’t know what to believe?

At Lee’s darkest moment, comfort comes from unlikely sources, a drug-addicted street person, a stray calico cat, and the horses she loves. When opportunity comes at last, will she sacrifice her integrity, her dream, and her freedom? Or will a chocolate-stained Bible lead her to choose another path?

Lee’s story is about betrayal and redemption, brokenness and healing, and the courageous pursuit of a heart’s longing. It’s about the willingness to take the offered hand, to believe in the kind word, to accept others as they are, and to discover the hope that brings with it the strength to stand.

Time to Trust

The heroine from Strength to Stand, Lee Russell, is to leave Washington for Great Falls, Montana with her mentor and friend, trainers Lucille and Rob Holden.

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Take a Journey with me… to Scotland. Free story ahead!

Click here to read a short story set in my fantasy world. If you’d like to read another fantasy short story, subscribe to my newsletter.

Or if you prefer historical fiction, click here to read a short story from my Strength to Stand world, 1980s Spokane, Washington.

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^{So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.}

^{Galatians 3:26 NIV}

 ^{It is through him that we live and function and have our identity; just as your own poets have said, ‘Our lineage comes from him.’}

Acts 17:28 The Passion Translation

Pattern of Choice: a Scottish fantasy

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong… what if you discovered you were only partially human, equipped with the power to save the world?

This book is about a girl named Rowan who has what she thinks is a disability, or she might be going crazy, who discovers, on a trip to Scotland, that she is actually a faerie… and a princess… and the answer to an ancient prophecy. Of course, this means bad people want to kill her.

It explores the idea that we are more than we suppose we are, and when we get a good look at our destiny, our identity, and our purpose, it changes us. It’s like a contemporary Jeff Wheeler fantasy with Sandersonlike layers and lore. Or Mary Weber’s Storm Siren series combined with a heroine similar to the one in Sandra Fernandez Rhoades’ Mortal Sight.

When Rowan wins a trip to Scotland, she has no idea she’s taking the first steps into a destiny that will rip apart the world as she knows it. It’s a story of adventure, journey, becoming, and believing. The story is about a girl with a hidden past and a power she struggles to control, set in Scotland, with a mysterious yet familiar boy who may or may not be human and who holds the keys to the epic destiny that awaits her.

Siren Crux

The story of a girl whose father has been a mystery, kept from her to protect her, because he’s a siren – one of the most hated, reviled species on the island sanctuary of Eile. A refuge for fae folk fleeing the evil besetting lands Behind the Veil, Eile is thought to bar the entrance to such evil. That the Sirens gained admittance smacks against the certainty Eileccians prize above all else – safety and freedom from fear of evil. The Sirens are contained – for now. But, if Mireia’s heritage became known, her life would be endangered.

As she approaches her 17th birthing day, she must be trained or risk failing the trial all fae face. Failure means at minimum a broken mind and loss of her power and at most, loss of life. Knowing this, Mireia sets off on a perilous journey to reunite with her father and ask him to teach her. Providing she survives the long trip alone, will her father accept her into his palace and can she avoid falling prey to the vicious tendencies siren power brings forth?

Castle of Sand (Working Title)

– Historical Fantasy

I’d describe this novel as a bridge between the two fantasy series I have begun. Using a character from Siren Crux and beginning in the setting (Europe-Spain, Wales, Scotland) of The Patterner’s Choice – though much earlier (1700s instead of 2000s) I’m writing the story of Santes Castillo and his pursuit of purpose and love. Traveling from Spain to Wales and then to Scotland, Santes confronts his past and learns not only to control and use his Gift, but also the meaning of purpose, mission, love, and loyalty.

The novel explains much of the lore and backstory of the two series without revealing spoilers.

Glossary of Terms

Behind the Veil – place reserved for those with cridhean – descendents of the Fallen Beings. Another, overlapping dimension on earth those without cridhean cannot access. Created by the Patterner and his Chosen to separate humankind from beings of power (those with cridhean). Also trapped the Destructor (see Lord of Caos).

Beyond the Veil – aka Yonhev – the place reserved on earth for humankind. Cannot be accessed without a soul.

cridhe – Scottish gaelic word meaning heart. The place where power is stored in a descendent of one of the Fallen Beings

cridhean – plural of cridhe

Eile – a separate dimension accessed for two years by bridge from behind the Veil, but in modern times, accessed by Rathad portal from Yonhev. A sanctuary, free of Chaos’ influence (according to legend), where descendents of Fallen Beings can live in safety.

Lord of Chaos – a being created by the Patterner, but who fought for control of Neamh, the dwelling place of the Patterner and his Chosen. On Earth, a spirit being without corporeal form. When he created a body for himself, he tied his cridhe to it and became the Destructor. His body is without a soul, thus trapping him behind the Veil.

the Patterner – Creator of All, Sustainer of All, he made the Patterns that created and maintain all life on earth. He also created the alternate dimensions of behind the Veil and Eile. After the battle with Caos, he sent to earth all those who hadn’t chosen to side with him in the war. Those who remained neutral also fell to earth, becoming the original Fallen Beings. Their Patterner-given power was released to their keeping within their cridhean.

To make wise choices you must be equipped. The following verse has always been special to me. I’d like to share it with you.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17

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