Last year on Valentine’s Day, I was featured by the Mark Twain House & Museum in the author spotlight, Romancing Mark Twain . Later in the year, my novel Tom Sawyer Returns won the Laramie Grand Prize for Americana Fiction in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards . This year, it reached First Place in the 2022 contest for Mystery . I could not be more thrilled and honored. Both books in this series are the work of a lifetime. Of all the novels I’ve written, these a

The last, and most exciting, installment in the series, Steam! Romance and Rails. The Pinkerton & the Outlaw May 1874, Indian Territory A Pinkerton detective and an outlaw form a temporary partnership to solve a mystery and get caught in a net of corruption, crime, and murder. The Steam! series follows a trail of historical events surrounding the expansion of the railroad across the American West. For Lawless Hearts , I took inspiration from the history of the Pinkerton Agen

The author Mark Twain is best remembered for his satire and his scathing observations on human nature.  But there was another side to the man, Samuel Clemens…a romantic one. At age 32, Sam returned from a successful trip abroad with a new friend, Charles Langdon, who invited Sam to an outing with his family. It was late December 1867 when Sam joined the Langdons at Steinway Hall in New York City to hear Charles Dickens read from David Copperfield. The reading didn’t impress S

In my novel Redbird , elements from Cherokee myths are woven into the love story, which is set during a historical event in the 1870s involving the Cherokee Nation and the Katy Railroad. Read on to find out more about these fascinating legends that inspired me. Uk-ten-a Jake crept next to the dark side of the locomotive. Tonight, Uk-te-na didn’t hiss or spew its dark breath. The smoking dragon crouched on metal rails with its nose pointed south, directly at the heart of the T

My bestselling series is better than ever. The Steam! Romance and Rails series was inspired by my love for Western movies and TV shows that deliver exceptional drama, passion and suspense in authentic historical settings. I’ll give a nod to Hell On Wheels as one of those inspirational shows. And you can really see the influence in these new covers for the latest edition of the series. I’ve tweaked and polished the stories, given them new covers that are closer to my original

The New Adventures covers feature original paintings by Missouri artist Gary R. Lucy From an early age, I’ve been afflicted with a fondness for two precocious Missouri-bred boys introduced to me by Mark Twain. As I read (and reread) Tom and Huck’s adventures, I hated to bid them farewell at a point where their stories were just taking off. I wanted to know what happened to them when they grew up. Did they find new adventures? Did they embark on the greatest adventure of all—f

Maggie has an unexpected suitor—in a red suit.    A schoolteacher plays matchmaker for the local Santa, who also happens to be her brother’s fiercest competitor. But she’s the only bride he wants…if he can just convince her they would be the perfect match. Santa’s Mail-Order Bride incorporates a number of American Christmas traditions, including the beloved character of Santa Claus. Our present-day version of Santa may appear contemporary, but the venerable gift-giver has a

One of the greatest challenges and pleasures in self-publishing is partnering with other artists to conceive the book cover. It’s the physical representation of your story, and so it has to be right. For the Steam! Romance and Rails series, I didn’t just want pictures of trains, I wanted images that would capture the passion and drama of a long-ago time and bring it alive. When I came across a website featuring the photographic art of Matthew Malkiewicz , I knew I’d found pe

This month, I’m celebrating my 10th anniversary as an author. I’ve always been a history geek, so it seemed natural to combine a passion for the past with my lifelong love for romance, which is how I arrived at historical romance. The potential for subject matter is as vast as humankind, but as I thought about what most piqued my interest, I found myself drawn to a particular period in American history. Something about the story of the railroads called to me. Maybe it was the

“When I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades in our village on the west bank of the Mississippi River. That was, to be a steamboatman. We had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. These ambitions faded out, each in its turn; but the ambition to be a steamboatman always remained.” ~ Mark Twain Embark on a new adventure with an old friend TAMING HUCK FINN , inspired by Mark Twain’s iconic adventurer, begins in th

Jolie LaFemme has been a working girl ever since being betrayed and left penniless, grieving and adrift. She’s jaded, distrustful and blind to the possibility of love. As far as she’s concerned, being the madam of a popular sporting house is the best she can hope for, and nothing will convince her to give up the coveted and lucrative position.  Hank Donavan arrives in Noelle with a plan to ensure his sister’s financial security, and regain his pride. He’s a man in his prime,

USA Today Bestselling Author  Caroline Lee is featuring my #1 bestselling box set, An American Mail Order Bride Christmas Collection , in her book club this week! If you haven’t yet read this set yet, I hope you’ll try it. Goes well with a cup of hot cocoa and a warm fire! American Mail Order Bride Christmas Collection includes: Victoria Bride of Kansas In Victoria, Bride of Kansas, we meet a little girl, Fannie, who is mute. She hasn’t spoken since her mother left her tw