The Ancestral Pen

Christmas Through the Eyes of My Ancestors Christmas has always been a time of reflection for me—not just about the present, but about the past. As a historical fiction author who writes about real people from my own family tree and the communities I call home, I can't help but wonder: what did Christmas look like for them? This year, as I've been writing and researching, I've been transported to three very different Christmases—each one a world away from our modern celebrations, yet each one filled with the same human longing for warmth, connection, and hope. Christmas with My Romani Ancestors For my English Romanichal ancestors—families like the Joles, Masons, and Rineharts who traveled through Michigan down to Oklahoma in the mid-1800s through early 1900s—Christmas was celebrated in a distinctly Romani way. Winter was when traveling families slowed their circuits, clustering wagons together on the outskirts of towns or hiring winter quarters on farm edges. Christmas gath...

  The house has settled back into its comfortable silence, and with it, so has my focus. Last week felt like finding my footing again — Book Two is officially released, and the cover and full outline for Book Three are finished. That means I get to share a small treat with you: an early sneak peek at the Book Three cover. Now the real work begins. I’m deep into writing Book Three, back in the rhythm of early mornings, quiet rooms, and stories that refuse to be rushed. Here is a brief blurb about book three: When the land takes a man, the world comes for what he leaves behind. Laura Clark has survived widowhood, hard winters, and the quiet grief of raising two children alone in the North Idaho mountains. But when a county investigator knocks on her door, she learns that kindness can hide sharper intentions — and that being a woman without a husband makes her household fair game. Jeffrey McAllister has buried too many people he loved and learned to keep his distance from family and p...

New Release The Outlaw's Second Chance Finally, the second book has been released. I was a little behind on my schedule and I greatly appreciate all of your patience over the last few weeks as I dealt with family.  Button What a whirlwind these past two weeks have been! I wanted to pop in with a quick update, especially for those waiting on the other versions of the new book. So far, only the ebook is live. I’m working as quickly (and sanely!) as possible to get the print and audio versions ready. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, family came to visit for the holiday—wonderful, but completely unplanned. I thought they’d be heading home right after Thanksgiving, but life had other ideas. It all started on a Monday morning. My husband was at a doctor’s appointment when his parents called: they were stranded on the side of the road near his work. That turned into a full-day ordeal—towing the car, diagnosing  multiple  issues, deciding what to do—and by that evening, they...

  It's that time of year when I'm either going to lose my mind or come out on the other side feeling like an Amazon warrior. Speaking of Amazon, don't forget to stop by my  author page  and pick out another one of my books while you're doing your Christmas shopping—like I am from the comfort of home. Those of you who know me will completely understand this: I do  not  like shopping. Never have. I've always considered it a chore, not an escape. I know for some of you ladies, that's sacrilegious, but not to me. So am I grateful to be living in an era where I can have my groceries and other items delivered right to my door? One hundred percent. But guess what? You all benefit from my quirky personality. While you're out shopping, doing the things most women enjoy, I'm sitting right here working on your next great read. Speaking of which, book two of the Pack Saddle Ranch series is done, and I'm deep in the editing process. I'd hoped to give you a pu...

  How Gary McAllister saved Pack Saddle by returning to his father’s “obsolete” pack trains There’s an irony at the heart of 1920s Idaho: the world kept telling people the pack train was dead while the mountains kept needing one. Trucks, rail, and roadbuilding pushed progress into valley towns, but steep passes, dense timber, and snow-choked trails didn’t read the newspapers. Where roads failed, pack strings still worked.  Idaho State Historical Society+1 The practical truth By the mid-1920s, the headlines hailed motor freight and paved highways. In practice, however, steep canyons, high ridges, and foot trails left whole pockets of North Idaho beyond the reach of wheels. Mines, logging camps, isolated lodges, and Forest Service lookouts still relied on packers to move everything from flour and nails to stoves and radios. The pack train wasn’t nostalgia — it was logistics.  NPS History+1 Why pack trains still mattered • Terrain: Some trails climbed where trucks couldn’t g...