New Releases by Lauraine Snelling

They must set aside their own plans and rely on their faith to bring their true destiny to light. Lilac Nielsen''s dream has come true: handsome young Reverend Ethan Pritchard has finally noticed her. Yet she must balance this new courtship with the pursuit of another dream--the publication of her artwork in a New York paper. She has secretly been submitting a series of drawings under a pen name, and if anyone traces the drawings back to her and finds out where Lilac and her sisters settled, the entire Nielsen family could be in danger. As their family farm expands and Lilac''s relationship with the reverend grows, it''s a time of new beginnings. But when a family crisis back in Ohio shakes the Nielsen sisters, can they continue to build the new life they''ve begun in Nebraska? And will Lilac be prepared for what God has in store for her future? "A tender story. I know my readers will enjoy these stories and look forward to the books yet to come."--TRACIE PETERSON, bestselling author of the Pictures of the Heart series

In this novel filled with friendship, grief, and travel gone awry, three friends take their dream trip to Florence, Italy in memory of a beloved woman who has passed away. As the last will of a close friend is read, three women discover that they have inherited a legacy from her: the funds to take a dream trip to Florence, Italy, in her memory. With plenty of hilarious travel mishaps along the way, this book is a story of deep friendship, of making room in our lives to celebrate and remember, of grief, of the realization that friendship keeps the memory alive, and the sweet discovery of unexpected romance.

Larkspur Nielsen is ready for a change. Her parents have passed on, and her older brother is successfully running the family business. She bristles at the small-mindedness that permeates life in her small Ohio community, and she sees little chance of a satisfying future there. She has a little money saved, and after turning the tables on a crooked gambler who had fleeced several locals, including her younger brother, she can stake a new start for herself and her three sisters. As the gambler's threats of revenge echo in her ears, she and her sisters head to Independence, Missouri, to join a wagon train bound for Oregon. Knowing that four women traveling together will draw unwanted attention, Larkspur dons a disguise, passing herself off as "Clark" Nielsen, accompanying his three sisters. But maintaining the ruse is more difficult than Larkspur imagined, as is protecting her headstrong, starry-eyed sisters from difficult circumstances and eligible young men. Will reaching their goal prove too much for them?

In bestselling author Lauraine Snelling''s new novel, a group of women realize that life is full of half-finished relationships and projects. However, they discover that the outcome is not as important as the journey. Recognizing how common it is for crafters to start many projects and finish few, a group of women join together to form a guild-Unfinished Projects Anonymous-to keep each other on track and accountable. Three of the friends are tasked with the job of home visits for their guild. Laughingly called "the Cartel," they snoop around craft rooms and knitting baskets to report on progress for the members. They even expand their mission to include checking on half-trained dogs and half-weeded gardens. As life unexpectedly changes for one of the members, this ensemble of women in bestselling author Lauraine Snelling''s new novel discovers that much of life is half-finished-projects, friendships, the raising of children, even our very relationship with the Lord. And that may be perfectly fine.

"Help." A weak voice moaned from the horse's back. Sheriff Caleb Stenesrude climbs over the gate in a blizzard and reaches up in time to catch the woman as she falls. To his astonishment, a small child, hanging on for dear life, falls with her.Under his breath he thanks the good Lord for bringing them this far and for a dog with a nose and ears to beat all.As the North Dakota storm continues to scream outside the house on the edge of town, Caleb tries to tend to the near-frozen mother and boy. When the woman lets out a piercing cry of labor, Caleb realizes this would be a Christmas eve like no other.In the days after, Caleb and the town of Soldahl take Johanna Carlson and her two children into their hearts, but Johanna keeps her distance, afraid to tell anyone the truth about her life. Dakota December is the fourth book of the Dakota Series that features the intertwining lives of five inspiring women who live in the early 1900s in the farming community of Soldahl, North Dakota.

Beloved Author Lauraine Snelling Launches New Immigrant Series When Signe, her husband, Rune, and their three boys arrive in Minnesota from Norway to help a relative clear his land of lumber, they dream of owning their own farm and building a life in the New World. But Uncle Einar and Aunt Gird are hard, demanding people, and Signe and her family soon find themselves worked nearly to the bone in order to repay the cost of their voyage. At this rate, they will never have land or a life of their own. Signe tries to trust God but struggles with anger and bitterness. She has left behind the only life she knew, and while it wasn't an easy life, it wasn't as hard as what she now faces. When a new addition to the family arrives, Signe begins to see how God has been watching over them throughout their ordeal. But after all that has happened, can she still believe in the promise of a bright future?

Readers will treasure this unique collection of nine stories, celebrating Christmas romance and the pioneer spirit as penned by nine distinct authors.

Miriam Hastings has her future plans in place... But Trygve Knutson is intent on changing them. Just a few short weeks into her year-long training at the Blessing Hospital, Miriam Hastings is called home to Chicago, where her mother is gravely ill. With siblings to care for, Miriam pleads to be allowed to finish her training in Chicago. Her nursing supervisor grants her a brief reprieve but extracts a promise that Miriam will return to Blessing and fulfill her one-year commitment. While in Chicago, Miriam has tried to get Trygve Knutson and Blessing out of her mind, but his letters make that impossible. Trygve is busy building a house, hoping he can convince Miriam to return to North Dakota and marry him. Torn between Trygve''s love and her family''s needs, she doesn''t know what to do. When Miriam finally returns to Blessing, she buries herself in her work. But no matter how hard she tries to put it off, she has some life-changing decisions to make about her future, her family... and the man who is never far from her thoughts. What will it take to convince her to stay?

" A beautifully written book about how things can change in a blink of an eye and how to deal with the unexpected" from a national bestselling author ( RT Book Reviews). Mona and Ken Sorenson are approaching the best years of their lives. Mona''s greatest concern is that Ken will learn of the surprise party she''s planning for his retirement from his job as Dean of Students at Stone University. They''ve already been making plans to travel, spend limitless hours in the garden, and Ken is looking forward to working on his woodworking and fishing with his grandchildren. It''s what they deserve after years of careful planning. Then, just days before Ken''s last official day of work, their son, a Special Forces officer in the Army, learns he''s being immediately deployed on a six-month mission in Pakistan. Since his wife left him, the only people he trusts to care for his two young children are his parents. In an instant, everything Ken and Mona spent their lives planning changes, and they will need to find strength, both physical and mental, to become parents once more. This is not the second half they wanted, and when their son fails to contact them as planned, they struggle to trust that it is God''s plan, not theirs, that matters most. Praise for Lauraine Snelling: "Snelling writes about the foibles of human nature with keen insight and sweet honesty." ―National Church Library Association "Snelling . . . continues to draw fans with her stellar storytelling skills." — Publishers Weekly

Dinah Taylor has an orderly life that is just how she likes it. A perfectly furnished luxury apartment, a satisfying career as a scientist and CEO of her own company, and an uncomplicated personal life. But all of that changes when she meets seven-year-old Jonah. The boy shows up one day, a scruffy dog by his side, in front of her office building. Dinah knows nothing about kids and even less about animals, but after she buys him breakfast, he shows up the next day. . .and the next. She tries to learn more about him, to help him, but he''s remarkably skilled at evading her questions. And then, late one night, he calls her in a panic-his dog has been badly injured. Dinah rushes them to a local animal clinic, where she meets Garret, a veterinarian with a thriving practice and a passion for drawing. Though Jonah takes to Garret right away, for some reason neither understands, Dinah and Garret just don''t mesh. But for Jonah''s sake, their lives continue to collide, and slowly the relationship between these three strangers begins to change.

The Long-Awaited Prequel to the RED RIVER OF THE NORTH Series Twenty-year-old Ingeborg Strand is certain she is destined to be an old maid. She''s had several suitors but none she deemed worthy of spending her life with. That is, until she meets a university student from Oslo, and feelings stronger than friendship begin to develop between them. But tragedy strikes, and the future begins to look bleaker than ever. Grief settles heavily over Ingeborg, and her mother suggests that she leave Norway and start afresh in America, as so many others have done before her. But how will she accomplish that with little money and no one to accompany her? It isn''t long before she meets Roald Bjorklund, a widower who has been planning to go to America for some time, lured by the promise of free land. He''s a good man, a hard-working man--and he has a young son who desperately needs a mother. He''s clearly interested in Ingeborg, but is he the answer to her prayers? And what about love? This isn''t how she''s always imagined it. Ingeborg Strand has a heartrending decision to make...

National bestselling author Lauraine Snelling brings a small mountain town to thrilling life when a natural disaster threatens to destroy lives. U.S. Border Patrol agent Ben James'' life is in tatters. A tragic accident stole the love of his life and he never finished grieving. Turning to the bottle for support, he lost sight of what was important. While making his last patrol run before a storm rolls in, Ben''s canine partner Bo finds an abandoned baby hidden in the woods. As Ben rushes the child to the only clinic in the area, the storm strikes with unexpected fury. Esther Hanson runs a second-rate clinic in the small community of Pineville, Minnesota, on the Canadian border. Though she has fought for years to get the equipment she needs, the town refuses to approve the funding. When the unprecedented storm ravishes the area, cutting them off from all outside help, Esther struggles to help her patients without giving in to overwhelming emotions. The event triggers a long-suppressed memory, and Esther must come face to face with the reality of her past and learn to forgive herself. Brought together by the life of a child, Ben and Esther become each other''s reason to change.

“I came to America expecting to be married.” Clara Johanson had a ticket to America and a photograph of a blond, curly-haired, blue-eyed man to prove her point. But when she arrived in Soldahl, North Dakota, the man who met her at the train station, Dag Weinlander, was definitely not blond and, to make matters worse, he obviously hadn’t bathed in days. At least she knew she would see the joy in her sister’s face when she surprised her by arriving at her Soldahl home. As Clara began her unexpected life as a single, Norwegian immigrant, she experienced the truth of God’s Word that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Along the way she helped others, even Dag Weinlander, experience that truth too, as she stepped into a new Dakota Dream far different than the one that brought her all the way from Bergen, Norway. Dakota Dream is the second book of the Dakota Series that features the intertwining lives of five inspiring women, all who live in the early 1900s in the immigrant community of Soldahl, North Dakota.

Jude Weinlander had the face of an angel . . . but the heart of a bully and a cheat. “It ain’t fair,” Jude grumbled. “My brother, the dolt himself, has a thriving business, a beautiful wife, and that grand house of his. It just ain’t fair, I tell ya.” When fire raged through his childhood home one night, Jude, full of anger and guilt, turned his back on family who could help him heal. He left Soldahl, North Dakota, and took up wandering from town to town. When he arrived in the small, fire-ravaged town of Willowford, North Dakota, he agreed to help schoolmarm Rebekka Stenesrude by rebuilding the schoolhouse before he moved on, once again. But God kept Jude in Willowford to work on his heart, teaching him that for every dusk there is a sunrise. Dakota Dusk is the third book of the Dakota Series that features the intertwining lives of five inspiring women, all who live in the early 1900s in the immigrant community of Soldahl, North Dakota.

Exciting New Series by Beloved Author Lauraine Snelling Cassie Lockwood''s mother died when she was little, so Cassie traveled with her father''s Wild West Show and became an amazingly skillful trick rider, likened by some to the famous Annie Oakley. When her father died, she continued to work with the show, having nowhere else to go. Now Cassie has discovered that "Uncle" Jason, the show''s manager, has driven the show into debt, and he''s absconded with what little money was left. Devastated, Cassie decides to try to find the hidden valley where her father had dreamed of putting down roots. She has only one clue. She needs to find three huge stones that look like fingers raised in a giant hand. With Chief, a Sioux Indian who''s been with the show for twenty years, and Micah, the head wrangler, she leaves both the show and a bundle of heartache behind and begins a wild and daring adventure.

A busy executive learns to stop and smell the roses—with the help of her mother''s handsome neighbor—in this charming romance. "But Mother is always dying," is Gillian Ormsby''s sarcastic response when her younger, favored sister tells her that she has to go take care of their hypochondriac mother. Begrudgingly, Gillian arrives in California to find the garden and yard dead, the blinds all drawn, and her mother indeed waiting to die. But when Gillian talks with the doctor, he assures her there''s no medical reason behind her mother''s state. Gillian insists Mother get out of bed, eat, exercise and hopefully, choose to live. She also sets about reviving the garden to its former glory, enlisting the help of Adam, a handsome man who owns a family gardening business with his father. Gillian is delighted when a pair of hummingbirds appear, and her friendship with Adam grows. Soon, Mother''s health improves, and one day she announces she and her friend Enzio are going on a cruise. Before Gillian has time to turn around, her mother is gone and she is left high and dry again, and wondering, what is she going to do with the rest of her own life?

Eighteen-year-old Astrid Bjorklund has always dreamed of becoming a doctor. She had intended to study medicine in Chicago or Grand Forks, but when a disaster wiped out a major portion of her family''s income, Astrid stayed home instead, receiving hands-on training from Dr. Elizabeth. Joshua Landsverk left Blessing two years ago, but he''s never forgotten Astrid. Returning to town, he seeks to court her. Astrid is attracted to him, and when the opportunity unexpectedly opens for her to go to Chicago for medical training, she finds it difficult to leave. Love blossoms through their letters, but upon arriving back home, she makes a heartbreaking discovery. Will she have to give up love to pursue her dream?

Sixteen-year-old Tricia Evanston and her father share something very special: their love of horses. With Tricia as jockey and her father as trainer, the two have big dreams of winning the Triple Crown. Tricia has other pressures, too, like declining grades, a strained relationship with her mother, and the constant worry about her father''s failing health. But Tricia''s faith in God always gives her the strength to push her limits. Collection Two includes Shadow Over San Mateo, Out of the Mist, Second Win, Close Call, and The Winner''s Circle.

A 5-in-1 value collection of horse-themed stories for preteen girls exploring contemporary issues and faith. Ages 8 to 12.

As the Civil War rages across the land, two courageous young women embark on separate perilous missions ...Heading west on the Oregon Trail with he family's with her Thoroughbreds and a ragtag band of freed slaves, Jesselynn Highwood and her companions are forced to separate from their wagon train and begin a new journey fraught with hardship and peril. Back East, while smuggling medical supplies, her sister Louisa and brother Zachary are captured by enemy soldiers. Will the war's end bring the Highwood family together again?

The Finest Gift by Lauraine Snelling A plain Jane without any suitors, Arley Hoople doesn’t dare dream of romance this Christmas. So she brings holiday joy to others: repairing her grandmother’s nutcracker and commissioning a dollhouse for the girls at the orphanage. Yet one knock at the woodcarver’s door unexpectedly brings Arley a gift of her own: love. A Blessed Season by Jillian Hart An abandoned girl asks bounty hunter Rafe Jones to track down her long-lost mother for Christmas. The holiday wish breaks through his hardened heart, and he easily finds Cora Sims in Montana Territory. She’s definitely the woman Rafe has been looking for. But is she actually the girl’s mother?

This is the story of two mothers, strangers to one another. The first has two children -- twins, a boy and girl, who are seniors in high school. She wants their last Christmas as a family living in the same home to be perfect, but her husband is delayed returning from a business trip abroad. And then there''s an accident -- a fatal one involving a drunk driver. Meanwhile, the other mother has a daughter who needs a new heart, and so the loss of one woman becomes the miracle the other has desperately prayed for. While one mother grieves, and pulls away from her family, the other finds that even miracles aren''t always easy to receive.

Nineteen-year-old Rebecca Baard has experienced more than her share of sorrow, and now she is afraid to open her heart to love. Besides, no man has ever shown enough interest in her to come courting. So Rebecca's friends set out to remedy the situation, concocting social events to attract all the eligible bachelors in Blessing and advising her in the use of feminine wiles. When non of these efforts seem to work, Rebecca tries yet another tack, only to discover that even the best of intentions can't keep events from taking a surprising turn. Will Rebecca overcome her fears, or will she settle for something less than love?

The arrival of a wealthy young man leads Grace to question what she really wants in life.

Daughter of Twin Oaks, Sisters of the Confederacy, The Long Way Home.

Fan-Favorite Lauraine Snelling Delivers Another Hit Novel Certain she can''t live without Hamre Bjorklund, the impetuous Sophie Knutson rejects her father''s request to postpone her marriage until after graduation and convinces Hamre to elope. But life as a fisherman''s bride in Seattle is not at all that Sophie had envisioned. Pregnant and lonely while Hamre''s out at sea, she hires on at a fish cannery, only to be fired after fainting on the job. When tragedy strikes, heartbroken Sophie can think only of returning home to Blessing. But will her family welcome her after the way she''s hurt them by her defiant behavior? And will she ever open her heart to love again?

Certain she can't live without Hamre Bjorklund, the impetuous Sophie Knutson rejects her father's request to postpone her marriage until after graduation and convinces Hamre to elope. But far from her family, Sophie finds that life as a fisherman's bride in Ballard, Washington, is not all she had envisioned. Pregnant and lonely while Hamre is away at sea, she hires on at a fish cannery, only to be fired after fainting on the job. When tragedy strikes, heartbroken Sophie can think only of returning home to Blessing. But will her family welcome her after the way she's hurt them by her defiant behavior?

A heart-stirring story about a woman''s journey to self-discovery through art and her family''s history. Forbidden. Hidden. Denied. Can art be powerful enough to endure? Ragni Clauson’s work, relationships, and body all seem to be falling apart. And she isn’t convinced that spending her vacation fixing up her great-grandmother’s cabin and supervising her rebellious teenage niece, Erika, will offer any much-needed rejuvenation. As Ragni and Erika clean, they begin to uncover the secret paintings and life of Nilda, Ragni’s ancestor who lived in the cabin in the early 1900s. Ragni doesn’t know how much she has in common with her great-grandmother, but it becomes clear Nilda faced her own struggles. Taking care of home and menfolk, fighting off locusts, raising her daughter, and finding time to paint in the midst of it all were not easy tasks. Will Nilda’s passion for enduring art re-ignite Ragni’s artistic soul a century later? Weaving together the stories of three generations of women, The Brushstroke Legacy stirs us to believe that no matter the circumstances, we are called to use our gifts—never knowing when they might bring a stranger to a new place of hope.

First the Land, Then Fire Nearly Destroys Them. Will They Still Hold to their Dream? It had taken four long, difficult years to tame the virgin prairie of Dakota Territory. Looking back through all the heartache and the body-breaking labor, Ingeborg Bjorkland knew that God had been with them every step of the way. Dreams that had turned into veritable nightmares had been reshaped with the promise of a new day rising, and her marriage to Haaken had been its sure sign.Hjelmer travels west to work on the railroad, and after sending only one letter to Penny, who has agreed to wait for him, he is not heard from again. As the months pass, Penny is pursued by other eligible suitors, and her love for Hjelmer is sorely tried. Will he ever return to keep his promise? America''s westward expansion continues, bringing the railroad to their area. Before them lies the challenge of proving up their homesteads, developing a sense of community, building wooden barns and houses, a schoolhouse and a church, a grain elevator and store.

Fter transforming the harsh landscape into bountiful farmland, Ingeborg must decide whether the land has become more important than her own family.