Growing up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California was, for me, idyllic. It was a time before stories of smog, drugs, gangs, terrorists, E.coli, corporate greed, or identity theft were in the news every night. I walked to and from school with my friends, and played dodge ball, hopscotch and jacks during recess. At home we played hide and seek, kick the can, and hit the bat. TV and movies had no ratings and lyrics to songs were easily discernible... [more]
Samantha Colton, a writer/photographer for Dive Magazine, loves her life. Lots of travel, lots of adventures, no entanglements. But this time, a diving trip to France has a second purpose—to find a woman who helped save her Grampy’s life during World War II.
Sam’s beloved great-grandfather, now approaching his hundredth birthday, was a navigator on a B-17 bomber during 1943. When his plane was shot down in eastern France, he was rescued by resistance operatives, nursed by sisters at a remote convent, and guided to freedom by a young woman—code name Ella. Grampy fears that Ella may have lost her life during the dangerous escape operation. His only wish in his last years is to find out for sure.... [more]
Kristi Peyton-Scott’s best friend, Laura, never got to dance at her own wedding reception because a gas leak forced the hotel to evacuate. Laura always felt a little wistful about it, and ever since then, Kristi has been trying to find a way to make things right for Laura. At last, she thinks she’s found a way.
Kristi has just been hired as the Event Coordinator at the posh Royal Princess Hotel in San Francisco, whose spectacular, Art Nouveau ballroom rivals any palace in Europe. It would be the perfect spot for a Bridal Ball, a night when every bride could dance, once again, in her wedding gown. What woman wouldn’t like to wear that special dress again... [more]
Kristi Peyton-Scott’s best friend, Laura, never got to dance at her own wedding reception because a gas leak forced the hotel to evacuate. Laura always felt a little wistful about it, and ever since then, Kristi has been trying to find a way to make things right for Laura. At last, she thinks she’s found a way.
Kristi has just been hired as the Event Coordinator at the posh Royal Princess Hotel in San Francisco, whose spectacular, Art Nouveau ballroom rivals any palace in Europe. It would be the perfect spot for a Bridal Ball, a night when every bride could dance, once again, in her wedding gown. What woman wouldn’t like to wear that special dress again... [more]
It’s 1960. Paul Anka is on the radio. The Kennedy-Nixon debates are in the news. Harper Lee has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. And, Emma Chandler has entered her senior year at Willette. During the summer, as she escorted Nico around California, they grew close…perhaps too close. We Six are only four this year; after Juanita married, one of the other girls eloped. We Six have pulled off the campus coup, though: they’re the Sweeties—the four seniors who live in the much-sought-after Suite at Grace Hall.
Emma’s search for her biological mother has reached a turning point, and she must decide whether she’ll respond to the one person she’s been avoiding…the man who wrote from a Tennessee prison. All other avenues seem to have dried up. How desperate is she to know the truth about her heritage.... [more]
It’s 1959. Bobby Darin is on the radio. Fidel Castro is in the news. And Emma Chandler is back at Willette College for her junior year. She’ll soon be turning twenty-one, which means she can petition the court for her original birth certificate. Will the county records office have the answers she’s been searching for? If not, where will she turn?
We Six are back… minus one. Since Beth is staying in Sacramento to be with her grieving family, Emma faces the prospect of a new roommate. When she meets Maddalena Del Vecchio smoking in their dorm room, it’s obvious they’ll never be friends. No one could have filled Beth’s shoes, but this foreigner—this interloper—is a complete nightmare... [more]
It’s 1958. Elvis Presley is on the radio. NASA is in the news. And Emma Chandler has returned to Willette Women’s College for her sophomore year. Mrs. Roth has news about her adoption, but it isn’t good. Mrs. Roth’s lawyer cousin has clients who, like Emma, were placed for adoption by Georgia Tann. Contrary to what her parents believe, Tann was a heartless mercenary who took advantage of naïve women, sold their babies, and kept no records. The search for Emma’s biological mother seems hopeless.
We Six are all back at Willette: Beth, whose sister is desperately ill; Juanita, now engaged to her longtime love; Nancy, well on her way to being a political activist; Kathleen, quiet and hardworking; and Carolyn, beautiful but somehow mysteriously evasive. Even Joyce, who graduated in June, has returned... [more]
It's 1957. The Everly Brothers are on the radio. Desegregation is in the news. And Emma Chandler -- only child, talented violinist -- is on the brink of an exciting new life as a freshman at Willette Women's College. But the day before she leaves for school, she finds something that nearly destroys her: her adoption papers.
It’s bad enough that her boyfriend cheated on her last spring; her parents have been deceiving her for her entire life! Emma wants answers: Who is she? Where did she come from? Why did someone give her away? But Emma isn’t prepared to confront her parents. Not yet... [more]
Grace Kawakami lives in paradise -- at least that's what they call Hawaii in 1941. But hell breaks loose in paradise on December 7, when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and Grace's world turns upside down. Her mother, a nurse, is called to work at the hospital. Her brother, Tom, is called to serve with his ROTC unit. And her father is taken away by the authorities. Grace is alone with only herself to depend on.
Perhaps most frightening of all is that her brother, Richie, is trapped in Japan and can't come home. And, since all the Kawakami children are dual citizens, Richie may be drafted into the Japanese army... [more]
My sister-in-law married a Native American and I vacationed with them several times on their Pueblo in New Mexico. Being there was much like being in a foreign country: hearing a language I couldn't understand, listening to music I wasn't familiar with, and visiting family in homes that were built hundreds of years before. The Pueblo touched something deep inside me and gave me a sense of peace that I've felt few other places.
I wondered how it would be to enter that world as a teenager: if the effect would have been as profound. One day at work I told my manager I'd nearly finished a huge project I'd been working on, and when I had, I'd be so happy I'd be dancing on a cloud. When I returned from the corporate office after submitting the project, I found a sign on my desk that read, "Cloud Dancer." The instant I saw it I knew that it was the name of my heroine and I began writing PUEBLO SUMMER... [more]