Family Tree Fiction

An epic story about the power of words and actions, and the legacy of violence and abuse passed down through generations - and the redeeming strength of one singular woman to overcome the effects of a horrific secret. Ruth, a clear-eyed young artist with a promising future, is stymied at every turn by men who seek to maintain power over her. Gripping and inspiring, Tree of Lives spans the 20th century, and in following Ruth's development, demonstrates how feisty and independent women paved the way in the fight for social equality as the decades unraveled.

Following the sudden death of Sebby’s mother, his father takes Sebby to live in the family’s summerhouse, hoping it will give them both time and space to recover. But Sebby’s father deteriorates in this new isolation, leaving Sebby struggling to understand his mother’s death alone, dreaming and even reliving moments of her life. He ultimately reaches out to a favorite teacher back home and to two nearby children who force him out of the void of the past and help him to exist in the present.

After being driven from home by their brutal father, the Willett sisters find themselves facing greater heartache in the wider world. Nell, the middle daughter, has left home to be with her lover, Cliff, fearing what reprisals might come from marrying against her father’s wishes. The couple head for Lancashire, but Nell’s happiness is short-lived.

Family is everything to the Alexanders and the Montgomerys. Although they both come from farm backgrounds, they didn’t know each other or the histories involved. However, these two divergent clans would come together and change the lives of so many - and, maybe, even the world. As their lives play out and intertwine in surprising ways, they face a challenging future and marshal their forces to work for the better good of all.

The intertwining of the personal life along with the professional life of a Doula shows the frailties and strengths of being a woman. Learning to understand and accept our inner landscape is an adventure, one that requires great strength and courage to be able to look into the less desirable shadows of ourselves and embrace it all. By doing so we can become whole beings capable of standing strong and true, able to hear the voice of our own intuition and be brave enough to listen.

The Widow and the Tree features a 500-year-old Ghosthead Oak, whose stately presence has borne witness to the rise and fall of generations, to the hopes and dreams of untold lives, and to the births and deaths of innumerable residents alongcoastal Alabama. So why would a widow enter a biker bar and hire a man to chainsaw the cherished landmark?

When 11-year-old Katy Sue loses her mother, Edna, to meningitis, she and her family must adjust to life without her. The rural farm in the 1940s provides a natural backdrop that is rhythmic and routine but unforgiving, even when a family member dies.

When 15-year-old Sefina Nafo is kicked out of her latest foster home, she gets separated from her little brothers. Now, she’s the only brown kid in her new foster family as she navigates grief from her dad’s death, her mom’s addictions, and the school bully labeling her "Foster Freak". With the court date looming, Sefina comes up with a plan to reunite with her mom and brothers before it's too late. The biggest challenge is trying not to fall in love with her new foster family. As her relationship with foster mom Jen blossoms, Sefina must decide what “family” really means.

Renie, the youngest sister, is living with the newly married Nell, happy in her waitressing job at the King’s Head Hotel. But a shadow falls over her the day Mr Judson arrives as assistant manager. Feeling increasingly harassed by him and also eager to escape from Nell’s unpleasant husband, Renie is delighted when she is offered a new job in London.

These are a collection of poems that I wrote as a teen, young adult, newlywed wife, and mom. I hope you enjoy them, and always welcome and appreciate feedback from my listeners.

In a place where political posturing, bloody war, journalistic witness, and even patient negotiation have yielded so little understanding, we enter the cemetery of the orange trees, where urchins kite dead birds, goats utter wisdom, camels and donkeys huddle together, and merchandise magically passes underground through the tunnels of Gaza. But this is no fairy tale or bestiary. In the Cemetery of the Orange Trees is a waking, attentive dream-journal, leading us back to a place where hatred, strife, and even human language itself might sing.

In My Family’s Faraway Tree, Olivia’s grandfather tells her the story of his friend who believed in fairies, and Olivia discovers the spellbinding world in the great Faraway Tree, when she realizes she can communicate with the fairies that live in the Tree. This is a story of trust, between the magic world of the fairies and the humans who believe in them. Harry’s tales are full of adventure and heroism, magic and wisdom, and a human family’s interaction with some of the wondrous creatures that are unseen, but all around us. Totally gripping, totally enchanting.

For Kirsten McKenna, the world is crumbling. Her parents are barely speaking to each other, and her best friend has come under the spell of the school's queen bee, Brianna. Only Kirsten's younger science-geek sister is on her side. Meanwhile, for Walker Jones, the goal is to survive at the new white private school his mom has sent him to because she thinks he's going to screw up like his cousin.

If the preacher's wife's petticoat showed, the ladies would make the talk last a week. But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous turn. That was the day E. Rucker Blakeslee, proprietor of the general store and barely three weeks a widower, eloped with Miss Love Simpson - a woman half his age and, worse yet, a Yankee! On that day, 14-year-old Will Tweedy's adventures began, and an unimpeachably pious, deliciously irreverent town came to life.

Christmas is a time for family, particularly children who keep the magic of Christmas alive. What happens though when children become nasty and fight over the wrapped presents under the tree? Six cousins find out in the Town Beneath The Christmas Tree. In the spirit of Charles Dickens, the cousins are placed into an unfamiliar, upside-down world, where they are forced to deal with - and rely on - each other.

Juliet's a worrywart, and no wonder! Her little sister, Oaf, follows her around taking notes and singing 'The Irritating Song' all day long. Her parents are always arguing about Dad's junk. Nana's so tired of craft lessons that she starts barbecuing things in the middle of the night. And Juliet's friends, Lindsay and Gemma, are competing to see which of them is Juliet's best friend. Juliet can't fit in any more worries!

Clayton feels most alive when he's with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen - he can't wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then the unthinkable happens. Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Clayton's mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. And Clayton knows that's no way to live. Armed with his grandfather's brown porkpie hat and his harmonica, he runs away from home in search of the Bluesmen, hoping he can join them on the road.

The summer after her freshman year of college, Mariam is looking forward to working and hanging out with her best friends: irrepressible and beautiful Ghazala and religious but closeted Umar. But when a scandalous photo of Ghaz appears on a billboard in Times Square, Mariam and Umar come up with a plan to rescue her from her furious parents. And what could be a better escape than a spontaneous road trip down to New Orleans?

The owl tree is not like any tree Joe has ever seen. It’s huge and leafy and shivers at times like a person; it even seems to speak. Granny Diamond once saw an owl perched among its branches and she has loved the tree ever since. It means the world to her. But her neighbour, Mr Rock, wants to cut it down. Why does he dislike the owl tree so much? Does the tree have a secret to tell Joe? And how can he, a boy too scared even to climb the tree, be the one to save it?

A pivotal moment arrives when their son Mateo brings home a seed from school—an apple tree seed. In a twist of fate, this humble seed becomes a catalyst for change, leading the family down a path of disciplined transformation. At the heart of the story is a family united by love, with parents dedicated to the happiness of their young children.