Lauraine Snelling – författare

Maggie Roberts is starting over again after her reckless driving led to a 10-year prison sentence and the devastating loss of her son. Having learned to repurpose retired thoroughbred racehorses through an inmate training program, Maggie finds a way to rebuild her life. But it's not until she meets single father Gil Winters and his wheelchair-bound son, Edward, that she finds her calling. In helping Edward with his therapy using horses, Maggie begins to come to life again. But when a shadow from the past returns, she is forced to choose between her newfound freedom and getting Edward the life-saving help he needs.

This is the story of two mothers who are strangers to one another. The first has two children - twins, a boy and a 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 form 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 is determined to find and thank the woman who returned her daughter to the living.

Dakotah Treasures Book 4- Major Jeremiah McHenry is retiring from the army and returns to Medora to make a new life and find a wife. Will he be able to convince feisty newcomer Amethyst O'Shaunasy that he is the kind of man she's been looking for? Jacob Chandler, meanwhile, is still waiting until he can court Opal Torvald. Can he prove to Opal that she will make a fine preacher's wife?

She had promised herself that once they left the fjords of Norway, she would never look back. The promise of free land lures Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund from their beloved home high above the fjords of Norway, and after three long years of scrimping and saving to buy tickets for their passage to America, they finally arrive at the docks of New York City. This new land promises a rich heritage for their children, and here they hope to build a good life.After a long journey by train and then by covered wagon, the Bjorklunds finally arrive in Dakota Territory, where they settle on the banks of the Red River of the North. But the virgin prairie refuses to yield its treasure without a struggle. Will Roald and Ingeborg be strong enough to overcome the hardships of that first winter?Proud of their heritage and sustained by their faith, they came to tame a new land.

The dream of their own farmstead and a good life in America had brought Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund across the Atlantic to pioneer the virgin prairie of Dakota Territory. But Roald's tragic disappearance in a winter storm had turned Ingeborg's dreams into a living nightmare. Against nearly impossible circumstances and overwhelming grief, she struggles to keep the farm and her family together.When spring appears, Roald's distant cousin Haaken arrives to help with the heavy field work, and Ingeborg is able to once again concentrate her efforts on home and children. After the bleak winter, she cannot ignore the joy that Haaken brings to their lives or the attraction she begins to feel toward him. When Roald's brother from Norway also arrives to help the family, things become very complicated around the simple prairie dwelling!He reminded her of a Viking of old--could he be persuaded to stay?

Ever so slowly Dakota Territory is being transformed from a vast prairie into rich farmland. With the coming of the railroad, the small town of Blessing begins to prosper, and the Bjorklund family is reaping the promised harvest that had lured them from their beloved home in Norway.But for Ingeborg and Haakan, realizing their dreams will not come without a struggle. After their own fields are harvested, Haakan and the neighboring men take the steam engine and the separator on the road, threshing for other homesteaders in return for a portion of their grain. With Haakan away and the fields standing idle, Ingeborg frets over work yet to be done. Fearing an early change of seasons, she takes matters into her own hands. Has the land become more important to Ingeborg than her own family?

She never intended to stay. So why is leaving so hard?The fertile prairies of Dakota Territory have finally begun to yield the bountiful harvests the pioneers have dreamed about since leaving their homes in Norway. The tiny community of Blessing is beginning to expand and thrive, its hardy citizens at last enjoying a measure of prosperity.Mary Martha MacCallister comes to Blessing from Missouri to visit her brother. She volunteers to help at the schoolhouse and, with her gentle southern charm, quickly wins the affection of all. Pastor John Solberg, rejecting the persistent efforts of matchmaking mothers, develops a friendship with Mary Martha and discovers she shares his love of books and children. But then the message arrives that she must return home to care for her ailing mother. When she leaves, she says she'll write....Everyone has come to love her. Is this good-bye forever?

Her first mistake was emigrating alone. Was this one even worse?Augusta Bjorklund, after discovering her intended bridegroom married someone else, decided to leave her broken heart in Norway and start a new life in America. But knowing no English, Augusta misunderstands a ticket agent's directions in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in the harried confusion, she boards the wrong train.Her Bjorklund relatives eagerly await Augusta's arrival in North Dakota. When the train reaches the town of Blessing with the woman nowhere in sight, the worried family hopes she will be on the next train. But the following morning only her trunk shows up.Arriving at the end of the line, Augusta is met by a handsome young rancher, Kane Moyer, who is waiting for his Norwegian mail-order bride....She told him she was headed for Blessing. Why will he not take her there?

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 Long-Awaited Prequel to the RED RIVER OF THE NORTH SeriesTwenty-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...

Exciting New Series by Beloved Author Lauraine SnellingCassie 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.

Book Two in Lauraine Snelling's Exciting Wild West Wind SeriesAfter fleeing North Dakota and the now defunct Wild West Show, Cassie Lockwood and her companions have finally found the hidden valley in South Dakota where her father had dreamed of putting down roots. But to her dismay, she discovers a ranch already built on her land.Cassie's arrival surprises Mavis Engstrom and forces her to reveal secrets she's kept hidden for years. Her son Ransom is suspicious of Cassie and questions the validity of her claim to the valley. But Lucas Engstrom decides from the start that he is in love with her and wants to marry her.Will Cassie be able to build a home on the Bar E Ranch and fulfill her father's dream of raising horses, or will she be forced to return to the itinerant life of her past?

The Exciting Conclusion to Lauraine Snelling's WILD WEST WIND SeriesAs winter settles over the ranch, the Engstrom brothers are much on the mind of Cassie Lockwood. The way Lucas smiles at her should set her heart to tripping. But it doesn't. Shouldn't there be some attraction to him if they are going to be married? His vow to make her love him does not seem to be working, no matter how considerate and charming he is.Ransom Engstrom is another matter. After Cassie's train trip to a shooting competition, she realizes she misses Ransom more than Lucas. And then there's the look she caught Lucas sending Betsy Hudson at church one Sunday. Are she and Lucas drifting apart?Meanwhile, Ransom has discovered that he cares for Cassie but can't bring himself to express his true feelings to her. When she leaves to join a Wild West show for the summer, will Ransom summon the courage to go after her?

Astrid Bjorklund wants to use her medical training to serve God and feels that He might be leading her in the direction of missionary work. Smarting from a misunderstanding with Joshua Landsverk, the young man she thought she loved, she heads east to a missionary training school, hoping to eventually use her skills in some remote outpost in Africa.When she is called home unexpectedly to help in a family medical emergency, Astrid learns of a deadly measles outbreak on the nearby Indian reservation. She immediately senses the Spirit tugging her to help the Indians and wonders if her "mission field" is not so far away as she had imagined. But if she follows God's call, will love pass her by?

Astrid Bjorklund is on the Red Bud Indian Reservation in South Dakota trying to stop the horrific epidemic that is ravaging the tribe. The elders are suspicious of her, but when they see some of their people beginning to recover, they allow Astrid to continue caring for the sick and to train others to help. She is overwhelmed by this need so close to home and wonders if this is the mission field God has planned for her.Joshua Landsverk wants to repair his broken relationship with Astrid, but he is opposed to her present work and refuses to tell her why. When he encounters unexpected adversity, a surprising act of kindness brings healing to the grievous wrong inflicted years ago. Will it be enough to bring Joshua and Astrid together again?

It is 1893 and the first generation of immigrants who came to America for the promise of free land and a good life for their children have finally achieved their dreams. They labored hard on the land and now have a bountiful heritage to pass on to the next generation. However, many of the young people aren't interested in becoming farmers--they have aspirations of their own. Thorliff Bjorklund has been writing stories and plays since he was a young boy and longs to attend college to study journalism. But his father has other plans for him and refuses to agree. Thorliff is torn between love for his father and the pull of his dream. Must he choose between the two?

It's 1893 and the dream of becoming a writer still burns brightly in Thorliff Bjorklund's heart. But when he arrives at college in Northfield, Minnesota, things are not as he had imagined, and he finds himself longing for things familiar back home in North Dakota. Time and distance have created a rift between him and his childhood sweetheart. The only bright spot in his life is his job at the town newspaper. Will he be forced to leave one dream behind to pursue the other?

Thorliff's dream of becoming a writer is within reach. Working for a newspaper in Northfield, Minnesota, he is busy writing articles and stories to pay his way through college. But his idyllic world comes to a sudden halt when a catastrophe hits the town of Blessing, North Dakota. While waiting to hear if any of her applications to medical schools are accepted, Elizabeth takes a nursing position in Chicago. Then a devastating experience on the hospital ward puts her faith in God and her very life on the line.They had followed their hearts and God's leading--why was it all turning into ashes in the wind?

Beloved Author Lauraine Snelling Returns Again to Her Popular Red River Valley SettingTrygve Knutson is devoted to his family and his community. With his job on the construction crew, he is helping to build a future for the North Dakota town of Blessing. Though he loves his home, he sometimes dreams of other horizons--especially since meeting Miriam Hastings.Miriam is in Blessing to get practical training to become an accredited nurse. She's been promised a position in the Chicago women's hospital that will enable her to support her siblings and her ailing mother. Although eager to return to her family, Miriam is surprised to find how much she enjoys the small town of Blessing. And her growing attachment to Trygve soon has her questioning a future she always considered set in stone.When a family emergency calls Miriam home sooner than planned, will she find a way to return? If not, will it mean losing Trygve--and her chance at love--for good?

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?

The Heartwarming Drama Continues in the Song of Blessing SeriesAnji Baard Moen, a recent widow, returns from Norway with her children. She quickly settles back into life in Blessing, teaching Norwegian history in the high school and writing articles for the Blessing Gazette. When tragedy strikes, Anji steps in to run the newspaper and soon finds a kindred spirit in the widower who owns the printing press. As they spend time together, Anji wonders if there's something more than friendship growing between them.But Anji has also caught the eye of a recent arrival to Blessing. He has put his carpentry skills to good use on the town's building projects, including Anji's house. But Anji is torn between her feelings of loyalty to someone who needs her and the chance to build a new life with this intriguing newcomer.Where will her choice take her?

Revisit Old Friends in Blessing in This Heartwarming Series ConclusionDeborah MacCallister, head nurse at the Blessing hospital, has loved Toby Valders since her school days, but she's had enough of their on-again, off-again relationship.Toby truly cares for Deborah, but he's never felt like he could commit to marriage or a family.When Anton Genddarm, the new schoolteacher, comes to town, the young women of Blessing see a chance to force Toby's hand with a little strategic matchmaking. But real sparks fly between Deborah and Anton, and she finds herself in an even more complicated situation. The attention she gets from Anton makes Toby do some serious soul-searching, but is it too late?Then Deborah receives an invitation to study the latest advances in nursing at a hospital in Chicago, and she faces a hard choice. To leave or stay? Should she give up on the dream of Toby and accept the interest of Anton?

Beloved Author Lauraine Snelling Launches New Immigrant SeriesWhen 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?

Nilda Carlson has been trying to save enough money to go to America for months, so when a letter from Einar and Gerd Strand arrives, offering to pay her ticket, she jumps at the chance. Her younger brother Ivar accompanies her, and they can't wait to join their brother Rune and his family in the northern forests of Minnesota. Signe and Rune Carlson are thrilled to welcome Nilda and Ivar to America, but life on the farm remains a struggle. Though Gerd has softened and grown to love the Carlson family, Einar is still harsh and unforgiving, obsessed solely with felling as many trees as possible. Rune is trying to build a new home for his wife and children, but Einar refuses to help and forbids anyone from the nearby community from stepping foot on his land. What dark secret must lie in his past to have caused him to isolate himself--and anyone living under his roof--in this way? When a tragedy lays the truth bare, the Carlsons and Strands will have to come together like never before and become a true family.

In 1910 Minnesota, Nilda Carlson's dreams are coming true. Though her first few months in America were difficult, her life now resembles the images that filled her daydreams in Norway. She and her younger brother Ivar live in their own house, just a short distance from her older brother and his family. Together they work the farm and fell trees for lumber. They plan to grow a dairy herd, weave rugs out of their own wool, and make skis to sell. Everything is going right.The only thing missing from Nilda's life is love. But though she has two suitors--a quiet schoolteacher and a handsome lumberjack--Nilda feels hesitant. A terrifying experience in Norway has made her cautious where men are concerned. When she thinks she sees the man in question, all her fears come flooding back. Is it possible the danger has followed her across the Atlantic? If Dreng Nygaard is truly in Minnesota, all of her dreams for the future could come crashing down around her.

Book 3 in the bestselling Dakotah Treasures series. Dove House has burned to the ground, Ruby and Rand have married, and now Rand's ranch is home for them all. Ruby's younger sister, Opal, is taking to ranch life like a hummingbird to sugar water. She can outshoot, outride, and work as hard as any cowboy on the place. Ranching has clearly stolen her heart. When a young minister arrives from the East, he is amazed to find himself falling in love with Opal, even though she is not a woman anyone would think of as a pastor's wife. But when God takes hold of a heart, He can work amazing miracles, and Jacob Chandler just might be the one to eventually woo her away from the ranch.

A New Dakotah Territory Saga From Bestselling Author Lauraine Snelling!Book 1 of Dakotah Treasures. Author Lauraine Snelling once again takes readers west to the untamed land of Dakota Territory, introducing new characters both unique and appealing. Ruby Torvald and her young sister, Opal, have received an inheritance from their long-lost father who left home years ago to seek his fortune in the Black Hills. When they leave their comfortable situation in Chicago and arrive at the mining town of Medora to claim their inheritance, the sisters discover that rather than the legacy of gold they expected, their father has left them a shocking bequest. Ruby's bold determination in the face of scandal leads the reader on a journey both heartwarming and inspiring.

Ellie Wold can't wait to graduate from high school. She and Andrew Bjorklund have been waiting to get married since...well, since forever, and in June they will finally wed. When Andrew announces they have to postpone the wedding, she's disappointed but takes it in stride--there must be a good reason, or Andrew's pa wouldn't ask it of them.But Andrew is angry and can't understand why Ellie isn't upset too, especially when they'd been planning to "marry up" ever since they were in grade school. Disgruntled, he works out his frustration in stubborn determination to finish building their barn and mail-order house, working himself to exhaustion. But just when the new house is nearly finished, an unthinkable tragedy occurs. Throwing aside the vow he made to Ellie, Andrew seeks revenge...As their plans unravel, it looks as if their love may not survive.Is this the end of their dream?(Daughters of Blessing Book 1)

Eighteen-year-old Grace Knutson loves Blessing, North Dakota, and sees no reason to leave. She's more serious-minded than her twin sister, Sophie, and very sensitive to the feelings of others. In spite of her family's disapproval, Grace has always had a soft spot in her heart for Toby Valders, for she's seen the vulnerable side he keeps well hidden. Jonathan Gould, the handsome scion of a wealthy New York family, creates a flurry of anticipation and speculation when he arrives in Blessing. Jonathan's father wants him to learn the value of manual labor and to appreciate the accomplishments of those not born to wealth. Surprisingly, the "city boy" takes to farm life and actually enjoys working from dawn to dusk alongside the others. Soon he finds himself inexplicably drawn to gentle, courageous Grace. But Jonathan's affection presents an agonizing dilemma for Grace. Is he truly the one her heart desires?