Works in Progress
Writing about millennial women who are rediscovering themselves
& historical women whose stories have gone untold
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OCRACOKE’S DAUGHTER
(currently querying agents):
Sarah Sullivan has no idea her recurring nightmares are tied to her ancestor Mary Ormond, a woman known only as Blackbeard’s mysterious wife. History alleges that Mary disappeared shortly after the pirate’s violent death off the coast of Ocracoke Island in 1718. But Sarah’s dreams hint at another side of the story.
Three hundred years later, that mystery is overshadowed by the mess in Sarah’s daily life. Newly divorced and fleeing a lifetime of religious suppression, she travels to the Outer Banks of North Carolina searching for her birth mother. After discovering that she is a direct descendant of Blackbeard, Sarah struggles to embrace her complex ancestry and a family that is nothing like she expected. She also finds solace in a local man who stirs a passion in her she never knew she was capable of. With her scheduled return home looming, Sarah must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart to embrace a life she didn’t know she was looking for – and a love that’s waited three centuries for a second chance.
Filled with ancient lore and present-day whimsy of the island, OCRACOKE’S DAUGHTER is a poignant journey about a woman who goes searching for her birth mother and ends up finding herself.
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Here's an interview I did with Atmosphere Press on the manuscript!
THE MONTH OF MAY
(undergoing a mega rewrite!):
Ella Stevko doesn’t believe in the concept of “home” anymore. She fled Pittsburgh four years ago, following one horrible May when she lost both her grandfather and her first love. When she inherits her grandmother’s house, she agrees to come back to Pittsburgh, but only long enough to grab some mementos and sell the property.
As she sifts through her family’s belongings and the memories tied to them, she can’t deny how much the house means to her. Soon she becomes conflicted about selling, even if it means spending more time with her overbearing relatives. Then Ella reconnects with an old friend from school and meets a cute artist who reignites her passion for painting – something Ella thought had died with her grandfather. Despite her painful and reluctant return, once Ella is back in the shadow of the steel town that raised her, she finally realizes it’s time to confront her past and decide whether she’s strong enough to rebuild her life by learning to love again – in every sense of the word.
HER CROSSINGS
(first draft):
When English-born Sophie Parker accepts a job in France as a maid in the autumn of 1911, she sees it as her first step towards a life of travel and the opportunity to serve prominent aristocratic families. But it isn’t long before tragedy strikes her employers, and Sophie finds herself falling in love with the grief-stricken Matthew Simms. The two become enthralled with one another and Sophie blindly follows him to America on board the ill-fated Titanic. When Matthew goes down with the ship, Sophie arrives in New York City alone and utterly terrified.
Sophie struggles to cope with her grief and the repercussions of her affair while making her way in the world’s biggest city. Though she is comforted by the kindness of her landlady and new friend Millie, she allows herself to be manipulated by a man who isn’t what he seems. When the new life she was trying to build in New York falls apart, Sophie follows Millie to Pittsburgh, another bustling city filled with endless opportunities. There, she must decide if she will allow the secrets of her past to dictate her future, or whether she can pursue her dreams and embrace new relationships despite the mistakes she’s desperate to leave behind.
This sweeping novel takes readers from the picturesque French countryside and the luxurious decks of the Titanic to the dizzying streets of New York City and the smoky urban landscape of Pittsburgh’s bustling steel mills. Filled with raw emotion and drawing on the immigrant experience as well as the early feminist movement, HER CROSSINGS is a must-read for any historical fiction lover.
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