Dear readers,
I'm happy to announce that Becker's Trail is now available in paperback and ebook!
"A family torn apart by the lure of gold and the chance for a better life, shadowed by heartbreak and bitterness. When tragedy strikes, Levi Becker is sent to search for the father who abandoned him – and discovers the meaning of courage and family loyalty. A powerful coming-of-age story about the hard road toward forgiveness and a young man carving his own destiny. If you enjoy Francis Tucket's Adventures in the West, you'll love Becker's Trail."
Please visit my website for more info and buy options.
The Bookery and Monarch Books in downtown Lebanon, Oregon, are hosting Author Appreciation Day, November 1, 2025, from 12PM – 4PM. I will be among the authors setting up a table for book sales and signings, and I plan to read an excerpt from Becker's Trail. Come by and say hi, grab a map and enter to win a Thankful For You book basket. For details, go to Author Appreciation Day.
My husband and I dug our gold pans out of storage and took friends up Quartzville Creek a couple weeks ago. Our panning skills were a bit rusty and our luck finding gold slim to none, but any day spent in the wilderness with good friends is one to cherish. This is the general area I wrote about in Becker's Trail, though my characters were much better at finding the shiny stuff. :)
Panning for gold on Quartzville Creek
As I write this, the holidays are rushing up on us fast. The garden is still producing but much slower, and it won't be long before we get our first frost. My goals for the rest of 2025 are to focus on marketing and to relax for the holidays (not necessarily in that order). What are some of the things on your list to wrap up the year? Drop me a line and let me know!
Until next time, I wish you all the best. Stay safe, eat wisely, and enjoy.
Pumpkin rock sunning on a bench.
JoJo and her buddy Milo sharing the shade.
Greetings from the dog days of summer here in the PNW!
I'm happy to report ARCs (advance reader copies) of Becker's Trail are in the hands of my beta readers at last. While I wait for their feedback, there's watering, pruning, and harvesting to keep me busy. I canned the first seven pints of green beans yesterday, and the tomatoes are finally turning. Somehow (LOL), three tomato plants became five, so we should have another bountiful harvest this year. And more canning to look forward to. Every bit of shade is appreciated right now, with temperatures pushing 100 degrees Fahrenheit for days on end.
The Bookery and Monarch Books in downtown Lebanon, Oregon, are co-hosting Author Appreciation Day, November 1, 12PM to 4PM. I've registered and hope to showcase Becker's Trail in paperback alongside my other western-theme titles. Stop in and say hello if you're in the neighborhood.
I've always been a strong supporter of libraries and their importance to authors and local communities. So it was a thrill and honor to discover Destination Stardust on the Large Print shelf of Lebanon Public Library!
That's a wrap for this edition. Stay safe from whatever Mother Nature throws your way.
Greetings fellow readers!
As the familiar quote from Robert Burns’s poem “To a Mouse” puts it, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” I had hoped to have Becker’s Trail polished and published by the time you read this, but my eleven-year-old computer had other plans. Won’t go into whiny details. I’m up and running again now, but my pub date took a big hit. No new date set, but check out the awesome cover by Hiday Design (above) and the updated blurb:
Devastated over his mother’s debilitating wagon accident, thirteen-year-old Levi Becker reluctantly drags his little sister with him to Quartzville, deep in the mountains of Oregon’s Santiam wilderness, to find the man who abandoned them.
But when they arrive at the bustling boom town, they discover they aren’t the only ones looking for their father. And a ruthless murderer is determined to use Levi’s sister as bait to get what he wants.
Can Levi rescue her and find his father before somebody ends up dead? How far will he go to save his family?
Becker’s Trail takes you into the heart of a gold-mining town’s short-lived glory and a boy’s harrowing struggle to prove his courage.
Watch for the next newsletter (or check my website) to be notified of publication!
And stop in to see me at the Oregon Author Fair, brought to you by Friends of the Lebanon Public Library, February 22nd, at the Lebanon Senior Center, 80 Tangent St., Lebanon OR, from 10AM to 3PM. Free admission, 40+ Oregon authors, 12 featured speakers, bake sale fundraiser, and local food truck. (www.lebanonlibraryfriends.org)
I hope this finds you doing well in these chaotic, troubling times. I fall back on the immortal advice of Oddball, from that classic war movie Kelly’s Heroes: drink wine, eat cheese (or chocolate!), and catch some rays (if you can find them this time of year).
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Painted rock given to me by a friend on the Marks Slough Trail.