Civil War Historical Fiction
Women’s / New Adult
Nominated for a 2016 Cybils award (Blood Moon).
Ella Wood (book one)
Men are dying to keep their slaves. If Emily frees hers, they’ll see her hanged.
Emily Preston must battle her father’s restrictive ideology even as the nation teeters on the brink of civil war. She’s determined to attend a northern college newly opened to women, but her decision provokes the ire of her suitor, Thaddeus Black, and ignites her father’s wrath.
Her friend Jovie Cutler takes a more liberal stance, but even he wouldn’t understand her new confliction with that larger social issue: slavery. After a visit to her uncle in Detroit, she can’t help but contrast Detroit’s thriving free black community with the realities of the slave village.
When Emily’s father separates a slave child from his parent—the man her maid Lizzie loves—she must choose between principle and the law. Because she can only protect Lizzie’s would-be family by sending them north—an illegal act that incurs the swift and certain application of vigilante justice.
Fans of Kristin Hannah and Sue Monk Kidd will be enchanted by the lyrical beauty and resilient female spirit in this sweeping Southern saga.
Download Ella Wood today and indulge in a sweet tale of friendship and love.
- For a pictorial representation of many of the historical characters and places mentioned in Ella Wood, visit the Ella Wood Pinterest board.
- Get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the fascinating research that went into Ella Wood.
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Blood Moon (book two)
As the Northern offensive engulfs her home, Emily fights to hold on to her dream.
Emily’s long-held hope to attend college in Maryland appears impossible after she helps four slaves escape and her father banishes her from Ella Wood. She moves to Charleston to earn her own tuition despite the imminent threat of a Union attack.
Then Thad asks her to marry him and proposes they move to Baltimore as husband and wife. When Emily accepts, her best friend Jovie won’t settle for second place and breaks off all correspondence. But whispers reach Emily’s ears, hints that her fiancé may be harboring dangerous secrets.
Before she can investigate, the Union fires on Charleston. Forced to evacuate, she must choose: give up her ambition, reconcile with her father, and face the invasion at his side, or flee to Maryland and abandon her family to the Yankees.
This coming of age saga will enchant fans of Lynn Austin and Alyssa Cole with its compelling romance and thrilling drama.
Download Blood Moon today and indulge in this historical tale of love and war.
- For a pictorial representation of many of the historical characters and places mentioned in Blood Moon, visit the Blood Moon Pinterest board.
- Get a behind-the-scene look at some of the fascinating research that went into Blood Moon.
Ebb Tide (book three)
The joy of attaining her dream dissolves when the soldier Emily loves disappears.
When the Union fires on Charleston, Emily flees to Ella Wood. There she mourns Jovie, missing at Gettysburg, and realizes her broken heart has always belonged to him.
After a prolonged search, Jovie’s family holds a memorial service and moves west, and Thad, who purchases their estate out of spite, threatens Emily. Then word arrives that Jovie’s been spotted in Baltimore! She crosses the front lines to resume her quest and finds that Thad’s terrorization reaches her even in the North.
While continuing to search, Emily completes her coursework at the Maryland Institute and lands her dream job, yet her heart still yearns for the man she loves. Giving up means laying Jovie to rest, but persevering means sacrificing her hard-won career for a man with no wish to be found.
Fans of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind and John Jakes’ North and South will love the tragedy and passion in this sweeping Civil War saga.
Don’t miss Emily’s happily ever after in this highly acclaimed Southern romance series. Download Ebb Tide today.
- For a pictorial representation of many of the people, places, and events that feature in Ebb Tide, visit the Ebb Tide Pinterest Page.
- Get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the research that went into Ebb Tide.
Lizzie (book four)
June 2025: Formerly an Ella Wood novella, Lizzie has been rewritten as a full-length novel.
Holding her family together could cost Lizzie her life.
After sixteen years of service to the Preston family, Lizzie holds no expectations of freedom. But emancipation rumors circle the plantation when tensions between North and South erupt into war. Then her life alters forever when Mr. Black, her mistress’s beau, brutally assaults her.
She catches the eye of Ketch, a strong, handsome newcomer, but fears his interest will fade when he discovers she’s pregnant. She learns Ketch had to leave his four-year-old son behind and realizes she could easily be separated from her baby.
Then Mr. Black announces his intention to marry Miss Emily—and own Lizzie. To protect herself and keep her family intact, she must flee north, but 500 miles lie between South Carolina and freedom. And recapture means separation, torture…or death.
Fans of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain and Robin Oliveira’s My Name Is Marry Sutter will inhale this heartbreaking historical romance.
Download Lizzie today and read this beloved character’s full story from her own perspective.
- For a pictorial representation of many of the people, places, and events that feature in Lizzie, visit the Lizzie Pinterest Page.
Ella Wood Novellas
Lizzie, Jack, Jovie…you’ve grown to love Ella Wood’s characters. Now get to know them better. This series of novellas will fill in additional details in the Ella Wood trilogy’s main story line. Experience Lizzie and Ketch’s escape north. Follow Jack into the Confederate army. And find out exactly what happened to Jovie after Gettysburg.
Note, I am currently rewriting these novellas into full-length novels. Lizzie became available June 2025. Jack should become available by the end of 2025. Then I will start on Jovie. Currently, Jack and Jovie are still available as .99 novellas.
Jack
Keeping secrets is a lonely business when they’re as dangerous as Jack’s.
Jack lives a double life. The spoiled heir to a plantation, he routinely aids runaways. If anyone found out, his life would be forfeit and his family in jeopardy.
He dreams of leading the South away from slavery—impossible in the face of Northern aggression. So he bides his time, keeping company with drunks, gamblers…and slavecatchers, gleaning information and deflecting suspicion. It’s a solitary existence, with only slaves to confide in and no realistic hope of marriage.
Then war comes to Charleston. Jack enlists in the infantry and falls hard for a feisty, intelligent woman with abolitionist leanings. When the government requires two additional years of service—a death sentence—his war-weary heart longs to slip away with the woman he loves and wait for the political climate to change, but he’d be kissing his aspirations goodbye. Because no Southerner would respect the leadership of man who deserted his men and abandoned his honor.
Fans of Jeff Shara’s Gettysburg and The Killer Angles will devour the battlefield drama of this historical military romance.
Download Jack today and experience his full story from his own point of view.
Jovie
Alone in enemy territory, anonymity means the difference between life or death.
After taking a bullet at Gettysburg, a clever maneuver lands Jovie in a Northern hospital instead of a POW camp. Staying alive means remaining unidentified. But when a devastating amputation claims his leg, Jovie loses the will to live. His best friend died at Antietam a year ago, and the woman he’s loved since childhood has made it clear that she doesn’t return his affection. Why not just blurt out his secret and let it claim his life?
A chance encounter with a Confederate spy offers him new purpose, and the rush of their subterfuge distracts him from despair. But adrenalin is a poor substitute for hope. Despite her refusal, Jovie just can’t forget the woman he still loves. Will he find the courage to renew his pursuit despite his disfigurement? Will it be enough to bring him home?
In this game of chance, will he even live long enough for it to matter?
Ella Wood Novellas Boxed Set
This boxed set still includes Lizzie, Jack, and Jovie as the original novellas and is priced at 2.99. It will disappear after the full-length version of Jovie is completed.