Lauraine Snelling

Red River of the North
An Untamed Land

She had promised herself that once they left the fjords of Norway, she would not look back.

After three long years of scrimping and saving to buy tickets for their passage to America, Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund, along with their son, Thorliff, finally arrive at the docks of New York City. It was the promise of free land that fed their dream and lured them from their beloved home high above the fjords of Norway in 1880. Together with Roald's brother Carl and his family, they will build a good life in a new land that promises untold wealth and vast farmsteads for their children.

As they join the throngs of countless immigrants passing through Castle Garden, they soon discover that nothing is as they had envisioned it. Appalled by the horrid stories of fellow immigrants bilked of all their money and forced to live in squalid living conditions, the Bjorklunds continue their long journey by train as far as Grand Forks. From there a covered wagon takes them into Dakota Territory, where they settle on the banks of the Red River. But there was no way for them to foresee the price they will have to pay to wrest a living from the indomitable land. The virgin prairie refuses to yield its treasure without a struggle. Will they be strong enough to overcome the hardships of that first winter?

A New Day Rising

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?


A Land to Call Home

Taming the land came at great price. Will their love survive the loss? It has required long, difficult years to tame the virgin prairie of Dakota Territory, but in spite of heartache and back-breaking labor, the hardy immigrants recognize that God has been with them every step. What was merely a dream is now beginning to take shape. And so they face the challenge of proving up their homesteads and building an official town for their growing community. Hjelmer travels west to work on the railroad, but after sending only one letter to Penny, who has agreed to wait for him, he is not heard from again. As the months pass, Penny is pursued by other eligible suitors, and her love for Hjelmer is sorely tried. Will he return to keep his promise? First the land, then a natural disaster nearly devastates them. What will it take to make their dreams a reality?



The Reaper's Song

They held fast to their dream, they tamed the prairie land, and now they can join in - THE REAPERS' SONG

Ever so slowly the Dakota Territory is being transformed from a vast prairie into rich farmlands. Finally the Bjorklund family and their neighbors are reaping the promised harvest that had drawn them from their homes in Norway to cross the Atlantic. With the coming of the railroad and shipments of wheat to larger markets, the small town of Blessing begins to prosper in 1886.

But for Ingeborg, Haaken, and their children, the challenges still remain to accomplish their dreams. With the wheat harvest in full swing, the older boys in the community leave school to help in the fields, and the girls stay home to help cook. After the Bjorklunds' fields are harvested, Haaken 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 Haaken away and the fields standing idle, Ingeborg fears an early change of season and refuses to wait for him to return to finish the heavy fall work. Will she regret taking the team to the field herself? Has she made a mistake in hiring the mysterious young man who arrived so opportunely?

Has the Land Become More Important to Ingeborg Than her Own Family?


Tender Mercies

Is She Really Leaving Forever?

Mary Martha was the only woman to capture his heart. But now she was preparing to leave the Dakota Territory. Was her good-bye forever?

Jump into the Red River of the North series and learn why readers across the country are clamoring for each new book in this historical series.

Tracing the difficulties and joys of carving out a life from the Dakota sod in the second half of the 1800s, Tender Mercies continues Snelling's Red River saga and will pull your heartstrings and make you feel the joys and frustrations of life on the open lands of the 19th century mid-west.

The rich farmlands of the Dakota Territory in 1887 are finally beginning to yield the abundant harvest the pioneers had dreamed about so long. The establishment of the railroad has brought significant changes to the small town of Blessing as well as prosperity to the Bjorklund family and their neighbors.

Among the townsfolk, Reverend John Solberg despite being wary of matchmaking efforts in the past is developing a friendship with a delightful young woman through their common love of books. Mary Martha has a gentle southern charm that wins everyone in her circle but too soon she is called on to return home to care for her mother. She leaves behind many heavy hearts and countless questions of whether it will be the last time to see her.



Blessing in Disguise

The Bjorklund family has received word that Augusta Bjorklund is on her way from Norway to join them in North Dakota. When the train arrives in the town of Blessing with no Augusta aboard, the worried family hopes she will be on the train in the morning. But only her trunk arrives, so Bridget Bjorklund insists that Hjelmer, Augusta's brother, go find her. Augusta, after discovering her intended bridegroom had married someone else, decided to leave her broken heart in Norway and start a new life in America helping her mother run her boardinghouse. 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. When she arrives at the end of the line, she is met by a handsome young rancher, Kane Moyer, waiting for his Norwegian mail-order bride?



Return to Red River
A Dream to Follow

Thorliff Bjorklund has been writing since he was a young boy and now longs to study journalism. But his father has other plans for him and refuses to agree. Loving and respecting his parents, Thorliff dreads going against his father's wishes and cannot imagine any honorable way to leave home. To make matters worse, the threat of a crop failure may mean there'll be no money for college anyway. Thorliff is torn between love for his father and the pull of his dream. Must he choose between the two? Elizabeth Rogers has been raised in a life of privilege, yet she has an unwavering determination to become a doctor. Though she has the blessing of her family, society is not as kind, for it is nearly impossible for a woman to enter medical school. Has she misread her heart?

Believing the Dream

They Never Imagined Following Their Dreams Would Be So Costly

A passion for writing has burned brightly in Thorliff Bjorklund's heart for as long as he can remember. But college life is not as he had imagined. Both time and distance have created a rift between him and his childhood sweetheart, and the only bright spot in his life is his job at the newspaper.

When summer arrives, things are looking up at school, but Thorliff must return home and confront his faltering relationship with Anji. Will he find the bonds of love still strong?

For Elizabeth Rogers, marriage seems out of the question. Since learning that her mother died giving birth to her, Elizabeth has determined to become a doctor in order to save the lives of other women in childbirth. Will she achieve her dream when it is nearly impossible for a woman to enter medical school?


More Than a Dream

All he'd hoped for was finally within his reach, and then?

Thorliff's desire to become a writer fills his mind and heart as he attends college. He earns his way writing newspaper reports and magazine articles--good experience on the way to his goal. Then catastrophe upon tragedy hits his beloved hometown of Blessing, North Dakota, and family and friends are left reeling from incredible losses. Thorliff returns home to help shoulder the burden and assist in the recovery efforts, and too soon his writing seems only a distant dream.

After graduation from college, Elizabeth takes a nursing position in a Chicago hospital for women while waiting to hear if any of her applications to medical schools are accepted. She soon comes face to face with the vast gulf between her life of affluence and privilege and the poverty-stricken patients under her care. 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?

Dakotah Treasures

Ruby

Journey west to a land of adventure in the untamed Dakota territory!

Ruby Torvald sets out on a daunting journey with her young sister, Opal, to hopefully see their long-lost father once more and claim the promised inheritance. But instead of the treasure they expected, the sisters discover something most shocking.

Ruby's bold determination in the face of scandal is the only way to redeem her father's legacy. Does she have it in her?

Pearl

Ruby Torvald has turned Dove House, the scandalous inheritance her father left to her and her sister, into a respectable establishment. Her newest boarder is Pearl Hossfuss, a twenty-two-year-old schoolteacher from Chicago. Hiding scars within and without, Pearl has given up hope that any man would want to marry her. Her father has his own ideas, insisting she marry his clerk, a widower with five children.

So Pearl flees to Dakotah Territory in response to an ad requesting a teacher for the town of Little Missouri. She finds teaching in this rural setting rewarding and interesting--even more so when she makes the acquaintance of an intriguing young carpenter, Carl Hegland. But just as her future begins to look brighter, news arrives that her father is coming to take her back to Chicago.

When disaster threatens, will these lovely jewels of the West be forced to abandon their dreams?

Opal

When Ruby Torvald marries rancher Rand Harrison, her sister, Opal, takes to ranch life like a hummingbird to sugar water. She can outshoot, outride, and outwork any cowboy on the place. Ranching has clearly captured her heart. But when Opal makes a foolish though innocent decision, her dear friend Atticus is taken away from her, and she is consumed with feelings of guilt and self-recrimination. Will she ever see Atticus again?

Jacob Chandler, hiding secrets from the past, arrives from the East to begin a new life with his son. The young minister discovers grace and acceptance among the people of Dakotah Territory and soon finds himself falling in love with the enchanting Opal Torvald.

Will the tragedy that has broken Opal's heart keep her from love forever?

Amethyst

Amethyst Colleen O'Shaunasy travels west to find her father's heir. But when she discovers Joel in Dakotah Territory, she uncovers shocking news. How will she tell her overbearing father? And how will he react when he learns she's not coming home?

Major Jeremiah McHenry has retired from the army and returns to Dakotah Territory to make a new life. Amethyst is touched by his kind and gentlemanly manner, and soon he's captured her heart. But does he see her as merely a servant rather than a prospective bride?

Jacob Chandler is counting the days until he is able to court Opal Torvald. Can he prove to her that she will make a fine preacher's wife?

Will Amethyst choose to leave the western frontier if the major does not return her love?

Secret Refuge

Daughter of Twin Oaks

Seeking to fulfill the promise she made to her dying father, eighteen-year-old Jesselynn Highwood determines to take her little brother and the family's remaining Thoroughbreds from Twin Oaks plantation in Kentucky to her uncle's farm in Missouri, where they will be safe for the remainder of the Civil War.

Jesselynn is also fleeing a cruel man in Confederate uniform who has pledged to take revenge against her for refusing his hand in marriage. No longer safe at Twin Oaks, she embarks on a perilous journey, taking on the momentous responsibility for the lives and welfare of all who go with her.

They ride at night and hide during the day, dodging both Confederate and Union troops along the way. Encountering hunger, sickness, and the devastation of war, they finally arrive in Missouri only to discover that the situation there puts them in even greater danger. Discouraged, disillusioned, and facing a severe testing of her faith, Jesselynn will stop at nothing to save her family, the horses, and whatever remains of Twin Oaks.

Sisters of the Confederacy

After finding her expected safe haven destroyed, Jesselyn Highwood must decide where to turn next. With no place left to go, Jesselyn decides to head west on the Oregon Trail. Here she encounters hardship, danger on the journey--and love.

Meanwhile, her sister, Louisa, smuggles desperately needed supplies for the hospital in Richmond where she helps care for wounded soldiers. As both sisters face the ravages of war, one remains strong in her faith while the other struggles to understand a God who allows such atrocities to continue.

A Secret Refuge -A three-in-one collection

Originally published as three separate volumes, A Secret Refuge combines Daughter of Twin Oaks, Sisters of the Confederacy, and The Long Way Home into one epic novel.

In Daughter of Twin Oaks, Jesselynn escapes Kentucky with her family's prized Thoroughbreds. In Sisters of the Confederacy, Louisa and brother Zachary face danger in Virginia. And in The Long Way Home, a place of rest seems elusive.

Daughters of Blessing
A Promise for Ellie

Return to Blessing, North Dakota, with the story of Andrew Bjorklund and Ellie Wold. After graduating in May of 1900, the two make plans to marry once the harvest is over and their new house is finished. They spend the summer working hard, and the Lord seems to shine on and in them in a special way. Everyone rejoices in their happiness. Everyone except for Toby Valders, who is determined to get even for all the drubbings he has taken from Andrew through the years. Andrew, however, has promised Ellie there will be no more fistfights. But when their new barn burns—and many of their possessions and dreams with it—Andrew throws his vows of nonviolence aside, reaping bitter consequences. Why is the life he has so looked forward to now unraveling so quickly?

Sophie’s Dilemma

Certain she can't live without Hamre Bjorklund, the impetuous Sophie Knutson rejects her father's request to postpone her marriage until after graduation and convinces Hamre to elope. But life as a fisherman's bride in Seattle is not at all that Sophie had envisioned. Pregnant and lonely while Hamre's out at sea, she hires on at a fish cannery, only to be fired after fainting on the job.

When tragedy strikes, heartbroken Sophie can think only of returning home to Blessing.

But will her family welcome her after the way she's hurt them by her defiant behavior? And will she ever open her heart to love again?

A Touch of Grace

She thought she knew what she wanted in life... then Jonathan arrived.

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?

Rebecca’s Reward

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 none 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?

Home to Blessing
A Measure of Mercy

Eighteen-year-old Astrid Bjorklund has always dreamed of becoming a doctor. She had intended to study medicine in Chicago or Grand Forks, but when a disaster wiped out a major portion of her family's income, Astrid stayed home instead, receiving hands-on training from Dr. Elizabeth.

Joshua Landsverk left Blessing two years ago, but he's never forgotten Astrid. Returning to town, he seeks to court her. Astrid is attracted to him, so when the opportunity unexpectedly opens for her to go to Chicago for medical training, she finds it difficult to leave. Love blossoms through their letters, but upon arriving back home, she makes a heartbreaking discovery. Will she have to give up love to pursue her dream?

No Distance Too Far

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?

A Heart for Home

 

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?

Wild West Wind

Valley of Dreams

Cassie 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 on 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.

Whispers in the Wind

After 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?