Several months ago I connected more closely with my friend, Darlene Franklin, when we began to work together on Postmark Christmas, which was Darlene Franklin‘s brainchild and my first traditional fiction contract. When we started connecting again, she sent me a copy of her full-length novel, Lone Star Trail, published by Moody Press. She never asked me to review it, but I couldn’t resist letting GraceReign readers know about it.

Set in 1844 in Texas, the novel tells the story of German immigrants. It intrigued me because most of the stories I’ve heard about large German settlements placed the immigrants in the Dakotas or back east. I didn’t know there was a large German population who settled in Texas. Darlene’s historical accuracy as well as her ability to show the tension between existing settlers and the Germans who came later made this an authentic read.

Darlene’s heroine, Wande, is bright, kind, and an overcomer. Of course you can’t help cheering the hero, Jud Morgan, as he has to fight through his prejudice against the Germans to embrace his love for the sweet Wande. Easy to read with strong values and a good spiritual thread, the story is a match for adults and young adults alike.

Lone Star Trail is part of Texas Trails: A Morgan Family Series. This 6-book series is written by three award-winning authors of over 60 books: Susan Page Davis, Darlene Franklin, and Vickie McDonough and covers four generations of a Texas family in 50 years of Texas history, from 1845 to 1896. Lone Star Trail is the first in the series. Enjoy the following book trailer!

The first five books in this series are out, and the last releases in June.

It’s an honor to recommend Darlene’s book as well as the whole historical series. It was largely due to Darlene’s faith in me and her reputation in the industry that I can say I’m a published fiction author. Darlene has been a friend and mentor over many years, first in Colorado and later via the Internet as she wrote me from her new home in Oklahoma. Several years ago she spoke at HIS Writers when I was president there, offering all of us encouragement to persevere as well as a wealth of knowledge from her experience as an established author. My love and gratitude goes out to her!

Here’s a little more on her professional life:

Darlene Franklin is the author of fourteen books and novellas as well as several hundred short pieces. Two of her books have been finalists in ACFW’s Book of the year contest: Dressed in Scarlet and A String of Murders. Darlene lives in Oklahoma.