Times are hard in 1894. Desperate for work, former banker Jacob Hirsch rides the rails west from Chicago with his four-year-old daughter, Cassie. When a life-threatening illness strands the pair in Homestead, Iowa, the local Amana villagers welcome the father and daughter into their peaceful society. Liesel, a young Amana woman, nurses Cassie back to health, and the Homestead elders offer Jacob work. But Jacob’s growing interest in Liesel complicates his position in the Amanas. Will he fight to stay in the only place that feels like home, even if it means giving up the woman he loves? Or will Liesel leave her beloved community to face the outside world with Jacob and Cassie at her side?
My passion is to write entertaining and inspirational fiction that demonstrates God's significant purpose for each of His children. I've always loved to read fiction and write--I still have my grade school journals along with the ragged notebook pages from my attempts at writing a mystery series during junior high.
When I was seventeen, I left my small hometown in Ohio and drove to Virginia to attend Liberty University and Regent University. With degrees in journalism and communications, I moved to Colorado Springs to work as the corporate publicity manager for Focus on the Family. It was in the Springs that I met and married Jon Dobson...and that's when the adventure really began.
I wrote three novels before a publisher decided to publish Together for Good. My next novel, Going for Broke, will be published in Spring 2007.
Jon and I have two adopted toddlers (Karly and Kiki), and we currently live in Southern California. As I seek after God, I hope the stories He's etched in my heart will give readers a glimpse of His love and grace even when they don't understand His plan.
