Tag: Catoctin Creek

Preview Christmas at Catoctin Creek now

Leave a comment

I’m excited to share the first three chapters of my upcoming holiday-themed novel, Christmas at Catoctin Creek, here at my site!

This fourth book in the Catoctin Creek series was supposed to be a novella, but as I wrote, the story let me know there was a lot more going on than the initial 35,000 words I’d planned for. So it’s now a full length novel, about the same length or a little longer than Springtime, the preceding book in the series. Pretty fun, right?

Preview the first three chapters now!

In this novel, all six of the former heroes and heroines of the first three Catoctin Creek novels return — plus some fun new arrivals.

When Rosemary is volunteered by a neighbor to take on twelve horses left behind by an elderly farmer’s death, she turns to Nadine and Nikki for help figuring out to pay and house the new horses. Nadine, now barn manager at the Long Pond girls’ school, has been looking for a way to get some of the misfit students from the school involved in horses. She sees an opportunity, but along with Nikki, all three women decide to think bigger: they’re going to bring back the Catoctin Creek Christmas Carnival, and run it as a fundraiser for Rosemary’s equine sanctuary.

But that’s not the only drama in town. A missing hiker has been bringing reporters to their town, among them, Kelly O’Connell of Arlington. Kelly came to Catoctin Creek to find answers about the missing hiker — a woman she has a strange personal connection with. She immediately falls for the small-town warmth of Catoctin Creek, a place where she wishes she could remake herself — if only she were that kind of person. Kelly knows she’s just going to be in and out once she’s found the missing woman.

If William lets her go. William Cunningham, the town’s favorite black sheep, is back from his annual wanderings out west. When he meets Kelly, he knows she’s in town for more than a live shot on the evening newscast — this woman is looking for answers, and she seems to think he’s up to something. William decides to steer clear of Kelly…but sometimes, trouble seeks a person out whether they want it or not…

Spend the holiday season with your friends at Catoctin Creek! Read the first three chapters here.

Now Available: Sunset at Catoctin Creek

Leave a comment

Today is the release day for my newest novel, Sunset at Catoctin Creek, and I’m so excited to take you all there.

The perfect cozy autumn read!


I spent all summer in Catoctin Creek, and I truly never want to leave! Every time I started editing this book, I found more reasons to rewrite instead of just letting it go to readers. Because once I’m done, I’m back out in the real world, and I don’t like it here!

But there’s more Catoctin Creek to come, as you’ll definitely realize whilst turning the pages. I hope that readers love this little town, this beautiful corner of Maryland, and these lovely people as much as I do. When you need a small town escape, consider Catoctin Creek. With sweet romance and beautiful vistas, it’s the kind of place that we’re all craving in 2020.

I’m looking forward to writing the follow-up, Snowfall at Catoctin Creek, very soon, and after that, Springtime at Catoctin Creek.

While all of these books will focus more on human relationships than the heavily-equestrian storylines of my other series, horses still play a role, and I’m excited about some of the interesting equine pursuits I have lined up for future volumes.

To read the first three chapters of Sunset at Catoctin Creek right here at my blog, just click here.

Or go straight to Amazon and download your Kindle edition, start reading with Kindle Unlimited, or order your paperback.

I highly recommend the paperback, by the way — it’s absolutely lovely!

I hope you enjoy visiting Catoctin Creek and send me your thoughts, post your reviews, and tell your friends!

Thanks, lovelies!

Sunset at Catoctin Creek: Now at Patreon

Leave a comment

I’m adding a second book to my serial works-in-progress at Patreon!

Sunset at Catoctin Creek is the first novel in my Catoctin Creek series. I’d been playing with the idea for a small-town romantic novel for a little while. On one of my barn days – I have a lot of time for thinking on barn days! – I came up with not just one, but three novels set in a fictional small Maryland town called Catoctin Creek.

The name and setting both have a lot of significance for me. My Keller family came to western Maryland in the early 1800s and settled there, along with many other German immigrants. Catoctin Creek is a stream that runs along the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains called the Catoctins. There’s an old Keller graveyard near Catoctin Creek, and not far away, my great-grandfather’s old farm.

So I came up with this idea, and promptly fell in love with my imaginary town of Catoctin Creek, and then set it to one side because work, and deadlines, and etc.

Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels

Now, though, I could use a little escape. I’m on Day 12 of Quarantine Life, and my long affinity for the fuss-free, smaller-footprint advantages of apartment life? Well, it’s being tested a little. Let’s just say I could really go for a front porch with a set of rockers, a babbling brook within earshot, and an old barn where my horses whinny for their suppers.

So I’m running away (in my mind) to Catoctin Creek, and I’m inviting you along with me. I’m posting the first chapters of this novel at my Patreon, free for everyone to read. Come meet Rosemary, who has lived at Notch Gap Farm her entire life, and seems largely content with her spinsterhood and her rescue horses. Come meet Stephen, who has come to Catoctin Creek to settle his father’s estate, make a little money, and head back home to Manhattan before he forgets how to order in dinner from Seamless. And meet Nikki, Rosemary’s best friend and no-nonsense proprietress of the Blue Plate Diner, and the Kelbaughs, Rosemary’s elderly neighbors and touchstones on lonely nights.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Like I said, the first few chapters are free – no paywall. Eventually I’ll have to move them to subscriber-only, for copyright reasons, but I’d like to give everyone a shot to decide if they want to read it first.

And just as a reminder, subscriptions to read all of my work on Patreon are just $3 per month. I really want to keep it reasonable, while still getting a little income for the writing which takes up much of my day. I’m also posting new chapters of Runaway Alex for subscribers at this time, so you’re getting two books at a time. (Here’s the first chapter, no payment required.)

I hope that everyone who needs a little escape can find it in Catoctin Creek. And I hope that soon, we can all get back to our happy places, for real.

Read Chapter 1 of Sunset at Catoctin Creek here.