Western Historical "Trail of Storms" by Marsha Ward

Marsha Ward has been writing for decades and has had over 900 articles, short stories, poems, and newspaper columns printed. She is the founder of ANWA, the American Night Writer's Association, a group for women with an every-growing membership. She is known for her engaging westerns. Here's the blurb for her latest, Trail of Storms.

Jessie Bingham put heartbreak away to tend to her sister's needs, but when she settled for second best in love, she didn't foresee that James Owen would come back into her life.

The aftermath of the Civil War creates cruel circumstances for the Bingham family. A brutal attack on Jessie's sister, Hannah Fletcher, drives the extended family to flee to the West. They are soon joined by Heppie Bingham's beau George and his brother, Ned, who bring news that the Binghams are being pursued by cronies of Hannah's attacker. Even after they fight off that onslaught, poverty, bad weather, and Hannah's frightful secret plague their journey. Nursing her battered heart when she hears James Owen took a wife, Jessie accepts Ned's offer of marriage. But a stop on the trail holds surprises that launch Jessie into a bewildering tangle of values, emotions, and high adventure.

REVIEW by Shirley Bahlmann, author of the "Odds" pioneer series
Marsha Ward has the uncanny ability to transport readers back in time. You feel the characters' sorrows, hate the villains, cheer the heroes, and sit on the edge of your seat as one adventure after another unfolds. What a satisfying story this is, with real, believable trials and heart-warming conclusions. I recommend it to everyone, from history buffs to adventure lovers to romance readers.

Trail of Storms is the third book in a series about the Owen family of Virginia and their neighbors. If you prefer to read in sequence, read The Man from Shenandoah first. However, each book stands alone.You can read a first chapter of Trail of Storms here, learn more about the author, get links to her blog and many other interesting things at her website here. You can read a review of this book (which I haven't read yet) here.