Book Descriptions

THE OLIVIA SERIES
OLIVIA, MOURNING
Book 1 of the Olivia Series
Historical Fiction (USA, 1840s)
Page Count: 392, Word Count: 132,000

Forced to live with her brother and the overbearing woman who will soon be his wife, Olivia Killion is determined to gain her independence by inheriting 80 acres in far off Michigan. Her father’s will bequeathed the land to whichever of his offspring would put in a crop and stake a claim to it, and – as Olivia insists – “I’m sprung off him just as much as Avis or Tobey.”
The problem: she’s seventeen, female, and it’s 1841.
She has a childhood friend who would make a perfect partner for this endeavor. Mourning Free knows how to run a farm, having worked many years for local farmers. More importantly, Olivia has complete trust in him and no fear of a romantic entanglement developing between them. Mourning will put in the crop for her and she will then help him buy land of his own.
The problem: Mourning is black, the orphaned son of runaway slaves, and reluctant to travel and work with a white girl. He especially fears the private agents from the south who patrol the free states, hunting fugitive slaves.
Olivia believes she and Mourning can make their partnership work and they set off together. All goes well, despite the drudgery of survival in an isolated log cabin. Incapable of acknowledging her feelings for Mourning, Olivia thinks her biggest problem is her unrequited romantic interest in their young, single neighbor. And then her world falls apart.
Strong-willed, vulnerable, and compassionate, Olivia is a compelling protagonist on a journey to find a way to do the right thing in a world in which so much is wrong.

Awards

THE WAY THE WORLD IS
Book 2 of the Olivia Series
After the trauma she suffered in Book 1 and finally knowing what she must contend with, Olivia strives to rebuild herself – emotionally, socially, and financially. She seeks a new life in Detroit, while searching for the two people she loves. She finds some solace in helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada. As a friend says, “In this time and place, it is the most worthy thing a person can do.”

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MOURNING FREE?
Book 3 of the Olivia Series
It is 1967 and Charlene has just graduated from the University of Michigan – without her “MRS” degree. Her mother recently passed away, and soon afterwards her father fled the silence, to a new home and job on the other side of the state. So Charlene is going “home” to what is now an empty house.
Two things will make this long, hot summer bearable:
1) Her father has hired Reeves Valenti – the high school sweetheart she left behind – to help her get the house ready to be put up for sale.
2) A lawyer unexpectedly knocks on her door, bearing information about the woman she idolizes – her great-great-great Aunt Olivia Killion. Olivia’s journals finally shed some light on what became of Olivia and Mourning.

THE SUMMER OF 1848
Book 4 of the Olivia Series
Olivia thought they had created a home. A credible lie kept their secret, enabling them to live under one roof with their son. They had a means of support and friends. But this life has begun to feel confining and unsustainable. Mourning needs to be on his own. His disappearance leaves Olivia struggling with her own choices. Can they find a way to make the impossible possible, and remain a family?

MONEY AND GOOD THINGS
Book 5 of the Olivia Series
1857. Olivia and Nick still live in the boarding house. She has not seen Mourning for over nine years, though Charlie spends time with him each summer. Today Olivia anxiously awaits Mourning’s arrival. He sent a message – he needs to talk with her. Why now? Does he intend to take Charlie for good? Then a cryptic telegram arrives from Missouri that will take them on a different kind of journey together.

MY ISRAELI BOOKS

THE LONELY TREE
British Mandate Palestine – the State of Israel, 1934-1967
Page Count: 483, Word Count: 142,568
My debut novel and the one that will always be my favorite.

A compelling love story, told against the background of the chaotic birth of Israel – with the initial focus on (historically accurate) events at one isolated border kibbutz – Kfar Etzion. Tonia and Amos are irresistibly drawn to one another, but can they find their way across the ideological and cultural chasm that divides them?

Awards
Book of the Year Award, YouWriteOn, London Arts Council, 2009
Eric Hoffer Award, General Fiction, Honorable Mention, 2012

THE SUMMER OF 1974
The State of Israel, 1974
Page Count: 936 Word Count: 95,609

Israeli girl – Afro-American boy. So different. So alike.
Well-researched history seamlessly woven into a well-paced story.

Gavrielle Rozmann (granddaughter of Nella Rozmann from The Lonely Tree) and Charlie Freeman (from Whatever Happened to Mourning Free?) meet in an Italian language class in Rome. Their immediate affinity for one another sets them on a journey, in search of family, friendship and love.

For Martha

These books had a lot of help from my big sister Martha, who was like no other woman I know. She was extremely social, the “glue” that held family and friends together, and yet she and her husband chose to spend the last part of their lives living in a beautiful but isolated log home. There she chopped firewood, kept a large vegetable garden, and hunted their land — as independent and stubborn as Olivia. She gave to me generously – love, friendship, encouragement, insight, too much fabulous food, and just enough alcohol. I miss her every day.

Martha

Martha Worden and Her Ten-Point Buck

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