Mrs. Horne

Mrs. Horne is an adventure/romance that takes place during the mid 1800s. It is the story of a well-bred young woman who leaves the comfort and familiarity of her patrician lifestyle in Boston to travel as a new bride with her husband to claim a homestead in the Oregon territory. Her naïve expectations of a romantic adventure are soon shattered when she and her husband are separated and she must survive the winter alone in the elements. Her journey then takes her through an upheaval of emotions as she finds succor with a Mormon family in Salt Lake City and eventually discovers a forbidden love. As she settles into her new surroundings and finally finds happiness again, she must make the most difficult decision of her life when the husband whom she presumed to be dead returns. This is a powerful story of the human will to survive against overwhelming odds. It is a story of human relationships interwoven with historical facts that establish a realistic setting for this fictional novel. The market for this book will be women eighteen and older, but I have found that the men who have read it also expressed very favorable reviews.

Alexandria Horne discovers strength and courage she never realized she had when her wagon train is attacked by Mexican bandits and her husband, Wesley, is taken from her. She is left for dead amidst the bodies and debris of everything that was so dear to her. When she would have given up, she remembers Wesley's child growing withing her womb and she heads out on her own to find shelter. However, when she is trapped in the Rockies in a snow storm, she must use all her ingenuity and new found knowledge to survive the winter until the snow melts. While she is setting a trap in her search for food, she is nearly killed by a mountain lion, but an unexpected hero saves her life. Walker, chief of the Utes, delivers her to the Salt Lake Valley. She is taken in by a good Mormon family and she never expects to see Walker again, but as fate would have it, the Utes begin war with the Mormons as they take more and more land. By this time, Alex has settled in a small cabin of her own outside of town near the mouth of the canyon and this is where Walker finds her again, but instead of attacking, he orders his men to stay back as he confronts her alone. Thus begins a forbidden romance that leads to Alex being ostracized by her own people. Because of her great love for Walker, she decides to leave her life, everything familiar to her and go with him deep into the wilderness where they will be able to live in peace. On the day of their departure, Wesley, who has been held captive as a slave for an embittered Don, finally escapes and tracks down his wife and the child he never knew he had. Now, Alex must make the most difficult decision of her life.

I was born in a small town west of Salt Lake City, Utah. My earliest memory of writing was when I was eight years old and I interviewed my siblings and parents for articles that I put in my family newspaper. I have written poems and short stories most of my life, but my real love is novels. I have always been an avid reader, but after trying to get through a particularly bad novel, I decided I could write better than this published author, so I sat down in front of my computer and started writing. The story flowed like water and I couldn't stop until I had finished. The result was "Mrs. Horne." Since then I have completed three more novels: "A Love Unfeigned," "The Endowment," and "A Life Worth Saving." I have a bachelor's in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English Literature, and I have a master's in creative writing. I have also written and published a book of poetry called "Stages," dedicated to my mother and written for all women as we move from one stage to the next and try to adjust and grab hold of the wonder of each stage of our life. I have been a high school English teacher for ten years, which has given meaning to my life that can only compare to the joy and exciting challenge that came with raising five children of my own.