The O'Briens are from a small rural farming community in northeastern Ireland. Gabriella and Catherine O'Brien due to unforeseen circumstances find themselves in Dublin to make their way together. After a few years in Dublin, they find themselves as Irish immigrants that have booked travel on a ship, migrating to the United States in the late 1840s. They hope for a new start. The trip across the North Atlantic is arduous and creates even more hardship for the cousins. Once the ship docks in Boston Harbor, there are still great trials to be endured, but the days begin to brighten - or do they - as the story leads into the American Civil War.

The story is of Irish immigrants that after enduring difficult times in Ireland due to the potato famine, during the 1840's, have booked travel to migrate to the United States. The O'Brien women understand the importance of family and that survival is something that must be fought for. The trip across the North Atlantic is something that nightmares are made yet what every romance dreams of. When one must endure great tragedy, how will that person live with the memory of the ordeal and who will help them through it. Once to the United States, there are still great trials but the days begin to brighten, as America as a society may be in ruins. Are the families and communities going to come together or are going to turn on one another and focus on their own self-interests?

On a rainy day in the fall of 2010 in Rancho Cucamonga, California, I had a vision as I watched the people scurry in the downpour through the library window. The vision was of a little blonde-haired girl rising on Christmas morning and getting dressed to go downstairs to see what presents Saint Nicholas had left for her. Nine years to the month, as I sat looking out the window watching people scurry in the rain, I finished the story of the little blonde-haired girl and her family. The cover picture was taken by an incredible photographer, Lorri Young Lang, and the model is her niece, Dustie. Lorri and her Dustie were kind enough to allow me to use the picture and are very excited to see Gabriella (the character represented on the cover) come to life. The moment that I saw Lorri's picture of Dustie that I had my Gabriella represented for the world to embrace. I am a creative person by nature and I enjoy telling stories in various formats, such as poetry, music and literature. I find that if I am not telling a story that I am aging away in silence. The words and music that I put out to the world is my legacy and I am thrilled to finally be able to begin this new chapter and to share with everyone.