My Novel

GIFT OF THE BEAR  found a publisher!

Peter Randall Publisher of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will release my first novel on February 3, 2026! 

A middle-grade novel–but entertaining for adults as well– is set in 1755 Massachusetts and New Hampshire at the onset of the French and Indian War. 

When 12-year-old Edward Abbott befriends an exiled boy, he learns of the horrors of exile, the tragedy of ethnic cleansing, and the resilience of displaced people. In the midst of political unrest and religious discrimination, he finds the fortitude and daring he needs to help his new friend.

This immigrant story of prejudice and discrimination versus friendship and acceptance is timeless. Based on historical facts, Gift of the Bear is a compelling story of survival. Mostly, it is about the courage of one boy and an unlikely and enduring friendship.

 

Pre-order here. 

 

Historical Background and Links for Parents and Educators

At the onset of the French and Indian War and the Great Deportation of Acadians from Nova Scotia, thousands of French Acadians were deported to the British colonies. Forced onto ships, they watched their homes and fields burn. Families were tragically separated. Hundreds died in shipwrecks, many others of disease.  Once in the colonies, they became town charges and were not well received because of their religion and nationality. It was not until 1763 that Acadians were allowed to leave their assigned towns and return to New France.

 

 

 

Soon to be submitted

What’s in the Cellar? (It really happened!)
A Surprise for Mr. Quinn (Trouble in the principal’s office)
Queen Priscilla and the Commoners (A first grade grammar lesson)
Screen Door (A visit to grandparents’ old house)
A Banner Day (Musings on a windy, spring day)
Christmas Magic (A surprise gift)

 

Published Works

Penny Candy: Sugar-Coated Memories

Friends of Victoria: Reader to Reader Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1999

The Universal Language

Le Petit Prince: bulletin de l’Association des familles Prince d’Amerique, Vol 1, No. 3, 1998

Tootsie Roll™

Lessons Learned: An Anthology of Teachers’; Writing, 1998

Cold Feet

Everyday Epiphanies: An Anthology of Teachers’ Writings, 1997

Readers Write on Memorial Day ’96

The Sunday Telegraph (Nashua, NH), 1996

So Many Princes!

Le Petit Prince: bulletin de l’Association des familles Prince d’Amerique, Edition Speciale, Vol. 1, No. 3-4, 1995

The Great Pigeon Rescue

The Christian Science Monitor, 1994

The Mice of Nottingham Hollow

1987, out of print