Francis Lightfoot Lee is known in the annals of Virginia history as one of the colony's signers of the Declaration of Independence. Yet little is known of Lee's personal life, a void which novelist and long-time Virginian Suzanne Hadfield Semsch set out to fill with extensive research and a healthy dose of creativity without distorting historical fact. The result is The Lees of Menokin, a biographical novel documenting Lee's career as well as his courtship and marriage to Rebecca "Becky" Tayloe. A descendant of one of Virginia's "first families," Lee was a staunch patriot and reputed ladies'...

In The Sound of Caissons, Julia Crockett's relentless quest to excel is revealed as the story of five generations of an Army family unfolds through the first three-quarters of 20th century America. At age six Julia imagines growing up to be a general, like Fort Sill's post commander. When she shares this with her beloved grandfather, a retired major, he informs her girls can't be soldiers. Years later, her father forbids her joining the WAAC at the outset of WWII, and she decides the only way to achieve the position and power she desires is to marry an ambitious lieutenant and ride his...

Claire Sutton has no idea what she will do with 400 acres on the Rappahannock River, the early 1800s house named Woodbine by her ancestors, a barn, cabin and family cemetery-all an unexpected inheritance from her grandfather. Arriving to settle the estate she discovers Woodbine in desperate need of repair and taxes not paid. Soon three men-a friend of her grandfather, an architect from Northern Virginia, and her grandfather's attorney-present her with three conflicting options. Claire is quickly entangled in a web of uncertainty. As concealed relationships, a hidden journal, a family Bible,...