Lauraine Snelling

"After the loss of her first love, is Ingeborg Strand willing to marry a stranger--however kind--for the promise of a new life in America? The prequel to the RED RIVER OF THE NORTH series"--

Ruby plays matchmaker between the lovely but hidden Pearl and the carpenter Soren, who longs to uncover the beauty in Pearl that seems to be damaged by a tragic childhood. Ruby's own heart is torn by loyalty to the major and a surprising new suitor. But when a disaster threatens their future, will these jewels of the prairie be forced to abandon their dreams for the security of the east?

Sophie Knutson, rejecting her father's request to postpone her marriage until after graduation, convinces Hamre Bjorklund they should elope; far from her family Sophie finds that life as a fisherman's bride is not all she had envisioned. --

When a disaster affects her family's income, Astrid's dreams of becoming a doctor are shattered, but an opportunity opens for her in Chicago for medical training, forcing her to choose between love and the pursuit of her dream.

In the first decade of the twentieth century, Trygve Knutson is devoted to his family and his community. With his job on the construction crew, he is helping to build a future for the North Dakota town of Blessing. Though he loves his home, he sometimes dreams of other horizons--especially since meeting Miriam Hastings. Miriam is in Blessing to get practical training to become an accredited nurse. She's been promised a position in the Chicago women's...

The rich farmlands of the Dakota Territory in 1887 are finally beginning to yield the abundant harvest the pioneers had dreamed about so long. The establishment of the railroad has brought significant changes to the small town of Blessing as well as prosperity to the Bjorklund family and their neighbors. Among the townsfolk is reverend John Solberg. The reverend, rejecting the persistent efforts of matchmaking mothers, develops a friendship with Mary...

Hjelmer has left his immigrant community in the Dakota Territory to work on the railroad out west. Penny has agreed to wait for him, but months after she last heard from him, Penny is pursued by other eligible suitors and her love for Hjelmer is sorely tried.

She Had Told Him She Was Headed for Blessing. Why Would He Not Take Her There? The Bjorklund family has received word that Augusta Bjorklund is on her way from Norway to join them in North Dakota. When the train arrives in the town of Blessing with no Augusta aboard, the worried family hopes she will be on the train in the morning. But only her trunk arrives, so Bridget Bjorklund insists that Hjelmer, Augusta's brother, go find her. Augusta,...

Anji Baard Moen, a recent widow, travels from Norway with her children and quickly settles back into life in Blessing, teaching Norwegian history in the high school and writing articles for the Blessing Gazette. When tragedy strikes, Anji steps in to run the newspaper and soon finds a kindred spirit in Thorliff, the widower who owns the printing press. But Anji has also caught the eye of Thomas Devlin, a minster and a recent arrival to Blessing. Now...

After years of not being willing to commit to Deborah MacCallister, Toby Valders watches as sparks fly between her and the new schoolteacher Anton Gendarme, leaving Toby to wonder whether it is too late to win her over.