The unfamiliar can be intimidating, especially when you move to a new country, immerse yourself in a new culture, or are thrown into unexpected living conditions. But a strong will, a kind stranger, a loved one, or a good enough reason to stay is all it takes to get through the discomfort and find something special. This December, we are celebrating women’s fiction titles that show characters adapting to a new culture.
Red Clay, Running Waters by Leslie K. Simmons
(Koehler Books, December 2023)
Before the Civil War. . . Before the Trail of Tears . . .
Red Clay, Running Waters is the little-known story of John Ridge, a Cherokee man dedicated to his people, and his White wife, Sarah Northrop, a woman forfeiting everything to join him.
In 1824, John Ridge, the promising son of a Cherokee leader, returns from his New England education with his White bride, Sarah. John burns to realize the dream of an independent Cherokee Nation. Peace at home evades when tensions rise between the Southern states and the federal government, pulling the couple into the crossfire of a divided country on the brink of civil war.
Faced with expulsion during the 1830s Indian Removal crisis, the Ridges forge a path to save the Cherokee Nation, testing the strength of their beliefs and the limits of commitment. Compelled to join forces with those who oppose them in the midst of tyranny and deceit, John and Sarah must confront an agonizing choice about the future of the Cherokee Nation and the meaning of home.
Dreamcatcher: Story of an Immigrant Bride from India by Dita Basu
(Luminare Press, April 2023)
Shila’s stable life in India crumbles the day her husband, Asim, declares he’s going to America. She follows Asim to a foreign land, far away, assured by her father’s words: “This man has ambition. He’ll rise to the top.”
Frustrated by her husband’s career ambitions, Shila learns to bring up their daughter in the new culture with little help. Asim spends most of his time traveling for work, wrapped in his own dreams. Years later, the crisis peaks when Asim returns to India and their daughter prepares for college three thousand miles away, leaving an empty nest.
Asim gives Shila an ultimatum. Shy Shila must choose between returning with him to India, or staying in America alone. Should she answer the desires of her heart, putting her secure marriage of twenty years at stake?
In Dreamcatcher: Story of an Immigrant Bride from India, author Dita Basu probes the meaning of love, marriage, and motherhood in a unique voice.
The New Town Librarian by Kathy Anderson
(NineStar Press, February 2023)
Queer middle-aged librarian Nan Nethercott, a wisecracking hypochondriac with a lackluster career and a nonexistent love life, needs to make a drastic life change before it’s too late. When she lands a job as a librarian in a seemingly idyllic small town in southern New Jersey, Nan quickly discovers unforeseen challenges.
Nan’s landlady, Immaculata, launches daily intrusions from below. The library, housed in the former town jail, is overrun by marauding middle-schoolers. A mysterious reader leaves distressing messages in book stacks all over the library. Thomasina, the irresistible butch deli owner, is clearly a delicious affair and not the relationship Nan craves.
There’s no turning back though. Nan must come up with her own wildly unorthodox solutions to what the town and its people throw at her and fight for what she wants until she makes a shiny new life — one with her first true home, surprising friends, a meaningful career, and a promising new love.
Daughter of the King by Kerry Chaput
(Black Rose Writing, December 2021)
La Rochelle France, 1661. Fierce Protestant Isabelle is desperate to escape persecution by the Catholic King. Isabelle is tortured and harassed, her people forced to convert to the religion that rules the land. She risks her life by helping her fellow Protestants, which is forbidden by the powers of France. She accepts her fate – until she meets a handsome Catholic soldier who makes her question everything.
She fights off an attack by a nobleman, and the only way to save herself is to flee to the colony of Canada as a Daughter of the King. She can have money, protection and a new life – if she adopts the religion she’s spent a lifetime fighting. She must leave her homeland and the promises of her past. In the wild land of Canada, Isabelle finds that her search for love and faith has just begun.
Based on the incredible true story of the French orphans who settled Canada, Daughter of the King is a sweeping tale of one young woman’s fight for true freedom. Kerry Chaput brings the past to life, expertly weaving a gripping saga with vivid historical details. Jump back in time on a thrilling adventure with an unforgettable heroine.
Stockholm Diaries, Caroline by Rebecca Hunter
(Independently published, July 2015)
The Plan:
A month in Sweden to jump-start her photojournalism career
Not in the Plan:
The hot, grumpy neighbor across the hall
It’s a chance to follow her heart. With her camera and an around-the-world ticket, Caroline Mendoza arrives in Stockholm with a plan to satisfy her wanderlust and build her dream career. Then she meets Niklas, her hot, moody neighbor with questionable manners and a fresh gash over his eye.
The sensible decision is to move on from Stockholm before she gets too attached. As the clock ticks down, Caroline must choose between her dream career and what her heart tells her is right. But what if her heart wants two different things?
