Showing results by author "Julie McDonald" in All Categories

At age 36, Clara Brown was separated from her beloved husband, Richard, and three children on the auction block. After being freed at the age of 57, she begins a tireless search for her only remaining family member, her daughter Eliza Jane. Clara worked her way west on a wagon train bound for Colorado by doing laundry and cooking for 26 single men who were on the wagon train. What Clara accomplishes in her 28 years of freedom will simply astound you

This intriguing story, a 5-10 minute read, is free with Kindle Unlimited and will be FREE to all others as often as Amazon allows! Tom Vail was a young business executive in a 3- piece suit working in downtown Los Angeles. In the early 1980's he did a Colorado River raft trip through Grand Canyon. He fell in love with Grand Canyon, the Colorado River and river rafting. Two years later, he left his career in Los Angeles to work full time as a river guide. For 15 years he taught the evolutionary theory to his passengers as they went through Grand Canyon. In July of 1994 a passenger on the ...

I love Colorado's colorful history! I have spent so much time there, vacationing in one place or another for 50 years. I have been able to spend even more time there since my son, Shawn, moved to Denver. I love learning all about the history and the colorful characters who made Colorado their home. I especially love to find that obscure story, hidden away in a self published book in a small town library or on the book shelf of a pioneer family. I loved researching and writing this book. There are so many fun, short stories, 22 in all! I hope you enjoy it as well.

For thirty-five years, from 1910-1945 Japan occupied Korea. The Japanese imposed their laws upon the people, as well as their religion. In this inspiring short story, about a 20-30 minute read, you will learn about, Ahn Ei Sook, who would later be known as, Ester Ahn Kim. Ahn, a devout Christian, refused to bow at the Shinto Shrine, and spent six years in prison. Before she was captured and sent to prison, she journeyed to Japan to make Japanese leaders aware of the atrocities they were committing against Korean Christians. She warned them, "Fire and sulfur rain will fall on Japan if she ...

True stories of pioneer women in Arizona and the West. Featuring: Clara Brown, a freed slave who traveled by wagon train to Colorado and became one of the richest women in the West. Sally Rooke came from Iowa to homestead in New Mexico. Also working as a telephone operator she saved a town from a flash flood. Mary Ann Tewksbury moved with her family to Pleasant Valley, Arizona where her life was changed forever by the Pleasant Valley War, Americas most deadly family feud. Pearl Cromer spent the first seven years of her life in a covered wagon. Peter and Veronica Michelbach immigrated to ...

In this short story, about a 30-40 minute read, you will meet a spunky woman whose determination led her to do amazing things, in spite of enormous challenges! Katherine Beard, 1908-1998, is not a well known missionary outside of Northern Arizona. I personally knew Miss Beard, and like me, you will be inspired and challenged as you get to know her through this story.

Biographies are a joy to write! I am often inspired by the lives of the people I write about. Not since I wrote about Clara Brown, in 2010, have I been so personally inspired and impacted by a life story. In this short story, about a 30-45 minute read, you will learn about this phenomenal woman. Blind, almost from birth, she became a spokesperson for the disabled, an accomplished musician, and a popular speaker and evangelist in her later years. She was known for her great joy and love for everyone. Fanny was considered one of the most influential women in the second half of the 1800's.

This short story, about a 10 minute read, highlights the varied and numerous adventures, exploits and accomplishments of a remarkable man, Jim Beckwourth, 1798-1866.

I love my home state of Arizona! My family has been here for over 100 years. With some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet, it is indeed a land of color and contrast. Equally colorful are the many characters who have called Arizona home. John Shaw was killed in 1905 in a gun fight after robbing cowboys who were gambling in a saloon. He was buried where he fell and was dug up the next day by the same cowboys he robbed; to be given one last drink of whiskey. Arizona's lovable outlaw, Climax Jim, who escaped numerous prison cells. Dollie Wiley had a revolving door of husbands and her...

Dollie Wiley was known to collect two things, husbands and diamonds. Diamonds worked out well, husbands didn't. As a prostitute and madam, the diamonds were her safety net. Dollie married quickly and frequently, because her husbands died quickly and frequently. Why bother with a prolonged and messy divorce when a pistol or rat poison is within easy reach?

In 1874, Alferd (odd, but correct spelling) Packer was accused of murdering, then eating his five prospecting companions in the rugged mountains of Colorado. Cannibal he was. Was he a murderer? What really happened to the men during that brutal winter of 1874? This short, 10 minute read, is the true story of Alferd Packer, Colorado's Cannibal and his vindication 100 years later.

True stories of fascinating pioneer women in Arizona. Featuring: Sarah Ashurst who tied her two year old daughter Eve to a wagon wheel so she wouldnt wander off while she gave birth, unassisted to the baby that would become Arizona's first senator. That was only the beginning of Sarah's adventures as she and her family headed to the Arizona Territory! Kate Lyall, a single mother with four children homesteaded in Southern Arizona in Doubtful Canyon, so named because early pioneers were "doubtful" they would survive. Martha Purtymun baked a saw into a cake to help her father, the very ...

October, 1853, Cincinnati, Ohio. This true story, (10 minute read) is about a fugitive slave named Louis who was one of the first slaves to be tried in a court of law under the newly enacted Fugitive Slave Law. Louis didn't wait for a verdict from the Judge, but decided to trust his own two feet rather than hope justice would prevail.

This intriguing short story, about a 5-10 minute read, is much different than my usual stories about women of the wild west. The Overbeck family lived a comfortable life in the town of Cambridge City, Indiana. There are no murders, no cattle rustling, no Harvey Girls, no scandals. Yet the Overbeck sisters were every bit as daring as any women in the west. In the era in which they lived, they were pushing the envelope in every direction.

This is the true story (15 minute read) of Margaret, 12 and Susan, 10 Wilkerson. In the winter of 1839, Margaret and Susan fled slavery in Tennessee and ran for the safety of their Grandparents, 200 miles north in Indiana. This story is action packed and thrilling from start to finish! While I believe people of all ages will enjoy it, I wrote it with grade school children in mind.

In the 1800's, the old American West was a desirable destination for emancipated or escaped slaves. After the Civil War, many Blacks believed the West offered more opportunity, and less discrimination. In this short, 45 minute eBook, you will read 11 stories of Blacks who discovered the West was a place for them to not only survive, but thrive. You may have heard of some, such as Bessie Coleman, (cover photo) the first African American to earn a pilots license. Or, Justina Ford, a doctor in Denver, Colorado. Many are recently discovered gems, such as lawyer John Dennis Posten, who had a ...

Eight true stories of amazing women in Northern Arizona who have not been written about before. Bess Siler (cover photo) was born in poverty in Michigan. She became a Harvey Girl and went on to become a prominent business woman and property owner in Arizona. Belle Mexicano’s life on the reservation is fascinating as well as her traditional Navajo wedding. Beautiful Cherie Blair was a rodeo champion and the American All Around Cowgirl of 1940.

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving: This young, Native American man, was captured as a slave, and taken to Spain and England. He was returned to his homeland, just in time to save the Pilgrims from starving. Bruchko was THE missionary biography to read in the 1970's! In 1960, Bruce Olson left the United States with 72.00 and a one way ticket to Venezuela. His life of faith transformed the Motilone Tribe. Prince Kaboo: MIRACULOUS is the word that describes the life of Prince Kaboo. You will be amazed by his escape from his captors in Africa, then his perilous sea voyage, and his ministry in ...

This short story, about a 45 minute read, is the inspirational story of Joy Ridderhof. Not widely known, Joy was a visionary and a woman of great faith. A missionary to Honduras in the 1930's, she was forced to return to Los Angeles for health reasons. While recuperating, she began to seek out ways to reach isolated and remote villages. Her vision sparked Gospel Recordings, now Global Recordings Network. Through the use of recorded messages, by native speakers, in thousands of languages and dialects,GRN has reached hundreds of millions of people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who ...

Tales, Too, about a 30-45 minute read, features 9 true short stories of slave escapes on the Underground Railroad. You will read about Joe in a Box, the wonderful love story of Wilson and Eliza, Jim the "Missionary" and 6 others. Daring and delightful, the book is fun for all ages, but was written with grade school children in mind.