Showing results by author "Deanna Lynn Sletten" in All Categories

Across decades, the lives of a rising ballerina and a struggling teenager intertwine, revealing how courage, mentorship, and the stories we share can change everything.

1917—Sofiya and her friend Alina are forced to flee Russia as Tsar Nicholas II abdicates and the Bolsheviks take control of St. Petersburg. Their parents send them to America where Alina's distant cousin lives, but soon the girls learn they have traded one danger for another. They are forced to earn a living in the most terrible way, and once again, both girls flee for their lives in separate directions. Years later, trapped in a bitter marriage, Sofiya once again finds herself running away to protect her son and the secret she's been hiding since leaving Russia.

She rode with the most famous outlaws of her time. From the deserts of Texas to the sweeping vistas of Wyoming, the refinement of New York City to the lush valleys of Argentina, Etta followed the outlaw men she loved so dearly. Then, she disappeared.

Two strong women, generations apart, living parallel lives. When Marla Madison’s husband dies, she realizes her life has become very small. Her daughter is grown and Marla has spent the past two decades focused on his friends, his interests, and his home. Feeling lost, she throws herself into fixing up the 150-year-old family manor on the lake. She soon discovers an old journal in a secret drawer and is instantly intrigued. The handwritten book tells the tale of another Mrs. Madison from over a century ago, the first woman to live in the lake manor.

Diane picked up her mother’s phone. “How do you feel about your mother being let out of prison today after 65 years?” the reporter asked. Diane stared at her mother. “My grandmother is alive?” That one phone call hurled shock waves throughout the entire family. 1955 - Anna Bergman Craine’s life changes in an instant when she commits a crime of passion and is sentenced to life in prison. Leaving behind two young children, she is left alone in the world, never to hear from family or friends again.

Morgan Connors is helping her mother go through her recently deceased grandmother’s possessions when she comes upon an old manuscript. The title states it is Sarah Winchester’s autobiography. Morgan works as an acquisition editor at a publisher in San Francisco and knows that no such book has ever been published. When her mother explains that Morgan’s great-great-grandmother, Olivia Collins, once worked for Mrs. Winchester, she’s intrigued. Who was Olivia Collins, and why did she have a manuscript of Sarah Winchester’s life story?

1934 Young Kathleen Carver dreams of becoming a movie star despite her fathers warnings that she wouldn't want that life. As she grows, she becomes more determined and her strong personality and independent soul won't let her give up. After college, she stays out east and works in the theater. Then her big break comes—Hollywood is calling—and she goes home to California to become the star she always knew she'd be. But there are bumps along the highway to stardom, heartbreak, losses, and scandals. And secrets—so many secrets to keep.

Everyone believes Rachel is dead. But she’s very much alive. Rachel Scott Emery’s life unravels when she comes upon an old news article online that states she was killed 35 years ago at the age of eight. Even more shocking is her murderer was her then 16-year-old brother. Realizing she must untangle the mess, Rachel leaves her Tallahassee, Florida, home and goes back to Casita, California, to prove she is still alive. But going home again isn’t easy.

Poring over a dusty hatbox of photographs in her grandmother's closet, Emily Prentice is shocked to discover her father was married and divorced before meeting her mother. In the summer of 1968, Jack and Libbie fall in love under the spell of their small town, untouched by the chaos of the late '60s. Though Libbie's well-to-do parents disapprove of Jack's humble background, she marries Jack a year after they graduate high school. But soon their happiness crumbles as Libbie's mental state unravels and she is drawn to alcohol and drugs.

June and Patrick Elden spend their very first Christmas together in their tiny downtown apartment in the rural town of Redmond. As newlyweds, they have their entire lives ahead of them, and their dreams of a home and family loom large. Despite not having much money, Patrick surprises June with a beautiful Christmas star necklace as a symbol of all the years to come. And as their life grows and changes, the story of that little necklace becomes a family tradition that their children and grandchildren cherish throughout the years.

Rachel Emery hadn’t planned on investigating a murder mystery again after her first and only experience solving a long-ago murder. But when her friend, romance writer Ariel Weathers, called her, frantic about her dead ex-husband stalking her, Rachel was too intrigued and agreed to investigate it. As Rachel digs up information about Randall’s death, new twists and turns keep springing up, taking her in every direction. And when the original case investigator, Jack Meyers, joins in, they seem destined for choppy waters.

There’s a serial killer on the loose around Florida State University, or at least that’s what everyone believes. Young women go missing for several days and then are found dead a few miles from where they were abducted. The local police and an FBI task force are working to find the culprit but with no success. Meanwhile, all the women around Tallahassee are afraid they may be next.

There are two sides to every story, but you must be willing to listen. Marsha Winslow believes she lives a charmed life. She has a loving husband, a successful business they built together, and a beautiful home overlooking the ocean in California. But when a devastating accident occurs only days before their twentieth wedding anniversary, Marsha must face some hard truths. Her life isn’t what she believed, and it’s up to her to face reality and fix the mess it’s become.

Mallory Dawson is planning the winter wedding of her dreams. But one month before her wedding, she runs into the man she once loved, who she hasn't seen in 10 years. James Gallagher fled to California 10 years ago to start over after the love of his life, Mallory, refused to marry him. But when his dad passes away and his mother becomes ill, he returns home to help run the family business. Seeing Mallory again brings a flood of memories back.

Andi Stevens drives away from her home town of Seattle to begin a new life with her fiancé in Buffalo, New York. When her car breaks down in the mountains of Montana, she knocks on the door of a cabin for help. What she finds is Luke Brennan, the most handsome man she's ever met. Andi quickly falls in love with the ranch and the beauty of Montana. And no matter how hard they fight it, she and the brooding cowboy form a bond that becomes stronger by the day.

Sometimes the only one standing in the way of your happiness is you. Debbie Adams has never thought of herself as beautiful or witty. Her short, curvy stature has always made her feel self-conscious. One March day, frantic to get in shape before a friend’s wedding, Debbie forces herself to go biking. As she rides along the icy lake path, she’s startled by a runner and slips and falls. Regaining her bearings, she looks up into a pair of warm, brown eyes and the most handsome face she’s ever seen. Could this tall, extremely fit, and good-looking man be her destiny?

Ryan Collier has lived a quiet life with his golden retriever, Sam, and two orange tabbies since the death of his wife nearly three years ago. Friends and family are encouraging him to move on and find someone new to share his life with, but Ryan feels he will never find someone he can love as much as his wife. Ryan reluctantly gives in and starts going out on weekends, and soon discovers that women have changed as well as the rules of dating.

Claire Martin's life is perfect, or at least she tells herself it is. She owns a successful clothing boutique, has a steady, dependable boyfriend, and a beautiful grown daughter who is about to be married. Sure, Claire's husband of 20 years left her for a younger woman four years ago, but that is all in the past. Now, Claire is looking forward to her daughter's Bahama wedding and spending a week in paradise. The only thing Claire dreads is her ex-husband and his wife will also be on the island. Claire is determined to make the best of it, though.

Carly Stevens loves to have fun, but her carefree lifestyle has finally caught up with her. Broke and in debt, she heads to Montana to spend the summer with her sister, Andi Brennan, at the Brennan ranch. Her sister agrees she can stay on two conditions - she works to pay down her debt and changes her wild-girl ways. Reluctantly, Carly agrees, but it isn't long before she breaks her promise and finds herself in a bind, and Randy comes to her rescue. Carly begins to see the "crusty old cowboy" in a different light.

Eight years ago, Kylie Madison was a new mother with a baby who rarely slept, even at eight months old. Exhausted and feeling isolated as a stay-home mom while her husband, Jordon, works twelve-hour shifts, she opened up to her few friends on Instagram late one night, asking if there were any other tired moms out there struggling. To her surprise, many women answered her. After that night, she begins to share her struggles, successes, and parenting dilemmas, and her following grows as other women feel a connection with her.