Böcker av Vanessa Sarlson

Harriet lived in a little lodging home on the outskirts of town. Beside it lay the commercial fishing docks where men made it a goal to start shouting at one another as early as four in the morning - sometimes even three. Harriet used these shouts as an alarm. For a little while, she laid in bed and blinked into the darkness. She was mentally preparing herself for the day to come by rehearsing her lessons and reminding herself of everything that needed to be completed by the day's end. When she was done thinking about these things, she finally rose to her feet and stretched away the sleep that still lingered in her bones. The moonlight provided enough illumination for her to find her matchbox and start the fire. Soon, the room was cozy with its warmth. She stood there a warm, palms toward the rich source of heat. "Ah," she sighed with a contented smile. As far as she was concerned there was nothing that could make her life any better. She loved her line of work. No one bothered her at the lodge. Everything was perfect. But still something was missing..

Sarah was overwhelmed with joy when she reads the words 'will you marry me?' in Aaron's letter. Upon arrival, however, she finally meets the man she's supposed to marry but he's burdened. She fully realizes that when he wrote "there is no greater pain than that of a man who has lost his wife" this could be something that could shape their marriage forever. She realized then that she knew very little about Aaron. She had been so eager to find someone to fill the emptiness of her life that she had not stopped to consider the repercussions of marrying a stranger. Who was this man? And could she learn to love him?

Daisy is as broke as a church mouse but looking for adventure. Thumbing through a local newspaper, she answers an ad from a cowboy in Wyoming. Arriving in town, she discovers that the cowboy wasn't looking for a wife. He simply needed someone to help around the ranch. Embarrassed, Daisy is invited to stay to help until she earns enough money to get back on her feet. But what she and the rancher come to realize is that sometimes the best love can be found in the worst mistakes.

Chasity comes from the upper crust, spending her life privileged with equestrian and music lessons. But on her 18th birthday she receives a shock...she has been betrothed to a longtime friend known only as "Big Elmer". Appalled but seeking no way out, Chasity answers a mail order bride, seeking a a marriage with a man in the Arizona territory...Tex is a rancher struggling to keep his ranch afloat. His isolation has forced him to send for a mail order bride but he has never even laid eyes on Chasity just yet. But when he does go to pick her up, he discovers that another man has impersonated him and taken his bride. Can he find Chasity before it is too late?

They took everything from her. The Union soldiers marched through the land, destroying it with every step they took. "What are we going to do?" Nancy asked, the youngest of the bunch. In all, there were seven sisters. Mary was the oldest - the one with the heaviest burden to bear. How was she supposed to support her family? The local church was packed with refugees. Food was running out and if she didn't come up with a solution, they'd be on the streets, begging like a varmint. And, she wasn't about to let that happen. "There are a couple of classified ads in the paper." Jackie pointed out. "This one here is pretty fine. Wouldn't mind snagging him for myself." She grinned. "Mrs. Jackie Baxter. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" "No." Mary shook her head. "I'm not going to allow this family to break apart. We stick together." "But, Mary, what are we going to do?" Daisy asked. "We can't keep living this way."

An anthology of Mail Order Bride & Christian Romance : Emmy is with her ailing grandmother and things are looking bleak. Her parents were killed in a horrible carriage accident caused by a Welstead driver. Dolly has never forgiven the family for killing her daughter and son-in-law. She never shares this information with Emmy, wanting to protect her from the trauma so when Emmy answers a mail-order-bride ad for a Mr. Miner Welstead, she has no idea he's connected to the family that killed her parents. She packs up her grandmother and they set for the west.

Daisy has been a widow for awhile now and decides to answer a mail order bride advertisement which brings her to Wyoming. Once there, she meets John...John is a former Sheriff in the area who now wants a quiet life on the ranch. Daisy has some expertise in farming and together they begin to turn the ranch around. Brought together by different wants, will Daisy and John find love or will their attempt to meet their individual needs be met with failure?

Misty is a free woman now that her abusive husband has died. Her son has a chance at a new life but she's without any resources to provide for him. She wants a new beginning and decides to journey to a new land, the frontier of Montana awaits but the journey is arduous...The last thing reformed sinner Carl wants in his life is a woman, and a woman with kids. But after crossing paths with Misty on her journey to Montana he feels God's hand pushing him to protect her...Misty doesn't want a man in her life but she can't help but feel attraction toward Carl. He's kind-hearted but she soon finds out about a sin from his past and some seeds of distrust are sown. Can she him for the man he is now rather than the man he was before?

The rain never came. They waited and waited only to be left hungry and full of misery. Their bellies ached so they filled their gullets with water but that was not enough to satisfy that which gnawed inside of them. First went the mother. She was already fragile from a past illness so the famine did not help the situation. Then went the father who really died of a broken heart more than anything else. "I'm scared." Said Katie as she clung to her older sister. They were burning the last of their firewood and if they wanted to keep warm, they would need to go out and gather it from the forest but the sisters barely had the strength to stand let alone chop down wood. "It'll be okay," Mackenzie whispered against her sister's hair. "I promise." But she barely believed herself. Life had taken such a turn that it felt like they were spiraling towards rock bottom and there was really no way to stop it. Nevertheless, Mackenzie prayed for a miracle but she feared that God was no longer listening to her. And so, the two sisters fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms as Mackenzie dreamed of a man to come save her.