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| Book 1: Grace Falling Like Rain |
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Finalist for the 2007 Violet Crown Award,
Writers' League of Texas
Grace Falling Like Rain pieces together dreams, blue eyes, love, soap, and forgiveness in the life of Allie Blake. The year is 1875, and she's on her way home to south Texas. For the past year she has been living with an aunt and uncle in northeast Texas, sent there as a deterrent to a forbidden relationship with a Mexican man-- a serious break in traditional and cultural rules. On the way she finds love and acceptance from a surprising source, but the relationship and her life are almost lost when Allie unknowingly finds herself a victim of a brother's jealousy and anger. Allie has grown up hearing stories about a little boy and his mother who were taken by the Apaches, and after six long years were found and rescued. Little did she know that history would repeat itself eighteen years later, and she would be right in the middle of it.
About the cover:Bill Owen, member of Cowboy Artists of America, painted Muddy Waters, used with permission and featured in the cover collage. Visit his web site at www.billowenca.com to see more of his outstanding art work and amazing bio.
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| Lye soap plays a role in the story. MoSoap still makes it! |
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Dreams, blue eyes, love, soap, and forgiveness…
Throughout the book Allie has recurring dreams about the one she loves falling out of her arms into a raging river and swept away from her. The characters in her dream change throughout the story, but they all represent her fear of losing the one she loves. Allie develops relationships with two brothers—one out of love and the other out of fear. The brothers’ piercing blue eyes are about the only thing they have in common.
The lye soap enters the story right before Allie and one of the brothers are taken by a band of Indeh, the name the Apache Indians call themselves. During the time of captivity, the soap becomes Allie’s only connection with her life as she once knew it. Lye soap is made of lye, lard, and water. It’s interesting how something caustic and disgusting can be combined with water and time to turn into something clean and useful—a fitting metaphor for the troubled brother’s life, too. Allie can choose to become bitter for the difficulties forced upon her, or she can choose to exhibit grace and offer forgiveness to the one who hurt her. Grace Falling Like Rain is historical fiction, and woven throughout are noble themes of love, forgiveness, and grace in the midst of serenity, danger, laughter, and tears—much like life.
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| Book 2: Mercy's Face |
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A good name, horses, dusting powder, love and sacrifice.
The young woman grew up in a world of privilege and indulgence—a Cotillion queen and the prettiest girl in Texas, her daddy always said. But everyone knew her heart didn’t match her face. She was twenty-three years old and unmarried after years of holding out for another man, until he chose someone else. A smooth-talking gambler walked into her life one day and convinced her to take a substantial amount of money from her parents before the young couple skipped town. After three months of gambling and extravagant spending, Eustace took the rest of the money and abandoned her in Fort Worth. She hid in her hotel room, refusing to leave, refusing to face her scandalous situation… until Jimmy Taylor walked into her life. Her father had hired Taylor to find his daughter and bring her home, but after their first confrontation, he decided he wasn't being paid nearly enough money for this job. As for the claim that she was the most beautiful girl in Texas, Jimmy would have taken a second look if that face, dress, and body had been on someone else. Things went from bad to worse when he ended up taking her back home to Waco in a funeral hearse. Jimmy Taylor knew horses, but he was a greenhorn when it came to women. And this woman was about to turn his life upside down.
Read Chapter 1
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| Book 3: Torn Asunder |
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| Excerpt takes first place at 2008 East Texas Christian Writers Conference
Let no man tear asunder...
Texas 1883
A tragic event resurrects haunting memories and long-buried secrets from Julia Taylor's time as an Apache captive 27 years before. She finally admits the shocking truth to her son Jimmy, and it's not what she had previously led everyone to believe. Julia promises to set the record straight with her daughter Faith, too, when she and her family come to Grace for Christmas. But cattle rustling and the fence-cutters' war in Brown County waylay that plan. The Taylors and their friends learn the hard way that much more than fences can be torn asunder in life.
Read Chapter 1
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| Book 4: Anchor Point |
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| What happens in the closet... stays in the closet
Country-western superstar, Beau Hunter, bought up all the land surrounding the last hundred acres of the original Taylor ranch, and he wants that property, too. That would give him the land on both sides of the Nueces River and a substantial buffer against the interstate highway and obsessive fans, stalkers, and paparazzi. He invites Tom and Taylor Abbott to a casual get-together at his ranch headquarters across the river and tries to use his charm to convince Taylor to give him control of their property. An impromptu visit to the old ancestral home surprises unwelcome trespassers, and Taylor and Beau are kidnapped and taken to a remote hunting camp. They're locked in a secure storage room where they are abandoned, and hunting season is months away...
Read Chapter 1
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Reader's Comments
“My daughter gave me your book Grace Falling Like Rain for my birthday, and I started reading it after a football game on Friday. I did sleep for a few hours and just finished this morning (Saturday). What a marvelous expression of God's grace! Such a compelling and understandable way of showing readers what God's grace is in real life! I love that period of our country's history. Always kind of thought I was 150 years too late but God always knows best. I’m eagerly waiting for your sequel. God bless your continued writing about His love.” --Pat Howard, Georgetown, TX
"The book makes me think of Donna’s writing as a female Elmer Kelton." --Bill Cotulla, South Texas rancher
“It was awesome, truly awesome! A real page turner…” -- Carmen Oliver, Round Rock, TX
“I was hooked from chapter one and couldn’t stop reading excerpts to my cowboy husband, Robert.” --Mary Jan Jenkins, Alice, TX
“I loved the book and my husband asked if he could read it, too. Would you believe I caught him reading it during one of the Astros play-off games? And we’re huge Astros fans!” --Karen Thomison, Hutto, TX
“You made me miss my nap today because I couldn’t put your book down!” --Rita Beights, Pilot Point, TX
"This is a great book! Once I started reading it, I found it was hard to put down. I enjoyed it immensely and I could almost visualize the area and the characters, as if I was watching a movie. I believe a movie should be made from this book. I'm looking forward to the next one."
--Lydia Alexander, Georgetown, TX
"This is a wonderful book. Van Cleve does a fantastic job of balancing all of the elements involved in this western/romance/adventure/historical fiction while also uniting the story with the teachings of forgiveness, grace and love. The author does a great job of tactfully handling adult situations in a way that is respectful to the intelligence of the reader while also never straying beyond a PG rating. And it's funny to boot! I'd recommend it to anyone." --Fire Foot (Amazon.com reviewer)
"Donna Van Cleve has done a tremendous work in this book. It is incredible to become a part of the lives of the characters, and to root for them and cry with them as they live out the story in Mercy's Face. My husband and I have both read this book, as well as her first book, Grace Falling Like Rain. They are both outstanding and will leave you wanting to know more about the people that become your family throughout the course of this story. Thanks so much, Donna. We look forward to your next piece of page-turning work." --Brenda J. Summers, Cotulla, TX
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"Mercy's Face is a terrific sequel to Grace Falling Like Rain, and yet it is its own story. I found humor in it and couldn't help laughing as I pictured some of the scenes as I was reading it. The story flows easily and wouldn't let me go; even when I thought I should stop for the night and go to bed I couldn't stop reading. And it is always pleasing to know that time was taken to research the history involved in a work of fiction; makes me want to visit Brownwood." -- CJ Horton, Cotulla, TX
"In my opinion, this third entry in the Taylor family saga is the best one yet. I wasn't sure there was more to tell when I began reading it, but it turns out there is a LOT more. The research into the climate conditions and events of the period is well-done and historically accurate (I checked several sources myself, just to be sure!), but the author's strength is in her characters and the relationships and interactions among them. It is rare for me to react strongly emotionally when reading, but I did when reading this book. And I consider that high praise for Ms Van Cleve's ability to convey a scene, set a mood, and deliver a surprise." --Library Lady (Amazon.com reviewer)
"Donna's books keep getting better and better. I read this one in 6 straight hours of reading. The book keeps you rooted in the lives of the characters, through the good and bad. You feel as thought you are living right with the characters. I hope she keeps up the series, I can't wait for the next installment."
--Laura Deiss, El Campo, TX
"Ms. Van Cleve does it again, by developing another gripping story of the Taylor Family. This story was enthralling from just the first few pages. Ms. Van Cleve continued to take me by surprise as well as grab at my heart strings. I couldn't help but apply the lessons learned by the characters to my own life. Messages shared in this book spoke to me as well. This book is not only an entertaining read, but is also encouraging." --Jennifer Leach, Tyler, TX |
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