Welcome

Welcome to my website! I invite you to browse all of the pages, particularly the Newsletter page, which is full of information for readers and writers—a “new” letter four times a year. In addition to the current issue, you’ll find Archives that include all back issues.

My latest novel, Sweet Justice, was published a few months ago. This brings my total number of books-fiction and nonfiction-to sixteen. Many people ask: Where do you get your ideas? I didn't have to come up with ideas for the nonfiction books. All of the topics were assigned to me by the executive editor of the publishing house, Meriwether Publishing Ltd. I then did the research (a lot of it!) and wrote the books. All of my novels (fiction) had a bit of inspiration. Let me explain:

Sweet Justice begins in 1946, when Clem and Mary Ann Perkins discover "pretty stones" on their small Tennessee farm, unaware that the stones are natural rubies. Simon Laramore, who owns the general store, recognizes the raw gems immediately-but he doesn't tell Clem and Mary Ann. Instead, he hatches a deadly scheme to acquire their farm so he can develop a ruby mine for himself. The spark of inspiration for this story came from one of my own ancestors, eight generations back. From that spark I have spun a tale that in no way resembles his life or the lives of my family. That's the joy, and challenge, in writing novels-moving from inspiration, to imagination, to expression!

The Long Road Home, is set in Ireland during the Great Potato Famine, when many displaced Irish emigrated to America. However, the story is anchored in the present day, as its heroine, Rachel Wynn, travels back and forth in time. Parts of this story were inspired by my great-grandmother who, as a child, endured steerage quarters on a famine ship for the long journey to "Amerikey" with her parents. I'm grateful to all of my O'Sullivan ancestors for their strength of character, their faith in God, and their perseverance in making the best of a bad situation so that those of us who followed would have a better life.

A few years ago I enjoyed a trip to Wales. The Welsh countryside is lovely, and I tried to capture its charm for you in Song of the Heart, where Susan Evans searches for her lost love, a young man who disappeared 21 years ago. A merging of my own memories.

Vanished has a military theme. I was inspired to write it when I found letters written by my father to my mother during World War II. The heroine's letters are not my letters, and her story is not my story. Inspiration can come from many sources; the story is entirely "made up."

Discovery In Time takes place in Thomasville, Georgia, a town rich in history and charm. With on-site research, I combined Thomasville's Victorian-era history and its charm of the present. In the attic of her newly purchased Victorian home, Andrea Ferris discovers diaries written by a young woman, Jenny, in the 1890s. She learns that Jenny spent her lifetime trying, without success, to find the baby that was taken from her at birth. More than 100 years later, Andrea takes up the search.

Do I have another book "in" me? ... Maybe.

I do enjoy hearing from my readers. If you’d like to send me a note, the address is: janet@janetlitherland.com.