The Spur &amp; The Sash is about a real person. Sergeant George Van Norman, a Yankee, was wounded in one of the last battles of the American Civil War, at Nashville. Left behind to recover when the armies marched on, he was ordered to guard a local plantation from January to July, 1865, where he fell in love with the owner's daughter. That much is fact. The story begins with his wounding at the battle, follows him to the plantation where he meets the woman, her family, and the former slaves who have been emancipated but have no place to go. George befriends a former Confederate soldier and, together, they overcome carpetbaggers, deserters from both sides, mobs of wandering blacks, and bushwhackers marauding throughout Middle Tennessee, including precursors of the Ku Klux Klan. Meticulously researched using letters, diaries, and official records, this is a story of passion and betrayal amid the anarchy of postwar Tennessee. George left behind a spur and a sash, passed down through the generations to the author, his great-great-grandson, along with the story of how he came to have them. This is that story.

The Spur & The Sash

Literature & Fiction

Robert Grede

Contemporary

Three Towers Press

The Spur &amp; The Sash is about a real person.Sergeant George Van Norman, a Yankee, was wounded in one of the last battles of the American Civil War, at Nashville. Left behind to recover when the armies marched on, he was ordered to guard a local plantation from January to July, 1865, where he fell in love with the owner's daughter. That much is fact. The story begins with his wounding at the battle, follows him to the plantation where he meets the woman, her family, and the former slaves who have been emancipated but have no place to go. George befriends a former Confederate soldier and, together, they overcome carpetbaggers, deserters from both sides, mobs of wandering blacks, and bushwhackers marauding throughout Middle Tennessee, including precursors of the Ku Klux Klan. Meticulously researched using letters, diaries, and official records, this is a story of passion and betrayal amid the anarchy of postwar Tennessee. George left behind a spur and a sash, passed down through the generations to the author, his great-great-grandson, along with the story of how he came to have them. This is that story.

The Spur & the Sash

Genre Fiction

Beneath the Flames

BENEATH THE FLAMES is an intimate combination of love, race, and life as an urban firefighter. A fire in a neighboring farmhouse has young farmer and volunteer firefighter, Mitch Garner, blaming himself for the tragic outcome. He loses all hope of forgiving himself. His only hope for redemption is to leave Jennie, the girl he's loved since high school, and journey from Wisconsin's lush farmland to the decaying inner city of Milwaukee to prove himself as a professional firefighter. Mitch is assigned to the busiest firehouse in the heart of one of the most blighted areas of Milwaukee, the Core, where he's viciously hazed by senior firefighters. He struggles to hold it together at horrific scenes of violence and can t do anything right at fires. 
 Within weeks, he's ready to give up and quit. His salvation comes in the form of a brash adolescent girl, Jasmine Richardson. Mitch is assigned to tutor her little sister through a department mentoring program. Despite Jasmine's contempt toward Mitch, her courage and devotion to her little sister inspire Mitch to stay and dedicate himself to helping her and the neighboring children overcome the hopelessness of growing up in crushing poverty. Trouble on the farm has Mitch torn between returning home to Jennie and staying in Milwaukee where he'll be forced to risk his life to protect Jasmine from the leader of the One-Niner street gang.

Gregory Renz

What will 13-year-old Cassie do when she unexpectedly finds a note buried in her show trunk from an unknown informant ... warning her that she'd better watch out or face serious consequences if she and her new hunter mare, Snowdrops, don't stop winning blue ribbons? Will she cave in to it, or will she set her heart on achieving her goals to qualify for the fall Children's Hunt Seat Equitation Championships despite the odds stacked up against her? Who left the note? Would somebody really hurt her or Snowdrops? It couldn't be her best friend since 3rd grade, could it?On top of the horse show drama, Cassie experiences her first dance and romance, along with all of the challenges she and her friends face as they move on from a tiny country grade school and get ready to head for the big high school in the fall. She will also face the hardest decision of her young life--a decision she avoids as long as possible.Book 2 in the Oak Lane Stable Adventure Series, Gray Horse at Oak Lane Stable is a YA novel about the dedication to riding, long-time friendships and making new friends, plus derailed ambitions--how other people's selfish motives affect our lives and the choices we consciously or unconsciously make, even as early as 8th grade.

Gray Horse at Oak Lane Stable: Book 2 of the Oak Lane Stable Adventures

Teen & Young Adult

Lukasavitz, Kerri

She may be young, but she knows exactly what she needs.\nTwelve-year-old Cassie needs a horse. She’s determined to move up from helping out around Oak Lane Stable in exchange for a few riding lessons to having one of her own. But she needs a horse before the approaching Shady Creek Horse Show or she’ll get stuck riding George the old school horse and losing again to Lisa, her perfect classmate and riding rival since 5th grade, who has her own show horse and gets whatever she wants. But Cassie’s dad won’t buy her the bay mystery horse who shows up at the stable, rescued from a terrible fate, and is the one she’s sure is perfect for her. How can Cassie convince her dad to buy the mystery horse for her before time runs out and she loses the bay forever?\nMystery Horse at Oak Lane Stable, Book 1 of the Oak Lane Stable Adventure Series, was a 2018 Royal Dragonfly Book Award Winner for New Author. See how the series begins!

Mystery Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Adventures at Oak Lane Stable, 1)

Trying to leave painful memories behind her, Chloe Ellefson is making a fresh start. She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870s settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in a suspicious car crash. 
Digging up the history and whereabouts of the rare artifact quickly turns dangerous. Chloe discovers that someone is desperately trying to cover up all traces of the bowl's existence―by any means necessary. Assisting Chloe is police officer Roelke McKenna, whose own haunting past compels him to protect her. To catch the covetous killer, Chloe must solve a decades-old puzzle...before she becomes a part of history herself.

Old World Murder (A Chloe Ellefson Mystery)

Ernst, Kathleen

As collections curator for Old World Wisconsin, Chloe Ellefson delights in losing herself in antiques and folk traditions-and forgetting her messy love life. But her peace is destroyed when her ex-boyfriend unexpectedly turns up, followed by a break-in at her friend Dellyn's historic house-a potential treasure trove of priceless antiques. Was the intruder hunting for the missing Eagle Diamond, a legendary gemstone unearthed in 1876? When a grisly murder takes place on the museum grounds, Chloe is further drawn into a mystery involving a rare variety of Swiss cheese, a nearly extinct heirloom flower . . . and plain, old-fashioned murderous greed.

The Heirloom Murders (A Chloe Ellefson Mystery)

Dark Secrets Hidden in Norwegian Traditions For curator Chloe Ellefson, a family bonding trip to Decorah, Iowa for rosemaling classes seems like a great idea-until the drive begins.Chloe's cop friend Roelke takes her mother's talk of romantic customs good-naturedly, but it inflates Chloe's emotional distress higher witheach passing mile. After finally reaching Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Chloe's resolve to remain positive is squashed when she and Roelkefind Petra Lekstrom's body in one of the antique immigrant trunks. Everyone is shaken by the instructor's murder, and when Momvolunteers to take over the beginners' class, Chloe is put in the hot seat of motherly criticism. As she investigates, Chloe uncovers dark familysecrets that could be deadly for Mom . . . and even herself. Includes photos of featured artifacts from the real Norwegian-American Museum.

Heritage of Darkness (A Chloe Ellefson Mystery)

Chloe Ellefson was not having a good time. "So," Roelke said, sliding into his seat at the banquet table. "Are you enjoying yourself?" Chloe smiled brightly. "I am!" 
Thus begins the fifth story in the award-winning Chloe Ellefson series, the thirtieth book by bestselling author Kathleen Ernst. 
The Chloe novels combine history and mystery with a little romance. They are written for adults and mature teens who enjoy reading stories without explicit sex, gratuitous violence, or gore. 
This page offers a rich mix of background information about the people, places, and the past that went into making Tradition of Deceit.\nStory Description 
The book takes place in Milwaukee, WI and Minneapolis, MN during February 1983, with historical threads set in 1878 and the 1920s. 
Curator and occasional sleuth Chloe Ellefson is off to Minneapolis to help her friend Ariel with a monumental task. They must write a proposal for a controversial and expensive restoration project to convert a huge, abandoned flour mill—currently used as an unofficial shelter by homeless people—into a history museum. 
When a dead body is found in the building, stuffed in a grain chute, Chloe reluctantly turns her attention from milling to murder. 
Back in Milwaukee, Chloe's love interest Roelke McKenna has been slammed with the news that a fellow police officer (his best friend) has been shot and killed while on duty. 
Sifting through clues from the past and present, Chloe and Roelke separately discover dangerous secrets that put their trust in each other—and their very lives—at risk.

Tradition of Deceit (A Chloe Ellefson Mystery)

A Road Trip into the Past Turns Deadly Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari, have long dreamed of visiting each historic site dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder. When Chloe takes custody of a quilt once possibly owned by the beloved author, the sisters set out on the trip of a lifetime, hoping to prove that Wilder stitched it herself. But death strikes as the journey begins, and trouble stalks their fellow travelers. Among the Little House devotees are academic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari is distracted by family problems, and unexpected news from Chloe's boyfriend jeopardizes her own future. As the sisters travel deeper into Wilder territory, Chloe races to discover the truth about a precious artifact-and her own heart-before a killer can strike again.

Death on the Prairie (The Chloe Ellefson Mysteries)

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