Alvin's Farm Series

In the fifth book of the series, family loyalties are put to the test; Eric and Travis fret over Tanner, while Eric’s girlfriend Dana proves Sam and Jenny’s youngest hasn't fallen far from the tree. Mitch’s tenure in Iraq continues as Chelsea marries, then receives the shock of her life. As the recession hits America, the Cassels and Smiths are faced with further joys and dilemmas; Will and Bethany give Sam and Jenny their first grandchild, but Eric is torn by his love for an injured young woman. Jenny’s aches grow worse, but help for her illness soothes Rachel’s heart. David finds Rachel’s new boyfriend lacking, but when a cousin’s life is on the line, David’s reckless nature triggers a crisis. Events in Iraq add to the melancholy, but as a family gathers for various holidays, love is paramount. Then hearts are broken when one man’s revenge explodes. Will Arkendale ever be the same?

Twenty-three years after David Cassel’s birth, his older brother Will is a successful pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, but Will’s marriage is suffering. Eldest Cassel sibling Chelsea longs to return to Oregon to care for their ailing mother; Jenny’s hip is the problem, but it is more than suspected arthritis? In the fourth novel of this series, the action has moved to the 2000s, a passel of Smith and Cassels born in the interim. Sam and Jenny’s nephew Mitch is stationed in Iraq, but their other nephew Tanner is slipping deeper into drug addiction. Jenny fights Sam’s insistence she try pot to soothe her aches as the couple’s children return home; something is very wrong with Jenny. The Iraq War weaves throughout the narrative, set in Oregon and San Francisco. Robert Tucker is dying from AIDS, but is Jenny’s ailment that serious? As Chelsea battles her feelings for Arkendale’s sheriff, Sam agonizes over his wife, who after so many years is again in harm’s way.

Life in Arkendale, Oregon has finally settled; Will and Chelsea Harris seem untouched by their father’s injuries while their parents have found lasting contentment. But Sam Cassel and Jenny Cope face their deepest fears alongside the Iranian hostage crisis and the eruption of Mount St. Helens. As Sam struggles with paternal insecurities, his mettle is tested when a volcano explodes, triggering Jenny’s worst dread. Ash rains on the village as Sam and Tommie seek answers to her childhood trauma in Colorado; can Jenny finally emerge from nearly two decades of self-imposed captivity? In the third novel of the series, 1979 gives way to the early ‘80s; Max and Liz Smith face an unplanned pregnancy while Sam and Jenny try to add to their family, watching for signs of Alvin’s legacy in Chelsea and Will. The Harris family’s connection to Bonnie Carmine unwinds in spectacular fashion with Harold Carmine’s unexpected death. But all Jenny wants is the hostages’ release, that and Sam’s baby.

In the final novel of the series, patience is required by many Arkendale residents; Eric and Dana face her brother’s return as Rachel falls in love with Cory. David and Sandra decide to become parents, as Will struggles with writing a book. Chelsea ponders another chance at motherhood while Jenny and Sam watch a couple mirror their past, but Jenny’s aches increase; is chocolate pound cake no longer helpful? The Iraq War winds down as weddings and new babies balance Eric’s deep sorrow, as does Sandra’s best friend Pru Castle. Yet, Eric has to be refined, much like his parents were years before. When Tanner heeds a dangerous call, the Cassels and Smiths are thrown into turmoil, leaving Eric, Travis, Scott, and Alana on tenterhooks. One man’s thirst for vengeance becomes another’s need for reparation. But has Tanner finally run out of luck? Alvin’s warning to Sam proves vital, as lives are torn asunder. But Jenny, Sam, Tommie, and the rest find patience has its own rewards, and that those thought lost are never far away.

As the truth of Sam Cassel’s late wife and child pummels all in Arkendale, Oregon, Jenny Cope and Alvin Harris attempt reconciliation. Sam decides to leave the state, unable to quench his unrequited love for Jenny as she and Alvin ponder marriage. When a horrific tragedy changes all lives in the Willamette Valley, wedding plans are altered, as well as Sam’s move. Jenny and Tommie suffer hardest, but no one is left untouched, each Smith and Cassel questioning if life can ever be the same. Continuing the series, this novel takes place from 1977 to the end of the decade, The Peoples Temple suicides and the murders of Harvey Milk and George Moscone entwined with Arkendale’s tragic loss. As Robert Tucker heads to San Francisco, Jenny ponders the fates of other men she loves. Children sustain her, as does unexpected affection, but will it be enough to carry her from the greatest loss she has ever faced? One secret threatens to unravel all Jenny has maintained, a mystery she shares only with Sam. Watching her children develop, Jenny wonders if they will be spared the same limitations of their father, Alvin’s handicap never far away.

On the run for nearly half her life, Jenny Cope’s arrival in Oregon’s Willamette Valley touches all she meets. She most affects two men, one mentally challenged, the other emotionally strangled. Jenny falls in love with Alvin Harris, whose childhood tumble leaves him with few worries. Sam Cassel’s wounded heart pounds with unrequited love for Jenny, but his lifelong friendship with Alvin precludes Sam’s advances. That and a sense of familiarity, Jenny similar to Sam’s late wife, a woman brutally murdered. Introducing the series, this novel weaves 1970s history through the lives of Alvin, Jenny, Sam, and Tommie Smith, Alvin’s best friend. Tommie carries his own injuries while balancing Sam’s hidden feelings. When Alvin and Jenny have a child, Sam steps away. Jenny learns some of Tommie’s burdens, a tragedy Sam also endured when his wife died. When Jenny’s horrific past emerges, she seeks Sam's comfort, not the man she truly loves. Love and betrayal tangle with village feuds and narrow minds as a trio navigates roads rainy but lush, colors bright from thunderstorms which scare Jenny to death. The reason behind her anxieties can’t be altered, but in Alvin or Tommie’s arms Jenny finds solace. Yet in Sam’s grasp, whether on the dance floor or reliving her terrifying childhood, Jenny knows a deliberate calm. That peace threatens to unravel all Jenny and Alvin have built together on a farm harboring ancient secrets as disturbing as Jenny’s past.

Is there more to Rae Smith’s lemon meringue pie than meets the eye? Rae’s husband Tommie isn’t certain, but what if a specially juiced dessert offers relief for Rae’s best friend Jenny, not to mention Rae herself. A standalone short story, also an epilogue for the Alvin’s Farm series.