Other than the people in my life, I have three great passions. One is travelling, the other is renovating houses and the third is writing. I was born in Auckland, New Zealand and over the years have traveled just about everywhere there is to go in my own country. From the busy motorways of Auckland to the beautiful beaches of the Coromandel, to the isolated west coast of the South Island to whale watching off the Kaikoura coast to flying around Mt Cook (our highest mountain) (seated next to the pilot, one of the best things I’ve ever done) to camping in remote places and eating and sleeping by campfires, listening to the roar of monster waves on deserted west coast beaches.
My hunger to see the world started when I was young. I was the quiet girl who sat at the back of the class staring out the window, dreaming of other worlds, oblivious to what was going on in class. I’ve traveled the world several times over the past four decades, moving from Auckland when I was eighteen to Sydney, then on to a small town in the outback, across to Adelaide then Perth (crossing the mighty Nullarbor by train), then settling in Brisbane for a little while. I’ve also done the “magic bus” several times across Europe, leaving London and traveling nonstop to some destination, like Greece, to take in the islands and laze on empty beaches with friends. Over the years I’ve lived in London twice, had the chance to drive around England and Wales several times (my mother was born in Shrewsbury, near the border of Wales and England so lots of lovely English relatives which I have been lucky to meet over the years) and some years ago I also managed to rent a car and drive all over Ireland for several weeks (where my paternal grandparents came from). I’ve had lots of adventures, too many to talk about, but I love any place where there’s folklore and great stories of the past, where the history seems to beat from the very earth itself.
.Along with my love of exploring the world and adventure, I love being alone which has played havoc with relationships, but there’s nothing like an unknown open road and plenty of time to explore what lies along its length. For me it’s all about the journey, not the destination and one of my best trips ever was traveling by myself around the UK. I had been working in England again for almost a year and before I left I hired a car in Oxford, then took off for three weeks of adventure. My first stop was driving back to London to see some relatives, then it was down to Dorset to see some more lovely relatives, before making it all the way south to Penzance, Cornwall. There’s something so special about fields bordered with stone walls, centuries old villages with cobblestone streets, castles where ancients once lived like the fabled King Arthur. I drove up to Wales then crossed back into England, did a loop around Scotland and managed to get all the way up to John O’Groats before making my way back to Oxford, stopping off in York and Huddersfield to see more family along the way. I revisited castles and places I’d fallen in love with years before, met incredible people who had wonderful stories of their own, slept in strange places, got lost several times, ending up on strange highways or on deserted mountain roads up in the wilds of Scotland, but I loved every moment and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
I’ve also had a love and fascination with America for as long as I can remember. I’d already been to California twice plus Hawaii, but when I had the chance to do a road trip by bus for three weeks across America, I grabbed it. I flew into New York where I spent two days walking everywhere, doing all the touristy things and eating in “deli’s” before leaving for Los Angeles. I loved every moment, walking around Independence Hall and seeing the Liberty Bell in the former Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, seeing Washington and the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery, crossing the Potomac, walking around Chicago for hours, seeing the wild open plains of Ohio, the awe inspiring sights of Utah, the mountains of Yellowstone and rolling hills of Montana and crossing the Missouri River. I saw the place in Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok got shot and the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon. I took a flight across the desert to visit a Navajo reservation (where I bought some beautiful jewelry) and toured Monument Valley. I lost some money at a casino in Las Vegas where I walked the strip at night and watched the outdoor shows. When I finally got to LA. I got a bus down to Santa Monica, walked along the boardwalk to Venice Beach and made the last bus back to my hotel just before the shuttle left for the Airport. It was the notes I wrote down in a little notebook as I rode that bus across America that eventually became the Madeleine series although I wrote the first draft of When the Wolf Loves (I didn’t have that title for it then) way back in 1982. But when I saw the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Badlands, the wonder of Yellowstone, the rolling hills where millions of buffalo had once roamed as they migrated across the Great Plains, the forests and rivers that wound their way through back country, the beauty of the Snake River and surrounding mountains and the herd of deer standing at the water’s edge as we took pictures, I felt my heart stir for the people who had once lived and hunted all those long years ago in these magical places.
It’s my love of writing that’s been my mainstay all my life. If I can’t write, I can get really crabby. I started writing as soon as I could string words together and I’ve still got one tiny story on a scrap of paper I wrote when I was about six years old. When I was thirteen, I won a writing competition for a British magazine, but I never considered my love of writing as anything other than a hobby so it’s very special to me when readers tell me how much they love my books.
I love any story that involves history, romance or fantasy, the more epic the better so my own books will always revolve around one of these genres, if not all of them mixed together! I hope you enjoy reading about Madeleine and Ryder, Ella and Marrok, Ruby and Sawyer and everyone else you meet along the way. In case you haven’t started my books yet, here’s some details below.
All my books are exclusive to Amazon so they’re free to those in KindleUnlimited. Just click on any of the images and go straight to Amazon.
Madeleine: nine book series: These books are in KindleUnlimited
This is a sweeping historical story with romance, adventure and a little paranormal for those who love Native American folklore, spirit guides and spirit animals. The story begins with Ryder and Madeleine meeting each other in 1799 in the vast northwest pacific territory of the New World, long before the west was settled by Europeans, when tribes still fought each other for control of territory with bows, arrows and lances, when bison herds still numbered in their millions. This series is about love and loss, of ambition and greed, of jealousy and hate and ultimately revenge.
Order of series:
After his father’s death in London in 1796, Ryder Benedict travels to the New World to find answers to his past. He planned to be gone no longer than a year but two years later, in the company of six men from three different tribes who have all come together to help him, he finds himself in the wilderness of the Pacific northwest, far beyond the borders of the American, French and Spanish settlements. When he is attacked and injured by a wolf, a young white girl with extraordinary instincts saves his life. Named Esa-mogo’ne’ by the local Bannock, she takes Ryder to their village to heal and over a bitter winter Ryder learns of her tragic past and discovers a love that will endure his whole life.
They fell in love while living with the Bannock people in the vast wilderness of the Pacific Northwest territory of the New World in the winter of 1799 and after a year of hard travelling, Madeleine and Ryder Benedict finally arrive in England. But England is on the brink of war with France. And Madeleine and Ryder soon realize they face a war of their own as they endure the hatred and bitterness of the Benedict family.
Separated by the hatred of the Benedict family, Madeleine seeks revenge, vowing to destroy those responsible and in her desperate quest to find Ryder, she uncovers more than thirty years of treachery and deception, which not only changes her life forever, but those closest to Ryder.
Madeleiné has reached St Louis but has lingered for four months waiting on news of Ryder, hoping that he is still alive but when she receives a letter from London, shattering all her hopes, she makes the decision to leave St Louis and head into the wild, in the hope of reaching the Bannock before the winter of 1805
It’s now the spring of 1805 but before they head west to the Snake River Plain, Madeleine, Ryder and Te’tukhe must ride north to the Mandan, an enemy of the Bannock, to trade for a girl Madeleine knew as a child who was taken slave some five years earlier. But first they must part from their son, who they hope to meet at the Lakota within the month, unaware a ruthless killer is tracking them.
It’s now September 1808 and Madeleine and Ryder are making plans to leave the Snake River Plain and return to England after more than four years away. Traveling with them on the rivers in two birch bark canoes is Te’tukhe, two young children and a young Bannock man who Madeleine thinks of as her brother. They have just two months to reach the Corrigan Ranch in St Louis before the worst of winter hits, but can they do it, or are Ryder and Madeleine destined to once more be parted from each other.
This short story of Ryder as a child at the Corrigan ranch in 1778 is now included in my Collection of Short Stories to be published soon.
It’s December 1809 and Madeleine and Ryder have finally reached St Louis. They plan to spend the winter at the Corrigan Ranch while they plan their trip back to London in the spring. They always knew this would be a time of goodbyes and endings but they didn’t expect the heartache they must face before they leave St Louis.
Escape West by Wagon Train: two book series: These books are in KindleUnlimited and Amazon Prime.
These two books are about two young women in 1846 frontier America who aren’t afraid to chase their dreams. They leave behind everything they know to start new lives in Oregon and California and step into the unknown. These books are for those who love wagon train stories in frontier America.
Order of series:
It’s 1846, St Louis Missouri, and when a stranger offers Ella the chance to escape a wedding to a man she loathes, she has to decide what it is she wants. Marry a wealthy man and provide a home for those she loves? Or have the courage to go west by wagon train to California and start a whole new life.
Its 1846 and after escaping by wagon train from St Louis and heading west, Ruby leaves Fort Hall for California, hoping to start a new life and leave her past behind. But when she learns that what she’d hoped and planned for doesn’t exist, can she find the courage to start all over? And does she put her faith in one man, who offers her something beyond her wildest dreams, or does she head back east to what she knows. A story of courage and hope, of endings and beginnings, of believing in the impossible.
Brides Bound for Oregon: Sera and Colette: This book is in KindleUnlimited.
I co-authored this book with my friend Carena McGregor under the name Quinn Carno. Carena will continue writing upcoming books in this series and when I have the time, I hope to write more books as Quinn Carno.
It’s summer 1849 and when thirty-year old widow Colette Weylyn decides to leave the heartbreak of her old life behind in Philadelphia and head west to Oregon as a mail order bride, she encourages her twenty-five year old sister-in-law Sera to join her as her companion. But that means these two women who have spent their whole lives in Philadelphia, one of the busiest cities on the east coast, must travel to Independence Missouri then overland by wagon train to Astoria Oregon.
Sadie Conall 