In addition to freelance writing, the Cuffe sisters run a small farm in Maine’s Unorganized Territory. They bring Jane-of-all-trades life experiences to their work, and believe God gave them this background to write squarely to the heart of real women who don’t always wear a size 2, and who prefer boots to high heels. If you want to “talk shop” about family, rural life, livestock, music, God, house construction, or girl stuff, they’d love to hear from you. They believe with God anything is possible; and that some of the best stories aren’t hatched in creative writing class, they’re composed on the seat of a tractor. www.cuffesisters.com
Be careful what you wish for—it could lead to murder.
Kindergarten teacher, Gwen McPhail, is teaching children of former students with her eyes closed, wishing something would happen… Change roars in on a tidal wave when Vance Jones dies and names her his beneficiary.
A stunned Gwen comes to Candle Island to check out her inheritance, but the clannish Islanders hate her guts, the widow tags her as “the other woman,” and the dead guy who left her the mansion was a creep.
Gwen’s up to her neck in inconsistencies and can’t swallow the “accidental death” line. Her rugged care taker, Scotty, is protecting her from someone. Is it his cousin, Dot, the bitter widow? The bullied son, Ron, who’s hamstrung by his father’s will? Or is the murderer Scotty, himself? The truth may kill her, but she’s dying to find out.
Gwen has lost her heart to Candle Island but knows she’s rubbing elbows with a murderer. She faces the heartbreaking choice of doing the right thing and being hated for it, or protecting a fragile soul in trouble. Life on the playground never got this serious, and this time a kiss on the boo-boo won’t make it all better.
Blind Man’s Bluff is a clever cozy mystery packed with sarcastic humor, salty characters, and plot twists. Set in the pressure cooker of a coastal island community, it’ll keep you guessing until the very end. AMAZON
On Candle Island there’s always a storm brewing. Gwen McPhail moves to the island, ready for a life change … but is she ready for murder? When her ne’er-do-well nephew, Nate, is accused of scuttling a lobster boat to kill his boss, the captain, so he can shack up with the merry widow, Gwen gets into tiger-aunt mode.
With no body and no boat, and Nate in the hospital from exposure, there’s no evidence to go on. But Gwen’s a digger. She discovers a marriage on the rocks, a conniving wife, a jealous best friend, and a little girl and her grandmother suffocating in the scuffle. The trouble is, Gwen’s an outsider fresh from the mainland, and the hostile Candle Island clan protect their own.
Gwen’s no stranger to her own brand of family loyalty. To clear her nephew, she’ll risk shipwreck, alienate her one true island friend, and ally with a woman who scares the pants off her. In her quest for justice, Gwen unearths the bitter truth that good gals sometimes get caught in the rip tide of manipulation perpetrated by one of their own—in this case, a selfish shallow wife and a turncoat friend. True to her heart, Gwen stands by the grandmother guilty of manslaughter, her heartbroken granddaughter, and a plan to bring down the ones responsible for the tragedy. AMAZON
Welcome to Stellar’s Ford. In the shadows of these forests, a malevolent presence lurks. Will the innocent survive, or will the guilty hide their dark crimes forever in the wild mountain ravines?
Ex-bad-boy, Rand Adams, is serious about his new faith, and about opening a wilderness camp for troubled teens. But he’s burned too many bridges.
One of them is Molly Stuart, his former-best-friend’s wife.
Molly blames Rand for her husband’s death, and for skipping out on the funeral. When her son lies about hanging out with a stranger, Molly has no choice but to keep the potential runaway safe at remote Rock-N-Anchor Mountain Retreat with Rand, a man she doesn’t like and doesn’t trust.
Rand wants to make up for past sins, but he’s guarding a deadly secret. He can’t let Molly get too close, and he can’t let her and her son out of his sight. The mysterious Warrior, a murderous eco-predator from his former life, threatens them all with a big environmental “killing” on the mountain.
Rand and Molly’s burned bridges are killing their fledgling relationship. The tormented stalker-bent-on-murder may forge a new bond between them, if they don’t end up dead first.
Can Rand and Molly forgive the past, survive the present, and follow their hearts to a new future? Or will the stalker strike first? AMAZON
Welcome to Stellar’s Ford. In the fir-scented tranquility of this rural community, revenge and redemption wage a war of the heart. Will past and present wounds rip apart the fabric of a family and the serenity of a dying way of life?
Brad Stanley is Stellar’s Ford born-and-bred. Years ago, his friends left for college and big careers. He stayed behind and ran Greenwood Timber, the family mill. Brad barely gave his solitary life a second thought until the day he discovered a sixteen-year-old daughter he never knew existed. Trying to be a dad while keeping the mill from going belly-up, is pushing him over the edge.
When Mare Montgomery walks into the mill office, she seems like an answer to prayer. The soft spoken serene woman is just what Brad needs to get his life and his business back on track. But Mare isn’t who she pretends to be. She’s come to rescue the daughter she abandoned fourteen years ago, and the only way to win her daughter’s trust is to expose Brad as the liar and cheat who put her sister in jail.
Trouble is, she’s falling for Brad and the whole Stanley clan. But somebody knows her secret – someone who’s out to destroy her and her newfound family. Can Mare protect those she loves without revealing her true identity?
When Brad is blindsided by the truth, can he and Mare join forces against the one who’s out to steal their daughter and their happiness, or is it too late? AMAZON
Welcome to Stellar’s Ford. Where faith and fear are at war. The line has been drawn in this forest, and only one will survive.
Undercover forest ranger, Jackie Duncan, comes to the New England logging village of Stellar’s Ford to take down eco-terrorist, Rand Adams. But is Rand in town? Who’s igniting protests, spiking trees, torching saw mills, and nearly skewering her with a hunting arrow? Everywhere she turns she grabs at shadows.
Creeped out by the notes of a faceless kidnapper who knows his every move, Robbie Adams comes to Stellar’s Ford desperately seeking his missing brother. Tormented by an obsessed puppet master, Robbie assumes the identity of his twin and takes on his brother’s bad-boy persona to find the truth. He can’t share his true self, or his search, with anyone … especially Jackie Duncan, the woman who will stop at nothing to discover his deepest secrets.
On opposite sides, with an unknown archer stalking them, Robbie and Jackie join the battle, denying their shared faith. Will Jackie fulfill her covert mission of saving the community that lives in the shadow of Grania Mountain, even if it means arresting the man who’s secretly stolen her heart? Or will the human predator, fueled by home-grown revenge, destroy all Robbie and Jackie hold dear? No one is safe. AMAZON
Julie and Nick were perfect for each other but, like all humans, blind to the obvious. Claude knew that was why he’d been heavenly sent to Desert Streams. He had his agenda neatly planned, right
down to the artful mustard garnish on his chili dogs. What says togetherness like two young people planning the Easter breakfast menu? But how to get opinionated, well-meaning Geraldine, who sometimes reminded Claude of a conquering Viking Norsewoman—disguised
in a purple pantsuit and Velcro sneakers—out of the picture long enough for Nick and Julie to say hi to each other.
If only Julie would focus on big-hearted Nick, not on her electronic devices and her reclusive grandfather, she’d see the boy-next-door pastor for who he was, a man in desperate need of fattening
up by an energetic wife and great baker.
The Easter Sunrise breakfast was the key. Claude was ready to step in and coordinate the whole match-making menu. But who would’ve predicted the uproar over barbecue meatball sliders and his newest
culinary invention, sunrise mini-chili dogs? Eggs are so last-century!
But humans very rarely cooperate, and confusion and culinary chaos run rampant as Claude is thwarted in every attempt to bring about a happily-ever-after. Is he losing his touch? Or is there a puzzle
he needs to solve before he’s able to complete his assignment (hopefully without burning the cinnamon rolls and causing a human meltdown)? With Claude de Angelos on the scene, anything is possible! AMAZON
When a health crisis and career problems threaten to strangle her, Kate Marchetti tries to hide out in the backwater of the rural community of Seven Pines. But she doesn’t count on being the target of local interest, or the bull’s eye of the persistent country charm of Dr. Mick Blackburn. Everywhere Kate turns, she finds Mick, the pieces of the Hearts of Seven Pines quilt, and local Seven Piners trying to convince her Seven Pines is the place to find a home and healing.
When the local tabloid, The Splinters, puts out a community call for matchmaking, and everyone from eight to eighty “helps” in Mick’s courtship, Kate discovers her privacy being dragged through the muddy glamour of instant rural fame. Mick draws Kate into the sunny side of his life, but the crises of their two very-different worlds collide when her past and future come calling on the ice of Crystal Lake.
Each struggles with their fierce independence and their promises made to others. When Kate loses her voice, and an ice storm threatens to permanently separate them, both get a painful wake-up call to the cold reality of a successful life lived alone. Healing comes when both admit their damaged spirits can only find their hearts’ desire as two hearts joined with the HEARTS OF SEVEN PINES community. AMAZON
You’re an ordinary Jane Doe with an ordinary life — a little house with a roof that leaks only when it rains, a car with more Bondo® than body, and a job with dear friends who are ready to say good-bye to this life. But to someone who was dumped on the steps of the Home for Lost Children as a newborn and who’s always carried the forgettable name of Jane Doe, you know you’ve got it good. In fact, you’ve got everything you’ve ever wanted … except a real family.
God delivers on the desires of your heart with a tough-nut orphan who needs a home, an octogenarian stripped of his precious independence, and a wealthy old woman who longs for love just as mush as you do. These three need you desperately, and you need to be needed; but family is a mystery to you, especially dysfunctional families with money, prejudices, and fierce loyalty.
When you jump into the Lockhart family squabbles you discover your new boyfriend, Simon, who says he’s Mr. Right, has a PI file detailing your juvenile-delinquent past and labeling you a gold digger. You’ve always cut and run before, but can your faith give you the courage to stay and stand up for your ragtag family of 80-year-old-Clark, who’s an orphan just like you; lonely Ramona, who needs you and loves you but just happens to be Simon’s grandmother; and seven-year-old Jimmy who expects you to adopt him, if he and you can stay out of trouble long enough to pass the evaluation?
It’s your chance for a real family of your own, but you may have to go through personal hell-and-back to prove to yourself you deserve to be loved. AMAZON
The fabric of Heather Fairchild’s love life unraveled, and now she’s holding on to real life by a single thread – the memory of her great-aunt and -uncle. She returns to the rural community of Seven Pines, hoping the old couple who once mended the heart of a lonely, sad five-year-old girl will again open their arms to a lonely, hurting young woman. The only catch — this time she’s pregnant and unmarried.
Heather’s content to keep a low profile, immersing herself in making a baby quilt, but Kevin Flynn, the accident-prone pastor, has other ideas. He’s the focus of a Seven Pines plot to turn the thin man into a he-man, but he’s funny, charming, and, above all, genuinely kind. There’s just one catch – he reminds Heather of her ex.
But sparks fly and hearts break when the Seven Pines’ underground tabloid, The Splinters, gets involved in their private relationship, making it public gossip. Now they both must choose. Will Heather leave Seven Pines to protect Kevin’s reputation? Will the young pastor turn his back on the woman he loves in order to keep the peace and keep his position? Who will patch up their tattered lives? AMAZON
Hansel and Gretel Sweetser live a happy life, except for that unfortunate time of incarceration and near-ingestion in the witch’s gingerbread house. But that was twenty years ago, and no one believes them anyway.
Now they run the successful H & G Bakery. Life is sweet for the Sweetser brother and sister, until Hansel gets ensnared and engaged to Sandra. It’s not that Gretel has anything against her future sister-in-law, except that she burns everything she bakes, she hates Gretel, and she’s got Hansel wrapped around her little finger. Once they’re married, will history repeat itself? Will they try to get rid of Gretel à la her evil stepmother?
Lumberjack Jake Wilde comes to f Wish Hill to heal from a logging injury. He’s partial to the sweets at the bakery, Gretel Sweetser in particular. But the betrayal of her woodcutter father scarred little Gretel’s heart and she refuses any man who calls the forest home.
Believing she’s safe, as long as she stays in town, is Gretel’s first mistake. When Hansel cuts the apron strings, she must find her own way home. Can she survive the journey through the forests of her past to embrace a bright future?
If you’ve ever wondered what happened to that little boy and girl after the gingerbread house encounter, here’s what you’ve been missing. Birds and Bread Crumbs is the “rest of the story”—a grown-up Midwestern American fairy tale with just enough magic to make you believe in once-upon-a-time and happily-ever-after again. AMAZON
Professor Lionel Willard has a best-selling book inside of him. At least that’s what he tells himself when he’s forced into early retirement. Confronted with a blinking curser, a blank computer screen, and a mind that screams “has been,” he freaks.
Teaching was all he had. He hides from his depressing self-discovery and escapes to the moon via his telescope. But he doesn’t blastoff alone. Seven-year-old, Dilly, takes the journey into space with him. Together they discover a wild ride of colors, adventure, and life on the lunar surface, but who will listen to a moth-balled educator and his young, out-spoken protégé?
Is Lionel going crazy as his wife and peers suggest? Or has he only now found his true self? Doubts creep in and Lionel must either cross the crater of disbelief or get lost in the mindless space of his own head. Sea of Tranquility is a fun read with a sci-fi twist. AMAZON
In depression era Mercy’s Gate, Martin is struggling to keep it together for his students, his business, and his town. But there are no prospects for Christmas and no cheer in a small town dying from the inside out – until Ollie and her mysterious “Uncle Rasper” jump off a passing freight train and become squatters in Martin’s potato barn. Are these two bums con artists out to fleece the good people of what little they have left? Or are they the spark this small town needs to rekindle the spirit of Christmas?
Ollie’s just passing through. Mercy’s Gate’s one Main Street is no place for panhandlers. She’s not proud of being down on her luck, but she refuses to be ashamed of it either, regardless of Martin’s opinion of her. All she wants is a chance, but will Martin let her fast talk her way into his heart and the hearts of the children of Mercy’s Gate?
When “Uncle Rasper” reveals a long buried secret, Martin must choose to follow his heart, or let Ollie jump the next train out of town. Will Ollie stay where she’s not wanted in order to find true love, or has it already passed her by?
Set in 1930’s small town America, Christmas at Mercy’s Gate will transport you to a time and place you’ll never forget. AMAZON
Calvin Brody lost something in the war. His work on the trails of Acadia National Park brings him solace, but no answers. Then she comes in like a rip tide: Beatrix Paget, artist and owner of a summer mansion on Mount Desert Island. The uptown girl isn’t his type. Why can’t she see that? Because Trixie is too busy pestering him to be the subject of her newest painting.
When his friend, Ralph, invites Calvin to a clambake, guess who’s hosting it? When Ralph asks Calvin to be his best man, guess who the maid of honor will be? Like it or not, Someone is intent on throwing the two of them together.
In spite of Calvin’s resistance, Trixie surprises him with her love of Acadia’s rugged granite mountains; but Calvin is still searching, and Trixie knows he’s hiding something. As forest fire sweeps the island, will they be lost to each other forever?
With a touch of history and sweet romance, The Burning Ocean will transport you to the wild grandeur of Acadia National Park and, in a real-life plot twist, will keep your heart in your throat. AMAZON
Unable to have children, spinster, Clementine Crowell, has immersed herself in the noble calling of placing street orphans in happy homes. After ten years riding the rails as an agent for the Gotham Foundling Asylum Society, Clementine is disheartened by evidence that many of the children she’s helped place are little more than slave labor. On a stopover in Nebraska, she’s pushed over the edge when farmers, Rollie Everhart and Boyd Hammond, get into a fistfight over who will get the older, stronger boy.
Rollie came for an orphan boy to help him work his beleaguered farm. He needs help, not only in caring for his four-year-old daughter, but in caring about the life God has handed him. He’s lost his wife, his dreams, and his heart for working his farm. The tall, stern Miss Crowell had no business wading into the fight and getting injured in the process.
Now he has two choices: adopt the skinny twins looking for a home, or anger the already angry and injured Clementine Crowell. Her arm may be broken, but her tongue still works and she’s blaming him for everything from Adam’s first bite, to the punch that knocked her down.
Derailed by her injuries, Clementine needs a family, and Rollie has more family than he can handle. Both will fight to get what they want, but who will win in this battle of wills? Lonesome Whistle will make you laugh and make you cry, and keep you turning pages for the most deserved happily-ever-after ending of the century, the 19th Century, that is! AMAZON
The Civil War changed their lives and their family forever. Lawrence Wainwright becomes Mr. Lincoln’s reluctant spy; his sister, Alice, fights for a wounded veteran’s self-respect; and matriarch, Lydia Wainwright, leaves her home and her memories behind in her quest for independence.
For a time, each member of the Wainwright family is forced to become someone different, someone they didn’t choose to be. Danger and heartbreak lurk beneath the fragile façade of their masquerade as each falls in love under false pretenses. Can their relationships survive the truth?
From the war torn countryside of Virginia, to the horse farms of Maine, to the women’s suffrage rallies in Kansas – Lawrence, Alice, and Lydia battle with deceit and doubt as they struggle to be true to their promises and true to themselves. But at the end of the day, when they look in the mirror, will they recognize who they’ve become?
The Seekers Faith in the Shadows The Heart Knows
What if you asked God to shake up your life and, when He did, you lost your friend, your marriage, and your faith?
The Hidden Path is a story of treachery and loyalty, jealousy and love, but, above all, it’s a tale of finding the individual courage to step out into the unknown and leave past mistakes to the grace of God. For all those who enjoy intrigue and a hard-won romance, it’ll keep you turning pages and rooting for the good guys until the very end. AMAZON
Who would’ve believed Darby’s ex and his new girlfriend would stack up against them on the other team? Or that Keaton would discover his greatest opponent is his own heart, and his biggest challenge is clinging to his wife’s memory and not falling for Darby? It’s a race that tests the heart and faith. Who will make it to the peak first? AMAZON
The Balsam Bride is a story for all those who love family, and believe in the power and promise of Christmas to change even the hardest hearts. Packed with American traditions with a prairie twist, it’ll keep you turning pages and pulling for everyone to get their wish. AMAZON
Carrie Allen is trying to keep the family farm and body-and-soul together on the rugged shores of Solitary Point. When her brother brings Johnowen Bradford to Pine Cone Knoll Farm with plans to sell their land, she sets her sights on getting rid of him. At odds from the first meeting, Carrie wants to believe the worst, but she’s no match for Johnowen’s battle-scarred heart and simple dreams. Yet the more she falls for him, the more she doubts his honesty and intentions. Where is his money coming from that promises to fulfill their dream of a life together? And why would a man who says he wants to start a new life with her, buy a rum running boat? Carrie is determined to fight her way through the smokescreen of lies, even if it breaks her heart.
Maine’s White Pine Cone Conspiracy is a clever romance that’ll transport you back to the prohibition era where lawlessness and love aren’t always what they seem. Packed with colorful characters and a final plot twist, it’ll keep you rooting for a happily ever after until the very end. AMAZON
A CONTEMPORARY WESTERN ROMANCE
Is blood thicker than West Texas dust? Johnny’s broken his sister’s heart too many times to count, but with one tug of her heartstrings, CJ braves Texas heat in a last-ditch effort to save big brother. When Yankee stubbornness butts heads with cowboy arrogance, CJ has a better chance getting answers from her horse than the men on the ranch. She knows she’s rubbing elbows with a murderer. She’s in over her head, and the bodies are adding up. Will she be next?