Book 1: Dandelion Wishes
Love in Harmony Valley Series
On this page, you’ll find the story blurb, an excerpt, the story behind the story, and bonus content.
What if dandelion wishes do come true?
Ever since the accident that nearly killed her best friend, Emma has been trying to make amends. But to do so, she’ll have to return to her small hometown, the charming Harmony Valley.
When she moves back into the cozy Victorian home she grew up in, she’s hoping to rebuild her friendship with Tracy, the woman who was practically a sister growing up.
But Tracy’s brother Will—Emma’s childhood crush—doesn’t want Emma back in his family’s life and does everything in his power to discourage a reconciliation.
When it looks like everything is falling apart, Emma realizes it’s going to take more than a dandelion wish to heal the wounds of friendship and maybe in the process, find true love.
Fans of emotional, heartwarming women’s fiction will enjoy this full-length novel with a happily-ever-after, featuring an enemies-to-lovers sweet romance upon which the TV movie Love in Harmony Valley was based.
Readers love Dandelion Wishes:
“An inspiring story of love and forgiveness.” Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★★
“This book was wonderful, even if I did feel emotionally drained by the end. The characters in this book put me through the wringer.” Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★★
“Tears are flowing while writing this review. Words do not seem enough to express how much I loved this read.” Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★★
“This is a very good read but is really very emotional. Once you put this down it will be a read that will stay with you in the weeks to come.” Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★★
“I can't wait to read the next book in the series.” Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★★
Excerpt (Prologue):
With little Emma Willoughby, it was always something.
She was just one of those kids who explored the world with fascination but without seeing the potholes and inevitably fell into them.
Skinned knees, bruised elbows, bloody noses, broken bones.
But no matter what the disaster, Emma kept on going, propelled forward by a smile and a laugh. She might have slowed down had her grandmother Rose not efficiently patched Emma up and sent her back outside to play with a joyful, “Now you’re living, kid!”
Four years older, Will Jackson would have admired Emma if her escapades didn’t include his kid sister, if those scraped, bruised, bloody, and broken body parts hadn’t also befallen Tracy.
That was because Tracy and Emma were inseparable. And much to Will’s dismay, for much of his childhood, the pair followed him around, seemingly everywhere he turned. Around the farm. At the swimming hole in the Harmony River. On the schoolyard. In town.
And if they weren’t following him, they were finding trouble, usually trouble Will had to get them out of.
At twelve, Will was responsible for keeping his mother’s vegetable and flower gardens weed-free. And yet no matter how many times he told them not to, those two girls would gather bouquets of dandelions and blow those weeds—they called them “wishes”—in the garden.
“Stop doing that!” Will had stomped over to stop the eight year-olds one sunny afternoon.
“But Will,” his sister Tracy had said, giving him the toothy grin that he’d always had a hard time resisting. “We were making wishes for you.”
Emma had nodded, smiling with equal charm and innocence. “Tracy wished you’d become a gazillionaire and I wished you’d marry a fairy godmother, someone who’d make you laugh.”
Will had set his jaw, fighting the impulse to go soft on them. “That’s only two wishes.” He gestured to the pile of at least a dozen empty dandelion stems. “How do you explain the rest?”
“We wanted to make sure your wish came true,” Tracy had said solemnly, elbowing Emma when she started to giggle.
And Emma…
Why didn’t she learn to stay out of jams? She had a fear of heights, but that didn’t keep her feet on the ground. She’d climb too high in a tree and be afraid of scrambling down. Over and over. One time, she’d scampered up the oak tree in the town square and the fire department had to be called to rescue her.
She was notorious for leaping onto the rope swing at the swimming hole and refusing to let go. The rope would eventually come to a halt with Emma balancing her bare feet precariously on the rope’s frayed knot, several feet above the river. Eventually, Will would have to swim out beneath her and promise to catch her if she let go of the rope.
“Why do you take a turn if you’re scared?” he’d asked her after one such rescue.
“Because it’s fun.” She’d laughed, grabbing Tracy’s hand, and racing up the riverbank, shouting over her shoulder, “And because you always catch me!”
Which was true.
Troublesome. That’s what Emma was. And since she was raised by her Granny Rose, rules and limits were more like flexible guidelines.
The older Will got, the more responsibility he was given over the two girls. It felt like he was always their lifeguard, security guard, or on playground patrol. It got to the point where watching out for the pair became second nature to him.
After his mother died when he was fifteen, Will took everything more seriously, including trouble-finding Emma.
He left for college but not before lecturing the girls to stay out of trouble. On his calls home, Tracy would proudly relate their adventures—tubing down the rushing river too early in the spring and breaking her ankle on a log, painting a mural on the side of the abandoned grain mill and getting caught, sneaking out to attend a concert at the county fair and losing their ride home.
And with each escapade, Tracy refused to put the blame on Emma, but Will knew better. Without Emma, his sister wouldn’t find herself in these predicaments.
He’d come home for their first prom, fully intending to warn the duo and their dates not to take drinks from hidden flasks or attend after-parties. They were still kids. And Dad… Well, Dad hadn’t been the same since Mom died. He was often absent-minded and distracted, but mostly, Will believed he was too lenient with Tracy.
And so, on the night of the prom, Will was leaning against the wall dividing the kitchen from the living room, frowning upon Emma’s and Tracy’s dates.
Tracy emerged from her bedroom first. Her blond hair was piled on top of her head, her blue dress was strapless and her heels too high. She wobbled on the carpet and stuck her tongue out at Will when he smirked at her.
He loved that she stuck her tongue out at him.
In fact, Will was relieved. It proved Tracy was still his baby sister. And trouble tonight? Not a chance. She’d be barefoot before the first song ended, ditching those fancy heels. She’d dance until the lights came up in the school gymnasium. And then she’d tell Emma she was so exhausted that they had to come right home.
He shouldn’t have worried.
And then Emma walked out of Tracy’s bedroom. Same hairstyle. Same too tall heels. But her red dress had skimpy straps and no back, and she didn’t wobble on those heels. Not once.
Will’s mouth went dry.
Sometime between Christmas and April, Emma had grown up.
And now, she was trouble of a different kind.
The off-limits kind.
The Story Behind the Story
The emotions in this book are intense, partly because of the subject matter - a woman driver gets in a car accident which almost kills her best friend, so it deals with the aftermath - and partly because I was in a dark place while writing this book. My elderly father had just fallen under the spell of his caregiver and she blocked the family from seeing him. Every avenue I tried to remedy the situation was a dead end. Since I’d been his closest relative, I carried a lot of guilt for allowing someone greedy and evil to do this to the family. Writing Dandelion Wishes helped me come to a place of forgiveness.
This book was selected to be made into a TV movie - Love in Harmony Valley - starring Amber Marshall (of Heartland fame). She was drawn to the emotional depth of Emma, the heroine. Granny Rose was rewritten for the movie because the producers had just sold another movie to the network with a dotty grandmother battling dementia. Needless to say, I was bummed that there was no Singing in the Rain scene, but I loved how the movie turned out (and yes, some of my dialogue is in the film).
Bonus Content
I set up the series and read the above scene with some context in this YouTube Video.
If you’ve read the book, make sure you download your free Bonus Epilogue.
Get Your Copy Here
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