Set during the separation of Norway from Sweden in 1905, this richly detailed novel of love and loss was inspired by the life of the author’s great-great-aunts.

Oleanna and her sister Elisabeth are the last of their family working their farm deep in the western fjordland. A new century has begun, and the world outside is changing, but in the Sunnfjord their world is as small and secluded as the verdant banks of a high mountain lake.

The arrival of Anders, a cotter living just across the farm’s border, unsettles Oleanna’s peaceful but isolated existence. Sharing a common bond of loneliness and grief, Anders stirs within her the wildness and wanderlust she has worked so hard to tame. When she is confronted with another crippling loss, Oleanna must decide once and for all how to face her past, claim her future, and find her place in a wide new world.

From the reviewers:

Oleanna was short-listed in the 2011 Faulkner-Wisdom novel competition.

“Oleanna is a fabulous character. She’s strong but personable and definitely the sort of character that you find yourself rooting for…Historical fiction lovers will eat this book up!” – A Bookish Affair

“Oleanna is women’s historical fiction at its finest. I thoroughly enjoyed every word and highly recommend it as a fascinating read, giving insight into a lesser known country and period in history.” – Historical Novel Review

Love and longing in Norway.  Norway is a character in Rose’s second novel. From rosemal scrollwork and fjord ponies, to apparitions of wraiths, the land of her ancestors is portrayed with vivid descriptions and delights. Like the first apple of summer, you won’t want to wait to take a bite! Highly Recommended!  –  ”cheryl”

Hauntingly beautiful setting and characters.  The haunting losses, conflicts, and ultimate triumph of these characters will stay with me. I really love that the story was inspired by the author’s own ancestors; the inclusion of her great-grandfather’s actual letter was a wonderful postscript.  –  Jacquelyn S. Glowacki

About The Author

I’m an author of unique historical and contemporary fiction. I’m particularly interested in the intersection of the spiritual and secular, the supernatural and the everyday, the past and the present, and the deep, instinctual draw of the land.

Oleanna, short-listed for finalists in the 2011 Faulkner-Wisdom literary competition, is my second novel. The Pilgrim Glass, a finalist in the 2005 Faulkner-Wisdom and semi-finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards, was published in 2010.

I am a proud member of the Historical Novel Society and former reviewer for the Historical Novels Review. I live in the Bay Area with my husband and our cat Pandora, and love reading, watching episodes of Doctor Who, and enjoying the amazing natural beauty of Northern California.

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