THE WILL O' THE WISP

by Mary Spurgeon

 Mary Spurgeon's first novel tells the tale of Kathleen Wallace, a young woman who grew up in the yet-to-be part of Oklahoma known as "No Man's Land." With a desire to see another part of the country, Kathleen signed up to teach school far from home in the mountains back east. Little did she know how much this adventure would affect the rest of her life.

Changed forever she returned to the west, soon to be joined by her new-found soul mate, Brennan, who feels he has to prove himself before taking the hand of the willful Kathleen in marriage. Brought together by a link to an ancient time and the mysterious will o' the wisp, the two of them face many obstacles as they make their way to fulfill their destiny.

The will-o-the-wisp is defined as a ghostly light sometimes seen at night or twilight, often over bogs. It looks like a flickering lamp, and is sometimes said to recede if approached. Much folklore surrounds the legend even though science has offered several potential explanations... but in Kathleen's day it remained a mystery... a mystery she and Brennan were destined to solve together.

Her story takes place in the late 1800's in an orphaned strip of land that would later become the Panhandle of Oklahoma. The daughter of a cattle rancher, Kathleen grew up in this raw and unforgiving land that she grew to love. Abandoned by her mother at a young age, she failed to learn of the more feminine things and leaned more toward riding, roping and working the ranch.

An avid reader, Kathleen longed to see some of the wondrous places she read about in books... so much so, she took a job teaching at a school in the mountains in the east. After working in the school a short time it became evident why they had such a hard time keeping a teacher. Not only did she have to contend with homesickness and adjusting to a new place, she was ever aware of the danger that lurked in the forest which constantly surrounded her. The two bright spots in her life were the wonderful family that had taken her in and... Brennan. Had she finally met the man she was to spend the rest of her life with?

Follow along as Kathleen and Brennan fulfill their destiny... from the mountains in the east to the plains of No Man's Land.

About the author