ritagerlach.com - Previously Published Works

Previously Published Novels

Currently out of print but available as used copies on Amazon. It is my hope and dream to reissue these novels.

Five Stars

The Rebel's Pledge
In 1685, during the height of the English Rebellion, Matthew Hale, a rebel and traitor to King James, faces execution. But by Royal Decree, Matthew is spared the hangman's noose. Instead, he is sold into slavery in the colonies to Edmund Carey. Carey then learns that Hale is the son of a man who saved his life during the English Civil War. Soon freed, Matthew must make his way back to England to face the challenge of clearing his name, finding his wife, and discovering the truth.

Thorns In Eden
Divided by the opposing sides of the American Revolution, English-bred frontiersman John Nash and the daughter of His Majesty's loyal officer, Rebecah Brent, must fight to overcome the obstacles to their love and future together. This novel paints with vivid description the invigorating freshness of life in the colonies and the stifling caste system of eighteenth-century England. Rebecah is a character the reader falls in love with, being confident of herself yet full of kindness to those who would wrong her. Her faith in God grows as she encounters John Wesley, and the reader is all the more eager for her to succeed in her endeavors. At the same time, John Nash is embroiled in the Indian wars in the colonies, far from his beloved.
From Tracy's Booknook

The Everlasting Mountains

Victim of a brutal attack by a band of warring Indians in the spring of 1775, Rebecah, a freed slave named Maddie , and Rebecah's friend Theresa Boyd are forced to journey from Frederick County to Shawnee country along the Youghiogheny River. Together with the women, Rebecah escapes and begins the long trek home through an unknown and hostile wilderness. In those harrowing days, she faces the elements, starvation, wild animals, the birth of her daughter, and unpredictable nature. The agony of the journey forces Rebecah to go the final miles pursued by her capture, LaRoux.

During this time, Nash and his men are in search of the women. Nash is ambushed by Indians headed by the fierce Indian warrior, Angry Bear. Now he faces the challenge of surviving long enough to rescue his beloved wife.

Thorns In Eden and The Everlasting Mountains are based on actual historical event that took place in western Maryland and West Virginia.