JUST RELEASED! Feburary 1

I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by since I signed the contract with Abingdon Press for this series in 2010. So many of my readers have been in touch with me about this next book, expressing their anticipation to find out what happens next and how I conclude the series. 

 Beyond the Valley is my favorite out of the three. Sarah seemed to resonate with me on so many levels. She is a wife and expectant mother, a loyal friend, a grieving widow. Her faith is shown in a way relevant to the times she lived in, not just a Sunday Christian, but a virtuous woman whose daily walk with God required ultimate trust, though her trials cause her to question. 

I hope for those who have read books 1 and 2 in the series will read Beyond the Valley to discover how Sarah came to River Run and the many trials she faced and the love she finds in a compassionate physician, Alex Hutton.

 

Here is a little bit about the story—

When Sarah’s husband Jamie drowns, her young life if shattered and takes a turn that she never expected. Pregnant and now widowed, she reaches out to Jamie’s family for help but they are unwilling. Instead they devise a plan to have her kidnapped and taken to the Colonies to live a life of servitude for seven years.

She is deceived and taken aboard a ship headed for the Colonies to be sold, bound to unspeakable hardship and forced into the same world she left.  

Caught in the talons of servitude, she falls in love with a young conscientious doctor, Alex Hutton, who has arrived in Virginia to care for his widowed sister in law and two young nieces. Called back to serve in Washington’s army, he promises he will return for her, gain her freedom and wed her. Other plans were made for Sarah when her owner finds himself bankrupt and sells her the first chance he gets. She’s taken out into the frontier, captured by Indians, and faces unbearable hardship.

When the mistress of River Run along the Potomac encounters Sarah’s plight after she has escaped, Eliza Morgan pities her, and a way is made for Sarah to remain with her and care for Eliza’s young daughter, Darcy. Revolution has ignited in America, and together they endure many hardships which bring them together in friendship. But when Sarah learns that Zachary Halston, a local landowner, has seduced Eliza, she is troubled about what to do. 

Grateful for Eliza’s kindness, Sarah is forever bound to keep silent. She promises Eliza to never reveal the secret that Ilene is Eliza’s child, even at the risk of living a life in shame if her master should ever discover the truth upon his return.

Trapped in Eliza and Hayward’s troubled lives, Sarah flees River Run. Will she make her way back to Alex and freedom as he searches the wilderness for her? Or will her hopes be crushed at the hands of the man who deceived her long ago in Cornwall when she faced destitution?

‘Praise for 'Beyond the Valley'

Beyond the Valley is a delightful escape of adventure and romance and a sweeping saga of tragedy and hope that you won’t want to miss!  (5 Stars)                                                                                           MaryLu Tyndall, author of the Surrender to Destiny Series  

Creating characters with intense realism and compassion is one of Gerlach's gifts. Her books typically involve dramatic situations, giving her characters a chance to rise above their adversity. Beyond the Valley is a shining example of that, reminding us that we are never forsaken. This is the third in the Daughters of the Potomac series. Sarah's character was introduced in the first novel, Before the Scarlet Dawn, and now she has her own heart-wrenching story that takes us from England to Virginia and Maryland. The historic setting is vividly descriptive, bringing the story to life, almost becoming a character unto itself. 

You may shed some tears, but you'll come away with deep contentment and satisfaction of a story well told.                                                                                                                                                (Review in RT (Romantic Times) Book Reviews Magazine - 4 stars)

* * *

 Actors Rita would choose if BEYOND THE VALLEY was made into a movie…or her dream of a Masterpiece Theater Series.    

Settings for 'Beyond the Valley' 

 Bassets Cove in Cornwall, England

 

Westmorland County, Virginia at the mouth of the Potomac River

 Great Falls, Potomac River

Potomac River

 BEYOND THE VALLEY is available in both ebook and paperback in bookstores everywhere.

For purchase online.

 Amazon: In Paperback -  http://tinyurl.com/8dta3o2
   In Kindle ebook - http://tinyurl.com/bjou7db

 Barnes & Noble: In Paperback -  http://tinyurl.com/ae6dbvu
   In ebook -

 Christianbook.com:  In Paperback -  http://tinyurl.com/b9vj4av
  In ebook -   http://tinyurl.com/agy6bv8

Buy the entire series in paperback at a discount: http://tinyurl.com/aclvcl8

FOR FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

After a long anticipated wait, Beyond the Valley, by Rita Gerlach, book 2 in The Daughters of the Potomac Series, is now available. Beyond the Valley is a tale one woman's trials, her losses and sacrifices, and her faith to find true love and freedom. 

http://ritagerlach.blogspot.com/

FOR BLOGGERS

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STOP IN ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1 FOR AN ONLINE TEA LAUNCH PARTY AND A CHANCE TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPH COPY!