Book excerpt: Set in the period of America's westward expansion, this tale of love, power and conflict brings to light the swirling undercurrents of history. Torn from a life of privilege in her native England, Racine finds in America a love and fulfillment with Lucas that had evaded her in a desperately unhappy marriage with the cruel and self-centered Clive. In an epic tale of courage and commitment, Racine builds her own empire among the empire-builders in the age of the iron horse and the iron men who rode them to glory! A romance framed in an equally romantic period of American history, "Silent Seasons" was created out of a deep love for the human spirit, in whatever time or whatever circumstance it may find itself. After all, in the uncounted years we have been upon the earth, we haven't changed all that much, We still love, we still grieve, we still pass through our own silent seasons. Any who read this story will surely find in it elements of their own story. And isn't that what life is all about; the living of our hopes and dreams? Of course it is. We know it in our hearts.