Barbara J Duell Books: Life-Changing Stories & Novels
The Far Side of the Rainbow
Some people believe all components of the universe are linked by hidden affinities and that the kismet of one individual can bond with the destiny of another, each one the protagonist of their own drama, yet linked to another. Coincidence or fate? Across space and time, four troubled souls ask this question.
Mackenzie Chapman, born into wealth and abandoned at birth, spent her childhood seeking validation, moving into adulthood and the financial world as an introvert, extraordinarily competent and high functioning, but not someone anyone really knows. Using systematic logic to solve a mystery long buried, she travels across the country only to have her organized life fall apart and intertwine with strangers.
In one deciding moment, the life of Doctor Peter Farrell, handsome, compassionate, and charismatic, hangs by a thread as he fights to live. Months pass before his quest to regain what was lost–his prayers for what once was–are answered. Strong and determined, he succeeds, only to be blindsided by strangers desperate for his help.
Ten-year-old Joshua and his tiny sister, Annie, are orphaned, then abandoned. Abused by a social system that exists to protect them, they cling to each other in fear and doubt until one rainy night, fate steps in.
Or was it just a coincidence that an unknown person, a woman with golden hair and a gentle voice, heard their cry for help and reached out to them without thought or reason?
A Place by the Bay
M.W. Pilgrim, a renowned photojournalist, has spent the last fifteen years shooting war in the killing fields worldwide, traveling light―her camera, a .45 semi-automatic, and a bottle of Jack all stashed in her backpack. She’s suffered physical wounds and mental anguish, dodging bullets and bureaucrats as she documented the decimation of human life. But she’s always survived until one day in the summer of 1995, Madi finds herself stretched to the limits of endurance while filming the genocide in Bosnia, and her luck runs out.
Severely wounded, she’s evacuated to Landstuhl Medical Hospital in Germany, and her life hangs in limbo until trauma surgeon Neal Baker takes over her care. But common sense and caution have never been her way of life. Barely able to walk, Madi defies her doctors, a decision she soon regrets, and her actions will torment her, even after she returns home only to be caught up in a different kind of war that has invaded the streets of San Francisco, the thrown-aways kids that fight for survival, lost souls the world has forgotten.
Colonel Neal Baker, trauma surgeon, has dedicated his life to medicine. He’s fought anger and fatigue, operating in field hospitals never far from the raging battle lines where the wounded mount, and too many die or go mad.
Reassigned to Landstuhl, he faces another kind of anguish. Gone are the battlefields, but not the wounded who arrived daily, testing his skills and resolve, demanding he put aside his personal life until one night a woman arrives, airlifted from the carnage of Srebrenica―unconscious, broken and bleeding―and his skills are again put to the test.
Doctor-patient relations take on a new meaning as he disregards protocol and becomes infatuated yet frustrated by the tall blonde with penetrating blue-gray eyes. But it’s Madi’s sassy mouth that drives him wild and fuels his desire. Medical orders mean nothing to her; promises are broken, and lives are put in jeopardy by her determination to do the impossible.
Blindsided by a passion that builds each day, Neal Baker joins Madi on a journey that speeds past chaos only to end in a final separation. Haunted by desire and doubt, he will travel halfway around the world to find her.
Caught up in her battle to save the lives of the lost and broken, he finds more, an awakening of hope―a gathering of love and pain―then trust that leads to a new beginning.
Beyond a Dream
Lilianarose McKenna has lived her life with the same passion and responsibility that brought her Spanish ancestors to the rich furtle land by the Pacific Ocean in search of a new life over two centuries ago.
Bound to the land, the matriarch of her family, and a world-renowned portrait artist, Lili has everything except someone to love her. She wants more; an itch she can't scratch, not yet, so she's put aside her dreams, for now, but someday, maybe.
Charles Phillip Ashland, Earl of Ashbourne, inherited a title, a dilapidated Manor near the land's end, and nothing more, but he wants more.
He's taken anger and determination and built an empire, acquiring more wealth than he could spend in ten lifetimes. He has everything a human could want, yet he has nothing that truly matters.
He succeeded in business but failed miserably as a father, but soon he will have time to do better, to find and live his dream. Yes, soon.
From the quaint town of San Juan Capistrano, California to a small village by the sea in Devon, England fate has set a course for two people to find themselves even though they have no idea they are lost, aided by a handful of relatives, a village of eager helpers, and one very big, hairy dog.
Theo's Diary
Theo sat on the bench across from the cemetery and pulled his jacket close to his chest. The service for his old friend had ended an hour ago, but he would wait. After everyone left, Theo would go into the Friedhof, place his single rose atop the freshly turned soil, and say goodbye.
Now he sat in the cold and felt old. Life was such a temporary place, and he knew he could not wait any longer to do what needed to be done. He had to write down all he'd put away years ago, memories buried somewhere deep in a private place. He needed to reach beyond the comfort of these new days and unwrap the terrible; the hurt and anguish, of love, found then lost, and all the regrets locked away but never forgotten.
Twenty years later and a continent away, family secrets revealed to Rick Dahlman demand he controls his disbelief and anguish as he travels to Europe to unravel over thirty years of lies and deceit, a journey steeped in history. In a quest to find answers to his identity, he will meet the classic, elegant Anna.
As Rick demands answers to his very existence from ghosts of the past, his emotional resolve is blindsided by the beautiful, headstrong Karlotta. Lost in a whirlpool of passion and desire so strong only their love and the surprising answers Rick finds in Theo's diary will guide them to the awakening of a new life.
And so begins Theo's Diary. The reminiscence of love and pain, war and regret. A life that spans two world wars, two continents, and almost ninety-one years. In his simple way, Theo will share the good and the bad, dreams and devastation, and relationships so filled with passion you will stop and draw in a breath, just to slow time. And lives will be changed.
Beyond Love
He'd only planned to run away from home, but after eight-year-old David Hampton is almost run over by a car in downtown Sausalito and rescued by a beautiful lady with a man's name, his plans change. All he's ever wanted was a Mom and decides Michael McCall is the Mom he wants. All he has to do is convince his dad, and maybe Ms. McCall.
It should be easy, but unlike stories with happy endings, this is not a fairytale; this is real. When Professor Michael McCall and Dr. Richard Hampton meet, the sparks from their first encounter ignite into an instant desire so powerful it rivals the intensity of the fire that nearly destroyed the city across the bay. Their path to happy-ever-after will demand that they travel beyond their lust and the heat of their passion — a journey steeped with pain, a constant reminder of love given and lost — a journey where the past must be put away, freeing them to find the courage to reach BEYOND LOVE.
The Legend of the Eagle Feather
Long ago, while flying high above the earth, Father Shy heard the spirits call him to a special place in the mountains. He rested in the valley and before leaving, cut a path through the darkness, a path leading to an Enchanted Pool.
So begins the story of Button, a boy whose broken body and spirit lead him down Father Sky's path on a great adventure. It promised to change him forever, but first, he must conquer his fear, overcome the doubt of others, fight for courage, and believe in the impossible.
The Legend of the Eagle Feather is a story of courage. Many times in our lives we will find ourselves walking down a road we have not chosen, carrying burdens we do not want.
Life is not always fair, but when we reach deep within ourselves and bring forth the courage to face fear, to triumph over adversity, we rise above what is not fair and stand tall among all men.
Come Hear the Whisper of Time
Come Hear the Whisper of Time is a collection of tales, part Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy. Some of the stories that have gathered dust over time are of the First People, snippets I have heard all my life, and thoughts that would not stay locked away, memories of my sons coming of age, of my mom and dad; the rest, novellas from my overactive imagination.
Whisper of Time became my lifeline, a thin thread that kept me from the edge of madness after the loss of my sons, and this gathering of words will ask that you open your mind and just imagine as you travel to another dimension, a premise requiring trust and faith. The cost for this trip is simple: To reach out to help others. To smile and laugh and value the sunlight, refusing to give way to the dark times that seek to block our way; to offer a safe resting place for those who struggle as I have.
I am at peace when I follow the ways of those who gave me life. It is from their tradition and courage, and their love of all the Great Spirit has loaned to us that allows me to give thanks, each day, for I am so blessed. So I reach out to you from within my soul, hoping to find refuge, a safe place to share what has gathered within me from the beginning.