The Gift of Forgiveness

There's an ornery, unkempt boy in Lucy Brenker's school who picks on her quiet cousin, Ben. Raggity, as he is called, is a trouble-maker who causes distress for both Lucy and Ben. However, he is not Lucy's biggest problem.
In her hometown of Cincinnati, a serious drought had affected her father's steamboat building business, as well as all businesses in the area. If that weren't bad enough, the lack of river traffic means her recently-ordered piano will not be arriving anytime soon. (A piano had been the desire of her heart for many months.)
It's a time when neighbor reaches out to neighbor, even when that "neighbor" happens to be a newly-arrived, mysterious, glamorous young lady. A lady with whom Lucy has been forbidden to associate.
How was Lucy to know that both Raggity and Sadie Rose would teach important life lessons not only to her and Ben, but to her entire family, and her community?
The full-time writer is the author of over 50 published books under her own name and also scores of ghostwritten books.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Affair de Coeur, Coffee Time Romance, Romance Reader at Heart, and The Romance Studio magazines, and her short fiction has garnered a number of first prizes in local writing contests.
Norma Jean is the founder of the Professionalism in Writing School, which was held annually in Tulsa for fourteen years. This writers' conference, which closed its doors in 1996, gave many writers their start in the publishing world.
A gifted teacher, Norma Jean has taught a variety of writing courses at local colleges and community schools, and is a frequent speaker at writers' seminars around the country. For ten years, she taught on staff for the Institute of Children's Literature. She has served as artist-in-residence at grade schools, and for two years taught a staff development workshop for language arts teachers in schools in Northeastern Oklahoma.
In 2010, she made the decision (along with many other authors) to leave the world of traditional publishing and become an indie author. Even though the learning curve was as she puts it "straight up," it was a decision she has never regretted. As she says, "Having the last say in my cover art and story content is pure joy to this author."
Her titles can be found here: njnotations.myshopify.com