MARY'S BLESSING Is a Selah Award Finalist

We're taking a short break from our regularly scheduled author interviews today for my special announcement.

My McKenna's Daughters Series is about identical triplets born on one of the last wagon trains on the Oregon Trail. Their mother dies giving birth, and they're separated. The girls don't find out that they have sisters until near their eighteenth birthday. Each book is one sister's story.

If you haven't read these stories, you'll want to start with book one, Maggie's Journey, and read them in order.

Maggie's Journey, which released in late 2011, received the Selah Award for Historical Novel from the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. I thank the Lord for that special blessing. The conference contest director announced this year's finalists in a podcast last Friday.

Mary's Blessing, which released in 2012, is a finalist in the Romance Novel category. There are only three finalists in this contest, so I feel blessed by finaling in this contest again. The winners will be announced on Wednesday, and they are streaming it live. I'll be watching. If anyone else wants to watch with me, it will start at 7 pm Central time. Here's the link: http://ridgecrestconferencecenter.org/christian-writers-live

Catherine's Pursuit, the last book in the series, released in February.

Here's what some people are saying about the McKenna's Daughters Series books:

Lena Nelson Dooley’s stories always satisfy, and Maggie’s Journey is certainly no exception! She’ll grab you on page one with characters and events that reflect real-life joys and heartaches that change the characters forever and won’t let go until you’ve read “The End.” Make room on your “keepers” shelf for this first title in the MeKenna’s Daughters series! —Loree Lough Best-Selling Author of Eighty Award-Winning Books, Including From Ashes to Honor, Book 1 in the First Responders Series

Maggie’s Journey is the beautifully written story of a young woman on a journey to discover both her past . . . and her future. Lena Nelson Dooley’s sensory tale will pull readers in and make them glad they’ve taken the time to travel alongside Maggie. —Janice Hanna Thompson Author of Love Finds You in Groom, Texas


For a poignant story of hardship, heartaches, and happiness in late nineteenth-century Oregon, look no further than Mary’s Blessing by Lena Nelson Dooley. In this, the second of her McKenna’s Daughters 

series, Dooley treats readers to the story of a young woman, long 

burdened with familial responsibilities, and the well-intentioned but 

sometimes clueless man who loves her. More than just a love story, 

this is the tale of two characters’ journey to maturity and faith. 

—Amanda Cabot

Author of Summer of Promise and Christmas Roses

Mary’s Blessing is an emotional tale of a determined young woman desperately trying to care for her family in the midst of tragic circumstances. Heartache, joy, drama, and a sweet romance will tug at

your heartstrings and leave you smiling in the end. Keep a hanky handy. —Vickie McDonough

Award-winning author of End of the Trail and the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series

Delightful! Catherine’s Pursuit swept me away. My heart ached with Catherine’s longing . . . and then rejoiced at her numerous discoveries—of family, of love. A well-written book that’s worth the read!
—Tricia Goyer Best-selling author of thirty-four books, including The Memory Jar


From the docks of San Francisco to the forested slopes of Oregon City, Lena Nelson Dooley crafts a touching tale of one woman’s discovery of long-lost triplet sisters and 

the search that sweeps both her and the reader away on a 

magical journey of faith, family, and love. — 

Julie Lessman

Award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston and Winds of Change series

Lena Nelson Dooley weaves a fascinating tale of a young woman facing one family crisis after another while questioning who she is and the sincerity of the young man who professes to love her but 

seems more interested in controlling her life. 

—Henry McLaughlin Award-winning author of Journey to Riverbend