The Kansas Pirates Saga Series by S.L. Kotar, J.E. Gessler

They said the boy was haunted and the townspeople of Lawrence, Kansas, wanted nothing to do with widower Seth Ward or his two children. In 1857, superstitions run high. Left alone to raise Patricia and Peter, Seth has been isolated from his neighbors since the death of his wife from a lingering, malignant disease. Nearly at his wits end, a young woman appears in response to an advertisement for help... moreThey said the boy was haunted and the townspeople of Lawrence, Kansas, wanted nothing to do with widower Seth Ward or his two children. In 1857, superstitions run high. Left alone to raise Patricia and Peter, Seth has been isolated from his neighbors since the death of his wife from a lingering, malignant disease. Nearly at his wits end, a young woman appears in response to an advertisement for help. Barbara Nelander dared brave the terror of a dead woman's ghost and the haunting of her son because she was not like other women. Born in Nova Scotia, "Nelander," as she was called, had served as a crewman aboard her father's trading ship since early childhood. Used to working in a man's world and handling difficult situations, she signs aboard with the determination to dispel the ghosts of the past. Transforming the homestead into a figurative pirate ship, she uses her wiles to restore Peter's self-confidence, extract a buccaneer's revenge on those who tormented him and battles drought alongside Seth as the harsh Kansas summer threatens to destroy the family and the relationship that develops between the "captain" and "first officer." less

What is a dream but a fight against the odds; a struggle to rise above the ordinary and express a creativity that encapsulates the soul. When love is shared, that emotion becomes a dual consciousness. As a small child, Seth Ward had seen a valley filled with wild strawberry plants and had imagined that one day he would own that land and cultivate those plants... moreWhat is a dream but a fight against the odds; a struggle to rise above the ordinary and express a creativity that encapsulates the soul. When love is shared, that emotion becomes a dual consciousness. As a small child, Seth Ward had seen a valley filled with wild strawberry plants and had imagined that one day he would own that land and cultivate those plants. Growing to adulthood and facing the harsh reality of raising two small children in Bloody Kansas of the 1850's, however, life was reduced to dreary survival and dreams were tucked away into the recesses of yesteryear. When love and remarriage came to Seth unexpectedly in the person of a strange, wild, nautical woman named Nelander, he shared his dream and she determined to make it a reality. A sad twist of fate brought the strawberry field into their possession and using the last of her seaman's savings, she bought 5,000 plants to add to the wild variety in the hope the family could make a success growing and selling the sweet berries. The enterprise faced nearly insurmountable obstacles but as often as disaster struck, the touch of a higher power seemed to guide their way. With the assistance of two former slaves, an elderly woman and her son, the small clan of "Kansas Pirates" persevered, ultimately discovering that one dream had the power to blossom into dozens. less

A knock came on the door in the dead of night. On the verge of Civil War, such a summons meant trouble and danger. To ignore it offered momentary reprieve for the Ward family: it also meant shirking duty. Such was not in their make-up, for the Wards, otherwise known as the landlocked "Kansas Pirates," had taken the buccaneer's oath to protect one another, and, by association, the oppressed, against tyranny and injustice... moreA knock came on the door in the dead of night. On the verge of Civil War, such a summons meant trouble and danger. To ignore it offered momentary reprieve for the Ward family: it also meant shirking duty. Such was not in their make-up, for the Wards, otherwise known as the landlocked "Kansas Pirates," had taken the buccaneer's oath to protect one another, and, by association, the oppressed, against tyranny and injustice.Their help was urgently needed to guide runaway slaves from "Bleeding Kansas" across the river to safer ground. Barbara Nelander-Ward, former first mate aboard the Bottom Dollar, accepts the arduous task and so begins her trek to "follow the drinking gourd" north to freedom. Fighting slavers who worked on the side of the law earning a living selling human beings as chattel; those who believed the dark color of a man or woman's skin made them inferior; battling the elements and finding herself forced to trust a former enemy, Nelander also discovers "the side of right" is not always what it seems. less