Behold Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula, a place of such scenic loveliness and historical fascination that the American people decided it should be set aside to preserve its enchanting forests, pastoral rolling hills, tranquil inland lakes, majestic offshore islands, the charming remnants of its early settlement, and the storied maritime history of its Manitou Passage.

The Passage is a treacherous place; the graveyard for a hundred vessels and the hundreds of poor souls who sank with them into its silent depths during stormy tempests. But so too is the beguilingly picturesque mainland, where souls are often caught up in the storms of life, with similarly unintended and tragic consequences.

No one is all good, or all bad. Because we are human, we all are fallible ... imperfect. Thus, the sins that result are always forgivable. But the consequences of our failings often remain irremediable. The sorrows and regrets forever linger in the hearts of those who survive.

This is a tale about ordinary people living amidst the extraordinary beauty of the storied National Lakeshore; about the not-so-good side of good people, and the good side of the not-so-good; about the young and the old, and how they become enmeshed in circumstances that conspire to destroy the beauty in their lives and the character of their personal histories. It's a story of love and hate, pride and jealousy, hopefulness and despair, truthfulness and secrets. In other words, it's a story about common relationships among regular people.

The locations are real, but the story is purely fictitious. The events described in the novel have no basis in Leland history or oral tradition; neither are the characters appearing in it derived from personality sketches of any actual Leland residents, past or present. Nonetheless, it is a tale that could very well someday prove to have been prophetic.

Be prepared for a different reading experience. Unlike most of what has been written about Leelanau County and the National Lakeshore, Leland is neither a memoir, nor a feel-good story. It's probably not what you expect.

ISBN: 978-0-9797896-6-3
Trade paperback    380 pages
Wherever books are sold — $19.95