Mary Lou Hagen

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Born and reared in Indiana, Mary Lou Hagen has had a lifelong fascination with the Old West, particularly the state of Texas.  A career move in 1985 took her to San Antonio where she now lives with her husband, Elvis and Yorkie mix terrier, Daisy.
 
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efeated and bitter, Matt Culhane returns home to find his land occupied by Yankees.   His family has taken refuge in San Antonio.  He learns that his younger brother, Jared, has joined a renegade militia unit.   Matt searches for his brother,
becomes involved with a freed slave couple and the daughter of one of the Yankees who bought his land.  How can a man who has been brought up to respect the law, fought in a war to preserve a way of life, lost everything he holds dear, regain the honor he prizes so highly?
 
Reviews:
An engrossing tale of honor fulfilled., December 11, 2001
Reviewer: Elysa Hendricks from Round Lake Beach, IL United States
Tarnished Honor is a historically accurate, engrossing tale of one man's return home from the Civil War. History and human emotion are expertly woven together in Mary Lou Hagen's story of one man's struggle to rebuild his life after the war. Lovers of history, and students of human nature are sure to enjoy this book.
 
A REVIEW OF TARNISHED HONOR,
December 19, 2001
Reviewer: Robert Terry from San Antonio, TX
Matt Culhane, Confederate Cavalry officer, ends the long ride from North Carolina to his family ranch in south Texas still tasting the bitterness of the defeat of the southern forces. Instead of a happy homecoming, he finds the ranch in the legal possession of a northern family, and his younger brother, Jared, missing. Matt's search for Jared is the beginning of an engrossing story: how he re-acquires the family ranch and discovers love, his friendship with a family of former slaves to whom he owes his life, his running battle with Captain McCulloch, leader of the vigilante group responsible for his brother's death; and the completely unexpected and heartwarming ending.

Mrs. Hagen's extensive research reveals facets of the post Civil War history of south Texas that are not common knowledge; especially the role of black families displaced from the plantations of the Old South, and desperately attempting to find a new home among a hostile population. The author's description of the land, its sparse and thorny vegetation, except along the streams and rivers of the region; the speech of its people and their customs are true to a way of life that persisted through the turn of the 19th century. The book is firmly rooted in history and depicts a people and a region with accuracy and credibility. The plot and the characters hold the reader's interest throughout the story.
March 23, 2002
Reviewer: D. Rudd Wise, Author of Operation Eye Witness
It would be great for a movie. Your conversations flowed with the description associated with them. The book looks great; like the cover.
May 16, 2002
Reviewer: Ernest Garza, Author
Way to go, Mary Lou. You did an excellent job of description. I could see the characters and know what they looked like. I could picture the rough Texas country from the wildlife to the different vegetation to the blue Texas sky. Yet you did this without going overboard. Excellent job!
May 25, 2002
Reviewer: Rita Gerlach , Author of The Rebel's Pledge
After the Civil War, Confederate Matt Culhane anticipated going home to his Texas ranch and reuniting with his family. Upon his arrival he finds his family has moved to San Antonio, and his land sold to Yankees. One of the occupants is a beautiful young, widow. Matt's brother has joined up with an insurgent militia, and he goes searching for him. With bitterness, prejudice, and the war not quite out of the system of most men, Matt faces danger along the way. To his good fortune he meets a freed Black couple. Ms. Hagen does an excellent job in portraying the plight of the freed slaves, the poverty and displacement, and the struggle they made to survive in a harsh environment. Tarnished Honor is a book about a man doing what is right, helping those oppressed by prejudice and hate, and standing up for what he believes in. It is about a man finding love when least expecting it. Tarnished Honor is a portrait of post Civil War life in the wilds of the Texas frontier. Ms. Hagen presents a side of Texas history that no doubt most people have no knowledge of. For those who enjoy reading western fiction, Tarnished Honor is an enjoyable read.
Source: Amazon.com
ISBN: 1-58851-377-7
AmErica House
 
n a farm near a small town west of San Antonio, Johanna Bauer, a widow with two children, is struggling to survive. The story unfolds with the appearance of Logan Delaney, a Texas Ranger. He is hunting an outlaw named Joe Greene.
Johanna and Logan are attracted to one another but deny their feelings. Johanna does not want to give up her independence, and Logan is not ready to make a commitment. Logan captures Greene but he escapes, robs the bank, and kidnap’s Johanna’s son. She blames Logan and the hunt begins all over again. Will Logan rescue Johanna’s son before the outlaw kills him? The story takes more unexpected twist and turns before Johanna and Logan come to terms with their true feelings.
 
Reviews:
Fast paced love story., October 18, 2002
Reviewer: Frances Morey from Austin, TX United States
I enjoyed reading this historical novel based on details of one family's true history that were passed down through several generations. It is a warm and engaging love story with many surprises and turn arounds. It held my attention all the way through. Sometimes I felt that I was seeing it as a movie in my mind's eye, a Western chick movie, at that. I recommend it.
Source: Amazon.com
 
An Old Fashioned Western Love Story, December 18, 2002 Reviewer: Rita Gerlach from Maryland
A rough western with a romance, Texas Widow is a sweet story about two lonely people looking for fulfillment and companionship in the midst of hard times in post-Civil War Texas. There is the widow, raising her children and caring for the land left to her by her late husband, and the Ranger, a courageous, mysterious man who came looking for an outlaw, not a wife. Both people are drawn together by circumstance and need. The fact the story is based on real events and real people is intriguing.
Source: Amazon.com

Texas Widow   
Elysa
Illinois, USA  (2/4/2003) ( coming soon)
       A wonderful read, Texas Widow is an accurate protrayal of the Old West with just enough romance to keep this reader interested. The characters are real people, with real problems that they struggle to solve in an often hostile, unforgiving environment. But author, Mary Lou Hagen also provides the reader with the details of the intimate, everyday life in the Old West. Lots of action keeps the reader engrossed in this well-told tale.
Source: Publish America
 
Readers who enjoy stories about Texas will surely like TEXAS WIDOW by Mary Lou Hagen. A historical novel about the residents of a small German community in the southern part of the state, the story pictures with interesting detail the life of widow Johanna in post Civil War Texas. Her involvement with Officer Logan of the then new Texas Rangers organization adds to the romance of the story. This is a "must read" for anyone interested in Texas history.

Wes Fancher
Author of THE HIDDEN CITY

 
ISBN: 1591294991
AmErica House
 

 
 
ambler's Widow, the sequel to Texas Widow, is the story of Johanna Bauer's sister, Maggie DuPree. The widow of a gambler, Maggie travels to West Texas to care for her ailing sister. She meets Cavalry Captain Chance Richards. Their brief affair results in sacrifice and heartbreak as Maggie relearns the lessons of rejection.
 
Gambler's Widow offers a glimpse of Army life on the frontier, the war between the white man and the Indian, and the courage of the men and women who settled the west.
 
Source: Barnes & Noble
 
Historical Gem
Reader Rating

Posted April 26, 2005, 1:51 PM EST: In her book GAMBLERS WIDOW Mary Lou Hagen has crafted a compelling story of the Old West. When widow Maggie DuPree travels to West Texas to help her ailing sister she encounters a world of excitement, danger and an unexpected romance with a dashing cavalry officer Captain Chance Richards. Through the eyes of European immigrants eager to create a new life for themselves and Indians desperate to hold onto their way of life the reader is swept back to a time when this country was both old and new. Ms Hagen presents the defeats and the victories, the heartbreak and the joys, as well as the challenges and the rewards of life on the Western frontier in a realistic yet personal way. I highly recommend it. Elysa Hendricks author of Shadow Moon.
 
 

 
Source: Amazon.com
 
Lyn DeVinney is a registered dietitian and a single parent. She is raising her daughter, Samantha, without the support of the father who has never seen her. Lyn loves her job as director of dining services for a retirement facility in the Texas Hill Country, but she admits the residents can be difficult. Lawrence MacKenszie’s son, Burne, was sent from Indianapolis to San Antonio to manage a large construction project. Burne is attracted to Lyn when he investigates his father’s complaints regarding the food served at the home. Lyn has vowed she will never have another relationship with a man and tries to brush him off. Her daughter is hostile to Burne and views him as a threat to her relationship with her mother. How can Lyn overcome her fears and convince Sam that Burne loves both of them?
 
Reviews:
A definite taste treat., January 25, 2007
By Elysa Hendricks "Lady Romance" (Midwest)
A TASTE OF TEXAS by Mary Lou Hagen is her first contemporary novel set in modern day Texas. As with her historical novels TARNISHED HONOR, TEXAS WIDOW and GAMBLER'S WIDOW she's captured the flavor of a state both steeped in history and focused on the future.
A TASTE OF TEXAS tells the story of Lyn DeVinney, a single parent with a painful past and Burne MacKenszie, the man who's determined to make her and her hostile young daughter part of his life.
Ms Hagen also blends a bit of mystery into her romance with a subplot revolving around thefts at the hero's construction site. But the main focus of the story is the intimate tale of two people falling in love against the sprawling backdrop of a state that's larger than life - Texas.
In addition, she's included some wonderful Texas recipes for the reader to try and enjoy.
A TASTE OF TEXAS is a definite taste treat.

Source: Barnes & Noble
 
A Really Good Read--Recipes included
Reader Rating

Posted February 27, 2007, 10:16 PM EST: Mary Lou Hagen has written some well researched, historical novels, TARNISHED HONOR,TEXAS WIDOW. AND GAMBLER'S WIDOW. They each have represented through well drawn characters, and interesting stories, life in Texas in the years following the Civil War. In A TASTE OF TEXAS, Ms. Hagen, proves she can write a contempory novel equally as well. It is very clear to the reader that Ms Hagen writes from experience, and with understanding of life as it is lived today. One feels she captures the essence of her characters and has written a fast moving, captivating story of a single mother from her hesitant reluctance to accept a new life with a sensual, persuasive man on through a series of modern problems, to the satisfying conclusion. An added touch are the authentic Texas recipes. This is a novel that will appeal to both men and women, and clean enough for the younger set.
 
A taste treat
Reader Rating

Posted January 25, 2007, 4:44 PM EST: A TASTE OF TEXAS by Mary Lou Hagen is her first contemporary novel set in modern day Texas. As with her historical novels TARNISHED HONOR, TEXAS WIDOW and GAMBLER¿S WIDOW she¿s captured the flavor of a state both steeped in history and focused on the future. A TASTE OF TEXAS tells the story of Lyn DeVinney, a single parent with a painful past and Burne MacKenszie, the man who¿s determined to make her and her hostile young daughter part of his life. Ms Hagen also blends a bit of mystery into her romance with a subplot revolving around thefts at the hero's construction site. But the main focus of the story is the intimate tale of two people falling in love against the sprawling backdrop of a state that¿s larger than life ¿ Texas. In addition, she¿s included some wonderful Texas recipes for the reader to try and enjoy. A TASTE OF TEXAS is a definite taste treat.
 
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© 2002 - 2008 by Mary Lou Hagen   All rights reserved.