Waxwood Series

Getting rid of a family specter means walking into other people’s dark rooms…

San Francisco, 1892: Vivian Alderdice is not your typical Gilded Age debutante. She prefers reading books and long walks in Golden Gate Park to ballroom dancing and flirting with eligible young men. But with the intense social obligations and expectations attached to the Alderdice name, she has little choice but to comply with the wishes of her family.

Then in the midst of her debutante life, her grandmother dies. The foundation of Vivian’s future is now shaky with confusion and uncertainty.

To make matters worse, a woman shows up at the funeral claiming to be an old friend from Penelope’s younger days. The woman she describes is not the Nob Hill socialite and wife of the city’s biggest shipping tycoon, but Grace Carlyle, an artist in search of adventure in a small coastal town named Waxwood.

Is the intruder a crank or, as Vivian’s mother claims, “confused”? Or is she telling the truth? Now, it’s not only Vivian’s future that is shaky but her past as well.

Vivian’s determination to find out who her grandmother was uncovers family lies kept hidden for over forty years.

Will Vivian find her future in her grandmother’s past?

Follow Vivian’s journey to maturity and self-discovery in the first book of this dynamic series set during one of America’s most turbulent eras.

Get The Specter today and experience the life of a spirited Gilded Age belle guided by a family ghost.

What reviewers are saying:

“May's historical fiction picks apart the delicate facade of American gentility in upper-class, well-heeled families on the wild West Coast at the end of the nineteenth century.” - Lisa Lickel, author and blogger, Living our Faith Out Loud

“Gently told, and forms a good basis for the series to build upon.” - Discovering Diamonds: Historical Fiction Reviews

“Part gothic fiction, part psychological drama, “The Specter” was a deeply moving & introspective book about one of San Francisco’s powerful families set in 1892”

“An intriguing and beguiling story.”

“A fantastic story that will definitely intrigue the reader and pull you into the last page.”

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Be sure to check out the rest of the series!

False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2)

Pathfinding Women (Waxwood Series: Book 3)

Dandelions (Waxwood Series: Book 4)