- Best Book (top 10) List, 2009, Library Journal
- Winner, 2010, WILLA Literary Award, Original Softcover Fiction (Trade or Mass Market), Women Writing the West
- Finalist, 2010, Christy Award, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association
- Finalist, 2011, Oregon Book Award, Portland Literary Arts Organization
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She took exquisite photographs, but her heart was the true image exposed. Fifteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele loves nothing more than capturing a gorgeous Minnesota landscape when the sunlight casts its most mesmerizing shadows. So when F.J. Bauer hires her in 1907 to assist in his studio and darkroom, her dreams for a career in photography appear to find root in reality. With the infamous hazards of the explosive powder used for lighting and the toxic darkroom chemicals, photography is considered a man's profession. Yet Jessie shows remarkable talent in both the artistry and business of running a studio. She proves less skillful, however, at managing her growing attraction to the very married Mr. Bauer. This luminous coming-of-age tale deftly exposes the intricate shadows that play across every dream worth pursuing–and the irresistible light that beckons the dreamer on. Based on the author’s grandmother’s life as a turn of the century photographer in Winona, Minnesota. This coming of age series of two books captures the interplay between temptation and faith that marks a woman’s pursuit of her dreams. Actual historical photos from the collection of Jessie Ann Gaebele are included. Awards:
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Did photography replace an absence in her life or expose the truth of her heart’s emptiness? While growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele’s personal life is at a crossroads. Hoping she’s put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as “water under the bridge,” she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning. Jessie gains footing in her dream to one day operate her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession. But even a job she loves can’t keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life. Based on the author’s grandmother’s life as a turn of the century photographer in Winona, Minnesota. This coming of age series of two books captures the interplay between temptation and faith that marks a woman’s pursuit of her dreams. Actual historical photos from the collection of Jessie Ann Gaebele are included. Awards:
- Finalist, 2011, WILLA Literary Award, Original Softcover Fiction, Women Writing the West