Like a river or life itself, a good story flows naturally, its current carrying you to forgotten lands, times past, or places unimagined.  It introduces you to characters you’ll never forget, opens your eyes to the possible and the impossible, and fills you with hope and sadness.

Hi, I’m Mari Serebrov. I’d like to introduce you to my stories, which are rooted in history. Some are nonfiction. Others are fictional but based on years of research. All of them strive to connect yesterday to tomorrow, just as family traditions bind our generations.

On this website, you’ll also find my thoughts on the stories, the reasons I wrote them, and the events behind the books – along with reviews, quotes, and, possibly, glimpses of future books.

So please, make yourself at home. And by all means, let me know what you think. As a reader, you complete the story.

Mari

Surviving on her own in the desert, 12-year-old Jahohora searches for her family while hiding from the German soldiers. It’s 1904, and Germany has claimed all of South West Africa. Since the Herero would rather fight than surrender their ancestral homes, Gen. von Trotha has declared that they all should be forced into the Omaheke Desert to die.  Jahohora is about to give up her desperate struggle for life when she finds hope in a simple act of kindness from a Jewish doctor serving in the German army.

Andy Rasmussen, a devout Mormon trail guide leading immigrants to the “Promised Land,” is overwhelmed with guilt and doubt after allowing his father’s bride to escape Deseret. His faith is shaken to its core when he refuses to participate in what would be remembered as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Meanwhile, Elsie Condit, a beautiful Southerner who’s traveling across the country alone, faces her own doubts and fears as threats of war spread across the nation. Travel with these two intrepid souls on their exciting journey in search of truth, love, and God’s will for their lives.

Born on the eve of the Civil War in southern Arkansas, William Arnold’s first memories were playing in the smokehouse, dangling his feet in the river, and sleeping under the stars. His young life was the stuff of innocent childhood. War and its fears and tragedies were for adults. But the war altered his life in every way imaginable. It limited his education, gave him heroes, and shaped his future, opening a new frontier ripe with possibilities. While this is William’s story, it is also the story of Arkansas.