Lael Click is known for her unusual height and the fair hair that falls to her feet. Her eyes, the vivid green of spring, are sometimes obscured by her spectacles. Full-figured, she longs to be small and dainty but alas, she is not.

She resembles Sissy Spacek in her younger days – feminine yet with a decided spark and stubbornness. (or a pic you have or a drawing/painting – no need to be a known person!)

Strengths and weaknesses

High-spirited, she is often tempted into trouble with renegades and Indians. Shunning the dandies of colonial Virginia, she prefers manly men, and has a weakness for rugged yet refined Scotsmen who arrive unannounced in the Kentucky wilds. Independent yet loving, plain-spoken yet kind, Lael is a bit of a riddle to all who know her. She is good at keeping secrets, both her own and others, often to her detriment.

Since I was born and raised in Kentucky and have had family there since the late 18th-century, it’s been a privilege to study the lives of pioneer women and the many, often unbelievable stories, of their lives. Lael is the embodiment of these wonderful women – their courage and fortitude, their beauty and grace despite the uncivilized conditions in which they lived.

Background to the story

The Frontiersman’s Daughter is actually a composite of my Kentucky childhood and all the lore and legend I learned growing up, coupled with my own imaginings of what life must have been like for a famous frontiersman’s daughter. Kentucky is a magical place with a magical history and I hope the book shares that with readers.