These standalone historical novels are in the middle of research and planning. They’re the books I really want to write, but I’m not a good enough writer yet to start them in earnest.

Ships of Broken Hearts

Busan, 1950: In the aftermath of the Evacuation of Hungnam, three women – an Irish nun, American nurse, and Korean translator – forge a deep bond as together they struggle to make sense of the gulf between the worlds they came from and the devastation and suffering of war. The women are forever changed as together they experience the best and worst of humanity.

Rapprochement

Seoul, 1999: As diplomatic relations between the Koreas begin to thaw, the flow of immigrants from North Korea is increasingly politically sensitive. A privileged American serviceman and a starving refugee become unlikely friends after discovering that they attend the same Catholic church. Their friendship instigates personal, ecclesiastical, and diplomatic consequences far beyond the Korean peninsula.

More Precious Than of Gold

Incheon, 1865: A Korean Catholic priest and a French Jesuit missionary minister to the faithful quietly on the outskirts of Seoul until Bishop Berneux is arrested and executed. As the persecution of Catholics continues, the pair embark on a mission to bring word of the atrocities to Rome. Their perilous journey across Korea tests their faith in God, the Church, and the essential nature of man.

A Cottage in a Vineyard

Set in 朝鮮 Joseon: Korea in 1910, at the beginning of the 일제강점기 Imperial Japanese compulsive occupation and Ireland in 1847, in the midst of An Gorta Mór The Great Hunger.

Strike

Set in Korea during the 1948 제주 4·3 사건 Jeju April 3 Incident (Jeju Uprising) and Ireland during the Éirí Amach 1798 Rebellion of 1798.