Caren Simpson McVicker
Welcome! I hope this site helps you find what you are looking for. The big news is that I have found a new publishing home at Black Rose Writing. BRW will re-launch Henderson House on February 25, 2027, in anticipation of the release of Sequoyah Road, book two in the Henderson House Series, on May 13, 2027. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter below for all the scoop. I only email folks when I have actual news to share...promise!
My Latest 5⭐️ Read
Upstate, by NYT bestselling author Kim van Alkemade, coming on October 26, 2026, captivated me from the opening page. Van Alkemade weaves together the modern-day story of characters living through the pandemic with the lives of women from a previous generation, all connected through an old house and a red barn-turned-bookstore in upstate New York.
Van Alkemade masterfully constructs the narrative by layering the current-day story of Audrey Beacon, a recently widowed young woman, with magazine articles from the past and letters written to preserve the memories of a couple’s lifelong romance. What struck me most was how vibrant this novel is. Despite exploring profound grief and loss, van Alkemade's writing is absolutely teeming with life, love, connection, and community. Every relationship feels tangible and important—even the neighbor prone to the overuse of pesticides. Breadcrumbs lead you through the maze of this story and pull you toward the next clue and the next answer, making it difficult to put down. I read this novel in just two sittings!
If you love books about women overcoming loss, forging their own path, building unlikely communities, and running bookstores, then this heartfelt, life-affirming novel is a must-read! Pre-order now.
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About Caren
Born in Oklahoma, Caren is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and now lives in a very old house in Vermont with her husband, a rescue pup, and a hand-me-down cat.
Caren is the award-winning author of the Henderson House series of historical fiction novels, a co-founder of the Southern Vermont Writers’ Conference, and a producer and scriptwriter of the documentary An Arrow Shot Through Time, which explores an extraordinary act of generosity between the Choctaw Nation and the Irish during the Great Hunger of 1847.
She is also a member of the Historical Novel Society North America and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.
