For Darcey Hale living in the world of history has been a passion since she was a child. What always fascinated her was the people and how they lived. For her the "hard facts" were mere backdrops to the story, not its sum and substance. Naturally, she was an American Cultural History major at Vassar College, with a focus on the Nineteenth Century. Like many young women of her era life, marriage and a large family came to the forefront and she began a career as a teacher, almost by default. Much to her total surprise she loved it and went on to spend a very happy and fulfilling professional career in education. With a Master's Degree from Villanova University in hand she founded a school, taught almost every grade, took on administrative positions, and spent the last twenty years as a Head of school. At almost 70 it was time to retire. So, what lay ahead? There was no time to worry about that. She and her husband moved to a beautiful place called Willsboro, New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. She was barely settled before she began to explore the three 19th century houses and 10 other outbuildings on what became a National Historic District property. There she discovered and eagerly studied the 19th century treasure trove that the Clark family had left behind over a hundred years earlier. She simply had to honor their legacy by bringing them to life. She did just that in her first two books, and has now completed the trilogy with Once Upon A Lake. At age 88 the fourth book is already in the making.