S.M. Senden was raised in Winnetka, a north shore suburb of Chicago. From an early age, history, reading and writing were passions, as was travel. Senden has studied, lived and worked in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, spending a number of years as an archaeological illustrator for various expeditions. She earned a master's degree and has studied creative writing, play writing and screen writing. Senden has worked as a forensic artist with the police to identify murder victims in re-creating the face from the skeletal remains.
Her publications include murder mysteries Clara's Wish, Lethal Boundaries, Murder at the Johnson House and A Death of Convenience and other Short Stories; two history books, Red Oak and Montgomery County, Iowa, published by Arcadia in the Images of America series; short stories "The December Bride" in Winter Wonders and "Christopher's Egg" and "Hog Wild and Pig Crazy" in anthologies; articles and meditations in both the Clergy Journal and the Word in Season; and a number of ghost stories published in various magazines and a bylines in numerous newspapers.
Senden currently resides in Council Bluffs and is working on another history book, as well as a psychological thriller set in the 1890s.
Her publications include murder mysteries Clara's Wish, Lethal Boundaries, Murder at the Johnson House and A Death of Convenience and other Short Stories; two history books, Red Oak and Montgomery County, Iowa, published by Arcadia in the Images of America series; short stories "The December Bride" in Winter Wonders and "Christopher's Egg" and "Hog Wild and Pig Crazy" in anthologies; articles and meditations in both the Clergy Journal and the Word in Season; and a number of ghost stories published in various magazines and a bylines in numerous newspapers.
Senden currently resides in Council Bluffs and is working on another history book, as well as a psychological thriller set in the 1890s.
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Lost Council Bluffs
9781467137478
Regular price $21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
Nestled in the Loess Hills, Council Bluffs grew from a frontier settlement of wickiups and log cabins. The outpost boomed as a gateway to the West when gold was discovered in California in 1849. The Pacific House and the Ogden House became landmark hotels for the transient population. Meanwhile, residents thrived and cultivated a bustling city with the Masonic Hall, Dohany's Opera House and the Merriam block. None of these once iconic buildings remains today. Author S.M. Senden explores the perpetual rebirth of Council Bluffs through its most important buildings and relates a still unfolding story.
Montgomery County
9780738577197
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $17.49 Save 30%
Montgomery County was one of the last areas in Iowa to be settled. For many years it was considered to be uninhabitable and of little value-until the men and women with hopes and dreams began to settle, build towns, and till the rich, fertile soil. The Forks, Binn's Grove, Hungry Hollow, Frankfort, Milford, Red Oak Junction, Stanton, Villisca, and many more settlements came into being, budding with promise, but the coming of the railroad determined the survival of them all. Some are still thriving cities, while others are no more than a fading memory that only the winds of the prairie can recall.
Red Oak
9780738561318
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $17.49 Save 30%
Where the Red Oak Creek flowed into the Nishnabotna River, thick groves of walnut, oak, and cottonwood trees crowded about their banks. This gentle intersection of waterways was to become the junction of railroads, highways, and so many people's lives. The seeds of the hopes and dreams of early pioneers where planted in the fertile soil. Nurtured by the promise of the railroad, the town began to grow and earned the honor of becoming the county seat. With the building of the railroad, Red Oak Junction was regarded second only to Deadwood as a wild outpost on the western frontier. With the completion of the railroad, the laborers left, taking that reputation with them, and Red Oak blossomed into a booming city directed by the strong personalities of the city fathers who sought to have it be a leader of culture, building, technological improvements, and businesses in the state. Fires, grasshoppers, hailstorms, and floods could not dampen the indomitable spirit of those who have lived in Red Oak through the years.
