Leslee Breene of Englewood has published a third historical romance, this time based on her family story of a great grandfather Olaus Jahr, who farmed in Minnesota and laid tracks for the Great Northern Railroad.

Her books are notable for the depth of detail afforded by extensive research. Her “Leadville Lady,” in 2006 was set in the society of a turn of the century booming mining town, while “Hearts on the Wind,” 2008, carries the reader to rural Minnesota, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where the railroad boom began to open possibilities for trade, and to Chicago and the disastrous strikes there as workers unionized and fought railroad management.

She will meet readers and sign books at 3 p.m. Nov. 22 at Tattered Cover Highlands Ranch, Highlands Ranch Parkway and Lucent Boulevard.

Breene, who begins her story in Eden Hill, Minn., in June 1876, writes in an introduction that the new book is “a five-year labor of love,” aided by family history and materials from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Swedish farm girl Ingrid Johansson, who wants to become a teacher, and her love for the “Norski,” educated city guy Andreas Eriksen, weave together images of family life on the farm and in city high society. Swedes and Norwegians/Danes/Finns had a mutual distrust, so her father is greatly opposed to this friendship. Andrea’s evil stepsister complicates life for everyone she touches, although she is somewhat less believable somehow— perhaps too nasty.

Parallel is the story of legendary railroad baron, James (Jay) Hill and his push to extend the Northern Pacific to the Canadian border, and eventually to the Pacific coast, destined to have a huge economic impact.

Political unrest was evident across the nation as workers began to organize and demand and Breene’s descriptions on Chicago’s street fighting and rioting are vivid enough to make the reader hear and smell the scenes.

She attended the University of Denver and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, which explains the detailed description of her characters’ attire. She is an active member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Colorado Romance Writers and Women Writing the West.

“Hearts on the Wind,” published Oct. 17, is available in a $25.95 hardcover edition.