Jeanean Doherty:

Jeanean always dreamed of writing a novel—but like many women, she put that dream on hold while raising a family, managing a household, and building a career. As a registered nurse and educator, she wrote for local newspapers and created training materials, but fiction always remained just out of reach. 

Originally, she set out to write a historical novel about a remarkable ancestor from the 1700s. But it was the voice of that ancestor’s Cherokee wife that refused to be quiet. Her story demanded to be told first. 

In June 2025, Jeanean published her debut novel, Mixed Blood—a sweeping historical tale born from family lore, deep research, and a writer’s long-held dream come true. 

Mixed Blood-

In Mixed Blood, history breathes through the voice of Hester, a Cherokee woman whose life straddles the collision of cultures on the American frontier in the 1700s. As the Cherokee Nation is forced to adapt to a patriarchal, market driven society, Hester witnesses a world forever changed, yet fights to preserve the stories that shaped her people. Now an elderly woman living with her son’s family, who have assimilated into white society, Hester shares her memories with her grandchildren, determined that they understand the truth of their heritage. 

Her story unfolds across two timelines: her quiet present and her harrowing past, where war, betrayal, and survival have etched themselves into her bones. From stolen homelands to fragile alliances, from matriarchal traditions to the encroaching grip of colonization, Hester endures. 

Based on real people and historical events, Mixed Blood offers a vivid reimagining of one woman’s untold life—a mother, a survivor, and a silent witness to the birth of a new America. This is Hester’s story. And she will no longer be silent.