HANOVER TOWNSHIP, NJ - Cedar Knolls resident Jessika Caruso can now add “author” to her roles as librarian, business owner and mother of two. But growing comfortable introducing herself as an author has taken time.
“I didn’t say it as much in the beginning,” Caruso said. “But now with my second book I feel like I am saying it more to people.”
She has published two historical fiction novels inspired by the Revolutionary War history surrounding Morris County, with a third book already planned.
Her first, “Perpetual Rainbows: A Novel of the American Revolution,” was published in June 2025. “The Promise of Spring: A Novel of the American Revolution” followed in August 2026.
The books follow young patriot Elara Whitfield through Revolutionary War-era New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but the author's own journey began with the history around her.
A visit to Washington’s Headquarters Museum in Morristown first drew her more deeply into the area’s Revolutionary War past. She later explored other historic sites, including the Schuyler-Hamilton House, where Alexander Hamilton began courting Elizabeth Schuyler, while continuing her own research through libraries and online sources.
“I hadn’t really seen any novels set in this area,” Caruso said.
The history offered more than a setting. Washington’s time in Morristown and the events surrounding the region gave her enough material to envision a story that could continue across several years of the war.
The first two books cover 1776 and 1777.
Work on the second book was already underway before the first one was published. “I didn’t want to lose momentum with the story,” she said.
While writing the first book, Caruso already knew where she wanted the second to end. A third is now planned, and she has not ruled out continuing the story further into the Revolutionary War.
Her research also became personal.
While investigating her family history, Caruso discovered patriot ancestors on her mother’s side who served during the Revolution in Vermont and New Hampshire. They have not appeared in the books, but Caruso said they could eventually make a cameo.
Her path from manuscript to publication also developed long before the first book reached readers.
To document visits with her young son to historic sites around Morris County, she created a social media account called “My History Journal.” Some were connected to places or events in her books, while others reflected their shared interest in history. She also saw the account as a way to begin connecting with people who might share those interests.
Through social media, Caruso met other writers, including some who later became beta readers and provided feedback on early versions of her manuscript. Once she had completed the manuscript, she began considering how to publish it. She pitched the book to a publisher in late 2024 but ultimately decided the fit was not right.
After stepping back and considering other options, she chose to self-publish.
She and her husband already operated a small online book business through an LLC. She published through that business using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform and learned much of the process through her own research and conversations with other writers who had taken a similar path. Publishing the books, however, introduced another part of being an author that she finds less natural than writing them.
“I write because I wanna tell a specific story about these characters I love, about the historical setting that I’m really interested in sharing,” she said. “I don’t write so my face can be plastered on the Internet.”
Promoting the books and repeatedly putting herself forward publicly has been one of the more challenging parts of the experience.
“I’d rather just be doing the writing of other people’s stories,” Caruso said, adding that spending too much time on social media can be draining.
What makes that effort worthwhile is seeing the books reach readers.
Reviews and responses from people who connect with the characters are especially rewarding, as are comments from readers who say the books have led them toward a greater interest in history or other books.
“If this book could be a gateway to people’s interests expanding or some of them relating to it in some way,” Caruso said, she would be happy with that result.
A librarian by profession, Caruso previously worked at the Whippanong Library. She is now a full-time mother of two young sons while continuing to write and host a book club. Her former library also became part of her experience as a newly published author. Whippanong Library added her first book to its collection and hosted an author talk after its publication.
Readers looking for Caruso’s work can purchase the books through Amazon. Physical copies are also available through several Morris County libraries and can be requested through the county library system. Caruso said the ebooks are available through Amazon but are not currently available through Libby.
Copies of her books will also be available for purchase when she joins three other published writers at the Hanover Township Cultural Arts Committee’s free Author Panel at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at the Hanover Township Municipal Building in Whippany.
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Kathryn Sparrow, Editor/Publisher of, is dedicated to keeping the residents of Whippany and Cedar Knolls informed through trusted local news, community storytelling and coverage of the people, issues and events that matter most to Hanover Township.