Volume One, Dark Sky at Dawn, introduces our primary families through whose eyes we will witness the impact the War of 1812 had on the nation and its people. Three families are American, two are British and one is a slave family. We meet the young, wealthy societal outcast--Jed Pearson--and his free-thinking sister, Frannie. And we also meet Hannah Stansbury, a spiritually-inclined young woman whose family is plagued by a crazed mother. Jed and Hannah's friendship develops into love, which is complicated by the gentry's disapproval of Jed's scandal-ridden ancestor whose own mystery we untangle. As Jed labors to clear his family's name, war is declared and personal matters are delayed as Jed heads off to war. We get a historically-candid view of slave life as Jed, a slave owner himself, struggles over this issue.
In Twilight's Last Gleaming, the second volume, two of our characters are drawn to the Upper Connecticut Valley as they attempt to free a family member who is now a British prisoner. The typhoid epidemic is raging in that area, and our characters are caught up in that calamity. Further south, along the Chesapeake, British raids devastate families and leave the region in ruin. One of our characters is caught up in a little-known military tragedy that is nearly lost from our history books. It is one of the darkest and least-discussed events in American history and this military horror will forever change the life of one of our characters.
In Dawn's Early Light (Volume 3), all our characters prepare for the British offensive against Washington DC. President Madison is receiving conflicting advice from the Cabinet, and as a result, Washington City is virtually unprepared for the coming attack. We experience the week Washington burned and the impact the loss had on the nation and its citizens--including the soldiers and their families. Our characters are involved in every aspect, so we live the historically recreated events along with them.
Book four will cover the Battle of Baltimore, the real Star Spangled Banner story, and the end of the war. It will effectively wind up this portion of the series. If reader demands warrant it, we're prepared to do two more books that will carry our characters through the next generation.
Read the interview here, then leave a comment at Linda's blog, along with your email address so she can contact you if you win.
Last day to enter is April 19th, so stop by today!
Laurie C. Lewis is from Maryland and describes herself as “a craft-challenged, fifty-something wife, mother, grandma, and novelist.” She is the mother of four children, the grandmother of four, and the author of four novels.
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