Winds of Freedom Book 3 Is Coming This Autumn!
The Bitter and the Sweet, the third book in my Winds of Freedom series (after The Long Shadow and This Ardent Flame), should be in print by early November -- maybe sooner! -- from All Things That Matter Press. I know it's been a long wait (thanks to, you know, COVID). So I thought I'd give you a bit of a recap of what the young ladies of North Upton (in real life, North Danville) Vermont have been doing in the 1850s, as Vermont is seized by a passion for Abolition ... that is, the legal abolition of slavery in a nation that had profited in many ways from enslavement for two centuries.
But of course, for northern Vermont teenagers, that's not initially the focus of their attention!
Here's what went on in 1850 in The Long Shadow (can be ordered here or as an ebook here):
THE LONG SHADOW Synopsis
ALICESANBORN, age 15 in March of 1850, is the youngest member of her family and theonly one not taking a stand on Abolition. In her Vermont village of NorthUpton, she and her best friends – JERUSHAH, whose family owns the tavern, andSARAH, a younger black girl who is waiting in Vermont for negotiations to freethe rest of her family from slavery down South – are more interested in maplesugaring and the arrival of spring than in politics. Still, Alice sees enoughto guess that her married brother WILLIAM is conspiring with messenger SOLOMONMcBRIDE to protect fugitive slaves.
When aslave-hunter reaches the area, Alice’s father sends the three girls, driven bySolomon, to a nearby large town to stay briefly with the elegant MISS FARROW,herself a former slave. But theslave-hunter spies on Solomon and follows them. The girls elude danger, asAlice starts their horse and carriage north. Solomon sends the slave-hunter ona false trail, catches up with the girls, and drives them farther, despitesnow, bad roads, and a catamount.
By the timethe girls reach sanctuary with the HAYES family of Free Blacks near theCanadian border, Jerushah and Sarah are desperately ill. Solomon leaves on hisown mission. Alice meets the challenges of helping Mrs. Hayes nurse herfriends. CHARLES HAYES startles Alice by laying hands in prayer onto Sarah; heoffers the same for Jerushah, but Alice declines on her behalf, unsure herfriend would want this.
Sarahrecovers and is happy to stay with the Hayes household to await her own family.But Solomon visits and persuades Alice that Jerushah, still fretful and frail,needs to return to her own mother. Solomon, Alice, and Jerushah endure a storm,flooding, and wolves to drive home. Along the way, Alice learns about Solomon’sfreedom-fighting work and considers becoming an active Abolitionist herself – arole that won’t fit her father’s view that the Union of states is moreimportant than freeing slaves.
The returnproves disastrous: Jerushah suffers a relapse, and blame falls on Alice.Although Jerushah’s family won’t let Alice visit, there is an almost-forgottentunnel that links Alice’s home to the tavern. With help from Jerushah’s brotherMATTHEW, the two girls reconnect and begin to leave messages for each other.Alice is dismayed to realize that Jerushah’s friendship for her includesexpectations of long-term affection and living together as “spinsters,” asituation Alice does not desire. At the same time, the girls’ brothers –William and Matthew – ask Alice to help in the risky transport of documentsthat Solomon needs for men escaping slavery and headed to Vermont.
Alice learns to navigate the tunneleven in the dark. But Jerushah’s too fragile to do that, and when she tries to,she takes a terrible fall. Is it Alice’s fault again? All this guilt burdensAlice, and being part of Solomon’s righteous efforts can’t dispel the darkness.
* * *
To learn how it all works out, of course, you need to read the book! (If I told you here, that would really be a spoiler, wouldn't it?)
Watch for news about The Bitter and the Sweet, coming soon!
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