“Oops baby” book launch

You know how some children arrive unexpectedly? Well, that’s what happened to my book baby Secrets to the Wind. My finger slipped, and I accidentally launched the ebook this week, six weeks early. Its paperback twin will follow very shortly.

Yikes!

Actually, I guess I should call it a preemie because it’s here before its due date.

Regardless of its timing, I love it as only a mama can. But true to my maternal nature, I’m biased. So have a look at these testimonials instead.

Unfortunately, as the mother of a book preemie, I haven’t finished my preparations for my literary offspring’s important first month of life. That’s when Amazon and others decide its sales rank.

That’s why I need you, dear aunties and uncles! Your help in spreading the word will give me time to write a new short story that I know you’ll love. If you’re interested in joining my launch team, please fill out the application here.

I’m practically giving away this first book in the Dauntless Series at 99¢ (ebook). After a short time, it will increase to a more reasonable price.

My hope is that you’ll find it as irresistible as any human newborn.

Okay, enough baby metaphors… if you’ve enjoyed this blog, please follow this link to Secrets to the Wind on Amazon as soon as you can and read the novel quick like a bunny. Then give it a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

It’s my labor of love for you, and I can’t wait for you to see it. (Sorry – couldn’t resist that last metaphor! )

Now let’s talk about the book.

How can you tell a couple’s origin story without romance? That’s the dilemma I faced when starting my saga of the Anthony family in Leavenworth, Kansas. Secrets to the Wind is a love story, yes, but set in the larger context of the Civil War. In other words, historical fiction.

Love: together in the same direction

When I first learned of the unlikely marriage between the rough-and-ready Daniel Anthony and the privileged heiress Annie, I could not imagine what attracted them to each other. Many speculated that he married her for her money. But since Daniel was the brother of Susan B. Anthony, I can’t picture him getting away with using a woman like that, or even wanting to.

It had to be love. And maybe something more.

Antoine de St. Exupery, author of The Little Prince, famously said, “Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.” This quote has stayed with me ever since I saw it scrawled on the wall of a tunnel between college buildings. It appeared when I was beginning to realize that a fun, good-looking man would not be enough to hold my heart for long. That lonely time refined my desire for the man I eventually married, one who gazed toward a direction that I wanted to go. Forever, and preferably with him.

Jon and I have two beloved children, a son-in-law whom we greatly admire, and two adored grandchildren. But our joint gaze outward has grown our family beyond these five people to encompass a church family and friends from other cultures. It also includes at least ten gardens that we have created from scratch or restored. Sometimes we just hold hands and greet the trees we’ve planted. And alway, always, we give thanks for those we love.

A season of endurance

In 1863, the year before Annie and Daniel married, the North was living a season of endurance. They continued their commitment to abolition, which kicked into high gear when the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it dangerous to help people fleeing slavery.

To sum it up, I think that the couple’s shared vision of human rights is what drew Annie and Daniel together–a much stronger bond than mere chemistry, although they likely had that, too.

I’ll be interested to hear what you make of my interpretation of their story. Read the book and see if you agree!

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