Interrupted Aspirations

Daniels Family Saga #1

by Paula Miles Pombier, Connie Phillips (Illustrations)

Eons before George Washington crossed the Potomac, factions within America's borders fought to control the colonies destinies-creating laws that suited their needs and beliefs. Winning the war for independence from England only shifted control of the problems to America. The powers-to-be in Washington failed to resolve the highly contested issues and the once united nation gradually dissolved. By 1860, fights regarding unjust and uneven distribution of taxes, states' rights, and slavery were no longer contained in Washington DC, but exploded throughout the country. Political and private organizations were forming contingency plans in case the election's outcome was not favorable to their beliefs. 1860 was also the year three South Carolina siblings, who grew up on a plantation outside of Charleston, dove headfirst into adulthood and into the arms of external forces, taking them down unplanned paths and altering their futures. As the 1st-born grandson in a southern dynasty, Wesley Daniels' wishes are to be obeyed and his challenges conquered. After discovering that his paternal grandfather is part of the Underground Railroad, to save Grandfather Samuel from jail or being hung, Wesley takes a group of fugitive slaves on the run. Chased by bounty hunters, he and a female slave form a bond that flips his world upside down. Payne Daniels, 2nd grandson and the centerpiece of his maternal plantation-owning granddaddy's plans, is lured into a world where money, power, and unrealistic pride are directing the country's course. When working toward peace within the system fails, he seeks a different route to support his fellow Southerners-a plan formulated by the Knights of the Golden Circle. After returning from studying art in France, Madeline Daniels, the youngest of the trio, marries a Union military officer and moves to Washington DC. As her husband is drawn deeper into his work, her career soars and she questions if she wants to follow her mother and grandmother's pattern of only being their husband's appendage, or become her own person-artist, wife, and mother. Her success draws the attention of the famous, the not-so-famous, and a ring of Confederate spies-thus placing her life in danger.

312 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2016