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Could you give a brief synopsis? I may be interested.
Hi Amanda,I also have written historical fiction. This is the blurb
The story follows the parallel lives of the two main protagonists, Ruth and her father Joseph Goldberg after their house is bombed in the blitz. Ruth, the eldest of three Jewish children believes her parents are dead, but her father survives with severe concussion, suffers amnesia and develops acquired Savant Syndrome, giving him the ability to play classical piano. The siblings are evacuated to stay with a strict aunt and an unscrupulous uncle and after many challenging years, Ruth stumbles across her father’s new identity as a famous pianist and they exchange secret letters that awaken dormant memories. Joseph’s past soon unravels revealing the aristocratic family of Nazi sympathizers he married into could be his most feared enemies, leading him on a trail into murder, madness and Nazi secrets. Can he find a way to stay alive.
Hi Amanda,To set the stage, this is the synopsis of book 1.
Because of the subject matter and the era, my book is steeped in religion.
In the 17th century, the small country of Salm was independent, and caught between the bordering Germanic Empire, embroiled in the Protestant Reformation, and the neighboring countries of Lorraine and France as they sought to retain their Catholic heritage. In these volatile times, the faith of the peasants was split between superstition, legends, and devotion to Our Lady of Maix.
From the massacre of St. Bartholomew Day, through the devastation of the plague, to the horrors of the witch-hunts and the Inquisition, this tragic story follows the lives of my “grandparents” as they tried to live, love, and raise a family. Real people, places, and events are displayed through the eyes of Catherine, Nicolas and their families in this fictional story.
When a snake bites the mayor’s son, Nicolas de la Goutte de Paradis, (Nicolas of the Drop of Heaven) his brother takes him to the nearest house for assistance. Unfortunately, this family is the bane of the town and rumored to be involved in witchcraft. While recuperating, he falls in love with the lovely young peasant’s daughter, Catherine Cathillon. His mother forbids him to court her and sets him up with the beautiful but evil miller’s daughter, Salomée, who will turn their lives into a living nightmare and cause their early demise.
FROM THE DROP OF HEAVEN contains a wide supporting cast, including the mysterious woman from another land, the “witch” Mamé Francesca, Catherine’s not-so-average peasant father, Humbert, who maintains a family secret, her abuse victim, turned wife-beating brother, Jean-Baptiste, the kindly parish priest and murder victim, Father Brignon, his evil replacement, Father Michel, and an intellectual Huguenot fugitive, Martin.
Please email me at janetpiper1@gmail if you are interested.
Thanks.
The book spans about 20 years and I want to make sure it makes sense. This is fiction, but based on my actual family tree.
Also, I am not sure book 2 could stand on it's own. Because I know what happens in book one it makes perfect sense to me, but I don't know if I explained the events of book 1 well enough.
It's about 80,000 words.