I would like to welcome Eileen Clymer Schwab, author of Shadow of a Quarter Moon to So Many Precious books.

Imagine fleeing the only home you know, alone, with nothing but the clothes on your back.  Without shoes or a map, you tread through murky nights along landscape you have never seen.  You have no idea where you are going or where you will end up, yet what you are escaping makes the treacherous journey the lesser hell.  In the 1800’s the secret network of escape known as the Underground Railroad was the perfect example of the best of America in the worst of America, and it serves as a vehicle of transformation for the main character in my novel, SHADOW OF A QUARTER MOON.

Early in the book, an unimaginable secret changes the course of Jacy Lane’s life; not once, but twice.  First, when it is hidden from her, and then when it is revealed.  As the daughter of a plantation owner, Jacy has been raised in privilege until she discovers that she is the offspring of a dalliance between her father and a slave. Amid the shock and complexities of her mixed heritage, Jacy is simply a woman longing for love, happiness, and a sense of wholeness; however the 1800s are not a simple time and Jacy begins a treacherous journey of denial and self-discovery that is fraught with danger and life-altering choices.  She soon discovers that what she chases is as elusive as the secret network she hopes can save them.

As an author, I am inspired by the strength and courage of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.  I loved developing a premise that gives the reader a glimpse of a woman whose life is redefined by circumstance, but her plight should not be confused with the harsh reality of the time.  Because of the widespread sexual abuse of enslaved women by masters and overseers, the presence of mixed-race children was quite common.  Though light-skinned slaves were often favored for house duties and personal service, they still suffered the cruelty of servitude.  Any child born of an enslaved woman was considered a slave by law, regardless of any white lineage they carried.

We will never know to what extent white masters gave special treatment to their slave offspring.  Though long debated, Thomas Jefferson freed two mixed race children that many believe he fathered with Sally Hemings.  These light-skinned children eventually lived in white society. Two other children were freed upon his death.  In another well-known account, Ellen Craft, a light-skinned slave from Georgia, disguised herself as a sickly white man traveling to Philadelphia for medical attention.  Ellen’s husband, William, accompanied her, posing as the man’s servant.  After traveling first by train and then by steamship, the couple arrived safely in Philadelphia on Christmas Day, 1848.  Ellen’s successful masquerade had won their freedom.

While it’s impossible to estimate how often such a ruse was successfully perpetrated, there is no doubt as to the advantage of passing as white during that oppressive time.  SHADOW OF A QUARTER MOON and my first novel, PROMISE BRIDGE shine light on both the villainous and heroic activity of that dark time. It was an honor to look back and give voice to a generation deserving of acknowledgment, tribute, and literary life, as with any other period in our history.  Remembering and discussing their trials and triumphs can be one way of paying respect to their role in our social evolution. My hope is that the spirit of the Underground Railroad will never be forgotten.

Links:
 Book Description:

From the author of Promise Bridge comes a powerful novel of the pre-Civil War era South and the Underground Railroad.

1839, North Carolina. As the daughter of a plantation owner, Jacy has been raised in privilege- until she discovers that she’s the offspring of a dalliance between her father and a slave. The revelation destroys Jacy’s sense of who she is and where she belongs in the world. Equally shocking, her biological mother and brother are still slaves on the property. As she gets to know them-and the handsome horse trainer, Rafe-she begins to see life in the South with fresh eyes. And soon Jacy will have to make a treacherous journey that she hopes will end in freedom for them all…

Author Bio:
Eileen Clymer Schwab graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in Communication. She resides with her family in northeast Pennsylvania. Her second novel, Shadow of a Quarter Moon, will be released by NAL/Penguin in 2011. Over the years, Eileen’s passion for writing has been channeled through occasional newspaper or magazine articles as she balanced a job and raising four children. With the encouragement of her husband and the blessing of her daughter and three sons, Eileen has finally unleashed the writer within. “
Now for the giveaway!
Thanks to Caitlin Mulrooney-Lyski of Berkley/NAL, Penguin Group USA, I am giving away one copy of this book to a lucky winner.
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This giveaway will end on Thursday, August 11th 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email. Winners must respond within TWO days or will be disqualified.


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