A couple of years back, while writing A Bloody Day’s Work, I came to know fellow author Tracy Lawson. We shared an interest in the American Revolution, and were both working on novels that took place in part at Valley Forge. In comparing notes we discovered that our stories overlapped, if only briefly. One of us (I don’t recall who) remarked that it would be fun if our characters, Gideon Hawke and Anna Stone, met. One thing led to another, and Anna Stone made her print debut in chapter one of A Bloody Day’s Work!
Since then, Tracy has been busy! Her novel, Answering Liberty’s Call, is now available for purchase! Here is a little bit about it:
War may be men’s business, but that doesn’t stop Anna Stone from getting involved in the fight for liberty. When her soldier husband and brothers face starvation at Valley Forge, Anna is not content to pray and worry. She gets on her horse and strikes out alone over two hundred miles of rough roads to bring them life-saving supplies.
Eighty miles from her destination, Anna learns of a plot to overthrow General Washington and replace him with a commander who will surrender. With the fate of the American Revolution in her hands, she agrees to carry a message of warning and races to reach Valley Forge before one of the conspirators, whop is in hot pursuit, can intercept her.
Tracy Lawson
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? It was a privilege to collaborate with Tracy, and to get to meet Anna before everyone else. Having written a few scenes with Anna in them, I can tell you she is a strong woman, and I can not wait to read more!
You can purchase Tracy’s novel here: Amazon, Unison Books, Barnes & Noble, or Books-A-Million.
For more on the Revolutionary time period, check out Tracy’s video series: Answering Liberty’s Call Video Series.
subject matter: conveying the nuances of a noble but long-gone culture seemed an insurmountable obstacle. The change recently seems to lie in my own understanding of this novel: it is less about the Haudenosaunee than it is about the inward journey of my protagonist, Gideon Hawke. In the course of this story Gideon learns a great deal about himself, and realizes he longs to be part of something greater than himself. He also struggles with the competing priorities in his life. The cultural backdrop is important, and I want to do it justice, but it is not worth hand-wringing.
When I set out to write a novel about the American experience at Valley Forge, I thought I knew the basics of the story. I was wrong. Gideon Hawke #5 peels back some of the mythology about the encampment during the winter of 1778. What is left is no less impressive. The new Continental Army was no longer truly representative of American society: its soldiers were less prosperous and less educated than the average American, but they were by no means less committed to the American Cause. On the contrary, they more perfectly represented the revolutionary ideals of 1775-1776. The soldiers of Valley Forge endured inadequate food and pay and stayed with the Colors. When the weather improved, they trained hard, relearning the business of soldiering. In the process they became a professional army. At the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse they would meet the other professional army on the continent, the British Army, and prove themselves its equal.
Robert Krenzel 