Esther
Young Adult/Adult
ITP Press/October 2023
Their story began in 1775 amidst a war between brothers, amongst fathers, sons, cousins, and even betwixt husbands, wives, and daughters. As America’s Revolutionary War gripped the colonies, five siblings found themselves alone in a land engulfed in war. Forced to survive on their own, they found no recourse but to flee their palatial Virginia home.
Five Ballinger children, Esther, Lovely, Samuel, Joshua, and Benjamin, must search within themselves for the will to survive, first in Virginia’s wilderness and then, forced to flee once more, in North Carolina’s Watauga settlement. Some go off to war. Others find ways to provide for their wellbeing. Most find love grows even in the darkest of circumstances.
C.M. Huddleston, author of six award-winning historical novels, including Caintuck Lies Within My Soul, once again weaves a captivating story with rich historical detail. This Revolutionary War tale brings American history to life.
From D. Donovan, Midwest Book Reviews:
Huddleston is particularly skilled at integrating thoughts and prayers with the routines and concerns of not just Esther, but the community and people she moves among. This creates a wider-ranging sense of place and purpose that helps drive the story line with satisfying psychological and historical insights. Ultimately, these dovetail within Esther's experiences and shifting perspectives about herself, her relationships, and the wider world at large.
As Joshua, Esther, Seth, Lovely, and a disparate range of personable characters come to light, readers will revel in the challenges and courage that also emerge from their experiences and interactions.
Esther's ability to reach a wide age range with a compelling saga that's based on primary materials and published resources, yet incorporates the drama and action of fictional creativity, makes it a strong recommendation for libraries and reading groups interested in early American history and novels reflecting the times.
Young Adult/Adult
ITP Press/October 2023
Their story began in 1775 amidst a war between brothers, amongst fathers, sons, cousins, and even betwixt husbands, wives, and daughters. As America’s Revolutionary War gripped the colonies, five siblings found themselves alone in a land engulfed in war. Forced to survive on their own, they found no recourse but to flee their palatial Virginia home.
Five Ballinger children, Esther, Lovely, Samuel, Joshua, and Benjamin, must search within themselves for the will to survive, first in Virginia’s wilderness and then, forced to flee once more, in North Carolina’s Watauga settlement. Some go off to war. Others find ways to provide for their wellbeing. Most find love grows even in the darkest of circumstances.
C.M. Huddleston, author of six award-winning historical novels, including Caintuck Lies Within My Soul, once again weaves a captivating story with rich historical detail. This Revolutionary War tale brings American history to life.
From D. Donovan, Midwest Book Reviews:
Huddleston is particularly skilled at integrating thoughts and prayers with the routines and concerns of not just Esther, but the community and people she moves among. This creates a wider-ranging sense of place and purpose that helps drive the story line with satisfying psychological and historical insights. Ultimately, these dovetail within Esther's experiences and shifting perspectives about herself, her relationships, and the wider world at large.
As Joshua, Esther, Seth, Lovely, and a disparate range of personable characters come to light, readers will revel in the challenges and courage that also emerge from their experiences and interactions.
Esther's ability to reach a wide age range with a compelling saga that's based on primary materials and published resources, yet incorporates the drama and action of fictional creativity, makes it a strong recommendation for libraries and reading groups interested in early American history and novels reflecting the times.
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul: The Jemima Boone Story
Young Adult/Adult
ITP Press/February 2020
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul (Teen/Adult)
(ITP Press/February 2020)
Second Place in Adult Historical Fiction from
Royal Dragonfly Book Awards & Incipere Awards
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul is a masterful, historical biography that presents the story of Jemima Boone, Daniel's daughter. Written in novel form, C.M. Huddleston relates the thrilling story of Jemima's life, especially her dream of moving west of the Appalachian Mountains to live on America's first frontier. Set during America's Revolutionary War, Jemima's experiences west of the mountains include by her capture by Indians and the 1778 siege of Boonesborough. Based on years of historical research, this historically-accurate novel relates one of America's great adventure stories.
From D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review:
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul is a work of fiction with a strong historical overlay. Almost every event described in the course of the story really happened. Years of research about early Kentucky settlements in general and the Boone family in particular create a strong reality-based focus to the story.
In profiling the women involved in the nation's first major westward expansion, Huddleston expands upon and adds depth to the Boone family story, which traditionally focuses relatively exclusively on the more famous Daniel Boone.
Readers interested in American pioneer experience in general and women's perceptions and challenges in particular will find Caintuck Lies Within My Soul does an outstanding job of bringing the times and women's issues to life.
It's a story hard to put down, not easily forgotten, and packed with facts about Kentucky's evolution.
Young Adult/Adult
ITP Press/February 2020
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul (Teen/Adult)
(ITP Press/February 2020)
Second Place in Adult Historical Fiction from
Royal Dragonfly Book Awards & Incipere Awards
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul is a masterful, historical biography that presents the story of Jemima Boone, Daniel's daughter. Written in novel form, C.M. Huddleston relates the thrilling story of Jemima's life, especially her dream of moving west of the Appalachian Mountains to live on America's first frontier. Set during America's Revolutionary War, Jemima's experiences west of the mountains include by her capture by Indians and the 1778 siege of Boonesborough. Based on years of historical research, this historically-accurate novel relates one of America's great adventure stories.
From D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review:
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul is a work of fiction with a strong historical overlay. Almost every event described in the course of the story really happened. Years of research about early Kentucky settlements in general and the Boone family in particular create a strong reality-based focus to the story.
In profiling the women involved in the nation's first major westward expansion, Huddleston expands upon and adds depth to the Boone family story, which traditionally focuses relatively exclusively on the more famous Daniel Boone.
Readers interested in American pioneer experience in general and women's perceptions and challenges in particular will find Caintuck Lies Within My Soul does an outstanding job of bringing the times and women's issues to life.
It's a story hard to put down, not easily forgotten, and packed with facts about Kentucky's evolution.
Leah's Story
(Teen/Adult)
(ITP Press/January 2018)
Semi-finalist in the 2018 Kindle Book Awards
Leah's Story tells of an African-American girl born on a rice plantation, who grows up serving her rich owners in Georgia. Her life, like so many others, could have ended there, were it not for a bit of education and Emancipation, which gave her, and later her children, opportunities to fulfill their dreams. Told in journal form, taken down by the mysterious “Miss Elliott,” Leah’s personal history comes to life like the tiny birds she carves, revealing a lifetime of love and opportunity amidst a culture filled with hardship, pain, and loss.
"Where fictional approaches might miss some of the subtler nuances of Leah's times, the journal chronicling her life captures its daily politics, joys, heartbreaks and intricacies - and this, combined with the overlay of the mystery about her life, makes for a powerful story indeed, highly recommended for history readers and especially for collections strong in documents about a slave's move to freedom during tumultuous times." D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews.
(Teen/Adult)
(ITP Press/January 2018)
Semi-finalist in the 2018 Kindle Book Awards
Leah's Story tells of an African-American girl born on a rice plantation, who grows up serving her rich owners in Georgia. Her life, like so many others, could have ended there, were it not for a bit of education and Emancipation, which gave her, and later her children, opportunities to fulfill their dreams. Told in journal form, taken down by the mysterious “Miss Elliott,” Leah’s personal history comes to life like the tiny birds she carves, revealing a lifetime of love and opportunity amidst a culture filled with hardship, pain, and loss.
"Where fictional approaches might miss some of the subtler nuances of Leah's times, the journal chronicling her life captures its daily politics, joys, heartbreaks and intricacies - and this, combined with the overlay of the mystery about her life, makes for a powerful story indeed, highly recommended for history readers and especially for collections strong in documents about a slave's move to freedom during tumultuous times." D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews.
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