Today, I am so pleased to acquaint you with a brand new novel by my
historical fiction writer-friend,
TIDEWATER is a story about a woman who has captured our imagination for a few centuries now, mostly with myths and legends overshadowing reality. In her novel, Libbie did not shy away to let the truth be known; and therefore instill in us even more admiration for this extraordinary life.
Don't you just love this hauntingly beautiful cover?
Here is what Libbie shares with us about
researching and writing her novel:
Many people, especially women, are acutely aware of how few women are represented by the annals of history. When our deeds and contributions are recorded by historians, it's often in the context of how we related to the men of our times. Women are frequently given "supporting roles" in history, acting as motivation or reward for the men who move the world.
But of course, women have always played an equal part in shaping politics, culture, and history. It's our status as second-class citizens that relegates us to the sidelines of history. How much more extreme is this effect for non-white women in European and North American history, who are remembered not only for their relationships to men, but to white men specifically?
The Pocahontas myth is one that is hugely beloved by many people around the world, especially in the USA. But I knew that Pocahontas was a real woman with a true history, and that the story of her life probably had little or nothing to do with a tempestuous love affair with a white man. I became interested in writing a novel about Pocahontas's life years ago, and as I researched the true history of this woman and the changing world she lived in, I found that the real story was even more exciting, moving, and awe-inspiring than the familiar myth.
I worked hard to portray Pocahontas and her people as accurately as I could. I hope that Tidewater will give readers a clearer idea of what life was like for the people of the Powhatan Confederacy as the sun began to set on their empire. I hope, too, that seeing Pocahontas in her own light, outside of the requisite context of her supposed "love" for a famous white man, will make her more real to everybody who reads her story.
She was an exceptionally intelligent person with many talents, a charming personality, and a generous heart. She and her family shaped history in such incredible ways that the influence of the Powhatans is still evident in American culture and in the English language to this day.
Without Pocahontas, the history of the United States would have been very different for both Europeans and Native Americans... for good or ill.
* * *
So hot off the press it is still steaming, TIDEWATER is available in Kindle format for right now, but Libbie is working on the print version to be available soon.
Libbie Hawker's Amazon Author Page
(which also includes her acclaimed Egyptian series, written as L. M. Ironside)
http://www.amazon.com/Libbie-Hawker/e/B00CCRAKWM
Also, make sure to visit Libbie Hawker's web site: http://libbiehawker.com
