Continuing from last week's post which explored Artwork as Inspiration (the starting point for Proof of the Old Faith ) I'm sticking with Norse culture. Here is The Weave of the Norns , a poem I wrote a few years ago about these three frightening women. Enjoy! The Norns by Arthur Rackham Weave of the Norns Beneath the threat of utter doom he sought them at their fabled loom. The king searched on until he found them on the morrow’s battleground. The tallest worked the wheel alone; the next, a shuttle made of bone; the shortest bore a silver sword with which she severed each loose cord. What pattern spun these women three, dictating mankind’s victory! “I come to beg you demonstrate a gentle weaving of our fate.” “Then know you this, oh man of peace, we weave the thread and cannot cease.” “Weave us an ending to this war and grant us threads of peace once more.” “What cost would such a wise man pay for us to change our weave this way?” And now he saw the bloody thread, time’s fabr
It's #HistFicThursdays, and I'm so excited to be sharing a guest post from Michael L. Ross, as part of his Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Find out all about Michael's building of the character of Mary King in the guest post below. But first, let's meet the book...
Blurb
Two men, two dreams, two new towns on the plains, and a railroad that will determine whether the towns—one black, one white—live or die.
Will Crump has survived the Civil War, Red Cloud’s War, and the loss of his love, but the search for peace and belonging still eludes him. From Colorado, famed Texas Ranger Charlie Goodnight lures Will to Texas, where he finds new love, but can a Civil War sharpshooter and a Quaker find a compromise to let their love survive? When Will has a chance to join in the founding of a new town, he risks everything—his savings, his family, and his life—but it will all be for nothing if the new railroad passes them by.
Luther has escaped slavery in Kentucky through Albinia, Will’s sister, only to find prejudice rearing its ugly head in Indiana. When the Black Codes are passed, he’s forced to leave and begin a new odyssey. Where can he and his family go to be truly free? Can they start a town owned by blacks, run by blacks, with no one to answer to? But their success will be dependent on the almighty railroad and overcoming bigotry to prove their town deserves the chance to thrive.
Will’s eldest sister, Julia, and her husband, Hiram, are watching the demise of their steamboat business and jump into railroads, but there’s a long black shadow in the form of Jay Gould, the robber baron who ruthlessly swallows any business he considers competition. Can Julia fight the rules against women in business, dodge Gould, and hold her marriage together?
The Founding tells the little-known story of the Exodusters and Nicodemus, the black town on the plains of Kansas, and the parallel story of Will’s founding of Lubbock, Texas, against the background of railroad expansion in America. A family reunited, new love discovered, the quest for freedom, the rise of two towns. In the end, can they reach Across the Great Divide? The Founding is the exciting conclusion to the series.
Praise for The Founding:
“Michael is an excellent storyteller and has done a wonderful job depicting Luther, and the other black characters in this book. He has done his homework and depicts many historical facts about Nicodemus in a most enlightening and creative way. It has been a pleasure working with someone who has made a concerted effort to get things right.
~ Angela Bates
Nicodemus Descendant/Historian
Executive Director
The Nicodemus Historical Society and Museum
The Founding is available via this Universal Link
Guest Post
A Woman’s Life in Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding
Many of the characters in the Across the Great Divide series were real people, and Book 3 is no exception. Most of the characters from Book 1 The Clouds of War return at least briefly. The main character in the series is Will Crump, and the series takes him from age 15 In Book 1, I introduced the character of Mary King, who becomes Will’s wife.
Mary was real, but the series takes a few liberties, having her family come from Pennsylvania, a farm on the Gettysburg battlefield. Real-life Mary was younger and was born near Dallas.
What would you do if your husband suddenly announced he wanted to move a hundred miles away, change jobs, and live in the middle of nowhere – no roads, no train, no airport, no telephone?
That was the challenge Mary faced. Will was recovering from PTSD in the Civil War. He’d gotten to be a rolling stone, moving from one place to another. Like most women, she had to follow her father’s wishes concerning marriage. Will was a fun-loving wise-cracking adventurous guy, quite different from most of the men she’d known. Her one love died at Gettysburg, and after the war, the pickings were slim. She wondered who would want an old maid. When Will came to town at the invitation of Charles Goodnight, their former acquaintance in Indiana blossomed into romance. He partnered with his father in a Dallas store, bought a ranch, and she dreamed of settling in with him to raise a family. After a six-year engagement, she didn’t expect surprises. Yet women in 1877 had few options once married. Mary acted as the dutiful wife and followed Will to Henrietta, Texas. Again, Will seemed to settle in, but in a few years, his friend Charles Goodnight again invited him to move, just as telephone and railroad arrived in Henrietta. They had children to think of now, and Mary was not amused. She loved Will, but having established a new home and survived a kidnapping, this was too much. What could she do?
Henrietta, Texas is about one hundred twenty miles from Dallas. The town was literally wiped out three different times by Indians. It had become home to Mary and the children, though, and Indian attacks had calmed down by the time of this latest proposal from Will. A modern couple’s marriage might not have survived. In real life, Will proposed not one but two moves – Henrietta to Alvin, and then Alvin to a new town that didn’t exist, rising from the prairie. They only stayed in Alvin for four months, and this move is omitted from the book. The first time Will and his son Bob, an adolescent, saw what became Lubbock, Bob said, “I see nothing!” There were no trees, no buildings, just the blank plain of the Caprock, the Llano Estacado.
Lubbock County Courthouse 1891
Join Will, Mary, and the other characters on their journey to the founding of Lubbock, Texas.
Now, let's meet the author:
Michael Ross is a lover of history and great stories.
He’s a retired software engineer turned author, with three children, and five grandchildren, living in Newton, Kansas with his wife of 39 years. Michael graduated from Rice University and Portland State University with degrees in German and software engineering. He was part of an MBA program at Boston University.
Michael was born in Lubbock, Texas, and still loves Texas. He’s written short stories and technical articles in the past, as well as articles for the Texas Historical Society.
Across the Great Divide now has three novels in the series, "The Clouds of War", and "The Search", and the conclusion, "The Founding". "The Clouds of War" was an honorable mention for Coffee Pot Book of the Year in 2019, and an Amazon #1 best seller in three categories, along with making the Amazon top 100 paid, reviewed in Publisher's Weekly. "The Search" won Coffee Pot Cover of the Year in 2020, and Coffee Pot Silver Medal for Book of the Year in 2020, as well as short listed for the Chanticleer International Book Laramie Award.
Thank you for hosting Michael L. Ross today, with such an interesting guest post. x
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