
So what am I doing to follow my own advice? I'm trying to find time for writing, of course, every chance I get. Admittedly, things are a little crazy around here right now, what with my husband's failed heart operation occupying my thoughts, my plans, and my schedules. But during those quiet moments, while I'm just waiting, waiting for a miracle that will get him off life support and back on the road to recovery, and hoping the next step will reveal itself, I have time to let my mind wander back to 1868.
South Carolina was a mess that year! The constitutional convention was trying to come up with a new document that the federal government would accept as proof that South Carolina was ready to become a state again. People were also watching the impeachment woes of President Andrew Johnson and wondering what that political struggle would mean for the South. The Ku Klux Klan was moving into towns all over the state. Property titles switched holders from day to day. Riots broke out over small disagreements.
And in the middle of all that confusion the Grenville family faced new challenges: threats against their safety, confusion over a family will, dissatisfaction with Jonathan's new teaching job, a troublesome new neighbor, and the ever-present saga of children growing up too fast in a world they could not understand. For the next few weeks, I'll be re-introducing you to the characters who will populate the next book. Meet the people of Yankee Reconstructed here in the following weeks.