THE DESCENDANT'S DAUGHTER - Patricia Lee - One Free Book

Welcome back, Patricia. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters. My characters are taken from personalities of people I know. For this release, The Descendant’s Daughter, my characters are based on real people who lived more than two hundred years ago. I imagined how my family ancestors might have lived and what their lives may have been like. Though my family history is rich with tales of adventure and amazing incidents, the individual day-to-day living components were missing. I researched what life might have been like in their time period, historical events that may have affected them, and how they may have reacted to their surroundings. My great-great-great-grandmother lived where runaway slaves arrived in increasing numbers and slave hunters came behind them. There’s no indication she played a role in that, but as she was the daughter of a Puritan minister I can’t imagine her not having some exposure. So I added that element to the story. Fiction allows that.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? Early in our marriage, my husband and I decided to spend the summer tent camping around our state. One weekend we wound up at Crater Lake National Park. The first night we camped at a state campground where a park ranger explained all the ins and outs of staying safe in that area. Keep your tent closed. Hang your food from a tree limb. Don’t run if confronted by a bear. That sort of thing.

The second night we stopped at an off-the-road site with a fire pit and little else. We cooked our dinner and popped Jiffy-Pop corn over the flames. We took a box of crackers with us into the tent to snack on by flashlight. In the middle of the night, a storm woke us and we heard the noise of an animal rooting around outside. We immediately thought bears since we’d been conditioned to watch for them the night before.

We didn’t know what to do. We had the crackers which we knew the animal could probably smell. We were ready to toss the crackers and run for our car when a lightning flash revealed the shadows of three deer. The next morning we discovered the jiffy-pop container licked clean and deer scat on the ground. Forty years later, we’re still laughing at how frightened we were of an imagined bear sighting.

When did you first discover that you were a writer? Actually it was the encouragement of a first grade teacher that planted the seed in me to pursue writing. She thought my simple twenty-five word paragraph was remarkable for a child my age. Since then I’ve always written something—but not everything was worth reading.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. I love to read contemporary fiction as well as historical tales and biblical fiction. I’m a fan of Deb Raney, Melanie Campbell, Camille Eide and Lauraine Snelling. I love historical stories by Laura Frantz, Elizabeth Camden, Lynn Austin, Karen Barnett, and Sarah Sundin. These authors write a wide range of novels. I enjoy being transported to another time and place through the means of story. My most recently read novel is Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world? Last year, 2020, was a difficult year for all of us. Staying ahead of the virus, keeping hopeful in the wake of endless isolation, and continuing to pursue my writing efforts became a venture in faith. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I often found myself on the edge of despair, fighting to keep my spirits up. My creative muse slowed to a standstill several times, but the time I spent in Bible study and prayer kept me going. Our Lord is an ever present help in times of trouble.

Yes, He is. How do you choose your characters’ names? For this release I used the family names of the historical characters. These were real people and much of what I tell is based on the lives they lived. For the contemporary characters, I chose names based on their personalities, trying to mirror the players in the historical section of the book. Halle is a family name. Garrett sounds like a name from the past. Cornelius and Sephronia speak for themselves.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of? My husband and I have been married 46 years this July. In this world of throwaway relationships, I consider that an achievement. We’ve had many challenges thrown at us and we survived the storm.

I understand that. James and I will celebrate our 56^th anniversary in November. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why? Cats have it made. They sleep when they want, get their food served to them, and pick and choose who or what will entertain them at any given moment. A king on his throne     couldn’t have it any better.

What is your favorite food? Dutch Brothers makes a blended iced coffee drink that I never refuse. I’ll order one of those before I even consider ice cream, cake, or garlic beef enchiladas. And that is saying something.

I love enchiladas, almost any kind, but I’ve never had them with garlic. I need to try that. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? Research often takes me down rabbit trails which may be interesting, but they can be of very little merit to the story I’m trying to tell. I have to focus on the direction of the novel and discard a lot of information I cannot use. When I find I’ve strayed off the beaten path I make the painful decision to cut and discard to put the story back on track.

Tell us about the featured book. The Descendant’s Daughter is a timeslip novel based on a true family story. I’d heard the tales of my great-great-great-grandfather while I was growing up but it wasn’t until I reached adulthood that I realized what a great accomplishment it was to cross the prairie three times to homestead in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. He must have been quite a rugged individual to ride a horse from Ohio to Oregon and back and then cross one more time to bring his bride to her new home.

In this story I imagine a twenty-first century heroine who is a descendant of his. But her story is one of surprise when she learns who she is. Here’s a sample of what to expect:

Halle Jayne Murphy can’t imagine change.

She loves her career. She shares an apartment with her best friend. She’s happy.

She has lived an idyllic life in San Francisco growing up as the only child of Maisie and Fred Murphy. A graduate in architecture of the Art Institute, Halle works for one of the city’s historic home tours, a job that suits her.

But one Sunday while she’s working, her mother slips at church and falls, the head injury claiming her life. At the memorial service, the pastor presents an envelope of documents that he says will rock Halle’s world. Now officially an orphan, everything Halle believed about herself will soon prove to be false. Will she accept the challenge?

Garrett James has studied the life and adventures of his great-great-grandfather Cornelius Joel Hills, tracing his westward migration from Cortland, New York, to Oregon’s Willamette Valley in 1847. Garrett has searched for clues that will lead him to a lost bag of gold Cornelius buried but never reclaimed. Garrett believes the answers lie in the old family mansion no one seems to want. He decides to let himself into the house with a hammer and nails, only to discover the long lost owner has finally arrived.

Will this pixie of a girl allow him to look for answers or has he stumbled upon a greater treasure?

Please give us the first page of the book.

The candles flickered in the drafty chapel as bits of light danced on the brass trappings of the coffin waiting at the front. Detailed insets of painted carnations adorned the casket, cheery flowers in hues of champagne, cotton candy, and peppermint taffy—colors indicative of the dynamic woman who had chosen this for her home going. The pink embossed steel container seemed more fitting for a praise service, as if death had not visited this room.

But it had, and the contradiction mystified Halle Jayne Murphy. She sat alone on the family pew, sorrow contained behind huge gulps of air and empty swallows, her late mother the one she mourned. A packet of papers lay on the pew beside her, their contents unknown. Pastor said he’d be back to explain. She didn’t want to know.

As her roommate, Piper Flanagan, and other mourners passed by and exited the memorial service, they glanced sideways at her with nods and sympathetic smiles. Piper cast an upraised eyebrow her direction, as if to ask, “You okay?”

 Halle shrugged and Piper moved on through the line. Halle would catch up with her later. Though the memorial service for Maisie Elaine Murphy had ended, Halle’s grief had only begun.

Shock, disbelief, and despair still warred inside her since her mother’s accidental death last Sunday. How could one so full of life suddenly be gone, slipping on a wet step and tumbling to the concrete sidewalk at church? The cement stair rail stopped her freefall, but not before her head smashed the immovable post. By the time the paramedics arrived, the massive hematoma inside her skull had claimed the life for which the rest of her body fought.

Halle had been working Sunday, her job as a docent in San Francisco’s lineup of museum tours keeping her away from church more often than her mother liked. Leaving Mom to attend church alone after Dad died always riddled her with guilt. Mom would have welcomed her company, the two remaining Murphys facing the world together. But as the newest docent, Halle often pulled the short straw, the Sunday shift falling to her. Mom understood her absence. The jaws of a job had held her captive, but the truth didn’t soften the hurt of her loss nor lessen her feelings of guilt. Returning to church services now would remind her of what she’d never had time to solidify—a relationship with her mother as a widow. The untimely death left a gaping hole where Halle’s faith used to reside. She doubted she’d ever take a step inside a place of worship again.

Interesting. How can readers find you on the Internet? 

Facebook: @patricialeebooks

Twitter: @lee_patricia__

Website: www.authorpatricialee.net

E-mail: patricialeewrites@earthlink.net

Pinterest:@corneliushills

Newsletter: Come Chat with Pat (recipes, giveaways, book promos, inspirational thoughts)

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Thank you, Patricia, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read my copy, which arrived a few days ago.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/39JdACF

https://amzn.to/3cRc5En

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