Welcome to another installment of If My Book, the Monkeybicycle feature in which authors shed light on their recently released books by comparing them to weird things. This week Kathryn Haueisen writes about Mayflower Chronicles, her new novel out now from Green Place Books.
If Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures were a plant, it would be a towering oak. Its roots would reach deep into the soil where they would touch the roots of hundreds more trees. Its trunk would rise strong and sturdy, growing greater year by year as each new generation adds to the story. It would stretch toward the sun, stars and moon. Each branch would grow away from the trunk to forge its own unique path outward toward the sky. The leaves would dance happily with only the breeze for a partner. Each part connected; each following its own path. All together the tree would spread out to offer those who walk beneath it cooling relief from the sweltering sun. Creatures too small to see, along with birds, and squirrels, and cats and myriad others would come seeking shelter and rest.
If my book were a giant tree it would have deep invisible roots, enabling it to stand tall and broad. Firmly grounded in a long history, it would be a strong presence in the garden of life and a symbol of a hope-filled future.
Kathryn Haueisen combines her degree in journalism and her career as a pastor to write about good people doing great things for our global village. A descendant of two of the Mayflower passengers and grandmother to three young people with Native American heritage, she spent several years researching the background of what happened when the English met the Pokanoket people. The result is her debut historical fiction account of events on both sides of the Atlantic that led to founding Plimoth Plantation in 1620. In addition to working with congregations around the country, she’s published five previous books and dozens of articles in such publications as Writer’s Digest, Marriage & Family Living, House Beautiful, Highlights for Children, Camping Journal, and a variety of faith-based and regional publications. Her weekly blogs at www.howwisethen.com, highlight historical and modern people who contribute to the common good.
