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"I am no witch, nor adulteress, thief, nor murderer. They say I have lost my reason, but I know only that my heart is shattered, and in crying it aloud, now I must pay the cost…."
After three grievous losses, Puritan woman Silence Marsh dares to question God aloud in the church, and that blasphemy lands her in trouble-she is silenced for a year by the powers that be. Broken in heart and spirit, Silence learns to mime and sign, but it isn't until a new Boston doctor, the dashing Daniel Greenleaf, comes to her backward Cape Cod village that she begins to hope again. Rather than treating Silence with bleeding or leeches, Dr. Greenleaf prescribes fresh air, St. John’s Wort, long walks—and reading.
Silence has half a hope of getting through her year of punishment when the cry of witchcraft poisons the village. Colonial Massachusetts is still reeling from the Salem Witch Trials just 20 years before. Now, after demanding her silence, she is called to witness at a witchcraft trial—or be accused herself.
A whiff of sulfur and witchcraft shadows this literary Puritan tale of loss and redemption, based on the author's own ancestor, her seventh great-grandmother.
About the author
Julia Park Tracey is an award-winning journalist and author of nine books, with an emphasis on women's history and her female ancestors' stories. Inspired by a mysterious train receipt in her family's scrapbook, she researched her Orphan Train roots and continues to write novels about her found relatives. A lifelong fan of the Little House books, Tracey put her train-traveling time when crossing the American prairie to good use when she toured for her previous novels.
Summary
“I am no witch, nor adulteress, thief, nor murderer. They say I have lost my reason, but I know only that my heart is shattered, and in crying it aloud, now I must pay the cost….”
After three grievous losses, Puritan woman Silence Marsh dares to question God aloud in the church, and that blasphemy lands her in trouble—she is silenced for a year by the powers that be. Broken in heart and spirit, Silence learns to mime and sign, but it isn’t until a new Boston doctor, the dashing Daniel Greenleaf, comes to her backward Cape Cod village that she begins to hope again. Rather than treating Silence with bleeding or leeches, Dr. Greenleaf prescribes fresh air, St. John’s Wort, long walks—and reading.
Silence has half a hope of getting through her year of punishment when the cry of witchcraft poisons the village. Colonial Massachusetts is still reeling from the Salem Witch Trials just 20 years before. Now, after demanding her silence, she is called to witness at a witchcraft trial—or be accused herself.
A whiff of sulfur and witchcraft shadows this literary Puritan tale of loss and redemption, based on the author's own ancestor, her seventh great-grandmother.
Foreword
Marketing Plan
- Silence Tour: Retracing the Witch Trial Towns last week of October in New England, encompassing historical societies, bookstores, libraries, museums, and live streaming events.
- Northern California Tour (Author hometowns: Petaluma, Grass Valley, Alameda)
- Colonial Crafting (drop spinning, carding wool, bee keeping) and Puritan Era Talks at historical societies, bookstores, libraries, and museums
- Ancestry.com tie-in
- Goodreads promotion and giveaways
- Inclusion in CALIBA Holiday Catalog
- Trade reviews and advertising
- Book Trailer
- Romance trope: Strong Puritan-era woman survives with help of progressive man.
