Howdy, y’all, it’s  . . . I bet I don’t even have to say it  . . . but, I will –>FRIDAY!

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On the flap copy of The Saints of Swallow Hill, it says, “Swallow Hill is no easy haven.” None of these types of labor camps were, no matter the industry. There were many different kinds of work, coal, lumber, seasonal work like picking vegetables and fruit, etc. Swallow Hill, as you’ve learned is a fictitious turpentine camp.

The boss men in this particular type of camp were known as woods riders. On horseback, they moved throughout the crops of trees, keeping track of the laborers work tally, checking to ensure trees were streaked properly, cups and gutters were properly installed, and other duties. If they were fair-minded, and many were, a hard day was made more tolerable with an understanding boss man. Of course, there’s always that one in every bunch, as the old saying goes, and in my story, a woods riders by the name of Elijah Sweeney, a.k.a “Crow,” is one of the less than tolerant sort.

While researching for this novel, I relied heavily on several thesis papers. These were invaluable resources where the authors of these papers were going for their masters, or doctorates in their chosen fields. One in particular that I used extensively to get an understanding of a labor camp environment was titled:

Pining for Turpentine

Critical Nostalgia, Memory, and Commemorative Expression
in the Wake of Industrial Decline

Timothy C. Prizer.

Another one was a dissertation titled:

A long quavering chant: Peonage labor camps in the
rural-industrial South 1905-1965
by
Aaron Kyle Reynolds B.A.; M.A.; M.A.
Dissertation
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of
The University of Texas at Austin
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Texas at Austin
May 2013

There were more papers, but these were the two I relied on quite a bit. I love finding this sort of material  because I feel reassured that what I present is as historically accurate as possible. I found in both of these papers examples of harsh of treatment of individuals who, for one reason or another, were subjected to various forms of punishment because of something that displeased a boss man.

Del and Crow don’t see eye to eye for many reasons. Del, while being very careful not to create any trouble, finds himself on the wrong side of his boss man.

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Chapter 9

Del

The box was like a vault, its interior murky except for slivers of sunlight leaking through the cracks and the air holes drilled near the top of his head.

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How about a GIVEWAY?

I posted a picture the other day with an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of The Saints of Swallow Hill, and it’s perfect timing because I know some readers out here would love a chance to snag one. One lucky reader will get a signed ARC this week!

Here’s how you get a chance to win the copy:

Comment on my blog or FB page, and let me know you’ve:

• Added The Saints of Swallow Hill to your Goodreads “To Read” shelf
• Shared this post with your reader friends
• Followed me on Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, or my blog

And, there will be more chances to win an early copy for the next few weeks! The winner this week will be randomly selected and announced on Monday!

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SNEAK PEEK!!!

Read the first SIX CHAPTERS of The Saints of Swallow Hill  for FREE!  Select your choice of e-book via Goodreads where all varieties for download are available with one click.

Or – you can go straight to the Kensington Publishing Company site, and read the sample right here.

*** If you read the Sneak Peek, don’t forget to leave a review! Even though it’s not necessary, it’s always good for other readers to see what you think so far.  🙂

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NETGALLEY

Are you a NetGalley reviewer? The Saints of Swallow Hill is available for request! I’ve started seeing a few reviews. It’s so exciting to read what people are saying about the book!

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Last, but not least, don’t forget to:

Pre-order a copy!

Pre-orders help a lot more than you think  . . . but most importantly, I’m grateful for all of you following along here each week!