Publication day for FIREBELL IN THE NIGHT by Geoffrey S. Edwards

Many authors say that publication day is a bit of a letdown. They may not have expected bells ringing in the square, or strangers crossing the street to ask for an autograph, but they expected--well, something. They thought the realization of  a longheld dream  might make the person in the mirror look a little different, walk a little more spritely. They may even expect the world to look and feel a little different now that it has expanded to contain one very special book in its library.

  Most often, however, unless the author  throws a party, that magical date on the calendar may feel disappointingly ordinary. When friends run to the book store, hoping  to see your book in the front, they may be told it's on the computer, but hasn't been unpacked yet. And amazingly on this momentous day, dishes continue to pile up beside the sink, clerks are grumpy or distracted by their cell phones when you stop for milk, and  bills  drop in the mailbox. 

 But for Geoffrey Edwards (and of course, Terry Shaw) I suspect publication day feels a bit different. It isn't just a day of anticipation and pride, of soaring expectations and dreams fulfilled for them and their families. It's a  day  the entire Gather community has participated in and waited for, and is now prepared to celebrate.

 And  after reading Fire Bell in the Night, I can say with certainty that Geoffrey S. Edwards has done our ever-expanding, but intimate on-line community proud.  In fact, I predict that the quality of our First Chapter winners will not only take Gather in some unforeseen and very exciting directions; it will have an effect on the publishing industry as well.

In his debut novel, Edwards paints on a large canvas, and his strokes are bold and confident. But no matter how broad the canvas may be, it is the details that bring the period and characters to life. Here Edwards particularly shines, creating characters who leap from the page, and drawing us into the volatile period in which they live in crisp prose. 

I received the 445 page novel with fairly dense type only four days ago, and was sure that I would not be able to finish it before today. Since I rarely read historical fiction, I was also afraid I might not be the right reviewer for his work. However, once I began the novel which opens quite appropriately with the hiss and  pop of  a campfire, I knew I was in the hands of  a natural story teller. When that happens (which is rare), this beguiled and happy reader has no choice but to follow--no matter how much sleep she loses in the process.

Set in Antebellum Charleston, South Carolina, this sweeping saga tackles the moral issues of its time with passion and complexity.  It explores the tension between races, and between North and South with historical accuracy, but it is no dry  tract. Like all well-written novels, it is the individual betrayals and passions that truly illuminate their time in a way no history book can.

The main character, John Sharp, who has come to town to cover a story about a white man on trial for hiding a runaway slave, grows in stature and complexity as he finds himself ever more deeply embroiled in the tumultuous times that led to the Civil War. And once again, as in all good novels, he invites us to grow with him.

As he becomes involved with a wealthy plantation owner and his beautiful sister, John is forced to explore not only the fires the increasingly explosive situation he has come to cover, but who his is as a man and where his values lie.

A Fire Bell in the Night is a harrowing, but ultimately illuminating journey into a part of our history and our national psyche that continues to haunt us today.  I  am grateful for the opportunity to have taken it. 

My congratulations to Geoffrey S. Edwards, to his family, and yes, to all the Gather community. This is your day!

Patry Francis, Books Correspondent:

Patry's column, Reading as a Writer, published  bi-weekly to Gather Essentials: Books, alternating with Diary of a First Novelist.

To learn more about Patry and her debut novel, The Liar's Diary, visit her Website,
 

You can find all of Patry's articles, Diary of a First Novelist, and Reading as a Writer at www.gather.com/patryfrancis

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