Finding Dogwood (The Featherstone Factor)

This character-driven historical drama, a prequel to "The Velvet Bridge", is rich in details and events set during the early development of the United States, as experienced by William Featherstone. The Featherstone Factor Series, of which this book is a part, spans more than two centuries. "Finding Dogwood" is divided into two parts:Part 1, The AncestorsWilliam Featherstone, sire of his lineage in America, was a British drummer boy in the War of 1812. He begins his life in the United States as a deserter at age 12, after abandoning his country, his mother, and his siblings in Canada. His adventures along the Mississippi River introduce him to the wilderness of the new country in the early 1800s. The resilient, independent streak he possesses drives him always forward in pursuit of freedom on his own terms. Befriended by the real-life David Crockett, William's choices were influenced greatly by this friendship and their shared experiences.Establishing a new family, William walks away from them, too, including his infant daughter in Tennessee. The yearning to wander takes him to East Texas, where he finds a young Caddo woman, in hiding, near the Sabine River, as alone as he was. Together, in the new Republic of Texas, they built a town they named Honeysuckle, a family, and a family estate they named Dogwood. William tells his story at the end of his life in 1879, in his own words left in a journal. His wife, Dogwood Flower (Dee), completes his tale after his death. The kinship ties William produces set in motion a deadly event that culminates in bloody retaliation, followed by slanderous lies that affect his descendants well into the twenty-first century.Part 2: The DescendantsThe lives of some descendants of the early families of Honeysuckle and of William and Dogwood (Dee) Featherstone were significantly changed by their ancestors' choices and actions, leading to bloodshed and conflict that spread through the generations like ripples in water. In 1894, the Buck Freeman family returns to the family land they inherited, only to find tragedy and destruction on their first night there, rekindling old hatreds from the long-ago feud between the Freemans and the Cains. By the turn of the century, Grayson Freeman married Linda Rose Camper, a descendant of William and Dee, consolidating both families' landholdings and influence in the town. The descendants of Grayson and Linda Rose Freeman, of his brother, Griffin Freeman, along with those of Ruth Cook's boarder and partner, Jane Moore, as well as members of the Cain family, all contribute equally to the drama of this captivating saga about family conflict, love, greed, fate, free will, and even incest, through their vivid characterizations, the true-to-life settings, and emgrossing dialogue.By the latter part of the 20th century, Jon and Dru Castle, first cousins, had become owners and caretakers of the fabulous Dogwood Estate. By the end of the book, life as the two cousins had always known it hangs in the balance, as the past choices and actions of old ancestors once again threaten the peace and tranquillity of the sanctuary Jon and Dru have enjoyed their entire lives. Mattie Featherstone Caliber's appearance sets off alarms regarding ownership of Dogwood Estate, as the heir of William Featherstone's firstborn in Tennessee, Danielle Featherstone Cain. Core values, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyles, as well as genetics, may be challenged as the Featherstone Factor Series continues into Book 3, entitled "First Born". Read more