Patricia Ledford(I)

Book: "STRINGS" This 84,000 word historical romance novel set in Northeast Tennessee and western North Carolina not far from the setting of Cold Mountain. It has very strong female characters, especially in Hope, our protagonist. Imagine Wild set in 1776. 15-year-old Hope is recovering from unbelievable trauma- an incident she doesn't remember until much later in her life. Anna Hope O'Connor is not searching for her long lost love. She is independent, not by choice, but by necessity. Having been raised mostly by her father in an isolated environment, Hope is not educated in the ways of the "birds and bees", the ways of society, or even the ways of other households. "Strings" begins with an actual historical event in July 1776, when Indians attack a small settlement in northeast Tennessee and militia forces retaliate by destroying a nearby Cherokee village. 17-year-old Maska flees for his life, simmering with rage against the white man. Hope rides her horse Isaiah into the night, leaving her family and burning home behind, unaware of greater danger ahead. Seeking relief from the next day's sweltering heat, she dismounts to walk Isaiah down a ravine to the river. She trips and falls onto the river's edge. Maska quickly attacks - raping her and leaving her unconscious. He steals her horse. Hope wakes covered in mud and in great pain from a broken leg. She fashions a tall branch into a crutch and stumbles east along the banks of the Doe River toward Hawksbill Mountain where she believes her father would go if he survived the attack. When 11-year-old Jared and 10-year-old Jake discover a terrified Hope at rest on their diving rock, they help her to their remote farm where their Granny takes her in. Within two months Hope is married to their Papa, Henry Greer, a yellow-haired widower who is elated with the early birth of a son - until he realizes the significance of the boy's dark skin. Henry's rage and abuse escalates until his sudden death at Maska's hand. Hope flees with her 3-year-old -- free from Henry, but not from the emotional strings Maska and Henry wrapped tightly around her soul. These strings leave her shattered, struggling to survive as a single mother on-her-own, cleverly dodging relationships of any kind and especially unable to return the love of Will, a kind and handsome British soldier she meets during her trek across the mountains.