“The children were screaming, as I picked them up in both arms and ran towards the doorway. I thrust them outside just as the burning roof collapsed on top of me.”
 
It is June 10, 1663 and Etienne runs through a field, startling a flock of grouse into the air. Amid a frenzy of feathers and squawking, he heads toward a double wedding in town. He has no idea that the ceremony will be interrupted with the news of an Esopus attack on the Dutch settlement up north. The consequences will turn his world upside down, threatening his family, community, and Lenape friends. He must choose – protect his new friends or defend his community. Both choices demand great sacrifice and risk the lives of those he loves.
 
Etienne Gayneau doesn’t understand why the native peoples and colonists can’t get along in this land of abundant resources and opportunity. As war erupts between his Old World religious community and his New World friends, Etienne must find a way to end the violence, while protecting those he loves on both sides of the dispute.
 
 
About the Author
Amanda is the author of the historical action & adventure series A Country for Castoffs, which combines her family history with the larger historical context to educate and entertain a new generation of readers. She has been researching her family genealogy for decades and taught middle and high school history for over a dozen years. She loves the fragile beauty of the Sonoran Desert where she lives most of the year and the vibrant Willamette River each summer. Though her best inspirations reside with the ever-changing Sea of Cortez, where she watched her three children grow up over the years, and now enjoys watching her grandchildren making new discoveries for themselves!