WIP Wednesday featuring E.E. Brynes ⋆

MBB is so excited to have another new way to show our love and support to indie authors and their work. We came up with this WIP Wednesday to help bring a spotlight to upcoming works for some great authors.

We are happy to have E.E. Byrnes help us kick this new segment off.

After telling Winnie where I planned to go but not my reason for it, I left, carrying the small luggage case she had given me. Inside was a change of clothes, some food, and a little money to support me when I got there.

“Good luck, Ora,” she said wistfully. “Lots of jobs up north, so it’s a smart place to go.You’re bound to find something.”

I thanked her one last time and headed off down the road. I felt surreal knowing I would never see her again. Despite her rough demeanour and high standards of cleanliness, Winnie had been my saving grace. But the intriguing prospect of being guided to a new home tempered my sadness. It was nearly October, and the bitter north wind was snaking its way south. It blew through the trees, rattling the leaves above my head. I stopped, instinctively listening to the wind. I knew from the sharp chill that it was a northern wind that carried winter along with it.

“Follow the north wind,” my Spirits sang.

I smiled, happy to hear their voice. Instead of feeling irritated and pushing them away, I opened myself further, embracing their guidance. I had lost everything in my life; my home, my family, and any future I had imagined. It was a warm comfort to embrace something that helped give me guidance.

“Whatever you say,” I agreed, and turned to face the bitter wind and head in the way itcame from.

How long I would travel didn’t matter to me. Guided by the Spirits, time seemed endless, but the journey wasn’t frightening. I had a constant companion, ready to answer me if I had a question. My Spirits led me to every inn, helped me avoid danger, and made sure I never failed to head in the right direction. It also felt comforting to know that, in a way, I was walking in my mother’s footsteps, guided by the same Spirits that had led her to Atlanta, only I was heading in the opposite direction. I asked travellers I met at the inns about the big city the Spirits had shown me, describing the details I knew, and ask if it was familiar to them. Based on their answers, I finally learned which big city I was heading for.

“Sounds like you’re describing New York,” one traveller told me. “That bridge could be High Bridge since you say it’s so large. Biggest bridge to be built in the last two hundred years.”

It seemed like a good guess, and my Spirits weren’t protesting, so to New York I would go and find what life awaited me there. But I knew I wasn’t going there alone. In my soul, I could feel that my Spirits would be with me on every journey throughout my life, as I knew now, they must have been for Mama. But there was always one prayer I would send to them every day.

Take care of Leila, I’d pray to them, and let us meet again.

Then I’d pick up my luggage and follow the north wind.

Born in northern California, Erin specialized as an equestrian trainer in the Olympic disciplines, but her natural wanderlust and family history led her to Ireland, where she currently resides with her husband and three children. Surrounded by the natural splendor of the emerald coast, she embraced her love for the sprawling landscape through hiking. With a particular interest in European culture and history, Erin moved into the world of literature to share her tales of journeys and adventures with fellow bookworms.

Blurb:

Read the Journey that Started a Family Tradition through Generations!

In 1864, the city of Atlanta surrenders to the Union Army, and Ora Harding and her family prepare to leave everything behind, including their slaves. Instead of planning for her debutante ball, Ora finds herself on a journey filled with heartbreak, trepidation, and danger.

Soon alone, Ora hears a guiding voice that leads her north, but she is a Confederate with a strong southern accent venturing deep into Yankee territory. Can she trust this voice?

During a storm, she encounters a hooded man on a wagon. He offers her a ride that will change her life.

This is the first novella of the exciting prequel series to Jenelyn’s Journey. It’s the story of Jenelyn’s three-times great-grandmother, Ora, and how her perilous Journey during the Civil War shaped the future of an entire family.