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Southern Historical

 

Date Published: June 11, 2020
Publisher: Acorn Publishing

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Heaven Hill Plantation, upriver from Georgetown, South Carolina, 1807: Sixteen-year-old Alexandra Degambia is the daughter of a wealthy African American planter and a social-climbing mother who can pass for white. Balancing on the tightrope between girlhood and the complicated adult world of Low-Country society is a treacherous undertaking.
Early Reviews
Alexandra is a tenacious heroine who’s easy to root for, and the author elegantly articulates her precarious position between white and black society. Overall, this novel explores issues of equality and personal freedom in thought-provoking ways.
 
Sharp writing, an original plot, and a strong female protagonist make for an engrossing read.
-Kirkus Review
This tale of desperation, injustice and courage is a much needed addition to our grasp of our nation’s history. A 5-star reading experience. Highly recommend!”
Laura Taylor – 6-Time Romantic Times Award Winner

Excerpt: Once in a Blood Moon by Dorothea Hubble Bonneau

Once Lulu manages to coax Alexandra’s hair into a topknot fastened by an emerald-studded comb, she nods and takes her position in front of the mirror. Smiling behind a fan that matches her dress, Alexandra hums Bach’s minuet. The dress works its magic as she and Lulu spin and dip, giggling when they make the last turn.

“Thank you, Lulu,” Alexandra whispers. Then she executes a perfect curtsey and looks to her servant for praise.

Lulu’s eyes are riveted on the French doors.

“What?” asks Alexandra.

“Someone was watching.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Alexandra turns and sees that an edge of the drape and the embroidered silk over-curtain have caught on the latch, leaving an opening large enough for someone to see inside. It’s a good thing it’s dim in the interior of the room. Day is yielding to night. The large chandelier hasn’t been lit, and half the candles in the smaller one have burnt themselves out.

“Whoever it was probably couldn’t have seen much,” Alexandra says. But she doesn’t sound convincing, even to herself.

One of the hall doors that opens onto the balcony slams. Maybe Jimi’s come home early from visiting Papa. Alexandra can bribe her little brother with a chocolate and make him promise not to tell what he saw. But the footsteps are too heavy to be Jimi’s.

Alexandra helps Lulu pull the house-help dress over the blue silk and plunks herself down on her vanity stool.

Just as Lulu starts working lavender oil into Alexandra’s hair, Mother bursts into the room carrying a lantern bright enough to turn night to day.

“Good evening, Miss Josephine,” Lulu says, dropping a curtsey and staring at the floor.

Mother sets the lamp on the bureau and paralyzes Alexandra with a hateful glare. “You were told not to wear that dress until your debut.”

“I had to put it on so I could decide how Lulu should fix my hair to best show off the dress,” lies Alexandra, proud that she’s looking Mother in the eye and keeping her voice steady.

Mother lifts the hem of Lulu’s calico, revealing the silk dress. She turns to Alexandra, her voice rich with venom. “You know Lulu’s not to wear your clothes anymore.” Mother narrows her eyes. “Do you have any idea what people would say if they knew you’d taught your girl a ballroom dance?”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“You will be.” Mother bobs her head toward Lulu. “Go down to the kitchen and tell Old Mary to fill a jar with water and fix a basket of shrimp and rice cakes.”

“Right away, Miss Josephine.”

Cold sweat drenches Alexandra. “I’ll make it up to you,” Alexandra whispers as Lulu rushes to the door.

Lulu dips a curtsey and hurries out.

Mother’s shrill laugh turns into a coughing fit. When she’s caught her breath, she turns to Alexandra. “Make what up to her? She’s your slave, or have you forgotten again?”

“Then why can’t I do with her as I will?” Mother’s eyes narrow. Alexandra wishes she could call her words back.

“She’s yours to train, but she’s on my property ledger until five months from now when you turn seventeen, providing you prove you’re worthy of being called a woman at your debutante celebration.”

“What are you going to do to Lulu?”

Mother plucks the servant’s bell from its holder by the door and rings three times. Sampson’s signal! Alexandra wills herself not to show the fear that courses through her like acid. A loud knock rattles her resolve.

“Come in,” Mother chimes in the tone she reserves for her favorite help.

Sampson, who’s nearly seven feet tall, strides into the room dressed in his midnight-blue waistcoat. His posture is ramrod straight like Mother’s. Unlike Mother, he could never pass for white. Although he’s light-skinned, his black hair, cut short, with sideburns that reach nearly to his chin, is curly and coarse like that of most Africans.

“Sampson, Lulu’s waiting in the kitchen. Lock her in the hog loft with some water and shrimp cakes,” orders Mother.

“No!” Alexandra cries out.

Sampson hesitates.

Mother glares at him. “You have cotton in your ears?”

“On my way, Miss Josephine.”

“Oh, and Sampson, in the morning, install the bars on Alexandra’s balcony door. She’s to be confined until I’m satisfied she’s learned to comport herself with the dignity that will bring honor to Heaven Hill.”

“Soon as the rooster crows, Miss Josephine.” Samuel spins on his heel and hurries out.

“Mother, please don’t. Those meat-eating hogs terrify Lulu. It’s too dangerous.”

“You ever see a pig climb the ladder to that loft?”

“Punish me instead. I made her put on the dress.”

Mother gazes into the mid-distance. “Your juvenile actions have convinced me to invite Ichabod Collins to stop by the house.”

“The speculator?” Alexandra struggles to catch her breath.

“You’ve shown me it would be best if I got rid of Lulu and bought you an experienced attendant.”

“You can’t sell Lulu!”

“I’m your mother. You’re telling me what to do?”

Alexandra shakes her head.

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to sell her until January, when the price of number-one girls will triple. You do remember why the price will triple, don’t you?”

Alexandra nods. Mother has told her a hundred times. The price will soar when it becomes illegal to bring in slaves from Africa, starting on January first.

Mother taps the sharpened nail of her pointer finger on the marble-top table, no doubt calculating how much Lulu might bring in a private sale.

“If I sell Lulu for a good enough price, I’ll have enough money to purchase a skilled attendant who can teach you the things you need to know in order to lure a worthy suitor.”

“I don’t want to lure a suitor!”

Mother’s shrill laugh sparks Alexandra’s fury.

“You can’t sell my friend!”

Mother slaps Alexandra. Words fly out of Alexandra’s mind. Mother has never struck her. She wills herself not to cry. At first, she thinks she sees regret soften Mother’s face, but she knows she’s wrong when Mother says, “You better hope spending time in the hog barn will teach that girl the humility that will make her appealing to her new master, or she’ll have the devil to pay.

About the Author
Dorothea Hubble Bonneau is an award-winning novelist, produced playwright and optioned screenwriter. Inspired by a quest for justice, her work is informed by her love of family, nature, and the literary arts.
Dorothea is a member of Author’s Guild, Women in Film, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Aspen Summer Words Alumni, and Historical Writers of America.
Contact Links
Twitter: @DorotheaBonneau
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Once in a Blood Moon Release Blitz

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Southern Historical

 

Date Published: June 11, 2020
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png
Heaven Hill Plantation, upriver from Georgetown, South Carolina, 1807: Sixteen-year-old Alexandra Degambia is the daughter of a wealthy African American planter and a social-climbing mother who can pass for white. Balancing on the tightrope between girlhood and the complicated adult world of Low-Country society is a treacherous undertaking.
Early Reviews
Alexandra is a tenacious heroine who’s easy to root for, and the author elegantly articulates her precarious position between white and black society. Overall, this novel explores issues of equality and personal freedom in thought-provoking ways.
 
Sharp writing, an original plot, and a strong female protagonist make for an engrossing read.
-Kirkus Review
This tale of desperation, injustice and courage is a much needed addition to our grasp of our nation’s history. A 5-star reading experience. Highly recommend!”
Laura Taylor – 6-Time Romantic Times Award Winner
About the Author
Dorothea Hubble Bonneau is an award-winning novelist, produced playwright and optioned screenwriter. Inspired by a quest for justice, her work is informed by her love of family, nature, and the literary arts.
Dorothea is a member of Author’s Guild, Women in Film, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Aspen Summer Words Alumni, and Historical Writers of America.
Contact Links
Twitter: @DorotheaBonneau


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B&N 
Kobo
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Once in a Blood Moon Teaser

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Once in a Blood Moon cover

Southern Historical

 

Date Published: June 11, 2020
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Heaven Hill Plantation, upriver from Georgetown, South Carolina, 1807: Sixteen-year-old Alexandra Degambia is the daughter of a wealthy African American planter and a social-climbing mother who can pass for white. Balancing on the tightrope between girlhood and the complicated adult world of Low-Country society is a treacherous undertaking.
Early Reviews
Alexandra is a tenacious heroine who’s easy to root for, and the author elegantly articulates her precarious position between white and black society. Overall, this novel explores issues of equality and personal freedom in thought-provoking ways.
 
Sharp writing, an original plot, and a strong female protagonist make for an engrossing read.
-Kirkus Review
This tale of desperation, injustice and courage is a much needed addition to our grasp of our nation’s history. A 5-star reading experience. Highly recommend!”
Laura Taylor – 6-Time Romantic Times Award Winner
Excerpt
Alexandra longs to impress Monsieur. She imagines dancing with him before bedazzled spectators. She panics. He’s an accomplished dancer. What if the orchestra does play a waltz? She’ll make a fool of herself.
“I guess I could go down and dance for a little while,” Alexandra says, rising from the porch swing.
Before the young women reach the bottom of the stairs, they see a stranger wearing the sheriff’s badge galloping toward them from the back road. Three of his deputies ride hard on his heels.
Callie leans close to Alexandra. “Let’s duck behind the snowball bush before they see us,” she says. She sets the quilt on the porch swing and hides the Dancing Masters behind the geranium planter.
But the men are coming too fast. The girls are only half way down the stairs when the men rein their lathered horses to a stop.
The new sheriff, who wears a top hat too small for his head, points at Alexandra.
“Girl! Git me some water.”
Alexandra edges toward Callie and reaches to take her hand. Callie moves away. Cold sweat drenches Alexandra.
“You deaf? Git me some water. Now!” The stocky man’s eyes graze over Alexandra’s body. He clucks his tongue and turns to Callie, “You’re too old to be dressing your slaves in your own clothes like they was dolls. I recommend you burn that fine dress to avoid being tainted by the sins of Hamm.”
“These are my clothes!” says Alexandra.
The sheriff and his deputies laugh.
“Tell him, Callie! These clothes are mine.”
“You let your girl speak to you in that tone?” The sheriff asks.
“I’m not her girl!”
Alexandra plants her feet. Callie backs toward the door.
“Callie! Tell him.”
Callie edges into the house and eases the door shut. Alexandra faces the sheriff. “My daddy will want a word with you,” Alexandra says, her fire rising.
When she sees a vein on the sheriff’s neck pump the venom that makes men crazy, the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She sighs with relief when Tante Isabelle glides out the back door like a cool breeze. Mother follows, arms akimbo, lips pressed tight.
“Where’s Sheriff Adams?” asks Tante Isabelle in her blue-velvet voice.
“Heart attack. He’ll recover more than likely, but he won’t be back to work for a long time, if ever. Traveling judge deputized me. I’m following up on a slave who escaped from the George­town jail. You seen a big, black buck with a crooked nose and a little finger missing on his left hand?”
“I haven’t made the acquaintance of such a man,” says Tante Isabelle. “How are Mary and Margaret getting along?”
“Who?” asks the sheriff.
“Sheriff Adam’s wife and daughter.”
“Don’t know ’em.”
“Y’all are new to the Georgetown area, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Surely, you’ve heard of Heaven Hill, the oldest plantation on the Santee,” continues Tante Isabelle.
“Yes, Ma’am,” says the sheriff.
Alexandra can tell he’s lying from the way he shifts in his saddle and looks to his men to provide him with the correct answer.
“Well then, I am pleased to present the mistress of that famous plantation, Miss Josephine Degambia.” Mother curls her lips into her Mona Lisa smile and nods.
The sheriff tips his hat.
“And her daughter, my niece, Alexandra Degambia,” Tante Isabelle continues.
The sheriff’s eyes bulge as Alexandra forces herself to curtsey.
“Carolina Gold, the most sought-after rice in the world, is shipped all over the world from Heaven Hill, but I’m sure you knew that, Sheriff. Where’d y’all say you’re from?” Tante Isabelle doesn’t wait for his answer. “Now, if all y’all are still thirsty, you and your men are welcome to use the well in back of the blacksmith’s shop. The water’s fresh and sweet, sure to cool you down on a hot day like this. When you’re done, be so kind as to show yourselves to the main road.”
The sheriff turns his horse and kicks it to a canter. When he and his deputies are specks on the horizon, Callie slips onto the porch from the back door followed by her mother. “Shall we stroll in the maze garden?” Callie asks Alexandra.

About the Author

Dorothea Hubble Bonneau is an award-winning novelist, produced playwright and optioned screenwriter. Inspired by a quest for justice, her work is informed by her love of family, nature, and the literary arts.
Dorothea is a member of Author’s Guild, Women in Film, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Aspen Summer Words Alumni, and Historical Writers of America.
Contact Links
Twitter: @DorotheaBonneau
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Once in a Blood Moon Reveal

Once in a Blood Moon


Historical Fiction
Date Published: June 11, 2020
Heaven’s Hill Plantation, upriver from Georgetown, South Carolina,1807: Sixteen-year-old Alexandra Degambia is the daughter of a wealthy African-American planter and a social-climbing mother who can pass for white. Balancing on the tightrope between girlhood and the complicated adult world is a treacherous undertaking. One misstep could ruin a young woman’s prospects forever. 


 Alexandra yearns to establish her own place in the world as an accomplished violinist. She assumes her talent and her family’s wealth will pave her way to success—however, her life becomes a nightmare when her mother dies and her father is murdered by bigoted officials eager to seize the plantation for their own. 


 Alexandra and her little brother, Jimi, heirs to Heaven’s Hill, have targets on their backs. They are forced to flee for their lives. 


What the future holds is uncertain. Sometimes fate has its own plans. 

Early Review
KIRKUS REVIEW:
Alexandra is a tenacious heroine who’s easy to root for, and the author elegantly articulates her precarious position between white and black society. Overall, this novel explores issues of equality and personal freedom in thought-provoking ways.
Sharp writing, an original plot, and a strong female protagonist make for an engrossing read.
About the Author

Dorothea Hubble Bonneau is an award-winning author, an optioned screenwriter, and published playwright.

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