In the early 1980's this novel had its beginning preempted by the writing of my Family History. As the author, while wearing tall cowboy boots, trudged through many small country farms in Colorado, Austin, and Fayette Counties and dictated the many small etched tombstones in grown-up weeds onto a small cassette recorder. The index this family history book had of over fifty cemeteries buried in the woods of old homeplaces reflected what my good friend Bill Stein at the Nesbitt Memorial Library in Columbus once told me, "It is one of the most utilized paperbacks in the archives for people searching their family histories." One time, I went in to see the book and could not help laughing as it was taped back together from the daily use of it as a reference manual. Of course, this was all before the Internet had its existence. Time was spent weekly turning through the microfilm to follow one particular family from Oldenburg and Rastede, Germany to Columbus and on to Frelsburg where they settled down near a good friend, William Frels. One would be hard-pressed to fully explain the impact that the Strauss Family descendants had in the State of Texas, as well as thousands upon thousands of other immigrants from Germany, between the years 1836-1846. They came in substantial numbers and had such an impact on politics, economics, and the social life of Texas that much of the things that were, began a dramatic change by the mid-1850's. It is amazing how, as adults, we struggle during our childhood through the date-pocketed courses of history...bored, disenchanted, waiting only for the end of that cobwebbed test of endurance. What we find, in later years, is that history is the most fascinating and stimulating of all areas of knowledge. We can ask ourselves, why this unfortunate paradox? Has "history" really changed? The answer is...No!" However essential dates, names, and places may be to an expert understanding of history, they are not history, but only the checkpoints and framework of history. This novel is about people...real people, with blood and bones, loves and hates, strengths, passions, weaknesses and their belief in Jesus Christ, our Lord. History is joys and sorrows, failures and successes, heartbreaks and ecstasies. What is history? History is power, the exercise of power, and the vacuum of power. A relatively new genre too, one that this author has found intriguing in following the Johann Strauss family from Germany to Texas in the mid-1800's, creative fiction and creative nonfiction takes the writing of history to a whole new level. From over thirty years of family research and the production of numerous history books, creative writing explores the history of people, real people! This novel, although fiction, is based on a true story. It follows a typical German family through the painful decision-making process to leave Germany and pull up roots from generations of farming on the River Hunte near Rastede, Germany. They fight delays from unfavorable winds traveling through the North Sea, storms that take many lives onboard their vessel, contracting yellow fever and other terrible sicknesses, Indian attacks, and many other adversities. Follow the author at his blog site: www.sidneystjames.com Karlshaven, Oldenburg, Rastede, Shaws Bend, Frelsburg, Columbus, Zimmeersheidt, Garwood, Eagle Lake, Frels, Brune, Lilie, Struss, Hunte.
About the Author: Sidney St. James, Author Sidney St. James is a well-liked American novelist, pumping out title after title over the last two decades. His writing career has spanned over forty years including other pen names in different genres. Synopsis Sidney St. James was born in Eagle Lake, Texas, in the early 1950's. He wrote his first historical novel in 1972 while attending Texas A&M University called Adversity - Face to Face. Although drafted in the '70's, it was not published until 2005 and then a second edition in 2018. Over the next several years, James' love for writing delved into creative historical nonfiction with true and exciting novels in the Faith Chronicles, The Lincoln Assassination Series, and the Texas Outlaw Series. One of the top-selling books in the Faith Chronicles, Faith - Seventy Times Seven, made the best-seller status on Amazon.com and helped launched his career worldwide. The story was inspired by his grandmother, Ada Caston Slaton Bonds, the first ordained woman minister in the state of Louisiana for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His paranormal romance series sold worldwide, The Blue Flaming Sword. The novel that kicked off the Storm Lord Trilogy Series was an immediate success, and he became a fan favorite, in the process of transforming the paranormal romance genre. This novel was followed up by Nine Months Will Tell and The Three Keys to Apocalypse. The Best Sellers Between 2005 and today, James's torrential writing pace has not waned since his release of The Faith Chronicles in 2012. Faith - Seventy Times Seven and Adversity - Face to Face rose into the top ten best-selling novels in the historical nonfiction genre. Then, his hit historical non-fiction, Sam Bass and His Horse Marines, drew lots of attention to history buffs around the world. Recent Releases James continues to be a prolific author. In 2016, he released The Flaming Blue Sword, Nine Months Will Tell, and The Three Keys to Apocalypse. In 2017, his releases were Rosenthall, Gideon Returns, The Transformist, and The Death of a Nobel Prize Winner, plus two others, The Phantom of Black Rock Cove and A Prince of Their Own. They are all part of the Gideon Detective Series. There are ten more great readings. Go to the blog site of Sidney St. James at www.sidneystjames.com.