It was a tense time in the American colonies when friends, neighbors and even close family members gradually found themselves torn asunder by conflicting political beliefs. What started as idle routine grumbling and complaints about the government, much as any person might have, became ever more bitter and divisive. People, who thought they knew one another well, became cool or openly hostile when they saw each other on the street because either they or their former friends were obeying or refusing to obey the laws of the land. Laws and taxes one party thought were an inevitable necessity, the other thought completely unjust. Unjust enough to break the laws, ignore the government, and form committees to pressure others to join in boycotts and eventually take up arms. Among this increasing tension and unpleasantness, both Loyalists and Patriots faced many mutual difficulties. Both sides faced the uncertainty of harvests, devastating diseases that seemed to spring from nowhere, lives of hard physical toil, the risks of childbirth, and attacks by the indigenous population as they sided alternately with the Loyalists or Patriots in a desperate struggle to survive the onslaught of the European invaders. Out of this caldron of chaos and conflict, a new nation would be born. It would be created not just by the well known figures of American history but also by the efforts of thousands of ordinary people who joined together in an extraordinary movement. In Patriot Rumbles we continue to follow the lives, loves and conflicts of the characters met in Patriot Zephyrs as they continue to define their loyalties among their friends, families and governments.
About the Author: Beverly Jean DeCoodt is the author of this second book in the trilogy about the daily life, loves, and conflicts of the many ordinary men and women who lived in the British colonies on the eve of the American Revolution. The author grew up in Albany, New York, received her M.Ed. and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and currently lives in South Carolina. While researching her own patriot ancestors for the D.A.R. she became interested in early American history from the perspective of the common person who lived in those turbulent times. For this trilogy, she did extensive historical research into daily life of early colonial people in order to accurately portray details in Patriot Zephyrs and Patriot Rumbles. In addition to academic research, she spent many days in Colonial Williamsburg and other similar historical sites absorbing the minutiae of colonial culture. She is currently writing the third book of this trilogy which will relate the precarious happenings and hazardous adventures of the people the reader met the first two books, Patriot Zephyrs and Patriot Rumbles. It will chronicle their experiences and often fatally different perspectives as forces beyond anyone's control propel society to start a bloody Revolution. She thanks her readers for selecting this book and hopes they will enjoy the sequel as well. She welcomes your comments and can be reached at PatriotZephyrs@sc.rr.com.