Todd The Cedar Cove Chronicles is a southern novel suitable for older children and up.
In 1943, ten year old Todd Jansan lives on a tobacco farm with his family in North Carolina. HIs Uncle Clyde is off at war after having mysteriously disappeared. Events occur with Clyde and the Jansan's cruel neighbor, Horace Hammond, that change things forever.
Reviews of "Todd" "A story about a family with an unusual amount of mishaps and an interesting character (Uncle Clyde). "Todd" is more than riveting fiction. It portrays life in the South during the first half of the 20th century in a very realistic manner. Filled with suspense, the author has created a vivid portrait of a close knit family with strong values that were so prevelant in the South during that era." Nelson Best, retired educator
"Todd" is interesting reading that combines a slice of real life in rural North Carolina with an air of mystery. Definitely an entertaining and capitivating novel, one I'm sure everyone will enjoy." Dr. Walter Futch, dentist and mayor of Leland, NC
"Relive the uncomplicated simple times when gas was rationed and sugar coupons pure gold. But through one neighbor life becomes a never ending series of hurtful events. Caught up in the struggle with hate and failure in the judicial system, the Jansan's self restraint becomes a shinning quality to be honored." Sharon Blinson, owner of the former Master's Touch in Leland, NC
"This novel has a unique way of capturing the heart of the North Carolina Spirit. You can almost smell the collards and ham hocks cooking as these lovable characters come to life in a touching story of love and faith. I couldn't put it down." John M. Peverett, minister
Excerpt
Chapter One
My name is Todd Jansan. It is morning. In my family mornings come early. We go to bed shortly after supper and rise before dawn. Mama and Daddy always get up first. Mama gets started on breakfast. If it’s winter and cold, Daddy starts a fire in the fireplace before telling me and my two sisters to get up. But if it’s summer like it is now he usually goes outside first to check on our corn and tobacco crops before waking us.
Some mornings I awaken when Mama and Daddy first leave their room which is right across the hall from mine. And some I wake up only when Daddy knocks on my door, calling my name. This morning, June 22, 1943, I awake to the muffled sounds of Mama and Daddy talking as they leave their room to start the day. I’m too sleepy to make out what they are saying but I awaken all the same. I push the curtain back from my window and look out at the stars still lingering in the sky. Soon it will be daylight. I like to watch the sky turn from darkness to light.
My family lives on a tobacco farm in the small community of Cedar Cove, North Carolina. Cedar Cove is a place with more land than people and what land that hasn’t been cleared for farming is mostly woods, thick forests and swamps.
We are the Jansan family. Most people in Cedar Cove are related to each other in some way but not us. My Grandpa Robert Jansan and my Grandmother Lillian Reynolds Jansan were both born and raised in South Carolina. They grew up close to each other, knowing one another almost all their lives. Grandpa’s father, Henry Jansan worked in the cotton mills, trying to make a living. Grandpa Robert tried to do the same. He had to quit school to help his family earn money. He always regretted it and was determined that his own children graduate from high school. They all did, but things were different for him. Everyone in the area where he grew up was poor. He said the work in the mill was hard and the pay so little it disgusted him. He always dreamed about getting out and being his own person. He might have gone on dreaming and never doing anything about it, but something happened that changed his mind. He’d been working at the mill for a couple of years hating every moment of it when one morning he saw a familiar face among the girls who ran the sewing machines. It was Lillian Reynolds. He always liked her. They’d never really dated but had sat together often during church functions. Seeing her there did something to him.
The bulk of the collection is eight short stories that are set in yesteryear. The compilation is filled out with four entertaining fantasy pieces and three poems.
My second book is about a boy who has Asperger's Syndrome and is bullied to the point to where he shoots up his school. I have divided the excerpts from it into three parts: Before, during and after the shooting.
