This novel was inspired by an ancestor (Dr. ‘Doc’ William May) who suffered death at the hands of his forty-year-old suitor’s (Andrew Sheffield) father, Col. James L. Sheffield in 1890. Andrew Sheffield’s story is written in John S. Hughes The Letters of a Victorian Madwoman. I must mention my parents, James and Ora Freeman May, for giving me a carefree country childhood in the Thompson Falls community of Marshall County, Alabama which is still listed by its old name on the county map as Ben Johnson Ridge. There are so many to thank for the completion of this novel, I fear it impossible to list each and everyone. Let me begin with childhood friends and neighbors that inspired my rich and relevant characters. My dearest friend since first grade, Rebecca ‘Becky’ Reynolds, who shares her family with me to this day, and who gave me my fondest characters Minnie Mama, Willene, Billy and Bonzie. I am deeply grateful to friends Debbie Reynolds Clayburg and Ramona Butler Harris for the hours of time spent exploring my story and their invaluable contributions to characters and plot. Billy Skidmore deserves a huge thank you for editing and suggestions, as does Tammy Eudy Noble for her hours of photography. And many, many thanks to Brian Myers, who waited and waited for the completed manuscript. Mere words could never express the gratitude I feel.