Kilpara is a son's journey into his family's past, only to find his future in the land of his ancestors.
Kilpara is set in 1866. The Civil War is over and the future looks bright for bachelor Ellis O’Donovan, until he receives an urgent telegram that summons him home to rural Maryland. He finds his mother seriously ill, but more disturbing is her request to return to her birthplace, Ireland, to die and be buried at Kilpara, the O’Donovan ancestral home. Fulfilling this request is more difficult than Ellis anticipates. He must confront the aristocratic Englishman who refuses his mother her dying wish; appease the strife-ridden Irish who want an O’Donovan reinstated at Kilpara; and deny his attraction to Morrigan Purcenell, granddaughter of the man who bought Kilpara for a pittance.
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Maryland April 1866
The horses galloped harder, necks straining, nostrils steaming, hooves grinding against rain-soaked surfaces. I leaned away from the window to avoid loose muck hurled against the carriage sides. We entered the long avenue, careening around the final bend that brought us face to face with Stonebridge House, its stone turrets rising up to rival springtime mountains in the background. Seamus heaved the reins and drew the panting horses to a standstill in front of wide granite steps.
I hesitated at the open carriage door, sensing the cheerless black mood that waited inside those thick ivy clad walls. Gloom darkened the house after Francis was killed at Fredericksburg and had worsened when Father passed away two years later. I returned then staying just long enough to bid my last farewells. After that I became a reluctant visitor, often denying Mother’s numerous attempts to lure me back home. I wanted to avoid this regretful place once so vital and full of life. Remorse filled me now, remembering how easily I rejected her invitation when she last came to see me in Baltimore. It seemed like yesterday, yet in adding up the months almost a year had passed since that visit. I reflected on the urgency of her telegram. It said nothing more than I should return home at once.
Professional Reviews
Kilpara
Midwest Book Review quotes of Kilpara: Nothing says "you are there" more than using the first personal to capture experience, and seeing countryside and events through the eyes of a passionate protagonist who has spent too much of his life rejecting his family, and who now finds himself in the thick of it.
Your book sounds one right up my reading alley. Best wishes for much success.
You might want to add a poem or two, an article or short story... part of a chapter from the book to whet the reader's appetite and draw more readers to you page.
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