Maggie has always accepted life’s constraints: that is, until she witnesses a breathtaking moment of liberation as a butterfly breaks free from a spider’s web. And this small, defiant act sparks a fire within her soul.
That’s a dangerous thing for a field slave in 1850 Missouri.
As her daughter ascends to the coveted position of personal maid to the Mistress, Maggie’s family is thrust into the intricate dynamics of power and privilege within the House.
But in the shadows, a chance encounter between Maggie’s sons and Preacher, a burly, escaped slave, sets the stage for a risky alliance.
Meanwhile, Lucy, the Master’s lonely daughter, hungers for the warmth and kindness that Maggie effortlessly exudes. The boundaries that separate them are as rigid as the times they live in, but the desire for connection and understanding defies the odds.
Maggie, recognizing an opportunity for freedom, finds herself entwined in a perilous dance between liberation and the relentless pull of her current station.
Will she follow in the path of the butterfly?
What would be your one sentence elevator pitch of what your book is about to get someone to want to read it?
This is the story of Maggie, a slave who excels at picking cotton, and Lucy, a nine year old whose mother believes she can’t excel at anything.
Why do you think Maggie was so persistent in wanting you to tell her story?
Honestly, I still don’t know.
She haunted me for years – years. I’d jot a few things down, toss them away. I kept telling myself it wasn’t a story for me to tell. The ideas would fade – only to come back stronger.
One full moon I dreamt – vividly – of that wild night on the Mississippi River. The next morning I wrote in earnest.
The Honey Tree is different from your ventures into fiction. What is your background to be able to write Maggie’s story? What research did you need to do?
There was a bit of a familiar echo from a few characters to some elders I remember as a child. And if you read Wake of the Sadico, you might see a connection. But I had a ton of research to do.
I disliked research before the internet. Spending hours in libraries trying to learn what 15th century seafaring was truly like is incredibly time consuming – and when you get home you always realize you missed some key details.
Now at least you can Google online, or use it to seek knowledgeable folk. Even then, as I’m doing my early morning writing, I’ll suddenly realize I have no idea if they drank tea or coffee in Missouri.
What will connect the reader to the story and make them keep reading to the end?
I see stories as carnival rides. The events are the track laid down and the characters are the vehicles you ride in. You have to believe in the characters – like them. You need to feel their drive, their desires, their goals.
You must want to take that journey beside them.
Did you have difficulty deciding your book was ready to publish?
I always have trouble letting go. There’s another tweak here, a bit more polishing there.
These stories grow into friends, and it’s hard releasing them. Once they venture out into the world, they take on their own life. You can only watch from the side-line.
What age(s) of reader do you think would enjoy The Honey Tree?
I’ve had friends give it to twelve year olds, who loved it. I suppose it depends on the parent’s perspective.
What’s your next project idea?
I seem to have stumbled across a dead girl in the Arizona desert who wants to talk to her mother.
What led you to leave the sunshine of Arizona to the not-so-much sunshine of Plymouth, England?
My darling spouse is British, and had lived with me in the U.S. for thirty-six years. It was simply my turn to live abroad.
It’s a wonderful adventure.
What do you miss about the U.S.?
Mexican food, large parking lots, and central air. When we bought our place in the UK, I discovered that “A.C.” on this side of the Atlantic stands for an “Airing Cupboard.”
Finally, there are other historical fiction novels with similar subject matter, why should a reader choose The Honey Tree?
To me, this is not another story about slavery. It’s about people who wanted something better for themselves, their families. A man who fought and lost and gave up, then fell in love and fought all the more. About a woman struck by the idea that freedom might be possible after a lifetime of believing otherwise. A woman risking more and more for her children, and then someone else’s child.
In a nutshell, it is about that spiritual leap of faith – and Lucy’s literal leap of faith.
Find The Honey Tree at several outlets including Amazon.
Visit Jo’s books2read.com/HoneyTree site for all of the vendors (12 in all) you can purchase The Honey Tree from.
Jo Sparkes
Website: https://josparkes.com/
© 2014-2024- Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.
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