Southern Novels
Looking for a Southern Gothic Literature
& Southern Fiction?
The Secret Sense of Wildflower
A new southern
gothic novel by
Susan Gabriel
It's a special breed who love and appreciate great Southern Gothic literature.
Author Susan Gabriel was born and raised in the South. It took a three year
hiatus in Colorado to reveal to herself that her heart was in the South and she
returned there and continues to write Southern fiction with a passion. The
Secret Sense of Wildflower has found its place in the special collection of
compelling southern novels that ultimately transcend place and time with a
message of hope and transformation out of the darkest days.
Book Description
In the honored tradition of Southern Gothic, Susan Gabriel seamlessly blends the culture, the pathos, and the humor of the American south in The Secret Sense of Wildflower,
her debut historical Southern novel.
With prose as lush and colorful as the American South, Wildflower is powerful and poignant, brimming with energy and angst, humor and hope.
Set in 1940s Appalachia, The Secret Sense of Wildflower tells the story of Louisa May “Wildflower” McAllister, whose life has been shaped around the recent death of her beloved father in a sawmill accident. While her mother hardens in her grief, Wildflower and her three sisters must cope with their loss themselves, as well with as the demands of daily survival. Despite these hardships, Wildflower has a resilience that is forged with humor, a love of the land, and an endless supply of questions to God, as defined by the preacher of their small rural church.
Johnny Monroe, the town’s teenage ne’er-do-well, begins to set his sights on Wildflower, who does her best to ignore his advances. After Johnny’s younger sister, Ruby, is found hanging dead in an oak tree, Wildflower overhears the awful secret that Ruby was “with child.” With Ruby gone, Johnny’s attention toward Wildflower becomes more ominous. What happens next will leave readers shocked, touched, and finally, as transformed as Wildflower.
The worlds of family, friendship, mourning, and love are explored in this moving, often humorous,
piece of southern gothic literature about healing and hope.
A character-driven novel reminiscent of the work of Reynolds Price in its ability to create a truly original Southern voice, The Secret Sense of Wildflower is certain to be embraced by fans
of Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees) and Harper Lee (To Kill A
Mockingbird).
A Secret Sense of Wildflower will be published by Wild Lily Arts in 2012.
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