In Bright as Gold, the popular Georgia Gold Series reaches its capstone. The last novel in the set of four historical romances linking antebellum Georgia’s coast and mountains brings the reader up to the Reconstruction period.
In recognition of the book's release, author Denise Weimer was interviewed on August 22nd at 3PM on Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio on 88.3 FM WPPR and WCON. Check out our "Hot Topics" to listen to her fascinating interview.
In a special celebration of the series, the public was invited to the Bright as Gold Release Party: An 1865 Harvest Wedding, on Saturday, September 13th from 2 to 5:30PM at Durham Place, Maxeys, Georgia. The late afternoon social included such 1800s pass-times as live music and dancing and historic talks of regional interest.
During her residence in Habersham County, Georgia, Weimer became fascinated with the historical buildings that surrounded her, and when well-known regional historian and artist John Kollock offered his help with her future research, she eagerly accepted. She then began crafting a story about “the summer people” like Kollock's ancestors, coastal tycoons who had in the 1800s built fanciful mountain retreats near Clarkesville. She wanted to show how their lives mingled with those of the hardy pioneers and Cherokee Indians. Weimer discovered that never before had a historical fiction novel been written about the area.
In Gold Rush-era Sautee Shadows, the lives of four families intertwine through romance, adventure and murder. The novel introduces four main characters: Jack Randall, the son of a wealthy shipping magnate who abhors slavery and longs to return to his original homeplace in New York; Mahala Franklin, a beautiful young woman who endures prejudice and rejection because she is half-white and half-Cherokee; Dev Rousseau, a true Southerner who plans to enter the military if the perceived war between the North and South becomes reality; and Carolyn Calhoun, an awkward young socialite forced to choose between two very different brothers.
In the second book in the series, The Gray Divide, hidden loyalties are exposed and relationships threatened as Georgia seeks to become its own republic, only to be plunged into civil war. Faced with taking over his family's shipping firm, Jack must choose between his Northern convictions and his Southern family, while Devereaux tests himself and his feelings for Carolyn on the battlefields of Virginia.
Released in May 2014, The Crimson Bloom, brings Mahala and Carolyn to Savannah just as Sherman advances on the city, forcing everyone to confront their true feelings. Jack must decide whether to abandon his ship and its profits to the Yankees in Wilmington Harbor in order to guide them on a perilous wagon journey across Georgia, or abandon the woman he claims to love, but whom he now knows also has feelings for another. And when Mahala finally reaches safety, her discovery about her father's long-ago murder and missing gold could prove far more dangerous than the war.
In Bright as Gold, the Randalls and Rousseaus rebuild their lives following The War Between the States. Becoming the bride of former blockade runner Jack Randall is challenging for a half-Cherokee girl from the mountains, but Mahala is determined to not only make a place in old Savannah ... but bring redemption to the Randall name as well as the city's shattered society. Meanwhile, battle-hardened Dylan Rousseau returns to the family farm in Habersham County, where his inner wounds threaten to crack him open as surely as the drought-baked earth he must learn to subdue. And somehow he must find a way past his brother's memory into the heart of Carolyn, the woman he has always loved. Weaving between them comes the secret yet deadly lure of lost Confederate gold. Will it divide them forever and devour a family legacy, or will they emerge from the furnace of afflictions as Bright as Gold?
Weimer believes the series appeals to men as well as women since it details the business of the shipping industry of the coastal southern states, the excitement of blockade running, and the military action of the war.
Reviews for the series have been favorable. James A. Cox, editor-in-chief of Midwest Reviews, says of Sautee Shadows, “A riveting interpersonal drama and romance set in 1830s Georgia. Enticing reading all the way through, ... a strong addition to historical fiction collections, recommended.” Paul Yarbrough of Southern Literary Review says of Sautee Shadows, “An exciting historical novel, its roots in the forced emigration of southeastern tribes and the story expanding into mystery as the Union divides.”
The attractive cover designs for the series feature paintings by recently deceased acclaimed artist, John Kollock.
Weimer is a native resident of Georgia. She earned her journalism degree with a minor in history from Asbury University and graduated magna cum laude. She is the author of romantic novella Redeeming Grace, and her magazine articles about Northeast Georgia have appeared in numerous regional publications. Weimer is also a wife and the mother of two young daughters, a life-long living historian, and for many years directed a mid-1800s dance group, The 1860s Civilian Society of Georgia.
For more information about the author and her book launch visit: http://deniseweimerbooks.webs.com