Peaches and Cream: A Historical Fiction Novel

Peaches and Cream: A Historical Fiction Novel is a story about family--set in the rural South at the turn of the twentieth century. It begins with the author’s visit to her beloved grandfather’s home in 1974. She uncovers a mysterious dresser drawer, like Pandora’s box--full of precious photographs, lithographs, certificates, and nineteen heart-wrenching letters from a Civil War soldier, who was a great, great uncle. The author felt as if the contents of the dresser drawer were magical, as her grandfather recounted his life to her. She felt as if her heritage, her soul, her very being lived and breathed inside the bureau drawer. She brings the mystifying characters to life in Peaches and Cream: A Historical Fiction Novel. The novel spans centuries as puzzling enigmas are solved and mysteries unraveled. Several murders, love, fire, war, temptation, deceit, lost friends, and ubiquitous human bones are discovered serendipitously along the trail of David Haywood’s journey to self- actualization. Over three hundred study guide questions are included for book clubs and classroom groups based on differentiation, the new wave in curriculum development and Harvard Learning and Brain Research. Maslow’s psychological stages of motivation are discussed and illustrated as well. As historically accurate and educational as the book is, the novel is still humorous and “quite an enjoyable tale.” It is appropriate for all ages--from the middle school reader to the advanced adult stages of educational development.