About the Book
Book: Rebecca
Author: Shannon McNear
Genre: Christian Fiction / Historical Romance
Release Date: July, 2023
A Native Princess Follows Her Heart
Immerse yourself in the “what if” questions related to the Lost
Colony of Roanoke when a native princess meets an English widower.
Born the daughter of a Powhatan chieftain and a woman of unknown
origins, Matoaka enjoys a carefree life. When strange men from across
the eastern waters appear near her home, she regards them at first as a
mere curiosity. Soon, though, she finds herself torn between friendship
with one of their leaders and the opinions and politics of her elders.
Drawn to a young Englishman, John Rolfe, who has lost a wife and baby
daughter, she shares his griefs. . .and perhaps something more. Could
she have a future among the English of Jamestown, accepting their ways
and even changing her name? Could her fate be a part of the lasting
legacy of the Lost Colony of Roanoke?
Author Shannon McNear portrays history with vivid authenticity.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Transplanted to North Dakota after more than two decades in Charleston, South Carolina, Shannon McNear
loves losing herself in local history. She’s a military wife, mom of
eight, mother-in-law of three, grammie of two, and a member of ACFW and
RWA. Her first novella, Defending Truth in A Pioneer Christmas Collection,
was a 2014 RITA® finalist. When she’s not sewing, researching, or
leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in
the beauty of the northern prairies. Connect with her
at www.shannonmcnear.com, or on Facebook and Goodreads.
More from Shannon
Daughters of the Lost Colony—how are we at book 3 already? I’m both
excited and nervous about this one, which features Pocahontas and the
original Jamestown. Why did I choose her, and this place, when the
overall series is about the Lost Colony?
Among their various other aims, the Jamestown colonists were charged
with finding the Roanoke Colony. John Smith’s own reports reference
this, and one can sense his discouragement and frustration over their
inability to find answers on the fate of those who came to the New World
before them. William Strachey, early secretary to the colony, stated
that Powhatan (that is, the paramount chieftain often called by the same
name as his people group) had slain the last known survivors of the
Roanoke Colony. But nowhere is that claim substantiated.
There were no solid historical connections between the Lost Colony
and Pocahontas—so I created a plausible fictional one in the form of
Emme Merrimoth, a historically documented member of the Roanoke Colony
who in book 1, Elinor, experienced the fictional adventure of
being carried captive to the Powhatan nation. Where Strachey lists the
names of the paramount chieftain’s favored wives, I put Emme in the
place of the real-life Winganuske.
I knew the research would be challenging on this one. What I didn’t
expect was to find Emme’s aspect of this story so compelling—or to fall
in love with Wahunsenecawh, the great Powhatan himself. The
name alone is intimidating, but you can find sound clips of how to
pronounce it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q_10PYf_0U and here:
https://www.nameslook.com/wahunsenacawh/ (ignore the weird stuff and
click on the little red arrows for different voices). There are at least
five or six documented ways to spell it, and the one I picked is
probably the most obscure. I had a year to get used to saying it, but
repeat after me, slowly: wah-HUN-senacoh. Or wah-HOON-senacah, depending upon which rule you use for the U in Algonquian pronunciation, and how you interpret that “wh” at the end.
Names overall were an issue with this story. A few reviewers have
already mentioned this difficulty. The thing is, in Native culture,
especially what we know of the Eastern Algonquian-speaking peoples, a
name wasn’t simply a casual identifier—it defined a person’s entire
identity. We don’t know what most of the names recorded from that time
meant, but we can be sure they weren’t chosen lightly, and they were
valued by those who held them. Indeed, a change of name often
accompanied a change of purpose. It has even been suggested that if the
English had been paying attention, they’d have realized when
Opechancanough changed his name shortly before the great attack of 1622,
it signaled a critical shift in his attitude toward them.
So when you read this story, you may find it helpful to keep a finger
in the cast list—or to place a bookmark on that page if you’re reading
the Kindle version. Thank you so much, again, for taking this journey
with me!
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 27
Texas Book-aholic, July 28
Cover Lover Book Review, July 29
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 30
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 30
Locks, Hooks and Books, July 31
Alena Mentink, July 31
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 1
Connie’s History Classroom , August 2
For Him and My Family, August 3
Mary Hake, August 3
Holly’s Book Corner, August 4
Sylvan Musings, August 4
Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 5
Pause for Tales, August 6
Betti Mace, August 7
Books Less Travelled, August 7
To Everything There Is A Season, August 8
Lights in a Dark World, August 9
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Shannon is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon e-gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
GIVEAWAY
My Thoughts
I have really been enjoying this series and while I have read the previous two novels, this one is very different. You could read this book as a stand alone pretty easily. Of course the other two books might shine a light on a few things in history but you won't be confused in just picking up this book. The author has done tremendous research on the topic of the life of Pocahontas and the lives of the others intertwined with her story. There is a historical reference guide, cast of characters, timeline, name glossary, and overview of people groups in the back of the book. I referenced all of these MANY times. I love this time period and history so I was engrossed from the first page. This is not a light read and to be honest I really struggled reading a few of the chapters due to the gruesome details. There is nothing graphic but many things are implied. It was a really hard life and people could pretty much do whatever they wanted when it came to interaction with the native people. I didn't love this book. If it had been written about a fictional side character I think I would have liked it more. Since the main people are prominent or central historical figures it was a struggle for me to read this as fiction. I thought the historical research was really interesting and the notes in the back of the book make it worth reading.
Three Stars.
"I received this book from the publisher for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review."
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