I'm seeking publication of my first novel, Freedom's Water, a work of historical fiction. The story begins in September 1752, when a devastating hurricane hits Onslow County, North Carolina. It destroys the county seat—a newly constructed town named Johnston. The county courthouse, its records, and jail were lost in the storm. According to accounts of the storm, eight or nine people were killed.

 

The story is told through the point of view of Aubrey Chester who is indentured to shipwright Oliver Tate. He lives with Tate, his wife Catherine, and daughter young daughter, Abigail. In the height of the storm, Oliver and Catherine are killed when a tree falls on their home. Aubrey and Abigail survive. The day after the storm, a waterman named Old Moses ventures onto the Tate property.

 

Aubrey faces being re-indentured, possibly a longer indenture than the one to which he was obligated under Oliver Tate. Abigail is now an orphan who will be assigned a guardian by the county magistrates and will have no say in her future. Old Moses is a freed Negro who lost his freedom papers in the ravages of the storm. All are subject to losses of freedom. They make a plan to escape their impending fates, using boats built by Oliver and Aubrey to move up the New River and start new lives.

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Victoria and her husband reside in central Virginia. Now retired, she spent much of her working career in public and private libraries. Although born in Maryland, her family roots are in Virginia and North Carolina. When not writing, she volunteers with her library Friends group, bakes, sews, gardens, and reads.