Zoom talk on my novel BESIDE THE STILL WATERS

I'll be giving an online Zoom presentation for the Amherst (Massachusetts) Historical Society on the historical background for my novel, Beside the Still Waters, about the towns that were demolished to create the Quabbin Reservoir. The story is about community and the loss of community, and how our hometowns make up a big part of our family heritage and our personal identities. Photos and map images will accompany the talk, which will be part of the Society’s “History Bites Lunchtime Lecture Series”, this coming Friday, December 3, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Join the Zoom presentation through this link (or contact the Amherst Historical Society’s website):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84485731584#success

Zoom talk on BESIDE THE STILL WATERS

 

Zoom presentation on BESIDE THE STILL WATERS: Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 7 p.m. (ET)

I'll be discussing the historical background of my novel about the four towns that were demolished to create the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts. The story is about community and how the loss of community affects our family heritage and our personal identities. Photos and maps will be part of the presentation hosted by the Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Please email mbaron@holyokelibrary.org for the link to join us. See you there!

Beside the Still Waters - A novel on the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir

This is to announce the release of my latest novel, “Beside the Still Waters”, available as an ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. (Yeah, I know. It seems like we just did this.)


Four towns, gone. Dismantled slowly while their inhabitants grieve for a history and heritage that has been voted away from them. The present threatens; the future belongs to the fearless.

“Beside the Still Waters” is a family saga based on an actual event which displaced four entire towns in central Massachusetts for the construction of a reservoir. Today, the Quabbin Reservoir provides water for millions of citizens, primarily in the greater Boston area.

Families are divided between those who protest the construction project, those who give up and leave, and those who help to build it. The central character is Jenny, a girl who comes of age facing the extinction of her community, who becomes the guardian of her family’s heritage, and ultimately, the one to decide what happens to them.

A rift between two brothers, Eli and John Vaughn, at the turn of the 20th Century continues through to the next generation as John tries to use Jenny, Eli’s daughter, in a plot to regain the family farm from Alonzo, who now runs it, who is Jenny's love. John is broke and eager to sell the farm to the state, which is buying up area property for the coming reservoir. Both Alonzo and Eli refuse to sell their properties, and protest removal by eminent domain. Torn between loyalty to her family and heritage, and the allure of a future beyond the valley, Jenny refuses to remain powerless like the men she loves, but looks for a way to take control. A disastrous decision may prove fatal in a race against time.

This ebook is currently available for 99 cents for a limited time at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. For those without a reading device like the Kindle, Nook or iPad, ebooks can be downloaded and read on your computer through a variety of formats from Smashwords, and the Kindle software can be read on your computer with a free download from Amazon.