Pat Winter's writing delves into history and human stories, inspired by a childhood spent telling tales and a belief in the power of immediate narrative. Her work, particularly focused on the 'human story' of the Great River Road from prehistory through 1865, brings the past to life with a vividness she admired in Mark Twain. Her background in journalism and documentary television informs her approach, grounding her historical fiction in meticulously observed detail. Winter's narratives explore pivotal historical periods and the personal experiences that shaped the river's landscape and the people within it.
A.D. 1170-Embittered by the tyranny of the English monarchy, Welsh prince Madoc sailed with ships of settlers across the Western Ocean in search of a new home. Three centuries before Columbus, he landed on the southern coast of North America and there founded a colony of free Welsh in fertile but alien terrain. As they sought to carve out a settlement, they encountered tribes of Native Americans-and shared their struggle to survive in a wild land.
The legend continuesA.D. 1171 In their dragon ship, the Welshmen invade the Mississippi heartland... The front cover is a digitally enhanced pictograph from the early historic period showing Indian canoe men confronting an uktena or river dragon of legend and nightmare.