Gallows Road

A beautiful young woman is put on trial and condemned to death for a crime she swears that she did not commit. Inspired by actual incidents in New London, Connecticut in the 1750s, Gallows Road is told through the eyes of an indentured servant, Mercy Bramble. When she is sent to live in a remote farmhouse, seventeen-year-old Mercy finds herself in a destructive and sexual relationship with her twenty-seven-year-old master. She becomes pregnant and her newborn subsequently dies. The mysterious death of her newborn puts Mercy's life in the hands of a jury while three ministers - and the cult-like Children of God - all fight to save her soul. No one believes the truth - that it was someone else in the household who murdered the infant girl. Indentured servants - white or Native American men and women who often worked alongside African-American slaves - were forbidden to marry during the seven years they were bonded to service. Illegitimate births were common, and unwed mothers faced heavy fines and extended periods of servitude. "Gallows Road" combines history with literary invention, and its surprise ending will challenge and inspire readers. The story demonstrates, in an unsettling way, that recorded history might not always reveal the truth.