To Follow Her Heart
Page 29
She hadn’t wanted to let him go. Tears trickled as she traced the words carved into the blue slate with her finger. Barney had died on July 13—his eightieth birthday. He’d left an empty place in her heart, but he’d also left a legacy for his children and all the generations to come.
Acknowledgments
Which hope we have, as an anchor of the soul, but sure and steadfast, and it entereth into that which is within the veil.
Hebrews 6:19 (1599 Geneva Bible)
I am so thankful for this moment to share with you those who have encouraged and supported me, making it possible for this book, the third in THE SOUTHOLD CHRONICLES series, to come to fruition.
I give humble thanks to God, the Creator of all and the Light of the world. With God, all things are possible.
Thank you to my sweet family who show their support over and over. Thank you to my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren for being patient while Grammy is writing! My mother is forever my inspiration for the Horton stories. Thank you, Mom! My father is the rock of our family and gives me much to aspire to. He reads my manuscripts, and his enthusiasm is an encouragement to me. Thank you, Dad, for always being there. I love you! My husband, Tom, is always there, too. To brainstorm, read, and bring food to the table when need be. Truly, he’s my helpmate, my love, and my North Star. Thank you—I love you!
A big, big thank-you to my Revell family for their dedication, expertise, and hard work to bring my stories to publication. I cannot begin to say how much I enjoy knowing and working with my editor, Vicki Crumpton. She is a delight, and I appreciate her wise insight, and I’m so very thankful for her. A big thank-you to editor Barb Barnes and freelance editor Charlene Patterson, Michele Misiak, Lindsay Davis, Twila Bennett, Claudia Marsh, Erin Bartels, Lanette Haskins, Karen Steele, Cheryl Van Andel, and their staff. They all give their best to make my book its best!
A very special thank-you to Barbara Scott and Greg Johnson of the WordServe Literary Agency, for their belief in my story and their dedicated work in bringing the Southold Chronicles to publication. Also, I am forever grateful to literary agent Natasha Kern. Her advice was life changing. Thank you, Natasha!
Warm hugs and a big thank-you to author Jane Kirkpatrick for her warm, gracious support and advice. I’ve long been your fan and I’m so honored to call you my friend. Warm hugs and thank-yous to friends and fellow writers Karen Barnett, Patricia Lee, and Tammy Bowers, who took time out of their own busy schedules to critique chapters for me! You three kept me on track!
Thank you to Melissa Andruski and Daniel McCarthy of the Southold Free Library. Dan also works at the Southold Historical Society. Their expertise and friendship mean much to me.
A warm thank-you to my readers—you have joined me on the journey of my heart! A special thank-you to my BookLits, a group of readers who encourage me, pray for me, and joyfully put a shout out for me! I love you all!
A Note from the Author
It was many years ago that I took my mom, Helen Jean Horton Worley, to Long Island to see the Horton Point Lighthouse, named after our ancestor, Barnabas Horton. And it took a few years to begin writing the stories that filled my thoughts after that journey, but Mary Horton would not let go of my heart. To Follow Her Heart concludes THE SOUTHOLD CHRONICLES series, but I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed delving into the past and creating stories around the ancestors I’ve lived with in my dreams!
I’ve connected with many readers who are inspired by their ancestors’ stories, and I hope my books encourage others to find their own roots. Robert Penn Warren said, “History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future.” And I love the Corrie Ten Boom quote, “Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.”
A few notes on names: while THE SOUTHOLD CHRONICLES series is based on my ninth great-grandparents’ real lives, Patience Terry, my heroine in To Follow Her Heart, is completely fictitious. The Terrys are indeed a family that came to Long Island in the 1600s and were instrumental in the founding of Southold, but I created Patience in the first book completely from my imagination. She was a character who grew in my heart—and Jeremy’s, too! Not much is known about what became of Jeremy Horton, but family lore would tell you The Swallow and all of her records sank, and Jeremy survived and made his way to Massachusetts. While I’ve not found documents that support this, it did fit my story well and keeps his memory alive, at least in the imagination! The many children of Mary and Barnabas are recorded here, and I’ve included Abbey as an adopted daughter, as some lore suggests. Harry, like Patience, is completely fictitious. The ship Harry builds with Jeremy is named after my own grandmother, Annabelle Horton.
In my research, I was privileged to walk (literally!) the same paths and roads that Mary and Barnabas Horton tread. I touched the oak cask the Hortons hauled from Old England and the same wooden beams that were hewn from the North Fork timber. When I discovered Barnabas was a baker, I spent a full day at the Alice Ross Hearth Studio in Smithtown, Long Island, preparing food and baking bread just as they did in the seventeenth century. I adored meeting Alice, and I share her passion.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Rebecca DeMarino is the author of A Place in His Heart and To Capture Her Heart, books one and two of THE SOUTHOLD CHRONICLES, a historical romance series inspired by her ninth great-grandparents, Barnabas and Mary Horton, who sailed from England to the New World in the 1600s and were founding members of Southold, Long Island, New York. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Tom. Learn more at www.rebeccademarino.com.
Also in THE SOUTHOLD CHRONICLES series
A Place in His Heart
To Capture Her Heart
RebeccaDeMarino.com
Sign up for announcements about upcoming titles.
Twitter: RevellBooks Facebook: Revell