Ring of Flowers

Read Ring of Flowers Storyline:

Ring of Flowers is a Novella (only 46 pages) and is a companion piece to the full length novel The Calypso Directive, written by the same author... In 1665, in the Derbyshire village of Eyam, the tailor, George Vicars orders a bolt of fabric from London to make a wedding dress for his betrothed daughter, Kathryn. To escape her fate of marrying the town's wealthiest and most odious bachelor, she elopes with her true love, farmhand Paul Foster. Kathryn's departure is fortuitous, because when the fabric is delivered, the parcel is infested with fleas carrying bubonic plague. First bitten and first to die, George Vicars' misfortune becomes the community's death sentence when the town Rector boldly imposes a quarantine on all Eyam residents. Months later, expecting a child, the newlyweds return home to find their world turned upside down. Once inside the township, they are forbidden to leave and Kathryn is forced to give birth in quarantine. Under the shadow plague, and against all odds, Will Foster's paternal ancestor is born . . . with a genetic mutation that will change the world 345 years later.From the AuthorNOTE TO THE READER: Ring of Flowers was originally a historical subplot that wove throughout The Calypso Directive. At first blush, it was meant to be an origin story for my protagonist Will Foster. Also, I had hoped for it to function allegorically, reinforcing two of the novel's main themes: (1) the costs associated with the morality of serving the "greatest good for the greatest number of people", and (2) the hardship of being forced to choose between a path of self sacrifice and one of self-interest.  As the backstory blossomed to 40+ pages, it became clear to both me and my editor that this tragic love story deserved to be a stand alone novella. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please consider reading about Paul and Kathryn's progeny, Will Foster, in the 21st century thriller: The Calypso Directive (available on Amazon in hardback and Kindle editions).