The Lionhearted
Judy Lynch
Type: Beta project
Genre: Historical fiction
Word count: 85,000
In 1862, during the Civil War, a young midwife arrives in Louisville, Kentucky, to nurse the wounded in field hospitals. Her nephew, a drummer boy, suffers the reality of war at the Battle of Shiloh. Their lives interweave as they collide head-on with wartime destruction, prejudice, and slavery.
Billy Joe’s overbearing father, Zeb, presses him to join the military at age 16, and he takes part in the Battle of Shiloh as a drummer boy. His father, a mule-headed racist, inflicts pain on everyone, especially Billy Joe.
His Aunt Betsy, a naïve young woman, travels on a steamboat to Louisville, a city teeming with military presence, immigrants, new wealth, and commerce. The steamboat captain enables her to buy a family out of bondage with gold nuggets. She experiences the horror of the Perryville battlefield as she works in a field hospital. The story unfolds against a backdrop of historical accuracy. Period detail immerses the reader in the ambiance of the Civil War era.
I’m a southern Indiana country gal who loves hiking the woods, observing parent hawks raising their young, filming juvenile owls whistling their strange call, and hosting hundreds of seasonal hummingbirds. I love animals … especially two pugs named Penny and Poppy. I train at the gym, play the piano, and love to study history. I’ve written three self-published ancestry books for family only. My fascination with the day-to-day life of my third Great-Grandmother compelled me to write The Lionhearted. For three years, it’s been a labor of love; I am honored to share it with you.
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