Freedom’s Ghost: A Mystery of the American Revolution (Bone Rattler Book 7)
by Eliot Pattison
Counterpoint
Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1640096783
400 Pages
On Sale: October 22, 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
BOOK SYNOPSIS
As the drumbeat of the American Revolution grows ever closer, Scotsman-turned-American-patriot Duncan McCallum must navigate treacherous cultural and political waters if he’s to secure a fighting chance for the fledgling nation in this gripping installment of the acclaimed Bone Rattler series.
The harbor town of Marblehead, Massachusetts, is a smoldering powder keg as British loyalists and advocates for liberty feverishly maneuver to determine the future of the colonies. When a Native American sailor is scapegoated for the gruesome murders of officers of the British occupation troops, McCallum will have to face off against ruthless adversaries close to the crown. Soliciting the assistance of such notable historical figures as John Hancock, Crispus Attucks, and John and Samuel Adams, McCallum must rely on his skills in science, subterfuge, and diplomacy to stave off a war for which America is not yet prepared.
Just as Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series took readers on a thrilling journey through the Napoleonic Wars, Freedom’s Ghost and the Bone Rattler series offer riveting historical adventures embedding readers in the clashes and intrigue of the American Revolution.
Praise for the Revolutionary War Series
“This triumphant combination of whodunit and deeply researched history should help this gifted author get the wider audience he richly deserves.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Pattison adeptly portrays the panorama of late–1700s Massachusetts, sprinkling in historical characters (e.g., John Hancock, John Adams), British spies, impressment, and more.”
―Kirkus Reviews
“Replete with characters who draw the reader into the drama; finely honed to reflect the time and place, full of the respective cultures they portray.” ―Historical Fiction Reviews
AUTHOR INTERVIEW – Interview with Eliot Pattison
At what point did you decide to be an author, and what was your path to publication?
I was an avid reader as a young boy, eager to absorb both fact and fiction, which I think is an important credential for any writer—if you want to be a good writer, start by being a good reader. By the time I was in college it felt perfectly natural to sometimes switch roles and generate ideas for others to read. I had been writing reviews, essays, and nonfiction books for years before I yielded to my muse, which had been prodding me to try fiction. Editors were incredulous when I offered as my first novel a mystery set in Tibet, but it finally found a home and that first novel, The Skull Mantra, won the Edgar. I’ve continued with fiction ever since and recently completed my nineteenth novel. Nonfiction might feed the brain, but well-done fiction can capture the heart—of writer and reader alike.
What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?
New ideas frequently ambush me while I am working on a project. I keep a notebook where I record them and then do my best to move back to my work. That commitment to the current project is critically important. A successful writer is a disciplined writer. There can be great value in keeping a record of new ideas, and an art to filtering and synthesizing them. Sometimes, as if struck by lightning, two or three might magically meld together into something totally unexpected and inspirational.
What have you found to be most challenging about writing in the historical fiction genre?
The greatest challenge for me, and I suspect for most writers of serious historical fiction, is weaving a balanced pattern between threads of historical fact and threads of the fictional story. I am fastidious about remaining true to history but if historical fact overwhelms the fiction, the book starts sounding like a lecture. Readers don’t mind being educated as long as it doesn’t interfere with the enchantment of a good tale.
Closely related is the challenge of getting into the heads of very different characters, especially in finding authenticity in the perspectives of those who actually lived; Ben Franklin, for example, had a dramatically different personality and approach to life than John Adams. This can make for a difficult juggling act when multiple perspectives converge to drive a plot. As the great novelist E.L.Doctorow once said, “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.”
Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in your professional life/education in your writing?
I think every writer reflects their prior life experience in their work, whether knowingly on not. I have been fortunate in being able to travel extensively around the planet, gaining personal experience with nearly every venue I write about (recently the Orkney Islands). In terms of sites of history, some today are pale shadows of what they had been but a surprising number remain relatively intact—and with a little squinting and imagination there is something to be learned from all of them .I also gained valuable experience, vicariously, in libraries–a vanishing treasure today–which I always found to be vast reservoirs of fact, wisdom and perspective.
Describe the Bone Rattler series in 10 words or less for people just learning about it.
Battered people discovering unexpected paths to justice and freedom.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
Freedom’s Ghost explores the many dimensions and perceptions of freedom in the complex context of America just before the Revolution. Ultimately a careful reader should realize that while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, freedom is found in one’s heart.
Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?
To aspiring authors: Don’t place too much emphasis on formal classes for writers—get out and experience life in the widest, wildest ways possible. Never stop increasing your vocabulary—learn to appreciate the vast richness of the English language. Beware of too many adjectives, and recognize the art of knowing what not to say. Learn to look at the world as a question, and the difference between fact and truth.
To my younger self: Respect your teachers. Read more Shakespeare. Study Latin. And be more careful about all that hitchhiking.
AUTHOR BIO
Since childhood, author Eliot Pattison has been deeply immersed in history. In writing his Revolutionary War series, he calls upon his own ancestry: at least a dozen of his ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, and his own Scottish ancestors were forced out of their native land by the 17th century campaigns of Oliver Cromwell. Pattison has visited every significant venue appearing in his series and collected 18th century newspapers and artifacts, including many of the tools and military equipment mentioned in his novels. Many of the characters step right out of our past, including familiar names like John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. Pattison also highlights the role and plight of marginalized peoples on the road to Revolution. A former resident of Boston and Washington, the author resides on an 18th century farm in Pennsylvania with his wife, three children, and an ever-expanding menagerie of animals.
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