Description
"I was immediately drawn to the 'old soul'xa0character of Blinny and the haunting setting of Montana's prairie."xa0 Ann Minnett author ofxa0 "Burden of Breath."This novel is an unexpectedly deep exploration and a unique take on early twentieth century farm life. It's Marie Martin's best work so far, heartbreaking and inspiring."xa0 Karen Wills author of "Remarkable Silence.""The characters were real, the secrets were heartbreakingly realistic, I felt like I was there, every step of the way. " Lisa D. Amazon Reviewer"Have not read a book that so moved and haunted me in a long time. Skillfully crafted and not run of the mill plotting." Bookwyrm, Amazon Reviewer " This is one of those few books that I would enjoy re-reading ." Diane Bedlington, Amazon Reviewer I feel so fortunate to have had a mother who shared stories of her childhood. xa0The beginnings of Blinny's tale is based on what happened to her as a young child living on the prairies in a homestead shack. The house did burn down killing her baby brother and her mother died a few weeks later. Mom and her sister were sent to live in western Montana. xa0The rest of the novel is fiction, but Mom's story gave a starting point. xa0I am blessed to have had over 200,000 folks download Harbored Secrets and have written so many kind reviews. Thank you, readers Marie F Martin lives in a fertile valley at the base of the Rocky Mountains. She enjoys a quiet life where laughter comes easy, love easier. Marie and her four siblings were raised on ten acres of clump grass and bull pine trees. They roamed nearby creeks, woods, and the cemetery. All places for good fun. Her father worked in a sawmill, and her mother was a librarian; an upbringing that fostered love for people and books. Marie has shared a memoir on her website where, you may read stories of her childhood growing up in a rich, rural area filled with unique people and a magnanimous landscape known as the Big Sky County. Read more
Features & Highlights
- Psychological Mystery Blinny Platt's life story has been one filled with longings and betrayal, a legacy that unfolds with all the complexities of a conspiracy. Even as a small girl, she should have known, connected the whispers and snippets, but never did - Not until her secretive step-mother tossed a cache of poems on her lap, exposing lonesome words that breaks the heart. After years of internal angst, Blinny suddenly feels compelled to leave her father's ranch to buy land and build a home herself. In her few restful moments, she finds the image of her mother lingering in the acres around her, in the toast-browns of the prairie grasses, in the colors beneath the browns, in the hint of deep green lingering at the base of seemingly dead grass - the promise of life to come. Maman would always be part of the landscape - first thin and graceful, then cumbersome with child, then wistful and wan, then gone, leaving behind an emptiness she had not prepared Blinny for. The mystery left in the ashes of a burned home unravels slowly, until finally, Blinny learns of the last betrayal, and the truth of why the Platt family fractured.
