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COVER REVEAL

Cover Reveal of the award-winning historical From the Drop of Heaven. Lawrence Knorr, award-winning cover designer and owner of Sunbury Press used many historical elements in it’s design.

The inspiration to use the font came from numerous texts at the Ephrata Cloister. The font resembles those used in the Gutenberg Bible and many other books and texts of that time period. Craftsmen originally hand-carved the letters on blocks of wood for the first movable type printing presses. It was used on just about every publication from 1454 to the 1900s in northern Europe.

The vintage engraving by Chevaillier is based on Roi Modus, a 15th century manuscript. It depicts a scene of “beggars and peasants” fighting over wine. Science and Literature in The Middle Ages by Paul Lacroix, published this engraving in London 1878.

The engraving represents a peasant battle over a keg of wine. However, in this use, the peasants are fighting both the devil and their neighbors.

The devil is from another antique engraving, showing the notorious dream that Giuseppe Tartini had that lead him to compose his violin masterpiece, titled “Devil’s Trill”.

Cover From the Drop of Heaven
cover of From the Drop of Heaven

Cover Reveal, the Legends

The novel describes many trips to a magical lake in the Western Vosges, the Lac de la Maix. Two of the legends referenced in the book occur at the lake.

Firstly, The Baptism of Angels, describes a solution to unbaptized babies languishing forever in Limbo.

The second legend mentioned, the Legend of the Devil Fiddler describes the formation of the glacial lake on the mountainside. In the novel, Martin plays his violin in the peaceful valley of the lake in honor of his deceased loved ones. Despite the respectful memorial, upon hearing of a celebration honoring two women accused of witchcraft, the evil priest invented the story of the Devil Fiddler to scare people away. Today, they say, you can sometimes still hear the sound of the fiddle at the lake.

The story

In the minds of the people in 1585, the devil is forever present. Everyone is a heretic to one side or the other. Accusations of witchcraft abound. Though estimates vary widely, as many as 50,000 to 80,000 people were executed as witches between 1500-1600 in Europe, especially in the Holy Roman Empire and Lorraine.

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Pain and Inflammation

Home Remedies

Ginger

Home Remedies
“Ginger” by notafish is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.

People have used ginger for thousands of years to expel toxins in the body. Ginger’s natural anti-inflammatory properties will soothe your throat and warm your body to chase colds away. You need about a two-inch piece of ginger root. Peel and thinly slice and add to about four cups of water. Allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, and then strain into a mug. Ginger is naturally sweet, so taste before adding anything additional, but a squeeze of lemon, cinnamon, and honey also adds flavor and benefits.

Sources:

Weiner, Michael A., Earth Medicine, Earth Food. MacMillan Publishing Co, Inc. (1980) Print
https://www.naturalnews.com/042226_common_cold_natural_remedies_apple_cider_vinegar.html

Announcing New Historical Fiction

Coming soon…
from Sunbury Press

FROM THE DROP OF HEAVEN

AWARD-WINNING

RENAISSANCE HISTORICAL FICTION

The 2021 Royal Palm Literary Awards Gold Medal Winner for unpublished historical fiction.

Renaissance Historical Fiction at its best!

From the Drop of Heaven

What defense is there to superstition?

It’s 1582, a time when books are banned and witches live next door. Citizens of the European principality of Salm pray the way they want while Catholic and Protestant fanatics in surrounding towns believe theirs is the only truth.

Everyone is a heretic to one side or the other.

Martin, an accused seditionist, seeks safety in Salm. He teaches Nicolas, the mayor’s son, to read. Though Nicolas knows Martin’s books are banned, he cannot resist them.

Catherine Cathillon and her family live in isolation. Though Catholic, her father’s mistrust of the church prevents her from joining the community. A chance meeting with Nicolas changes everything. He reads to Catherine, and when she learns what life is like outside their farm, she begs him to teach her to read. But class differences force them to meet in secret. During the lessons, they fall in love, but their romance is exposed, and spurned lovers swear vengeance.

Lovelorn revenge is one thing, but when one of the banned books is found in Nicolas’s shop, Catherine learns that her father was right. Their true enemy is the man charged with saving their souls, and he will stop at nothing to reinforce his position of power.

Based on real people and events, genealogist Juliette Godot draws upon her own Renaissance-era family to bring you her debut novel From the Drop of Heaven.  

A 2021 Royal Palm Literary Award Gold Medal Winner, From the Drop of Heaven from Sunbury Press is Renaissance Historical Fiction at its best.