A Silver Willow by the Shore excerpt by Kelli Stuart

Hello, reader friends! We are celebrating a new release from Kelli Stuart with a Prism Book Tours giveaway opportunity and A Silver Willow by the Shore excerpt for y’all!

about the book

A Silver Willow by the Shore by Kelli Stuart
Adult Historical, Contemporary, Time-Slip
Paperback & ebook, 380 Pages
October 15th 2019 by Fine Print Writing Press

How do you face the future if you don’t know your own past?

When an unexpected pregnancy changes her dreams, seventeen-year-old Annie tries to keep it from her mother and her grandmother. But secrets have a way of coming out. In a household of strong women, the arrival of a new life sets off a spiral of truth that reveals a past full of whispers and lies—a past that existed in another world under the heavy hand of Soviet oppression. This history has dictated the circumstances of the present, but hope, redemption, and forgiveness will grow in the rocky places of these generational differences.

A Silver Willow by the Shore is the story of the unshakeable love between mothers and daughters and of the impact that past decisions can have on present day circumstances. This novel weaves together the stories of generations of women, from the gulags of 1930’s Siberia, to the quiet oppression of 1980’s Soviet Moscow, to present day Tennessee. It is an unforgettable narrative of the treachery of secrets, and of the light that unites the heart of a family.

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A Silver Willow by the Shore excerpt

NINA

Nina opens her eyes and stares a moment longer at the picture, crossing her arms tight over her chest. Her childhood memories are comprised of standing next to her mother in lines. She turns to look at Elizaveta who sleeps soundly in her chair in the corner, a book in her lap. Her chin rests on her chest and she breathes slowly.

Nina creeps forward to study her mother more closely. She glances down at the book in Elizaveta’s hands and recognizes her mother’s scrawling handwriting. It’s not a book, but a journal. A pencil lies in the crease. Very slowly, Nina leans for- ward to study the page. At the top is a picture, small strokes of the pencil form the outline of a fence. Stretching across the top of the fence are circular loops with sharp edges, barbed wire. And between one of the slats of the fence, Nina sees a single eye peering out. She bites her lip as she studies the picture.

It’s been years since Nina saw one of her mother’s drawings. She didn’t even know Elizaveta still put pencil to paper. As a child, she used to watch her mother in fascination when she drew, because she never seemed to realize what she was doing when she began. Peering beneath the small drawing, Nina reads the words her mother has scrawled across the page.

“My earliest memory is cold. I remember feeling terribly cold all the time. My mother used to tell me to think of warm things, and I would be warm, but it never worked because I didn’t know anything but the cold. And I hated it.”

Elizaveta lets out a snore causing Nina to stand up sharply. She quickly backs out of the room and closes the door behind her. Resting her hand on the doorknob, Nina pauses for a moment, ingesting the words she just read. . .

about the author

Kelli Stuart

Kelli Stuart is a wife, mother, novelist, and the driver of a smoking’ hot minivan. When she isn’t wrangling her five children, she can be found tapping away at the keyboard.

Kelli is the award winning author of Like a River From Its Course, her debut novel which won the ACFW Carol Award for Best Historical and was nominated for two Christy Awards.

Kelli is also the co-author of Life Creative: Inspiration for Today’s Renaissance Mom with Wendy Speake. You can find more information on her life and writings at her website or connect with Kelli on goodreads, facebook, twitter, pinterest, or instagram!