The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree
About this ebook
Readers of Delia Owens, Barbara Kingsolver, Kelly Mustian, and Quinn Connor will be captivated by this haunting Southern debut about found family, folk magic, the long shadow of trauma, the salvation of human connection, and the transcendent beauty of nature.
“India Hayford’s riveting debut is an exploration of tangled familial bonds, loss, love and the redemption of fierce womanhood. Captivating storytelling that is utterly unforgettable.” —Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series
Genevieve Charbonneau talks to ghosts and has a special relationship with rattlesnakes. In her travels, she’s wandered throughout the South, escaping a mental hospital in Alabama, working for a Louisiana circus, and dancing at a hoochy-kootch in Texas. Now for the first time in a decade, she’s allowed her winding path to bring her to the site of her grandmother’s Arkansas farmhouse, a place hallowed in her memory.
She intends only to visit briefly – to pay respects to her buried loved ones and leave. But a chance meeting with a haunted young Vietnam vet reconnects her with the remnants of a family she thought long gone, and their union becomes a catalyst for change and salvation. An abused woman and her daughters develop the courage to fight back, a ghost finds the path away from life, and a sanctimonious predator becomes the prey. In the process, Genevieve must choose between her longing for meaningful connection after years as an outsider and her equally excruciating impulse to run.
Written by a naturalist and set on the land where her family roots stretch back two centuries, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is a haunting story about letting go and the things we leave behind, the power of names, and the ties that bind. It is both harrowing and triumphant, a visceral Southern debut as otherworldly and beautiful as it is unflinching and wry.
*A Publishers Marketplace BUZZ BOOKS Selection*
About the author
India Hayford is a naturalist, historical reenactor, teacher, and artist. Her short stories and feature articles have appeared in various regional and national publications, including Threads and Needle Arts. For the last eight years she has written The Howl, a quarterly wildlife newsletter with national distribution. She is the author of two books on embroidery design and is writing a third about Yemenite Jewish embroidery. Her short story collection, Howl, won the 2023 Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award for best work inspired by nature. India lives in Wyoming with her husband, Roy.
