The Sower’s Seeds
The Sower’s Seeds is the first novel in a planned series of four related novels that take place in the small fictitious town of Jordan, Indiana. In each of the four novels planned for this series, a simple story line belies a deeper purpose for the novel.
In The Sower’s Seeds, the early death of Elizabeth Brownstone and the separation of her three children into three distinct families set the stage. Chapter by chapter, year by year, the reader follows the lives of Elizabeth’s three children—portentously named Hurricane, Indy, and Enola Gay—as they deal with the different trials and tribulations they confront during the 1950’s, 60’s, on through to the turn of the century. The main characters are contemporary Americans and seem to function at three different levels of maturity. They experience: corporate downsizing, marital stresses, competition’s role in business, ethics, the sexual revolution, loves won and lost, death, sexual abuse, military service, divorce and the family politics of numerous Thanksgiving gatherings—perhaps our most American event.
Throughout the novel Hurricane, the eldest sibling, tries to protect and guide his brother and sister, even while pursuing his own aim of becoming a “man of knowledge.” The Sower’s Seeds delves into questions of family, happiness, and spiritual growth, against the backdrop of life in small-town Indiana.
At its heart, The Sower’s Seeds is about family—those we are born into and those among whom we live. It’s a story about living and dying, about our characteristic natures and our need for nurturing. The Sower’s Seeds is a tapestry woven with questions and curiosity—one that recognizes how difficult it is to live with courage, integrity, and happiness. The universality of the novel—the sower’s seeds aspect of what we are born with and what we are given via our upbringing—is what really appeals here. Although we care about every character, sometimes we wonder if the cards are not stacked against them.
The Sower’s Seeds is written with a fluid style, making only the most important plot connections for the reader. Family dynamics are given a spaciousness that contributes to an overall transcendental tone which is characteristic of the finest American literature.
A signed copy of the novel can be purchased by contacting the author through this website. The Sower’s Seeds is also available on Amazon.com.
