Laura E Williams – författare

The riveting tale of an executioner''s daughter who struggles to find a different path in lifeBorn into the family of an executioner, Lily has always been sheltered by her mother from the horrors of her father''s occupation. But when her ailing mother takes a turn for the worse, Lily is suddenly thrust into the paralyzing role of executioner''s assistant. Aside from preparing healing concoctions for the suffering and maimed, Lily must now accompany her father at the town executions, something she has never done before. Though she loves her father, the emotional burden of his disturbing profession is just too much for her to bear. Lily must find a way to change her destiny, no matter the consequences.Set in medieval England, this well-researched and beautifully written novel tells the story of one girl''s fight to rise above her fate.

I didn''t have no hope of seeing the ghost stallion but I looked anyway. ''Course he wasn''t really a ghost. He was flesh and bone, with blood running through him so wild that nobody tried to break him.Since Ma ran off, Pa doesn''t pay much attention to Mary Elizabeth. Maybe it''s because she doesn''t look anything like Pa, with her long black hair and brown eyes. Or maybe it''s because of something that happened a long time ago--before Mary Elizabeth was born. Either way, she plans to run away and be free--just like her ma, and just like the mysterious ghost stallion she watches for every night. But then a stranger comes to town, and Mary Elizabeth finds that nothing is what it seems to be.This beautifully crafted novel explores a young girl''s struggle to find the truth behind her past and the courage to save her crumbling family. In lyrical prose, Laura E. Williams paints an intimate portrait of a daughter desperately trying to find a place for herself in her father''s damaged heart.

A thoughtful coming-of-age novel about a young woman struggling to connect with her eccentric mother. "I picked up my poster, raising it so everyone could see that if they chopped down these old oak trees, they''d be killing the South as well. I held it high like I meant it, and I walked around Oak Square forty-six more times that day, till all that was left of the sun was a buttery smear in the sky."Miracle Bott''s activism is a constant embarrassment to her thirteen year old daughter, Starshine. Why does Miracle spend all her time fighting causes? And how can Starshine''s grandmother remain so supportive? After all, the 60''s were a long time ago.First Miracle tries to save the whales, then the ozone layer, and now it''s the old oak trees in the town square. But when Miracle decides to protect one of the oaks by living in it, she may have gone too far--too far for the mayor, the community, and especially her daughter. Now Starshine must find a way to make Miracle come down from the tree before their relationship becomes a lost cause.In her warm, evocative style, Laura Williams explores the relationships between three generations of women struggling to find connections.