I’ll admit it. I’m one of those writers who researches stuff for her books and then fictionizes it to suit my stories. I am proud to say however that while I did some of that in the story I am currently revising, I also stayed true to some of the history.

The revisions are going well and Eden and Andrew are getting deeper into the hunt that currently has them cruising Pilgrim Hall Museum in Massachusetts. At the museum, they are seeing many artifacts from the Mayflower and Pilgrims. I’ve never been a history buff, and I’m horrible with remembering dates, but I’ve enjoyed the process of looking through the information I’ve used for this section of the book. And I can’t help but think how fun it would be to go on a real life hunt like the one Eden and Andrew are on. Well, maybe not just like theirs because it’s not all fun for them. ;)

Here’s a small tidbit from the chapter I’m currently working on to entertain you while I head back to work.

They watched Gertrude amble off with the speed of a retiring tortoise. “She’s sweet.”

“Yes. Reminds me of my great grandmother.” Andrew shook his head and moved on to look at more artifacts and pictures.

Eden wandered toward the Bradford’s Bible and thought about the symbols. She shuffled the different number combinations in her head and tried to grasp any commonalities between the artifacts the carvings had been placed on. “Does the Sparrow-Hawk somehow relate to Bradford, Andrew?”

“It didn’t wreck until after the Mayflower landed, but he wrote about it.”

A small connection, but it was there. Then there was Bradford’s bible and chair and a picture from Washington. The only thing connecting the picture to anything of Bradford’s was the symbol, unless she considered the convenience of the passage that Washington had used in 1789. It wouldn’t have come from Bradford’s exact bible, but it was the same version.

If she’d learned one thing in her years as a hunter, it was that so many connections in one spot weren’t coincidences. The mysteries lie in solving the puzzle of the connections.

Nodding absently to a passing couple, Eden stepped up to the pedestal holding the Geneva Bible. They’d traveled all this way to see if it held clues. She had to check it out for nothing more than to satisfy her interest in all things ancient and Biblical.

She glanced over her shoulder to see that Andrew had positioned himself near the entrance to the room as a look out. Pulling on a pair of cloth gloves she habitually carried, she stepped over the rope barrier and carefully leafed through the fragile pages. That the tome wasn’t encased in some sort of box surprised her, but she wouldn’t complain as it made her job easier.

Profound knowledge impacted her as fundamentally as the passages of this antique book had impacted men, helped them decide their course and guide their actions and inspire their lives. She flipped the pages, listening to the soft crinkle of the pages and absorbing the papery scent unique to old documents. Beneath her hands was one of the first mass-produced translations of the Bible.

In the margin of the Genesis page that Washington had recited from, was a handwritten note.

Upon despair, God granted strength in have and security. The light of eternal life begins with His honor. GWB

Governor William Bradford.

Tears clogged Eden’s throat and clouded her visions. The God spoken of on the pages loved his followers and never gave them more than they could handle. Appreciation and understanding washed through her in a rush of understanding and nostalgic awe.