Chickamauga Dreaming -- A Novel on the Civil War's Enduring
Impact
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CHICKAMAUGA DREAMING
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A Richly Illustrated
eNovel on the Civil War's Enduring Impact
By William Mathis
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ILLUSTRATED, HYPERLINKED ELECTRONIC
NOVEL ENHANCES THE FICTION EXPERIENCE
Plunge deep into a surprising
family drama that spans a
century, connecting to the Civil
War and the modern South
through images, videos, and
hyperlinks in an immediately
accessible ebook.
A TRAUMATIC JOURNEY
FROM CIVIL WAR TO CIVIL RIGHTS
The dynamics of the civil rights movement and a century of family
obsession with the Civil War battles at Chickamauga and Chattanooga
coalesce to make Jim Weston a tormented child of the 1960s and 1860s.
JIM HAS A NATURAL TALENT FOR CHALLENGING FAMILY BELIEFS, INVITING
CONFLICT PILED ON CONFLICT:
* He resists his father's Confederate view of the world and Civil
War obsession.
* He takes a contrary stand on civil rights and integation,
becoming deeply involved with a black family.
* He's attracted to an unconventional romance that stirs up anger
and resentment.
* He discovers a shocking family secret.
JIM ALSO HAS A KNACK FOR CREATING PERSONAL TURMOIL:
* He fails to realize the complex implications of his dual life and
chooses avoidance over action.
* He profoundly deceives the woman he loves the most.
* He blames himself for tragedies beyond his control.
A RELUCTANT CHILD OF CHICKAMAUGA
After spending most of his life denying any connection to the Civil
War, Jim eventually concedes he's a child of Chickamauga. No matter
how far he runs away, the Civil War's effect on his family is too
powerful to escape completely. And he discovers that resisting the
conditioning he has received - to worship Confederate heroes
unreservedly, to segregate himself from black society - has unexpected
costs. With one foot anchored in a segregationist family and the other
in black culture, he begins a bruising journey during college that
circles back 20 years later to the Chickamauga Battlefield near where
his life began.
Jim comes of age in the South during the civil rights movement, and
his affinity for black aspirations automatically puts him in conflict
with his father, Ronayne. But the conflict extends in many directions
in adolescence and continues to grow to include a surprising romance
and social relationships.
Ronayne is obsessed with preserving the complex Weston heritage of
war experiences bequeathed by his great-grandfather Wilkie, and he
insists that Jim must carry the torch. Jim is uncertain if his
father's intense devotion to Wilkie, absorbing him in mind and spirit,
reflects genius or insanity. Whatever the label, Ronayne turns the
family home into a theater for Civil War drama, to Jim's immense
chagrin and embarrassment.
BRIDGING THE CIVIL WAR INTO MODERN TIMES
Ronayne follows Wilkie's lead in vociferously claiming that one man,
Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, could have saved the South
from war defeat if he had been given the command he merited. They
attribute the critical Confederate loss at Chattanooga, following a
costly victory at nearby Chickamauga, to the ineptitude of leadership
that overlooked Cleburne's greatness and thereby doomed the South.
Unable to accept defeat, they endlessly review the mistakes at
Chattanooga, certain that they led unnecessarily to the Yankees
polluting Southern culture.
CHICKAMAUGA DREAMING IS ONE OF FEW NOVELS TO:
* Bridge specific events of the Civil War into modern times,
reflecting how attitudes, perspectives, and traumas have the strength
to survive more than a century.
* Feature the Chattanooga area's history, scenic attributes, and
Civil War monuments. Secondarily, Atlanta is also featured.
* Illustrate many of the locations and events, connecting the
historic with the modern.
TWO INTERLINKING STORIES, A CENTURY APART
Jim and Wilkie are dual narrators, one born in 1946 and the other in
1853. Through the journal his descendants inherited, Wilkie recounts
his family's horrific experiences during and after the 1863 battles at
Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Rather than detailing battlefield
minutiae, Wilkie's tale illustrates the war's devastating impact on
civilians.
Jim tells a much different modern story, about reaching out to a
different culture, but in many ways the traumas of his ancestors bleed
into his life. And from an early age he is pulled reluctantly into
Ronayne's War Services, twice annual rituals that honor the sacrifice
of soldiers on both sides. Ronayne intends that Jim will carry on the
rituals when he's gone, but the son is sure that he's in no way like
his father.
DEEP AND COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS
IN ATLANTA'S BLACK COMMUNITY
As Jim matures he begins living a dual life, seeking refuge from his
father with kindred spirits who are civil rights activists and
immersing himself in Atlanta's black culture. His deep relationships
with two sisters in the black community, Beverly and Ronda Randolph,
bring both spiritual riches and ceaseless pain.
Jim is the first white person that Beverly, a young poet, feels
comfortable being around. Beverly has a bitter view of white society,
and she's not shy about expresssing it. But lurking deep within her,
fueling her anger, is the emotional aftermath of a racial incident
that she won't discuss with anyone.
STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH WOMEN
Several women besides the Randolph sisters enrich Jim's life,
providing deep friendship, guidance, mentoring, and romance. His
mother provides emotional stability in the family, a counterpoint to
his father's Civil War pursuits. But appearances can be deceiving.
BETH HAS HER OWN PROBLEMS WAITING TO FIND EXPRESSSION:
* She has a simmering resentment with Ronayne that will surprise
and stun him.
* Ronayne frustrates her strong desire to become a country music
performer.
* She harbors a secret that will drain her and divide the family.
Although the Civil War dominates the lives of the modern Weston
family, as it did in the 1860s, other issues beyond civil rights
contribute to the novel's tapestry. Romance, betrayal, music,
baseball, teenage hijinks, eccentric relatives, religion, the Vietnam
War, cultural clashes, slavery, political assassinations, unmasked
heroes, Cherokee history, and a Canada connection all color the story.
INTERNET EXPANDS THE SCOPE OF THE
NOVEL WITH PHOTOS, VIDEOS, LINKS
Chickamauga Dreaming is among the first novels to use the Internet
to enhance the text with photographs, illustrations, video clips, and
hyperlinks. Although author William Mathis wrote the novel for text
reading only, he decided to expand its scope after realizing the story
offered many illustration opportunities and natural reference points
for Internet research.
The result is an electronic novel that gives readers options: read
the text-only version, or enjoy the 123 images and links to 12 video
clips in the illustrated version while exploring some of the 218
hyperlinks to research people, places, events, and ideas.
Complete illustrated version and text-only version useful for mobile
devices: $12.95.
PRODUCT DELIVERY
After payment, you will receive online instructions and an email on
how to download the ebooks immediately. The ebooks are provided as PDF
files, the most popular means for delivering and viewing electronic
documents. Download time will vary depending on your Internet service.
Please see the Ebook Accessibility page for more information.
BUY NOW FOR IMMEDIATE ACCESS
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READ FIRST CHAPTERS [4]
Q&A WITH AUTHOR [5]
Q">"Why haven't you talked about your father?"
"I'd rather talk about me."
"Okay, then, so why haven't you talked about your relationship with
your father?"
"It might confuse the issue."
"Or it might clarify it."
"I'd rather not at this time."
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