Award-winning poet Joanne A. Howard is debuting her first historical fiction novel inspired by her family’s history as missionaries in India. A commentary on colonialism that has impacted Indian society for generations, packed into an engrossing read for fans of The Poisonwood Bible and The Inheritance of Loss.
Sleeping in the Sun (She Writes Press, Oct 22, 2024) follows young George Hinton and his Indian servant, Arthur, in British-ruled India, as scandalous truths unfold around a mysterious family friend who comes to live with the Hintons.
Told from two different perspectives, Joanne interweaves the experiences of someone with privilege and someone without, while displaying rich descriptions of the Indian landscape.
Sleeping in the Sun will transport you to another time where British influence in India only benefited one group of people.
Praise for Sleeping in the Sun:
“Sleeping in the Sun is a stunning novel that grabs your emotions and doesn’t let go.” — Ginny Kubitz Moyer, author of A Golden Life
“Set against the backdrop of India in the 1930s, Sleeping in the Sun tells the story of the Hintons, a family of American missionaries sent to bring Christianity to the city of Midnapore. Told from the point of view of Gene, the Hintons’ youngest son, and Arthur, their Indian servant, this sweeping historical novel flawlessly transports readers to another time and place. Political, racial, and interpersonal conflicts ensure you won’t be able to put it down. I know I couldn’t.” — Susen Edwards, author of What a Trip and Lookin’ for Love
“Exquisitely rendered and highly nuanced ... Sumptuously written and detailed, this novel is destined to become a classic. A triumph!” — Ashley E. Sweeney, author of Eliza Waite
About the book
In the last years of the British Raj, an American missionary family stayed in Midnapore, India. Though the Hintons enjoy white privileges, they have never been accepted by British society and instead run a boarding house on the outskirts of town where wayward native Indians come to find relief.
Young Gene Hinton, it’s a chance to make friends with Arthur, his family’s Indian servant. When Uncle Ellis, a high-ranking British judge, suddenly arrives and announces he’ll be staying indefinitely in their humble house, life as Gene knows it is interrupted. Also skeptical is Arthur.
Then an Indian woman appears on their doorstep—and, after growing close to her, Arthur learns the sinister truth about the judge. He must now decide where his loyalties lie—and the Hintons must decide if they can still call India home.
You can find out more in the press release here:
https://booksforward.com/
About the Author
Joanne Howard is an Asian-American writer from California. She holds an MFA in writing from Pacific University. Her poetry received an honorable mention from Stanford University’s 2019 Paul Kalanithi Writing Award.
Her fiction has been published in The Catalyst by UC Santa Barbara, The Metaworker Literary Magazine, and the Marin Independent Journal, and her non fiction has been published in Another New Calligraphy and The Santa Barbara Independent.
She lives in Santa Rosa, CA.
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