Shades and Shadows is the first in a series of captivating post Civil War era novels, giving breath to a full-bodied, intimate cast of characters and enveloped in an endearing narrative that sustains the story and the reader as they move enthusiastically from one page to the next. As a young, first-born mixed-race child of a former slave, Sara Gilley is thrust into the unforgiving realities of newfound "freedom" in the Reconstruction South. Living in the cramped room behind the kitchen stove, working tirelessly while being expected to raise her younger siblings, without access to formal education and in the midst of a complex entanglement of familial relationships, Sara struggles to claim control of her and her siblings' futures. Faced with a series of personal tragedies, Sara has little to expect from the world. Through it all, however, she continues to hold out hope that dogged determination, a resolute spirit and well-laid plans will open doors to new worlds of opportunity... But life rarely happens as we plan it. Fortune sometimes deals us a better hand than we ever had reason to hope.