Clifford Neal

Kindred Spirits: First Generation Clifford Neal

Publisher Marketing: Kindred Spirits With his feet on the American continent in Colonial Virginia during the early 1700's, William Neal, an Irish immigrant, struggles to establish himself in a society moving toward its destiny as a new nation. An aspiring farmer, settling in the Shenandoah Valley where neighbors are miles apart, William loses his wife in childbirth, and faces life alone. Exploring the wilderness around him, he becomes involved in fur trading with the Indian tribes across the mountains and along the Ohio River. Forming a partnership with a trading company based on the Potomac River, he develops a close relationship with a white family there. Among the Indians, Will is befriended by a chieftain of the Fox tribe and falls in love with a talented, intelligent and beautiful native woman. Unscrupulous and competing English traders create chaos, resulting in violence between the tribes of the Ohio Valley and the Virginians, which threatens open warfare. Virginia's governor calls upon the experience and proven talents of William and assigns him the task of convincing the tribal governments to send delegates to a peace conference in Williamsburg. Negotiating with the tribes, while in danger of being killed by his own countrymen, William and his partners explore uncharted methods of diplomacy and ambassadorship. Months spent in an unknown and magnificent wilderness challenge his every fiber and hone his character. Finding himself the unwilling owner of seven black African slaves and torn between the values of conflicting societies, William longs for love and a return to his simple and peaceful life as a farmer. This is a gripping tale of romance, adventure, greed and intrigue that will find its readers on the edge of their seat and staying up late at night. Kindred Spirits is Book One of a generational series.