Elusive Dawn
Book 2 of "The Muskoka Novels"

It happened slowly at first. Thread by thread, the fabric of privilege and complacency enveloping the Wyndham family began to unravel. A carefree summer at their island house, disrupted by the arrival of long lost kin, ended in tragedy, betrayal, and war.

Now, in the compelling sequel to the acclaimed epic, The Summer Before The Storm, Ria and her friends find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.

It's late summer, 1916. While some members of the Wyndham family revel in the last resplendent days of the season at their Muskoka cottage, others continue to be drawn inexorably into the "Great War", going from a world of misty sunrises across a tranquil lake to deadly moonlight bombing raids, festering trenches, and visceral terror.

For Ria, too many things have happened to hope that life would ever return to normal, that innocence could be regained. Caught in the vortex of turbulent events and emotions, she abandons the relative safety of the sidelines in Britain for the nightmare of France.

Her fate as an ambulance driver remains entwined with that of her summer friends, all bound by a sense of duty. Living in the shadows of fear and danger awakens the urgency to grasp life, to live more immediately, more passionately amid the enormity of unprecedented death. Together, their lives weave a tale of liberation and loss, evolution and redemption. Those who survive this cataclysmic time are forever changed, like Canada itself.

Impeccably researched, beautifully written, Elusive Dawn will resonate with the reader long after the final page has been turned.

AUTHOR

Born in Germany, Gabriele emigrated to Canada as a young child. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, with an honours B.Sc. and a B.Ed. in the social sciences and English. As an educator with librarianship qualifications, she has taught in secondary, elementary, and private schools, and worked as a literacy coordinator for two newspapers. She has produced brochures, newsletters, copy, ads, reports, and numerous newspaper articles for many organizations and businesses. For 10 years she operated a part-time website design business.

Gabriele's real love is writing fiction. She is currently working on her fifth novel, which is Book 3 in "The Muskoka Novels" series.

Her first short story, "Mrs. Beresford's Disgrace", won an Honourable Mention in the Canadian Authors Association short story contest, and appears in the Winners' Circle 5 Anthology. In the fall of 2001, she produced a feature, nominated for an award, on CBC Radio's "Outfront".

Gabriele has been an active volunteer in her community, particularly in helping to preserve its heritage. She is a founding member and VP of the Independent Authors & Illustrators of Canada (IAIC), and has created and maintains a website for the association.

Gabriele shares some of her research on the The Great War (for the first two "Muskoka Novels") on the website 4 Years of WW1.

DETAILS

Publisher: Mindshadows, 2008
Category: Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-9732780-3-3
Price: $21.95 CDN/USA paperback
Format: 556 pages 5.5 x 8.5 in