Seven Oaks Books
Sarah Nunley is her Uncle Thomas’ favorite niece. Uncle Thomas is a godly man, telling her stories about Jesus and the Bible and taking her for walks in the Virginia woods to point out the marvels of Creation when she is a child. But war comes to Virginia when Sarah is a young woman and soon Uncle Thomas is famous and known by everyone, friend and foe alike, as Stonewall Jackson. But to Sarah Nunley he remains her beloved Uncle Thomas and Seven Oaks remains a plantation of peace in a time of war. Murray Andrew Pura was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and has traveled extensively throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1986, Pura has served five churches in Canada and headlined numerous speaking engagements in Canada and the United States. He has five books published, was a contributor to the Life With God Bible, has been a finalist for The Paraclete Fiction Award, The Dartmouth Book Award, and The John Spencer Hill Literary Award, and has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2010 Kobzar Literary Award of Canada.
Sarah Felicity Nunley could not be more excited - her coming of age celebration is being held in the mansion's ballroom, guests have arrived from all over the county, and her uncle has brought a lovely burgundy dress for her to wear as well as dozens of military cadets for her to dance with. But the greatest surprise of the evening is the sudden appearance of childhood friend Malcolm Becket Ross who she always spurned as an ugly duckling. Sarah has grown up and turned into a woman and she soon realizes Malcolm has grown up and turned into a man. Yet their happiness at discovering one another again is short-lived for Virginia is at war and soon her uncle and father and brothers must march off the to the fight and handsome Malcolm Becket Ross must go with them. Murray Andrew Pura was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and has traveled extensively throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1986, Pura has served five churches in Canada and headlined numerous speaking engagements in Canada and the United States. He has five books published, was a contributor to the Life With God Bible, has been a finalist for The Paraclete Fiction Award, The Dartmouth Book Award, and The John Spencer Hill Literary Award, and has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2010 Kobzar Literary Award of Canada.
In a few minutes everything in Sarah Nunley's life has changed and now she finds herself mistress of the plantation of Seven Oaks. The fact that Malcolm Beckett Ross has been ordered to remain at her side is both a blessing and a curse - a blessing because she can use his help, a curse because she finds her affections for him growing stronger and she is in no state of mind to act on those affections. But a violent storm seals Sarah and Malcolm indoors together and makes it impossible for her to ignore her feelings for the young soldier any longer. Yet with the storm comes not only an opportunity for her to express her love but a great danger she can do nothing to avoid, a danger that threatens both their lives.
War has come to the Shenandoah Valley and to Seven Oaks but so has a romance that bit-by-bit begins to turn Sarah's mind towards thoughts of marriage. A surprise visit by her uncle, Stonewall Jackson, accompanied by cavalry commander Jeb Stuart and one of his handsome young officers, sets her head spinning. As her love for the young man grows so do her fears that he will be hurt or killed in the fierce fighting that rages through 1862 from the beginning to the end. She finally realizes there are certain decisions only she can make, and she alone, which will affect her future and the future of Seven Oaks plantation forever.
War still hovers over America like a dark winter cloud but it can't stop the love Malcolm and Sarah have for one another. After many changes of date and changes of plan their marriage is finally set for Saturday, February 14th, 1863 - Valentine's Day. Since the man giving her away is her uncle Stonewall Jackson the guests at the wedding include a virtual who's who of the Army of Northern Virginia, including such luminaries as Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart. Everyone is doing their best to get Seven Oaks ready for the celebration, but even with so many doing their best and trying their hardest Sarah is still worried they will not be ready in time for the hundreds of well-wishers who will soon be descending upon the old Virginia plantation.
Sarah is a young bride, newly married, filled with happiness and joy, and she fills Seven Oaks with that same exuberant and bright spirit. But her marriage to dashing cavalry officer Malcolm Beckett Scott does not stop the Civil War. Soon the spring of 1863 has come, the rain showers of winter have ended, the roads have dried, and Union and Confederate armies are on the move. And that means her young husband, and her beloved uncle General Stonewall Jackson, are on the move as well. Sarah can only go to her knees and pray they will be spared as the fighting spreads through Virginia once again. Will this be the year the South gains her independence? What does the new year have in store for Sarah Nunley Ross and the Confederate States of America? She can only hope and dream - and be strong.
1863 is a banner year for Seven Oaks plantation and the South. The victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville in the spring seems to be the next to last step to seeing the South win her independence. But suddenly everything begins to go wrong, all the dreams and hopes begin to unravel, not only for the South but for Sarah after the death of her uncle, Stonewall Jackson. Gettysburg leads to the fall of Atlanta and Sherman's March to the Sea and eventually Appomattox, and Sarah does not know if Malcolm or her brothers are dead or alive. As winter looms she looks at the coming of Christmas with dread - who can celebrate Christmas and faith in a Savior in a defeated and destitute nation? Yet, summoning up the last of her courage, Sarah is determined to try and honor Christmas at Seven Oaks in a manner that not only blesses her plantation but all the neighbors for miles around who are victims of the terrible war that has ruined so many of their lives.