Genre : Historical Fiction Publisher : Blue Amber Press Release Date : January 30 , 2013 Available at Amazon
Book Description :
“ Unsettled conditions anywhere give rise to fear ,” Old Ted remarks . “ Fear finds scapegoats and easy solutions .”
In 1924 , Marie walks through the Waverly Baby Home and chooses Teddy because he looks like the child she deserves ... but the boy has hidden defects . Five years later , against a backdrop of financial ruin , KKK resurgence , hangings and arson , Marie ’ s husband , Merle , struggles to succeed , Marie loses her way , and troubled seven year-old Teddy begins to see what he and his family are missing .
CELEBRATE THE SINNER unfolds with the onset of The Great Depression after Teddy ’ s father buys a bankrupt sawmill and moves his small family to an isolated Oregon mill town . Merle feeds his hunger with logs and production , while his young wife feels like rough-cut lumber , unworthy of paint and without a future . When a conspiracy threatens the mill , Merle adds the powerful KKK to his business network . Untended , Teddy strays as he searches for a connection outside himself . He loves the machines that take the trees , but he also worships his new , young teacher . He discovers the Bucket of Blood Roadhouse and begins spending his Saturday nights peering through its windows , gaining an unlikely mentor : Wattie Blue , an ancient , Black musician from Missouri , by way of Chicago , plays the lip harp and calls out square dances . When Wattie faces the Klan and his past , Teddy and his family are confronted with equally difficult choices .
Framed by solitary , narcissistic , ninety-year-old Ted , this story of desperate people contains humor , grit , mystery and an ending that surprises , even stuns . “ Spines and bellies soften and round off with the years ,” Old Ted muses . “ Thoughts , too , lose their edge , but secrets scream for revelation . Perfect people , after all , don ’ t hold a monopoly on the right to tell their stories .