"The Birthday Clock"

...the story begins September 15, 2010

Cynthiana, Kentucky, is a small town in the northeast portion of the state. Although considered north of the Mason-Dixon line at a time when it mattered, its tie to antebellum customs of the south was strong. Named for two daughters of the wealthy man who donated land for the town, it was the site of two Civil war battles. The first was a fierce, unexpected capture by the Confederacy; the second, a joyous re-capture and victory by the Union.

By 1902, only one generation has passed since the Emancipation Proclamation and the end or the Civil War. Amid tense changes in racial relationships, two children learn early lessons about being white, black, and in-between. One will become the leader and namesake of a popular jazz band of the pre-swing era. The other will live a simpler yet complex life in the Bluegrass state. As their separate lives unfold, however, their connection to the cotton picker will follow them both.

"The Birthday Clock" introduces Tillie, one of the major characters in the upcoming narrative non-fiction novel, "The Cotton Picker Scat," by David Alan Brantford. The story debuts here Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010.