Signal Mountain author Lynelle Mason displays “Behind Enemy Lines.” Her newest novel, “Where the Rabbits Dance,” is set to be released in early March.Signal Mountain resident Lynelle Mason is preparing for the upcoming release of her new book, “Where the Rabbits Dance.” This is her fifth book, and her third released through publishing company Nurturing Faith, a subsidiary of Baptists Today.
While her first books concentrated mainly on faith and biblical characters, “Where the Rabbits Dance” and last year’s “Behind Enemy Lines” incorporate historical elements and feature her own fictional characters.
“Behind Enemy Lines” concentrates on the Battle of Chickamauga, exploring, from different points of view, the effect of the American Civil War on Baptists.
As the wife of a Baptist preacher, Mason moved to Rossville, Ga., in 1960 with no knowledge of the Battle of Chickamauga. Due to its proximity, the battlefield became a special place for Mason, a former elementary school teacher who was fascinated by its history.
“Where the Rabbits Dance” is also historical fiction, and incorporates elements of Cherokee lore, she said. While reading history books to her students, she said, she got caught up in the drama of the Cherokee removal.
“I’m always fighting for the underdog; I like to look at a situation and ask why it happened the way it did. The more I read, the more remarkable I realized they were,” Mason said of the Cherokee people, adding that the outdoor historical drama “Unto These Hills” she has seen performed in Cherokee, N.C., was also an inspiration. “It’s a very deeply moving experience every time I see it.”
The story’s main character, Lightfoot, is a young Cherokee girl who beats the odds and succeeds in saving her people from the military forces that have forced them into a stockade. She accomplishes the nearly impossible feat with the aid of her dead grandmother, who helps her contact a Sumi warrior – which, according to Cherokee lore, can only be seen by good people, Mason explained – to fight for her people.
“It’s a combination of fact and Indian lore,” said the author. “On its own it would be a good story, but the history of the book is authentic. It’s a beautiful tribute, and I hope Cherokee Indians would be proud to claim this story.”
Mason said the book draws attention to the extreme cruelty of the Georgia Guard and the forces under Andrew Jackson that disregarded the Supreme Court ruling that Georgia could not extend its laws on a sovereign nation such as the Cherokee.
The book is appropriate for schoolchildren in upper-middle grades and older, as well as adults, she said.
“Behind Enemy Lines” is currently available, and “Where the Rabbits Dance” will be released in early March. Both can be purchased for $15 online at nurturingfaith.net, or from Mason, who can be reached at 551-8074.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.