From author Ramona Cecil
Why did I write this book?
The Time for Healing was inspired by the Pigeon Roost Massacre, a tragic event that happened in 1812 in southern Indiana. There, on a serene September afternoon, the unsuspecting frontier settlement of Pigeon Roost was set upon by a contingent of hostile, Shawnee warriors. Twenty-three settlers were killed and it was said that two children were taken captive. The story was told, though also refuted, that many years later one of these children—a little girl—was found by her missionary uncle, living among the Shawnee along the Kankakee River.
Whether or not the account is true, when I first heard this compelling story my writer’s brain immediately went to “I wonder what might have happened if. . .”
I had to write this story!
According to the account the girl—a grown woman when discovered by her kin—was married to an Indian chief and had children of her own. It was said she came back to Indiana to visit her blood relatives, but returned to her husband and children along the Kankakee River.
I wondered what might have happened if the girl was eighteen years old and single when found by her uncle. Now my romance writer’s imagination had reached a full gallop. Maybe the uncle was traveling with a young apprentice minister. The budding story began to blossom. I sat down at my computer and let the story come to me, unfolding like the petals of a flower. I imagined the emotions of the Pigeon Roost survivors, still raw after twelve years. I imagined the girl with suppressed memories of the horrific event clinging to her adoptive Shawnee culture like a security blanket as she shies away from painful memories. I could imagine that all affected needed healing. Healing. What if the girl was practicing to become a healer—a Shawnee medicine woman? Another petal of the flower opened up. Little by little the flower finally reached full bloom. The result became The Time for Healing. I hope my readers enjoy Ginny Red Fawn’s and Jeremiah’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
