Read an #Excerpt from Tituba: The Intentional Witch of Salem @DavidFTamanini #HistoricalFiction

About the Book:

A Promise and a Hope

Enslaved Tituba has been faithful to a promise to her dying mama in Africa. She has appeased the masters from Barbados to Boston to Salem and waited for her magic.

A Mother’s Agony

When Tituba’s only son dies trying to escape slavery, her life changes forever. After enduring the crush only a mother can feel, she rages and turns to vengeance.

Witches Tear into Salem

The villagers see witches and demons everywhere. Their ministers say the Devil has sent them to steal souls. But they are wrong. It is Tituba—disobeying an ancient rule—conjuring terrifying images with magic that sparks the infamous witch hunts of 1692.

A Woman’s Dilemma

As neighbors accuse neighbors of witchcraft, hysterical trials follow. And Tituba gloats in her power. But when hangings begin, her conscience arises. Can she confront her secret crime? And when a chance for redemption presents itself, will she take it?

Tituba THE INTENTIONAL WITCH OF SALEM, with a magical point of view, explores the emotions and reasons driving this unstable time.

Read an #Excerpt from Tituba: The Intentional Witch of Salem 

"Your Akanni's dead, Mr. Parris."

Dead.

The awful word, like an anvil dropped from a height, crushed Tituba. After frozen seconds, she screamed denials, heedless of the master's response, sucking frozen air, burning her lungs as she fed her howling. Tituba began slapping herself, punching and scratching to come awake from this lie.

After exhaustion stilled her, Tituba accepted the truth. My baby is dead.

A gauzy sense, her instinct to blame herself, picked at her, but she rejected it. And with the rejection of her habitual nature, a cold clarity came. She had done nothing to cause this.

When grief washed over her again, Tituba bit the hem of her dress to stifle her urge to scream anew. But the grief, like a wave receding lessened, and was itself overcome by a new wave. Master killed my baby! He branded a scar on her heart and seared a vow by Tituba to never forget he caused her suffering. Nor would she allow that suffering to be quenched. For Akanni's sake she would strike back. Justice must be meted out to her English master and all the people like him—they were all vile. She did not know how to make it happen, but she would not rest until she dispensed it.

Tituba rocked side to side, giving in again to grief. Sometime later, Skitôp arrived to care for her. She found herself in the barn with him. They lay upon a thick mound of hay, under blankets piled high, which did little to muffle their mourning.


About the Author:

I’m a product of great people from the northeastern coal region of Pennsylvania. And I lived in lots of places while growing up in a religiously devout military family. I come from mostly blue-collar people and am proud of it. But after a B.A degree from the University of Maryland, I landed a job as a civil rights investigator of race and gender discrimination. That work in the legal field led me to the University of Detroit Law School and then private law practice for thirty years. During my work as a lawyer, I got to help clients from all walks of life and I learned a lot about human strength, frailty… and hypocrisy.

Our ways of coping with social diversity have always fascinated me. Two of the most interesting areas involve race relations and religion. In my debut novel I drew on my interest and life experiences to weave a historical novel set in Salem during the witch hunts of 1692. Tituba, the tragic and nearly forgotten enslaved African woman, and Rev. Samuel Parris her Puritan owner are surrounded by other people, high and low affected by the witch hunting craziness. With the device of magical powers, I reshaped the well-known story in a new, provocative and I hope entertaining way.

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