In West Africa, 1787, Grace Winslow runs away to escape her betrothal---only to be swept up in a slave revolt that reveals the truth about her family's business! Threatened with death, Grace begins to understand the plight of the captives. Will African Cabeto---the man she admires most---sacrifice himself for his people's freedom? 352 pages, softcover from Abingdon.

The Grace in Africa series is a sweeping three-part historical saga of slavery and freedom that takes the reader from an island off the west coast of Africa to Southern plantations and finally on to Canada. All her life, Grace Winslow, the daughter of a mixed marriage between an English sea captain and an African princess, has been sheltered from the truth about the family business--the capture and trade of slaves.
 

Set in 1787 in West Africa, The Call of Zulina opens as the scorching harmattan winds blow. Desperate to avoid marriage to an odious suitor, Grace escapes the family compound only to be caught up in a slave revolt at the fortress of Zulina. Soon, she begins to grasp the brutality and ferocity of the family business. Held for ransom, viciously maimed by a runaway slave, and threatened with death, Grace is finally jerked into reality and comes to sympathize with the plight of the captives. She admires their strength and courage and is genuinely moved by the African Cabeto’s passion, determination, and willingness to sacrifice anything, including his own life, for his people’s freedom.

Of Kay Marshall Stroms 39 published books, four have been book club selections, nine have been translated into foreign languages, and one has been optioned for a movie. Her writing credits also includethe Grace in Africa Series and the Blessings in India series. Her writing has appeared in several volumes, including More Than Conquerors, Amazing Love, The NIV Couple's Devotional Bible and The NIV Women's Devotional Bible, and The Bible for Today's Christian Woman. Her best-known book is Once Blind: The Life of John Newton, which is packaged with the recently released DVD Amazing Grace. She also has written several books with her husband, Dan Kline. Kay is a partner in Kline, Strom International, Inc., leaders in communication training. She currently lives in Eugene, Oregon.Learn more about Kay at www.kaystrom.com

Kay Marshall Strom is the author of 36 books. Her writing also includes numerous magazine articles, curriculum, and scripts for movies and television. An in-demand speaker, more and more both her writing and speaking are taking her around the world. She and her husband Dan Kline live in the Pacific Northwest.

Set in 1787 West Africa, this first novel in a sweeping three-part historical saga features Grace Winslow, whose mother is African royalty and her father a British sea captain. Grace is trapped in an impending unwanted arranged marriage, so she flees from her home and gets involved in a slave revolt at the fortress of Zulina. There she begins to understand the horrific nature of her family's involvement in the slave trade. Grace's heart goes out to the captives, particularly Cabeto, who is determined to win his people's freedom at any cost. VERDICT This compelling drama will challenge readers to remember slavery's brutal history, and its heroic characters will inspire them. Highly recommended.

Strom, evangelical Christian author of 34 books and an activist against modern slavery, takes an indirect approach to calling attention to that issue with her newest fiction title, the first of three planned in the Grace in Africa series, set in West Africa in 1787. Strom’s protagonist, Grace Winslow, the daughter of an English sea captain and an African princess, aligns herself with her father’s slaves. Young adult Grace is promised in marriage to a pompous, offensive white man and even Grace’s mother (who endured the same fate, having been forced to marry for political reasons) colludes with Grace’s father in this scheme. Grace, realizing she is just as much a slave as her full African counterparts, runs away and discovers a new life and a better reason for living. She also has her eyes opened to the atrocities that have surrounded her for years. Strom’s fictional account of the battle at the fortress of Zulina between the slaves and their masters is mostly believable, though some of the dialogue sounds a bit stilted. Strom does succeed in capturing how utterly reprehensible any form of slavery is, past or present. (Aug.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

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Author: Kay Marshall Strom
Submitted: September 22, 2009

    Tell us a little about yourself.  Most of my 36 published books are non-fiction, but I must say, I have enjoyed discovering the power of truth through fiction! This series has been a wonderful adventure, and I am already signed up for the next.

    What was your motivation behind this project?  While I was writing "Once Blind: The Life of John Newton," the story of the slave ship captain turned preacher and abolitionist who wrote "Amazing Grace," I virtually met a real couple from the 1700s. He was an English sea captain and his wife was African. I immediately wondered: "If they'd had a daughter, who would she be? African or English?" Then, when I was in Africa researching another project, I toured an old slave fortress and was struck dumb by the baby-sized manacles bolted to the wall. The story was born in that fortress.

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  This is a period of history we seldom talk about. It is too fraught with blame and guilt. But the forces behind that time are not so different from those of today: hunger for power and money, fear and diminishment of people unlike ourselves, and an endless ability to rationalize. I would like for us to look into the face of the past and change today.

    How were you personally impacted by working on this project?  I definitely consider myself a 21st century abolitionist. It surprises people to learn that slavery is by no means just a scourge of the past. Three times as many people around the world are living as slaves today than in the 18th century!

    Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists?  John Newton, who wrote widely in his time. Gary Haugen of Internation Justice Mission. John Stott. C.S. Lewis.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  My prayer is that when readers finish "The Call of Zulina" - then when they finish the complete Grace in Africa trilogy - they will long to see slavery wiped from the earth...and that they will be eager to play an active part in accomplishing that goal.

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