Synopsis

Rich with history, the geriatric romance in Two Rivers entertains and educates. Without fear of causing “discomfort” to some, Two Rivers takes us deep into the lives of two peoples—Africans and Europeans—in 1854 near Charleston, South Carolina.

In Two Rivers, the parallel courtships of enslaved widow Ella wooing 84-year-old widower Posey and Tiffany Plantation manager James’ pursuit of Jacqueline, daughter of a bank president, reveals the side-by-side lifestyles of enslavers and the enslaved.

Attorney James’ dream was to join the elite planter-banker class by any means necessary. Rebuffed by Congressman William Aiken’s daughter, James turned to Jacqueline. Meanwhile, Angolan Ella was determined to marry Posey, whose ancestry was Igbo.

Though enemies from the day James arrived, both Posey and James respected Senator John C. Calhoun—but for vastly different reasons. For James, Calhoun represented the “rule-maker class” he wanted to join. Posey welcomed Calhoun’s prediction of war between white people.

By 1854, the Tiffany family had enslaved over 300 Africans for more than a century on the 1,100-acre slave labor camp that they called the Tiffany Plantation. The Tiffanys were the largest rice producer in South Carolina’s Colleton District. While the toil of enslaved Africans earned untold riches for the Tiffanys, the Africans endured violence inflicted to force increased rice production and profits followed by the indignity of the bodies of loved ones being stolen from their graves and delivered to a medical school.

Rich with history and a cast of unforgettable characters, Two Rivers is a sweeping saga of two peoples—European immigrants and African abductees. Together, they experience courtships, infanticide, homicide, rape, rebellions, revenge, sabotage, storms, high-stakes gambling, grave-robbing, counterfeiting, slave mortgage-backed securities, and more.

“De troubles Posey be sees” in Two Rivers reminds one of Southern Gothic storytelling.

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Interview with Bob

SBR: Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Bob: Readers can learn more about me than a body needs to know on the “Team” page on my website. I displayed all my books on this page, which includes links to individual book pages for more information. For example, the Two Rivers page includes an “About the Book” message, trailer, free download button for chapters 1-3, and purchase links to retailers in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

SBR: Tell us about the process for coming up with the cover.

Bob: The Two Rivers cover is a photo of a rice harvest painting commissioned by The Rice Museum in Georgetown, South Carolina. I discovered the painting while on a field research trip in 1995 for another book. Twenty-five years later, when I was well into writing the Two Rivers story set on a rice farm, I realized that the painting would make a splendid cover. The cover was produced by a collaboration between the museum’s executive director, museum photographer, my cover designer, and me. The largest rice farms in 1854 were on tidal rivers, hence the title.

SBR: If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?

Bob: That’s a brilliant question. Let’s see. These are the actors that come to mind: Posey would be played by Morgan Freeman, Ella by Viola Davis, James by Tom Cruise, and Penny by Hailey Kilgore.

SBR: Do you have a library membership?

Bob: Yes. Though I have used many public libraries while doing field research, I am a member of only two libraries. I maintain membership in the public library in my former home city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and my current home city of Merida, Yucatan.

SBR: Who is your favorite author and why?

Bob: The late historical novelist Herman Wouk is my favorite author. I remain impressed and inspired by his dedication to thorough field research and authenticity. His work ethic is clear in his companion novels, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. I have done my best to follow his example.

SBR: Who are your heroes?

Bob: Some of my heroes date back to my childhood. So, here’s my list, warts and all: Don Newcombe, Albert Einstein, Herman Wouk, Billie Jean King, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Nina Simone, August Wilson, Ray Charles, Alexandre Dumas, and Barbara Lee. They, like me, had, or have, feet of clay.

SBR: If you could invite one person to dinner, who would it be, and what would you cook?

Bob: I would invite Denzel Washington. I would cook salmon and garlic shrimp, stir-fried mixed veggies, and miniature red potatoes. My garlic shrimp includes diced white onion, real bacon bits, diced white mushrooms, olive oil, butter, Old Bay, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and, of course, garlic.

SBR: oh my, that sounds delicious!  Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions so we could learn more about you.

About the Author

Bob Rogers is the author of the historical novels First Dark and The Laced Chameleon, which earned critical acclaim from Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Review, and Baltimore Examiner. Bob is a meticulous researcher, known to spend extra time, magnifying glass in hand, deciphering 18th and 19th-century handwriting for “just the facts, ma’am.” Bob, a former U.S. Army captain and combat leader during the Vietnam War in Troop A, 1/10 Cavalry, finds his topographic experiences useful in field research. If not closeted in libraries or museums, you are likely to find him walking centuries-old rice fields, battlefields, or in a canoe following the river trails of his characters.

He studied at South Carolina State University and the University of Maryland.

Bob tends his flowers, okra, and tomato plants in Mérida, Yucatán, México.

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Giveaway

Win hardback copy of Two Rivers: De Trouble I Be See, courtesy of the author (one winner)

USA only

ends Nov 17

Two Rivers: De Trouble I Be See by Bob Rogers Book Tour Giveaway