Local author Jill Hicks to sign books at Browseabout July 7
Local author Jill Hicks will sign copies of her novel "Sundial” at 11 a.m., Sunday, July 7, at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach.
Best known for her Lewes-based trilogy “Bay Avenue,” Hicks has published six novels. All her books are available at Browseabout Books and will be on hand for signing.
“Sundial” dives directly into the debris of broken relationships. The characters, in real time and space, explore the idea, “If I could do it all over again ...” Of course, this journey rekindles the emotions of their youth and comes with inherent risks.
The story begins in 1978, on the North East River at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. At age 17, Faith Livingston learns she is pregnant. A small-town girl, her already uncertain future blows up. Her boyfriend, Noah McKenna, comes from a wealthier family that visits the area to spend time on their motor yacht docked not far from Faith’s home. Leaving for college in the fall, Noah has his whole life ahead of him. However, once he learns of Faith’s pregnancy, he decides he will do whatever it takes to postpone his education, and support Faith and their child. Not everyone, especially Noah’s mother, agrees that his commitment is the best choice for either of them.
Years later, despite living at opposite ends of the country, Noah and Faith meet again. Each has their own family. Each has made a separate life for themselves. But have they truly moved on from their unresolved past? Through a lenticular sundial Noah had given Faith, they are able to experience life as it would have been with all its ups and downs, all its joys and treasures. However, once living within this existence, can they leave it behind again?
Through first-person narrative and dialogue, Hicks takes the reader into the intimate thoughts and actions of each character: their reunion, their pleasures, their struggles, their hurts, the choices of their past, and now the future. They are no longer minors, and now know more than anyone should. Their window of unplanned time together is ending, and a choice must be made.
