As a former history and English teacher, I've long been fascinated by the rich but sometimes neglected social history of our country. My own hometown of Lindsay, Ontario provided the inspiration and setting for this tale. Riots at the mill, the devastating ague epidemic, the invasion of Orangemen from Omemee, Peterborough Militia searching Lindsay for William Lyon Mackenzie, and the "great fire" of 1861 are just some of the real events of Lindsay’s intriguing past that are portrayed in the novel. Other incidents were typical of any pioneer community and some, like the Rebellion of Upper Canada, incorporate a few real historical characters with the fictional.

This book was carefully and thoroughly researched to provide a realistic portrayal of what life was like for those indomitable pioneers. To allow myself artistic licence, I called Lindsay "Launston Mills".

But this story of dispossessed people emigrating to Canada resonates with me on a more personal level as well. As an immigrant myself more than a century after Rowena’s family escaped from the poverty, injustice, and agrarian unrest in Ireland, I arrived because of another dark period in history. Called “one of the largest episodes of mass human rights abuse in modern history” my family was included in the expulsion of millions of ethnic Germans from their homes in other European nations in the aftermath of WW2. You can see more in An Immigrant’s Thanks – a blog post that I shared in celebration of Canada's 150th birthday in 2017.

In 2025, this special edition of the novel was inspired by the resurgence of support for a strong and free Canada, which has been triggered by the global political and economic climate and its chilling echoes of the lead up to that catastrophic war almost a century ago. Although the story is the same as prior editions, the new cover unambiguously celebrates Canada as a truly wonderful Place to Call Home. And the expanded information in the eBook versions celebrates glimpses of its history through my current body of work. You’ll even find descendants of characters from this novel, and others with a connection to Launston Mills, in each of those other novels.

Gabriele (Tavaszi) Wills,

June, 2025