"The Skye in June"- a well-loved book. Free ebook until Feb. 26, 2015. Please read and leave a review in the country of which you are. 400 overwhelmingly positive reviews can be found at Amazon.com (US, UK, France); Goodreads.com, Smashwords.com, author's website, and Barnes and Noble.
To purchase on Amazon.
To purchase an autograph copy to to Purchase at june ahern's site.The title is based upon the Isle of Skye where the answer to the mystery can be found.
In the mid 1950's my family emigrated to the United States. My father left one year earlier to find work and a place to live. He had a sponsor, another Scot. My mother brought their seven children on March 17, 1956 to meet him in San Francisco, California. We lived in a flat on Market by 17th Street in an area called Eureka Valley, which one day would become known as the colorful "Castro." When I grew up there it was all family's, Irish, German, some Italian and only three Scottish families, us, the Frazier's and the Love's. The eldest child, a sister, went to St. Paul's High school and the rest of us who were of school age, to Most Holy Redeemer. Yes, we were a staunch Catholic family and that was one of the reasons my parents decided to immigrate. When I was 11 years of age we became U.S. citizens. The love of Scotland and history was kept alive through my parents and their Scottish friends, who became our new family, having left behind all of our relatives.
My older siblings remember more of the teasing and confusing of words and life as immigrants, I did not rather than recall the "You talk like an American," or "Stop acting like an American," which to me seemed odd as we were now Americans. My parents and older siblings still had that strong connection to their homeland. And in fact, called it "back home" for many, many years.
The stories of Glasgow, the life they knew there, with the people who they loved and lived with, were told over and over, most funny, some exciting like WWII bombings and the time one sister was kidnapped (and returned.)
Life in Eureka Valley was most memorable to me; our school days with the nuns, kids on the block playing out in the streets until it became dark, the Saturday afternoons at the Castro Theater that just about all the neighborhood kids went to, and the characters one meets growing up that shape your thoughts and actions.
Somewhere in your mind, no matter your age, you feel that "back home" life. I wrote about a lot of it in my novel but embellished or mixed a few characters into one - never wanting anyone to declare - hey! that's me! or another. But those who grew up with me will recognize what and about who I based some. Here's about the book: my Scottish immigrant family.
It's a poignant story about a Scottish immigrant family living in San Francisco during the mid-1950's (way back in the day, eh?) and the four children come to age at the beginning of the Haight/Ashbury Revolution! 1964. If you haven't been to San Francisco or grew up there, you'll like this story. Plus learn some Scottish as you read the MacDonalds, a Glaswegian family, tale. It starts out in Scotland where you meet Cathy MacDonald on her way to the hospital to deliver yet another bairn. After a family tragedy the family travel to San Francisco in hopes for a fresh start and a better life.
The story centers around the youngest child, a redheaded rambunctious girl who has visions that threaten to tear the family apart if revealed.
It's a colorful story, rich in history of The Castro, San Francisco and Scotland. Enjoy the Scottish language and culture. Meet the four kids, all girls and their often hilarious escapades as they try to avoid their father's abusive punishments.
Is there a sequel? Yes, in progress due to the overwhelming requests for more!
Read more on Amazon or Smashwords. com (returns to smashwords on 3/1/15) For more go to june ahern dot com
