Congratulations to Heather G. Marshall and Vine Leaves Press on the release of When the Ocean Flies, a novel that explores the pain of separation and abuse, and the power of love to heal even over huge gaps in time and geographical distance.
★★★★★ "A layered narrative of a woman discovering herself...written with such clarity and powerful imagery that even in its most heartbreaking moments, we are held in its grace. A tale eloquently told." ~Shelly Milliron Drancik, author of The Distance of Mercy
When the Ocean Flies
NEW RELEASE: February 27, 2024Genre: Literary Fiction
Paperback: $17.99
Ebook: $5.99
An email from a stranger tells Alison Earley that her natural father, whom she has known for only six years, has died suddenly. What begins as a short trip back to Scotland for a funeral soon becomes a journey that puts adoption, sexuality, and identity on a collision course as Alison finds herself caught between the life and family she has so carefully constructed on one continent and the family from which she was taken on another.
Shunned by her father’s family, reunited with her natural mother, and reconnected with a long-lost love, Alison finds herself trying to shepherd her youngest child towards college while questioning everything she thought she knew about herself.
When her natural mother uncovers a series of letters written to Alison from the grandmother she never knew, resurrecting the stories of generations of women—stories long buried by patriarchal rule—Alison realizes that she must find the courage to face and reveal the secrets of her own past. At what cost, though? And who and what will be left in the aftermath?
Praise for When the Ocean Flies
★★★★★ “A highly emotive tale with strong characterization. Highly recommended!” ~The Wishing Shelf
★★★★★ “In When the Ocean Flies, Heather Marshall uses braided narratives to reveal the many layers of Alison, a woman searching for identity, belonging, and a real sense of family... a complex, sometimes difficult, emotional journey. You will feel profound empathy for Alison, and you’ll relish Marshall’s lush narrative in this beautifully told story.” ~Carla Damron, author of The Orchid Tattoo
★★★★★ “A gorgeous story transporting us over the ocean, continent to continent, during one woman’s lifelong search for true self and the warmth of her birth mother’s love. Like messages found in wave-washed bottles, ancestral letters surface, filled with the pain and power of being female. This book brought me to tears and a greater understanding of my own possibilities.” ~Terresa Cooper Haskew, author of Winston’s Book of Souls
About the Author
Heather G. Marshall is adoptee, author, mother, speaker, teacher, coach, and traveler. Her short fiction has been published in a variety of journals, including Black Middens: New Writing Scotland, and Quarried, an anthology of the best of three decades of Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel. Her first novel, The Thorn Tree, released in 2014 (MP Publishing). Her TED talk, “Letting Go of Expectations,” centers around her adoption and reunion. Originally from Scotland, Heather is currently based in Massachusetts. You can find out more about her at heathergmarshall.com.About the Publisher
Vine Leaves Press likes to blur the line between commercial and experimental works. They publish book-length vignette collections, writing reference books, short story collections, memoir/autobiography, and character-driven novels with a literary bent. Subscribe to the Vine Leaves Press newsletter to receive FREE advanced review copies of upcoming new releases, news about their authors and subscribers, and/or to read the monthly opinion column, SPILL IT! or a daily dose of 50-word stories. Learn more at VineLeavesPress.com.