Impressive Debut Novel From C. S. Devereaux
“Fall From Snowbird Mountain – Vivid descriptions, fascinating characters, and beautiful settings propel the reader into the world of Jason Hyde during the Civil War and beyond …This story has it all, and C.S. Devereaux knows how to keep you turning the pages.” — Bruce Gaughran, Author
Society’s Struggle Between Good and Evil
“Although the setting is in the mid 1800’s, the plot, intrigue and human character lessons are extremely pertinent today. Many social issues that were present during and immediately after the Civil War, including women’s rights, racism, social status and concern for our fellow man, are incorporated into today’s society. The constant struggle between good and evil is even more significant today. Certainly we all can relate to the dilemmas faced by Jace (main character) during the difficult times following the Civil War.” — Amazon Customer
Excellent!
“Jason Hyde went from an admirable family man/schoolteacher to counterfeiter. I found myself absorbed with the character and couldn't put this book down for any length of time. It's amazing to me how C .S. Devereaux could see through the eyes of Jason as if she were there and took me there as well. You see, am a descendant of Jason Hyde... his great granddaughter. I can't wait for the next book.” — Lynn Zetouni, Great Granddaughter of Jason Hyde
Buncombe County Courthouse, Asheville, North Carolina
November 1873
Jason Hyde followed the bailiff from the prisoners’ hold through the portico, up the stairs, and into the courtroom past the table bristling with counselors and their lackeys. Around him sat the spectators; a flurry of faces, their drone rising above the attorneys’ murmurings. The hubbub hummed with the meanness of bees in honeysuckle. Heads turned, eyes censured.
Jason ducked his head and stared at his boots, counting steps to the defendant’s box. He clasped his hands to stop their trembling. It seemed all of Asheville had turned out. Slagging criminals happened to be this town’s favorite pastime.
How did it come to this? He dared to remember, a distraction more than last-gasp moralizing. It began with the war. That damnable war, eleven, maybe twelve years ago. Those days were hellacious. But I found a way through it. The only way.
Heart thundering, he stole a peek at the courtroom—the portraits and pungent odor of nervous sweat, familiar. The McNeil boy shot me in this room. I survived. Will I survive this? He ventured a side-eyed scrutiny first of his defense lawyers, then the prosecutors.
Question is, how much do they know?
Excerpt from Fall From Snowbird Mountain, a novel by C.S. Devereaux
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author.
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Podcasts & Radio
S02 E01 -Dialogues with Creators by Barbara Graham Tucker episode description
Join us as we talk with Devereaux Chivington-Stebbins about her latest published book Fall from Snowbird Mountain and her experiences leading to her becoming an author. She published the book under the name CS Devereaux.
Open Book with host Richard Winham episode description
Richard Winham shares a conversation with Devereaux Chivington Stebbins. Devereaux, who writes under the pen name C.S. Devereaux, published her latest novel, which also happens to be her first work of historical fiction.
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C.S. Devereaux’s love for the stories of ordinary people grew out of listening to her grandmothers tell about their lives. “Ordinary people teach us about history from a relatable personal perspective. They also teach us about ourselves. Human beings have been led by their emotions, dreams, and desires as much as by the need to survive. In that respect, we are the same today as in the past.” An artist-turned-author, she has published essays in The Sun magazine, short stories in Chattanooga Writers’ Guild anthologies and in Realms of the Fantastic, recently released from Jumpmaster Press. Her previous novels include memoirs, Another Adventure, and Idelle.
Desperation Money Greed Intrigue
America, 1861, the Civil War is crippling the South. In the mountains of western Appalachia, Jason Hyde, the local schoolmaster, has lost his job, his family is hungry, and he’s in danger of losing their farm. A trusted friend offers a solution guaranteed to end his troubles and trigger new ones: Counterfeiting. He falls in with the largest counterfeiting operation in America with tendrils that stretch across the United States from the East Coast to Texas and north from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Michigan. Jason’s life nosedives into deception and crime as he hides from the law on the battlefields disguised as a warrior fighting with the Thomas Legion of Cherokees and Mountaineers.
He becomes a hunted man—Pinkerton detectives, commissioned by Abraham Lincoln, are determined to capture him, and Windrake Ferries, a ruthless outlaw and an enemy created during the war, has vowed to kill him. After Ferries attacks Jason’s home and family, the predator becomes prey as Jason seeks Ferries while evading arrest. What happens next leads Jason to a reckoning. Who will capture their quarry first, Jason, ruthless outlaws, or government agents?