A beautiful thief, a family secret, hidden treasure and Civil War history…all this and more come to life in Christine Nolfi’s Treasure Me, the first in her Liberty Series mysteries. But that’s not the only one of Christine’s stories we want to share today…
First the book:
Christine Nolfi
Petty thief Birdie Kaminsky has arrived in Liberty, Ohio to steal a treasure hidden since the Civil War. She’s in possession of a charming clue passed down in her family for generations: Liberty safeguards the cherished heart.
The beautiful thief wants to go straight. She secretly admires the clue’s author, freedwoman Justice Postell, who rose above the horrors of slavery to build a new life in Ohio. According to family lore, Justice left South Carolina at the dawn of the Civil War. Heavy with child, she carried untold riches on her journey north. As Birdie searches for the treasure, she begins to believe a questionable part of the story: a tale of love between Justice and Lucas Postell, the French plantation owner who was Birdie’s ancestor.
If the stories are true, Justice bore a child with Lucas. Some of those black relatives might still live in town. Birdie can’t help but wonder if she’s found one—Liberty’s feisty matriarch, Theodora Hendricks, who packs a pistol and heartwarming stories about Justice. Birdie doesn’t know that an investigative reporter who has arrived in town will trip her up—as will her conscience when she begins to wonder if it’s possible to start a new life with stolen riches. Yet with each new clue she unearths, Birdie begins to discover a family history more precious than gems, a tradition of love richer than she could imagine.
Now behind the book:
Christine’s author bio offers a glimpse of how she developed a successful second career as a novelist. “In 2004 I made the wisest and most irrational decision of my life–I began writing fiction full-time. All those years of hard work pay off daily in sweet notes and comments by readers.” We asked Christine how she took that leap to start writing full time. Here’s what she had to say:
“Have you ever watched a child leap high on a trampoline as if she’ll sprout wings?
In 2004 I did something similar as my four adoptive children closed in on puberty. I cleared the sports gear from the spare bedroom, sat down and began writing The Liberty Series. Beautiful thief Birdie Kaminsky in Treasure Me popped into my head fully formed. As the kids watched with bemusement, I wrote the first scene cackling wildly.
These days? If I slip into character while writing, my children know to leave the room.”
Sounds like fun! Thanks, Christine.
