Comments from readers about Shadow of Dawn
Foreword to Shadow of Dawn by Michael Warren
"Kudos for Debra Diaz. With a fine eye for detail and a keen ear for nuance, she brings the South to life in a mesmerizing tale set in the dark days of the Civil War. Diaz creates a lovable heroine and adds enough surprises to keep you turning pages. Shadow of Dawn is a "must read" for history buffs...and for anyone who loves a good story chock full of love, honor and courage."
Peggy Webb, best-selling author of Where Dolphins Go
"In the finest tradition of southern writers, Debra Diaz has crafted a great story of historically-authentic fiction and tells it well. Shadow of Dawn is a masterfully written, gripping tale of romance, intrigue and espionage set in the turbulent days of the Civil War."
Michael Warren, Ph.D., editor, The Rebel Yell Newsletter, Civil War battle re-enactor
"With the detail of historical fiction, the action of a spy thriller, and the passion of a romance novel, Debra Diaz's Shadow of Dawn transports the reader to Richmond, Virginia, at the height of the Civil War. The unexpected twists and turns of the plot result in a real page-turner ...The faith, courage and determination of so long ago still speak to our age."
Dr. Carl M. White
"When I waked the morning after I read half the night...I thought I was in the Henderson's house! I felt I was actually in the room with those people. I could hear them speak. I could feel the wind, hear their footsteps, hear the doors open and close. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time...I was totally transported back in time to the Old South..." Melba C.
"I loved the book...I couldn't put it down." Jan C.
"I have very low vision but with the use of magnifiers I read the book as quickly as I could...Since the loss of my vision I have not wanted to read but now you have piqued my interest with your book. I could not put it down." Brenda W.
"I wanted you to know that I lost a night's sleep last night. I was so engrossed by the book that I absolutely could not put it down! I closed my book...as the birds began to sing and the light began to break on this Saturday morning..." Teresia C.
"I'm an avid reader, and it kept me guessing as to how it would end..." Janet T.
"When we arrived home from work my copy of Shadow of Dawn was in the mailbox. I started reading it last night and read about half of it. Just finished reading the other half tonight and I am absolutely blown away. My favorite reading is Historical Fiction and I can't begin to tell you how many books I've read over the last ten years but don't know when I have enjoyed a book as much as I did yours. I can hardly wait for your next book!" Cheryl R.
"We went on a ...trip and while my wife was driving I decided to start reading your book. I read the first thirteen chapters before I had to make myself put it down so that I could take my turn at driving...Can't wait for the next book to come out." Barry C.
"...I couldn't stand to put it down for anything. When I had to, I would be thinking of it the whole time, trying to figure out what could possibly happen next..." Christy K.
"The book was wonderful! I felt like I was actually in the Civil War era..." Lisa H.
"I have read thousands of books in my lifetime and some I struggled through and some I could hardly put down. Yours falls under the last category...Hope to get to read some more of your books in the near future. At my age sooner than later!" Waymon T.
"Several days ago I came across your book and decided to read during my lunch period every day. Let me tell you, I could hardly put the book down whenever my lunch was over..." Rita P.
by Michael Warren, Ph.D.
The southern mystique is a combination of character, culture, place,
and heritage. In Shadow of Dawn, Debra Diaz captures the uniqueness
of the South and her people in a special way.
Storytelling is an integral part of southern culture, and this spellbinding
story with a couple of O. Henry-like whirligig plot developments
will knock your socks off (figuratively speaking, of course).
Diaz avoids both an undue glorifying of an imaginary (but unrealized)
ideal, and an unseemly stereotypical condescension.
The book is set in Richmond, Virginia, during the dark period between
1861 and 1865, a period that we “Southrons” still refer to as the
War for Southern Independence. However, the focus of the book is not
military strategy or battle chronologies. Diaz opts rather to tell the story
of an ordinary young woman whose life is impacted on several levels
by the momentous clash of political ideologies and military operations.
The book’s young heroine is forced by circumstances beyond her control
to interact with the cloak and dagger elements of espionage and
counterespionage, which are ever-present realities during times of
armed conflict.
Shadow of Dawn reminds the reader that war tends to magnify the
dominant characteristics of individual lives. The virtue of the noble
looms larger than life, and the vices of the ignoble abound until licentiousness
consumes constraint. The book’s hero and heroine ideally
exemplify those noble Southerners who committed themselves to the
struggle for independence with resolve to the bitter end. Other characters
typify those Southerners who were so self-absorbed they either
made no contribution to the war effort, or became subversive and mercenary
in hopes of personal profit.
Diaz also rightly reminds the reader that when southern men
marched off to war, southern women did their part, too. They kept the
home fires burning. They nursed the wounded. And on occasion they
actively engaged in espionage. During trying times, they struggled and
succeeded in attaining the best degree of normalcy they could. And
when the story of the war would be told, the recounting is complete
only when the saga of their efforts and exploits holds the prominent
place it deserves.
The story told herein is so believable the reader can easily imagine
Diaz’s heroine years after the book ends with a gaggle of giggling, big-
eyed grandchildren sitting around her feet. Their little faces would be
upturned and intent as they listen to their grandmother spin yarns of
days long gone and the things she and their grandfather did during the
war. More than being entertained, they would thus absorb the essence
of what being southern really is.
The reader who seeks an honest, entertaining, grippingly suspenseful,
historical novel that exalts southern ladies, life, and literature need
look no further than the pages of Shadow of Dawn.
Michael Warren, Ph.D.
Editor, The Rebel Yell Newsletter; Civil War battle re-enactor with the
Fifth Mississippi Dismounted Cavalry, CSA; Second Brigade Executive
Councilman, Mississippi Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans;
Confederate re-enactor in three films: Sabers of Courage, July, and
Reckoning Day. (2003)
