The Books
Grace Family Chronicles Adult Historical Fiction Series
The Grace Family Chronicles is an adult historical fiction books series based in Miami, FL during WWII (the history is real, but the characters have super powers called “Graces”). The series has the feel of an old-fashioned radio soap opera crossed with a comic book and war drama. The cast is large, and their lives intermingle, sometimes in surprising ways. This series is for anyone who enjoys action tinged with humor, featuring real history, and larger than life characters.
Book One
Set against a backdrop of World War II, the Grace family and friends live in, and operate out of, Gracestone, a Miami Beach luxury estate. Most of them are "Graced," meaning they have special powers: Navigators can get anywhere without a map, and are never lost; Incapacitators are never bested in a fight, and can turn any item into a weapon; Knowers can learn all there is to Know about any topic, just by concentrating on it for a few moments. There is no finite number of Graces, and a person can be Graced in more than one way,
In Gracestone 1943, the first book in The Grace Family Chronicles, the characters are focused on protecting the children of Gracestone. Kidnapping is always an issue, mainly because the family patriarch, Henri Grace, is a Midasian Multiplyer, meaning he can Multiply wealth, and he has passed this rare Grace onto one of his grandsons. Greedy people, and even the U. S. government, target Midasian Multiplyers, hoping to exploit their ability to make money.
Book Two
The action continues at Gracestone following the tumultuous ending of Graced 1943. Two Grace family members are in the hospital, and Amandia, the Grace family matriarch, reveals that she indirectly caused the catastrophe that sent them there.
There is a trip to Europe, which goes swimmingly, until the characters are forced to swim, literally. The ending is a cliffhanger that leads into the third book, The Train of Thought.
Anyone who has not read the first book in The Grace Family Chronicles will be able to pick up the story threads; thus, while it is a good idea to read the books in order, it is also fine to read The Atherlings 1944 without having read Graced 1943.
Book Three
Annelisa Grace-Betterman writes detective novels to entertain the troops during WWII, but learns that she is destined to write books that change the world when she is whisked from her family’s Miami luxury estate, Gracestone, to the future by the Conductor of the Train of Thought, a time-traveling boxcar.
Her family members and friends at Gracestone are stunned, but there are other matters to attend to. Her mother, Amandia, is in St. Augustine, trying to break away from the Atherlnigs, a race of people with no consciences. With Annelisa and Amandia gone, her sister, Eleanor, runs the household, with more skill than anyone imagined she possessed. Her husband, Jean-Fils, still suffering from his brain injury, finds himself fighting in France, while her lover, Cy, fetches Jean-Fils illegitimate daughter from Dublin.
Meanwhile, Annelisa’s husband, Humboldt, vows to take revenge on those responsible for his pregnant wife’s disappearance. He’s stuck in Los Alamos, working on the Manhattan Project, and his reputation has been dinged by Initra, his friend Oleg’s spy wife. As the intent behind the project becomes clearer to him, he finds himself thinking about his Japanese relatives on his mother’s side.
Carlissa’s crush, Nathan, enlists, and finds trouble and wildly unexpected news in Hawaii. She diverts herself with Edgie, the president of the drama club. The other Gracestone teen, Niko, stands by crazy Sofia.
Romnel thinks he has Sambria finally ready to go to the alter, and they receive a visit from Tlila, Annelisa’s intersex aunt from Atherling headquarters in Charlestown, Nevis. As the reason for her visit becomes plainer, they all realize just how important it is for Amandia to succeed in unBecoming (becoming a “normal” human being).
No one remains untouched by the war, or adventure in the third installment of The Grace Family Chronicles, The Train of Thought.
Book Four
No one can believe it, but the Grace Family's secret, private island, Cinq Terras, is emitting sulfurous fumes and showing signs of erupting! When the family's undersea expert, Arthur, tells the family this news, they are understandably not happy with it. Especially since Annelisa has disappeared AGAIN, this time, with her Protector, Hana, at the hands of the Conductor, 'Orrance. In the meantime, Amandia is still trying to UnBecome, (stop being an Atherling, and become a normal human being), this time in St. Augustine, FL. Humboldt, Annelisa's husband is still in New Mexico, realizes that his wife can't stay out of trouble, and that the "Gadget" they are working on is almost ready to go. Both Jean-Fils and Nathan are in the Pacific, ending up AWOL by accident. As a result, Nathan finds himself catapulted into a new career, that of a top secret Federal Agent. This story runs through the end of 1944, and ends in a cliffhanger leading into Book 5, Doves and Ashes.
Book Five
BOOK #5 of the Grace Family Chronicles is now available on Amazon. This book takes you all over the globe, from Miami to Vietnam, to the Swiss Alps to the Caribbean islands. The cast of characters increases, adding Annelisa's wise-cracking editor, who is also a Clairvoyant Seer; Ampyra, an undersea woman who can control electricity and is drilling for oil off the Grace Family's secret island, Cinq Terras, and several more. In order to fully enjoy this engrossing book, it is recommended that you read the first 4 books, then this one.
Book Six
Cloud Haven is the last book in this series. In it, poor Humboldt is still out at Los Alamos, and catches the eye of a young woman named Penny. She fancies herself as a "femme fatale" and then gets her dad involved, a big shot in the Army, when Humboldt rejects her attention. This is on top of his worrying about Annelisa, who keeps popping in and out of Gracestone, with "Orrance. He also has to deal with the traitor, Brian causing trouble for him, which he does NOT need. Add to that, Jean-Fils and his "friend" Soto are wandering around Japan trying to meet the Emperor and stop the war, any way they can. There are some great scenes that take place in Japan. Henri finds himself saddled with Atherling kids rescued from Heartland and puts together a unique plan to keep his home and family safe from the adult Atherlings. Nathan's dad, Swag, wants to find himself a girlfriend, and when he does, he finds a doozy. Hana, the Protector finds true love, which she never expected, and Antoine tries to reunite stubborn Jessie with her estranged mom. Nathan and his friend Clarence are in Possum City fighting crime, which sets up book 1 of the follow up series, The Grace Family Chronicles: The Next Generation, set during the Vietnam War era.