“It would have to be now or never. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and jumped!”
 
Based on a true story. 
 
In October 1660, Etienne Gayneau rushes through the cobblestone streets of La Rochelle, France, to meet his cousin at the harbor. A ship carrying King Louis XIV's elite musketeers is docking. He dreams of becoming one himself, but has no idea that their arrival will force his Huguenot family to flee in the dead of night. His cousin has offered him a safe haven. Now he must choose - stay and pursue his dream or leave and face an uncertain destiny. Both choices are fraught with dangers. Either way his life will never be the same.
 
Etienne Gayneau doesn’t understand why the Catholics and Protestants in France can’t get along, only that it means he’s not allowed to see his cousin and best friend, Nicolas, and why he’ll never be a musketeer. But when a bounty is placed on his father’s head for being a heretic, he must choose to flee with his family, or to run away and hide out with his Catholic cousin.
 
 
About the Author
Amanda is the author of the historical action & adventure series A Country for Castoffs, which combines her family history with the larger historical context to educate and entertain a new generation of readers. She has been researching her family genealogy for decades and taught middle and high school history for over a dozen years. She loves the fragile beauty of the Sonoran Desert where she lives most of the year and the vibrant Willamette River each summer. Though her best inspirations reside with the ever-changing Sea of Cortez, where she watched her three children grow up over the years, and now enjoys watching her grandchildren making new discoveries for themselves!