This One and Magic Life: A Novel of a Southern Family

A dark shadow envelops the grand old homestead overlooking Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, as a family gathers to mourn the untimely death of the remarkable woman who lived there. Artie Sullivan: world-famous artist, beloved daughter, sister and aunt, her powerful presence still felt even in death; her last request shattering convention and causing painful discord among those who loved her. Bound by blood, marriage, illicit alliances, and a terrible secret still buried, each must deal with bittersweet memories, and words left unspoken. Arties's younger brother Hektor is devastated by the death of his sister, but it is Donnie, Artie's twin, who feels he has lost a part of his soul, while his wife Mariel has lost a rival. Their daughter Dolly, who at twenty-seven is divorced form a man she still loves, is engulfed by huge sorrows of her own, and has inherited the house filled with ghosts of the past.Yet in the often mysterious land of the deep South, where love and hatred run deep and lose, and dissension often simmers just beneath the surface, Artie's passing has touched many others as well, and brings cousins, servants, and neighbors to a place where artificial boundaries vanish. And in this unforgettable almost-forbidden place of pain and love, loss and passion, each of the Sullivans will discover truths long buried in silence, in taboos, and in the heart.