Banyan
BANYAN is a mystery revolving around one essential question—what really happened on Clara Ann’s eighth birthday in 1908 which caused a cataclysmic shift in the lives of everyone involved? Like the serpentine roots of a Banyan tree, the mystery surrounding Gerald and Sayre Cuvier and their two children is sinuous and layered, drawing us into the depths of a mind confused, a mind lost in a bewildering interplay of memory and illusion. From 19th century Louisiana to tropical Florida at the turn of the century, to their insulation from the rock ‘n rolling 1950s, these beautiful, hopelessly doomed people will haunt you long after the reading.
Susan Russo Anderson, author of the Serafina Florio mystery series, says, “At the heart of BANYAN is poetic meaning incapable of distillation.” “Sometimes the line between poetry and prose is thin. In the case of BANYAN, a novella by Cynthia A. Williams, it is gossamer.”
Customers rave: “…a beautifully written novel. I was unable to put this one down. Her characters were mesmerizing.” “Drenched in atmosphere...spellbinding…” “BANYAN is an illusively haunting tale…a real page turner, an excellent, gripping and hypnotic story leaving the reader thirsting for her next novel.” “Absolutely brilliant! This is truly one of the best short novels I have ever read.”
About Cynthia Williams (Ft. Myers, Florida Author)
Cynthia Williams is a professional writer whose work includes creative non-fiction, fiction, narrative history, and television copy writing. She publishes narrative histories and creative non-fiction, and has self-published part one of The BANYAN Trilogy, a psychological mystery whose setting is a fictionalized version of the historical Murphy-Burroughs Home in Fort Myers.
Cynthia is the recipient of a Florida Writer’s Association Royal Palm Literary Award for her children’s story, "As Wrong As Wrong Can Be" and of the Charlotte Writer’s Club award for best creative non-fiction for her story, "Just for Tonight."
Cynthia grew up in Fort Myers, but has lived most of her adult life in Arizona and North Carolina. She now lives in Bokeelia on Pine Island where she indulges her love of history by writing narrative histories of Fort Myers for the Sunday Tropicalia section of the Fort Myers News-Press. This year, she has also written a children's picture book for Random House, and is completing her first young adult novel.
Much of Cynthia's published work is available on her website at www.cyn1020.com.
