In All Good Faith

Available now from Blackstone Publishing and wherever you buy books.

“In All Good Faith is a powerful novel infused with the perseverance and power of its women. Expertly exploring a little known piece of history, Liza Nash Taylor welcomes us into the lives of her characters in a dazzling display of prose and heart. While revealing the profound power of story and fairy tales to help navigate our lives, Taylor introduces us to two women whose lives will collide in ways they could never expect. Unforgettable, fascinating and gripping, In All Good Faith is do not miss historical fiction.”

—Patti Callahan Henry, NYT bestselling author of Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

Abstract closed black hardcover book on subtle background. Publish and advertisement concept. Mock up, 3D Rendering

Below is an interview about IN ALL GOOD FAITH with Jackie Claridge of the Global Girls Online Book Club.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons, Washington Police clash with Bonus marchers, 1932.

This novel is what’s called in the publishing industry a “stand-alone sequel,” which means that you could read it without having read my first book and it should make sense. May is a central character once again and some of the characters from ETIQUETTE FOR RUNAWAYS make another appearance. As before, the novel is partially set in Virginia, at my home, Keswick Farm. The plot is a dual narrative,telling parallel stories of questioning faith in times of adversity and two women’s resourcefulness and unlikely success during the Great Depression.

Image below: a Virginia General store, 1938, and Farm auction catalog, and stamp, Library of Congress. Antique candy box, Ebay.

The plot focuses on events of the summer of 1932. In the spring of that year, a grassroots uprising began in Oregon when eight American veterans of World War I started a cross-country protest march to petition Herbert Hoover to pay their war bonuses early (they were slated to be paid in 1945). This self-proclaimed “Bonus Expeditionary Force” hitchhiked, walked, and rode the rails across the country and by the time the men reached Washington D.C. they had picked up support and 17,000 veterans had assembled from all across the country to join the March, many with families in tow. They camped out along the rivers and around the Capitol, in rough shacks and tents and sometimes in partially demolished office buildings. In a terrific publicity fail for Herbert, the term “Hooverville” was coined for the encampments that populated D.C. and continued to spring up in cities across the country throughout the Depression. After the Bonus Bill was defeated in late July, President Hoover ordered General Douglas MacArthur to lead troops in tear gassing and burning the bonus marchers out of the camps.

Bonus Marchers camping around the Capitol Building, Washington, D.C. 1932.
A veteran’s camp along the Anacostia River, 1932. Wikimedia Commons.

Early notice of IN ALL GOOD FAITH:

In 2017, this manuscript was named a semi-finalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition (Novel-in-progress category), was a finalist in the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards, and it won second place in the Novel Excerpt category of the Seven Hills Literary Contest. An excerpt was published in the Seven Hills Review. In 2019, it was a semi-finalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Competition in the novel category.

Veterans camped around the Capitol Building, 1932. Wikimedia Commons.

Featured image is by Alenka Linashke for Blackstone Publishing.