EZRA BY ANNA ST GEORGE
I don’t know about the rest of you but I love
watching the programs about restoring old buildings and homes especially the
ones that have restored old castles and manors and a few in particular that I
have seen were grand old homes in England.
This idea plus the biblical theme of restoration sparked the idea for my
next book; Ezra which should be ready in April of this year. Following the description is an excerpt from the book. This is also the first time I have ever written from the first person point of view. The first part is told from the point of view of Mr Cavendish and the next part is told from Ezra's point of view.
Ezra is the story of a spirited young man named Ezra
Cullen working as a labourer on his Uncle’s sheep station in the wild southwest
of Australia in the 1960s. He is anything but your average twenty-three year
old who has never had an average lifestyle growing up accommodating his father’s
travelling career. With a quirky attitude
to boast and giant goanna for a pet he receives an unexpected visit out of the
blue one day from the well-esteemed Mr Cavendish.
He informs Ezra that his grandfather whom he has never met is on his deathbed and he is about to inherit a huge fortune. Since Ezra’s
father and grandfather had suffered irreconcilable differences in their
relationship Ezra had never met his grandfather but now he finds himself the
heir to a great estate in Ireland and his life changes overnight. But it is far
more than he could have imagined or bargained for as he accompanies Cavendish back to Ireland and the conditions concerning the old house carry over straight away. Mr Cavendish and the will state he is heir of
the…old house…and in his mind Ezra
imagines just that; some big old house in need of repair. But the old house surpasses his wildest
dreams as the old house is indeed more
than just an old house in much need
of restoration.
Family loyalty and
heritage rise up within the young man and he takes on the task of restoring the
old house
however strange things
begin to happen as he discovers things about his family history and past that
he never bargained for. His domineering
grandmother takes the role of matchmaker; determined to find him a wife and causing complications and there
is the mysterious arrival of an Irish wolfhound who appears out of nowhere when
he moves into the old house and
strange happenings accompany her arrival and presence in the house and not to
mention the fact the Irish wolfhound played an important role in his family’s
past. Various oppositions arise to cause him frustration with the building
work. There is the national conservation
department to deal with plus the constant intimidation and sly tactics of a
ruthless businessman named McCoy. But
worst of all are the rumours of hauntings in the old house. Ezra is a handsome young man of strong
character and faith in God but is it enough to carry out the restoration work
and restore his families fortunes and secure the heart of the girl he loves?
Excerpt from Ezra
This expedition had its challenges and this one
would prove a big challenge for me for I could see that I would have to relent
to flying on a plane to save great amounts of time. So the following day I organized a flight to
Perth to find young Mr Cullen and tell him he no longer needed to work on a
sheep station. He was a very wealthy young man indeed.
9
June 1965- Within
hours I embarked on another part of my journey to a sheep station near Perth to
find young Mr Cullen, the shepherd boy.
I expected him to be like his father however I was very deceived in this
notion for he was nothing like his father.
I arrived at Mahoney’s sheep station the following
day and it was Mrs Mahoney who greeted me and her nephew Ezra was nowhere in
sight. She was a tall average looking
woman with dark wavy hair swept up in a bun and rounded cheeks with dimples
when she smiled. She seemed very fit and
spoke with a very deep Australian accent.
“A pleasure to meet you Mr Cavendish. My brother n law sent a telegram
that we could expect you soon. My name
is Veronica Mahoney but everyone calls me Ronnie round here. I hope you had a
good journey.”
“It has been a very long journey and I’m afraid I’m
not used to this Australian heat.”
There is young Ezra now,” she said pointing off in
the distance.
I looked up but could barely see anything through
the cloud of red dust and I could barely make out a figure on a horse and a few
dogs running around and then I saw…It. Some huge reptile ran across the
paddock. I jumped in horror. “What’s that?” I was most frantic.
“Aww," said Mrs Mahoney. “That’s just Ezra’s pet lizard but don’t
worry. I don’t allow her inside.”
I couldn’t believe it. I was speechless. The young man had a monster for a pet! And I
begin to wonder what kind of young man he was.
and...
Some time later I got
up from my comfortable spot and went to the front window; a large picturesque
window that looked out over the Mahoney property; hundreds of acres of…red
dust. It was then I saw Mr. Mahoney
having a word with his nephew Ezra and from the body language of the two I had
a feeling it was a serious word and I hoped that perhaps he had spoken some
sense into his head. And it was later
that evening that my calculations were realized when Ezra came back to the
lounge and I was sitting in the lounge alone and he had the look of question in
his eyes and I could hear his brain moving a hundred miles a minute. He perched himself on the back of the couch
and I thought he had picked up some casual habits in the outback. My own dear mother would have had kittens if she
saw me sitting on the couch like that. “Mr
Cavendish I…”
“Yes Lad?”
“Well….Am I rich?”
I smiled with
pleasure. “Yes, lad filthy rich.” I lifted my brows in a thrifty manner.
“So you mean like I
really don’t need this job anymore?”
“To put it politely
young man, you can kiss this sheep station goodbye.”
He almost shivered as
the words sunk in and he looked at me and said, “Bloody hell.”
“Yes tell your Aunt Mahoney
she can be the lizard’s new companion.”
His eyes lit up
again. “LIZ….oh no! I can’t just leave Liz!” He got up and left
the room in agitation and disappeared down the hall. Oh good grief I thought to
myself. This young man had been deprived of the female kind for far too
long. His devotion to the lizard was
unnerving to say the least.
© Ezra 2015 by Anna St George
Images and content are the property of Anna St George and may not be reproduced without permission.
Many years ago a candy maker wanted to make a candy at Christmas time that would serve as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy; white to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus; hard to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church; firmness to represent the promise of God.
