Dancing on the Cellar Door
by
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It struck Conrad that Margaret, for all her sharp edges and razor tongue, seemed full of grace and dignity when it came to Wayne's imminent death and how it was affecting them all. She reminded him of Grandmother Berr, who, when his mother died, found some cherished reserve of strength and ease. Without it, he wasn’t sure he would have survived. He realized, as he sat on the deck and watched Rob tremble and cry in Margaret's arms, and looked at Margaret's proud chin and high cheekbones, that he had come from a long line of strong and gracious women. How else could his mother have survived the shooting death of her mother by her father on the day Conrad was born? How else could Grandmother Berr, Conrad’s great-grandmother, have held up under the horror of her son shooting his wife? And all the unspoken and mysterious horrors of Margaret's life – how could she have survived them without the priceless, fermented grace that revealed itself during the time when everyone on the Island coped with and awaited Wayne's approaching death?
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About the Book
This novel is a tale of revelation - a dance with the past that leads to the light of the future. Conrad, a famous actor and Margaret, a rich southern belle, are half-siblings who inherit an island from a father they dislike and never trusted. So why are they shocked to discover each other exists? They arrive on their island to finalize the will with its executor, Sophie, the curator of a secret and the goddess of wisdom for unlocking the mysteries of the cellar door and the cellar. Life on the island accelerates when Conrad and Margaret's friends arrive from Hollywood and North Carolina. Myeck, Sophie's eternal mate and the guardian of the fossils and souls, materializes. The island is full of magic and mystery and it soon becomes apparent that dancing is good for the heart, honesty hurts but can be withstood, and laughter is the preferred medicine for a healthy spirit, along with a sprinkle of forbidden love and a splash of salmonberry wine.
About the Author
Mr. Campbell was born in Galax, Virginia, reared in southwest Virginia and southern California. He has a degree in Philosophy. His first novel, Of Pee Cabin Fame, 1978, predicted the rise of the Moral Majority (an oxymoron) in American politics. He won the 1984 best short story award in The Written Arts, published by the King County Arts Commission, Seattle, for Crossroads. He co-wrote a script with Tom Young, A Full Moon and Judy Garland's Funeral, a finalist in the Sundance Film Festival Screenplay Competition in 1987. Lela Mae was published in the anthology, Boyhood; Growing Up Male, 1998. Dancing On The Cellar Door, the novel and adapted script, was a hit at the 1998 Academy Award Ceremony, which Mr. Campbell attended.