Title: Ascendancy
Author: Patrick Earl Dwyer
Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
ISBN: 978-1685151195
Pages: 382
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Reviewed by: Christina Avina
Author Interview: Patrick Earl Dwyer
HBR: Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
From end to end it’s Joseph O’Dwyer. He has the courage to act for what is right from the beginning chapter. We watch him mature and become a loving and nurturing man to his family and the people surrounding his life and environment. His character and spirituality are pervasive in a positive sense as time passes. I love this man. There are many other main characters that stand out for me and for the reader. It’s a difficult close call.
HBR: What was the inspiration for the story?
I was asked to write about the family heritage story in my youth. I always admired heritage stories from patients in my medical practice. I recognized a common thread and when my daughters asked to know more the spark occurred and the fire was lit.
HBR: What is the key theme and/or message in the book?
I have mentioned above and have heard from readers and people in my inner circle about the common thread and stories shared by immigrants to America and places like America. To summarize, the strength of human character, courage, and perseverance is demonstrated in Ascendancy as normal people and families overcome great adversity to find peace and prosperity in a new world that they themselves create. Ingredients for success include a portion of the spiritual found in all of us.
HBR: What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
There are many take-aways from this true story. Certainly, the spirituality that is a necessary ingredient for success is something to point to but the struggle for liberty, freedom, justice, equality, and humanity to name a few goals are worthy topics to describe and share with readers who may be looking for insights and answers in their Twenty-first Century lives. Also, everything worthwhile in this world requires effort and that catch-phrase is reflected in this novel.
HBR: What is the significance of the title?
After a thousand years of a magnificent (not perfect) culture, the Irish repelled the Vikings only shortly thereafter to be colonized and subjugated to the British Crown. Then came the Protestant Reformation and Protestant Ascendancy, the hierarchal class system based on Christian sect membership. First and highest in rank came the Anglican English followed by the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of John Knox. Last and lowest in rank came the Catholic Irish peasants of St. Patrick.
Ireland, after 700 years of subjugation finally achieved its independence, ascending to its natural and original state including achieving its religious liberty. A rebuild continues today.
In the 700-year struggle many Irish, including Scotch-Irish, escaped and fled to freedom elsewhere, like America. They ascended to peace, prosperity, justice, and equality to name a few benefits. I think the U.S. Constitution reflects those migration issues and I have tried to express them in Ascendancy.
HBR: Tell us about the process for coming up with the cover.
The process of the cover follows the answer above in that the Celtic Cross of Catholic Christianity is symbolic of the thousand-year Irish culture which was subjugated by the British Crown and the Protestant Ascendancy. Tenant and serf farming labor and status is more or less a state of slavery to emphasize the point, which is that a portion of the spiritual is a requirement for perseverance and even success, eventually.
HBR: What is the future for the characters? Will there be a sequel?
The sequel, Butterfield Road, is written, edited, and ready for publication in early 2023. In it the main characters, James Wiley Magoffin, and Joseph and Sean Edward Dwyer will work, play, and live out their lives by making significant historical contributions to the United States expansion West to the Pacific Ocean beginning with the Texas Revolution and the fight for Texas independence. What was normal and average will turn out to be much more. I love surprises, don’t you?
I will enjoy sharing those surprises in the sequel, a true story at its core.