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A Storm Coming
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jun 26A Storm Coming is a sweeping historical novel set in 1710 North Carolina, where a young Tuscarora woman must choose between love and loyalty as colonial forces threaten her people’s survival.
A forbidden love, a fractured nation, and an indigenous heroine standing at the crossroads of history.
In 1710 North Carolina, eighteen-year-old Jane of the Tuscarora Nation faces an uncertain future as her people’s world begins to unravel. For generations, the Tuscarora have thrived in the lush coastal plains, their lives bound to the rivers, forests, and ancient traditions that sustain them. But English settlers push deeper into their lands, bringing broken promises, stolen territory, and the threat of war.
When Core Tom, a powerful Tuscarora warrior, arrives calling for resistance, Jane’s carefully balanced life is upended. Drawn to his strength and vision, she feels the pull of a forbidden desire that could cost her everything—her standing, her safety, even her people’s trust. Torn between her duty to family and nation, and the dangerous possibility of love, Jane must decide where her loyalties truly lie.
Through Jane’s eyes, A Storm Coming reveals the Tuscarora people’s struggle to preserve their culture and sovereignty in the face of colonial expansion. Woven with the rhythms of everyday life—harvest feasts, sacred stories, and the bonds of kinship—this novel immerses readers in a world rarely explored in historical fiction. As alliances fracture and the storm of war gathers, Jane learns that survival demands more than weapons—it demands courage, sacrifice, and the strength to choose one’s own path.
Step into Jane’s world, witness the fight for her people’s survival, and experience a story that will stay with you long after the last page.
A forbidden love, a fractured nation, and an indigenous heroine standing at the crossroads of history.
In 1710 North Carolina, eighteen-year-old Jane of the Tuscarora Nation faces an uncertain future as her people’s world begins to unravel. For generations, the Tuscarora have thrived in the lush coastal plains, their lives bound to the rivers, forests, and ancient traditions that sustain them. But English settlers push deeper into their lands, bringing broken promises, stolen territory, and the threat of war.
When Core Tom, a powerful Tuscarora warrior, arrives calling for resistance, Jane’s carefully balanced life is upended. Drawn to his strength and vision, she feels the pull of a forbidden desire that could cost her everything—her standing, her safety, even her people’s trust. Torn between her duty to family and nation, and the dangerous possibility of love, Jane must decide where her loyalties truly lie.
Through Jane’s eyes, A Storm Coming reveals the Tuscarora people’s struggle to preserve their culture and sovereignty in the face of colonial expansion. Woven with the rhythms of everyday life—harvest feasts, sacred stories, and the bonds of kinship—this novel immerses readers in a world rarely explored in historical fiction. As alliances fracture and the storm of war gathers, Jane learns that survival demands more than weapons—it demands courage, sacrifice, and the strength to choose one’s own path.
Step into Jane’s world, witness the fight for her people’s survival, and experience a story that will stay with you long after the last page.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
242 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 2, 2026
1 person is currently reading
3131 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Locklear
1 book20 followersChuck Locklear is a retired educator, seasoned speaker, and longtime blogger. He holds a master’s degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership, and brings more than thirty years of experience as a teacher, administrator, magazine publisher, and motivational speaker. He now serves as pastor of WarrenHope in Warren, Michigan.
A proud member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina—the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi—Chuck draws on his heritage in his writing. While Jane is a fictional character, she could easily belong to the long line of ancestors who shaped his story.
A proud member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina—the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi—Chuck draws on his heritage in his writing. While Jane is a fictional character, she could easily belong to the long line of ancestors who shaped his story.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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A fiercely rendered and historically immersive portrait of early eighteenth-century North Carolina, A Storm Coming balances the brutal realities of colonial expansion with an intimate, profoundly human story of indigenous survival.
I went into this expecting a standard historical drama, but I found a story with considerably more grit and political teeth. Jane, a young Tuscarora woman living through the relentless English encroachment, provides a foundation that feels both refreshing and deeply necessary in this genre. The author does not hand-hold the reader through the complexities of the era, dropping you instead right into the heart of a community desperately trying to maintain its sovereignty while fractured by internal disagreements.
The pacing is deliberate, which serves as both the book’s greatest strength and its occasional stumbling block. The meticulous attention paid to the daily mechanics of village life grounds the looming threat of war in a very tangible reality. You truly feel the weight of what these characters stand to lose. However, this heavy emphasis on domestic routine and complex political maneuvering can sometimes drag the momentum in the earlier chapters. You definitely have to earn the action. Once the powder keg finally ignites and the colonial militia arrives, the payoff is relentless and genuinely terrifying.
Jane is a wonderfully layered main character precisely because she is allowed to be terrified and insecure before she ever has to be brave. The romantic elements are integrated smoothly without ever eclipsing the central crisis of survival. The dynamic of an arranged marriage with the quiet, steady John Pagett slowly evolves into a fierce and protective partnership. This relationship is sharply contrasted by the lingering presence of Core Tom, an ambitious and charismatic leader whose motives remain constantly in question. The resulting tension is less about standard romance and entirely about the heavy moral costs associated with loyalty and leadership.
If I have one overarching critique, it is that the sheer volume of secondary characters and shifting tribal alliances can sometimes overshadow the emotional core of Jane’s personal journey. It requires a highly attentive reading experience to keep the political chessboard straight. Even so, the unvarnished look at the impossible choices forced upon indigenous leaders makes the dense plotting entirely worth the effort.
This is not a light, breezy weekend read, and it is entirely better for it. It is meant for readers who want their historical fiction thoroughly researched, morally gray, and completely devoid of romanticized gloss.
If you appreciate sprawling historical sagas that center on indigenous perspectives and do not shy away from the blood, mud, and heartbreak of early American history, this will absolutely command your attention.
Tropes & Vibes:
Arranged marriage to lovers
Morally gray characters
Slow burn romance
“Who did this to you” protective energy
Reluctant hero coming of age
Complex love triangle dynamics
A fiercely rendered and historically immersive portrait of early eighteenth-century North Carolina, A Storm Coming balances the brutal realities of colonial expansion with an intimate, profoundly human story of indigenous survival.
I went into this expecting a standard historical drama, but I found a story with considerably more grit and political teeth. Jane, a young Tuscarora woman living through the relentless English encroachment, provides a foundation that feels both refreshing and deeply necessary in this genre. The author does not hand-hold the reader through the complexities of the era, dropping you instead right into the heart of a community desperately trying to maintain its sovereignty while fractured by internal disagreements.
The pacing is deliberate, which serves as both the book’s greatest strength and its occasional stumbling block. The meticulous attention paid to the daily mechanics of village life grounds the looming threat of war in a very tangible reality. You truly feel the weight of what these characters stand to lose. However, this heavy emphasis on domestic routine and complex political maneuvering can sometimes drag the momentum in the earlier chapters. You definitely have to earn the action. Once the powder keg finally ignites and the colonial militia arrives, the payoff is relentless and genuinely terrifying.
Jane is a wonderfully layered main character precisely because she is allowed to be terrified and insecure before she ever has to be brave. The romantic elements are integrated smoothly without ever eclipsing the central crisis of survival. The dynamic of an arranged marriage with the quiet, steady John Pagett slowly evolves into a fierce and protective partnership. This relationship is sharply contrasted by the lingering presence of Core Tom, an ambitious and charismatic leader whose motives remain constantly in question. The resulting tension is less about standard romance and entirely about the heavy moral costs associated with loyalty and leadership.
If I have one overarching critique, it is that the sheer volume of secondary characters and shifting tribal alliances can sometimes overshadow the emotional core of Jane’s personal journey. It requires a highly attentive reading experience to keep the political chessboard straight. Even so, the unvarnished look at the impossible choices forced upon indigenous leaders makes the dense plotting entirely worth the effort.
This is not a light, breezy weekend read, and it is entirely better for it. It is meant for readers who want their historical fiction thoroughly researched, morally gray, and completely devoid of romanticized gloss.
If you appreciate sprawling historical sagas that center on indigenous perspectives and do not shy away from the blood, mud, and heartbreak of early American history, this will absolutely command your attention.
Tropes & Vibes:
Arranged marriage to lovers
Morally gray characters
Slow burn romance
“Who did this to you” protective energy
Reluctant hero coming of age
Complex love triangle dynamics
Review of advance copy received from Author
A wonderful novel, not just for the story of Jane, a strong and inspiring heroine, and the Tuscarora nation she is part of, but for all the wonderful insights we gain into the lives of the Indigenous peoples who were already living peacefully, and in spiritual communion with, the great continent of America, before it was claimed by colonisers. The brutality of the colonisers as they continue to settle land that is not theirs, and the lengths the native peoples have to go to to protect their land, was poignant, and is the history we are currently living in some parts of the world still.
I don’t want to linger on characters or plot; you must meet them for yourself and experience the joys, pain and suffering that so many generations have lived through. I found the cultural and natural history so carefully woven into the story made it stand out for me, and it was poignant, more so as we live in a world increasingly divided from our own cultures and our own natural world.
Chuck Locklear belongs to the Lumbee Tribe of North Caolina, and brings both lived experience and authenticity to the story he is telling. Highly recommend.
I don’t want to linger on characters or plot; you must meet them for yourself and experience the joys, pain and suffering that so many generations have lived through. I found the cultural and natural history so carefully woven into the story made it stand out for me, and it was poignant, more so as we live in a world increasingly divided from our own cultures and our own natural world.
Chuck Locklear belongs to the Lumbee Tribe of North Caolina, and brings both lived experience and authenticity to the story he is telling. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A storm coming is a story taking place during the british colonization of the Americas, all told through Jane's eyes, an indigenous girl with much to learn.
Overall, I appreaciate the book for its main focus, as I wish there were more stories focusing on the history and culture of native americans. It was something fresh to read for me.
However, I was expecting to see Jane being the herioine a bit more. There were only a few instances in the story where she saved her people firsthand, and even then it did not really have a strong impact on her life, or how she was treated by the people. She seemed to act mostly under the commands of the men around her rather than out of her own agency.
But even so, the story wrapped up nicely, with a heartwarming ending.
Overall, I appreaciate the book for its main focus, as I wish there were more stories focusing on the history and culture of native americans. It was something fresh to read for me.
However, I was expecting to see Jane being the herioine a bit more. There were only a few instances in the story where she saved her people firsthand, and even then it did not really have a strong impact on her life, or how she was treated by the people. She seemed to act mostly under the commands of the men around her rather than out of her own agency.
But even so, the story wrapped up nicely, with a heartwarming ending.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
"This fast-paced adventurous story follows Jane, a bold young girl from the Tuscarora, as she seeks justice in her homeland. Being fearless and determined leads to many events unfolding, pushes her to take action. As she navigates danger and loyalty, she'll uncover dark truths about her people's fate – and her own. The ending was a beautiful gut-punch – sweet and devastating in all the right ways. Ultimately, it's a story about love and survival in the hardest of times.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews