Deserter follows the epic tale of Preston Martin--farmer, M.E. Methodist Exhorter, Army deserter, bigamist--as he faces the challenges of life in 19th century Central New York.
Debut author K.A. Potter-Hughes grew-up in Rome, New York, located at the foothills of the Adirondacks where she inherited the love of reading and writing from her mother and developed an appreciation for American history, learning about the early settlers and the defense of Fort Stanwix. An English degree led to a career teaching high school for twenty-seven years, teaching as an adjunct English instructor in three different colleges, and a stint as a city reporter for a small town newspaper. An interest in genealogy revealed answers to a secret her paternal grandmother took to the grave. Potter-Hughes discovered a newspaper article dated July 1891 in which her paternal great-grandfather recounted his adventures as an army deserter, inspiring her first novel, Deserter.
Deemed a genealogical novel, KA Hughes-Potter based this story on her great-grandfather, Preston Martin. Almost an explanation to herself, she works to understand this complex man through his mistakes—deserting the army; bigamy; a disastrous first marriage. She shows the toughness of life in the early part of the century and the unfairness. How her great-great grandmother Freelove Martin’s farm is taken from her will make your blood boil not only because it is done by a relative who was likely charged with taking care of the family, but also that Freelove’s husband didn’t trust her enough to leave the farm to her in his will. But women were thought of that way at that time—needing someone to take care of them. You won’t see fragile women here. Freelove, the hardest worker in creation to the day of her passing; Catherine, the long suffering true love; Neill, the determined teenage bride, even Jane, the troublesome and selfish first wife—all impact Preston who moves among them dealing with them in the moment with no plan. But Preston is not a loafer. He works hard for his family but gets caught up in circumstances that overwhelm him. These characters, perhaps because we know that they really did live these lives, make your heart break. But wisdom is often gathered with 20/20 hindsight and who’s to say that these mistakes, these lives, could not have been our very own.