The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree

Disguised by years in exile and a name she found on a gravestone, an unconventional young woman returns to her childhood home in rural 1967 Arkansas in this hauntingly visceral Southern tale of desperate choices, found family, folk magic and noisy ghosts.

Genevieve Charbonneau talks to ghosts and has a special relationship with rattlesnakes. In her travels, she’s wandered throughout the South, working in a Louisiana circus and as a hootchy kootch dancer in Texas. Now for the first time in a decade, she’s allowed her winding path to bring her to the site of her grandmother’s Arkansas farmhouse, a place hallowed in her memory.

Disguised by years in exile and a name she found on a gravestone, Genevieve intends only to visit briefly and leave. But a chance meeting with a guilt-ridden young Vietnam veteran draws her into more unexpected connections. Her hard-won independence inspires an abused woman and her daughters to find their own path to empowerment, and a hypocritical preacher is brought to a long-deserved reckoning.

With undertones of magical realism and dark humor, here is a powerful story of discovering—and sometimes rediscovering—one’s place in the world, and the unexpected challenges and gifts that present themselves along the way.Praise for The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree

"Set in rural Arkansas in 1967, India Hayford's evocative and beautifully crafted tale is infused with magical realism and dark humor. This powerful narrative of belonging and the unexpected gifts and challenges of finding one’s place in the world is a mesmerizing read that will leave you pondering the interplay of fate and free will. It's a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring quest for home." —Susan Wiggs, # 1 New York Times bestselling author

“Gives you everything you want in a Southern gothic novel, served up in a fresh, nervy new voice in this wonderful debut.  I didn’t want the story to end, but when I came to it, the ending was especially rich and satisfying.  Don’t miss this one.” —Elizabeth Hardinger, author of All The ForgivenessesIndia Hayford is a naturalist, teacher, historical reenactor, artist, and author. The recipient of the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award for best work informed by a relationship with the natural world, she is the author of two nonfiction books, a short story collection, and her debut novel, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree. She also writes The Howl, a quarterly wildlife newsletter with national distribution, and her articles have appeared in various regional and national publications, including Threads and Needle Arts. A member of Member of Wyoming Writers and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, she is a regular speaker at the Werner Wildlife Museum, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the Embroiderers Guild of America, and local historical and arts organizations. She was born in Arkansas, where her family roots go back to the 1830s and her family tree farm still stands in Hempstead County. She now lives with her husband in Wyoming, but she returns every year to visit the hills, swamps, and pine forests of southwest Arkansas.