Southern literature with a twist of faith^TM

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Available for purchase on Amazon, published by TouchPoint Press.

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The Ebbing family tree. Click to view.

A portrait of a family descended from Florida’s Seminole Tribe paints secrets too dangerous to reveal. All sixteen-year-old Rose has is what she carries: a pillowcase of clothes, her boyfriend’s unborn child, and a heart full of shame. In the face of 1952’s strict moral code, Seminole matriarch Ma-Ki Ebbing embraces Rose. Ma-Ki, on the fringe of society, clings to her Native American traditions and secrets surrounding her husband’s murder while her adult children are unraveling.

The Ebbing women band together, marching through a chorus of grit and grind to unite a family once rendered powerless by a people who invaded their land. Will the tragic death of one of her daughters cause Ma-Ki to identify the villain and embrace Rose’s newfound faith?

Praise for Porch Music

God, Hisakitamisi, Mr. Jesus. We meet them all through the eyes of Janie and Rose and the other beautifully drawn characters in Kathy Gilbert Maresca’s debut novel, Porch Music. Set in rural central Florida in the early 1950s and to the soundtracks of country music and traditional church hymns, Porch Music tells the story of a seminal year in the life of Ma-Ki Ebbing’s Seminole mixed-race family. Through the strong and vulnerable Ebbing women, Maresca makes real the past outrages against native Americans by God-spouting Christians in the devastating crimes against the Ebbing family and the shame that engulfs the crimes’ victims. But from this shame, Porch Music sings a path of hope in the true love of the Divine – God, Hisakitamisi, Mr. Jesus.

– Rylnn Johnson, author, Cry of the Heart

An unforgettable cast of characters with distinct southern voices drive this multigenerational tale that seeps into your soul like the lyrics of a song you can’t get out of your head. In Kathy Maresca’s debut novel, Porch Music, the beguiling power and pull of first-person narrators tease you along, tugging at you, reeling you in one character at a time. Set in the early 1950s, this loveable but imperfect family made up of blended cultures, has its share of secrets and sorrows, and was inspired by the author’s grandmother and descendants of Seminole heritage.

– Kathleen M. Rodgers, author of The Flying Cutterbucks, a 2021 WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Contemporary Fiction

Read the Excerpts

Junior’s Dance Hall • Mother Nature • “Tayki” Woman

Discover the Music

You Are My Sunshine • Tuesday Tune’s Day List

Sky Kiss – Coming 2023 from TouchPoint Press

About Kathy

A native Floridian, Kathy Gilbert Maresca grew up with a grandmother of Seminole heritage. Kathy served in the Air Force, at the Academy cadet chapel and then at a special operations command. Read more.

Thank you for visiting. Here you will find information about my books, my ministry, and other endeavors. I am represented by literary agent Tracy Crow, tracy@tracycrow.com. You may also contact me about book club appearances, events, and more.

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