It’s sometime in the future and global warming is affecting the earth in a big way. A new drug addiction is overcoming the world and it’s falling into chaos.  Cities are slowly crumbing into havens of maddened drug addicts and the few people who resist it’s lure are quickly becoming targets for those addicts to assault, rob, rape and murder.

A group of people decide to leave the chaos behind them and move to the wilderness. They are mostly intellectuals with no experience in the wilds, but one man has done some hiking and camping and he becomes their semi-leader. They set off for the wilderness of northern Canada intent on making a new start. they must learn woodsmanship — how to build fire pits, how to fish, how to hunt with snares and bows and arrows and how to make those articles.

Once out in the wilderness strange things happen. Two of their members are killed by a giant hawk after the leader kills a hawk in anger after missing a shot at a deer. Then another member is eaten by a giant frog after that same guy dashes a small frog to it’s death in disgust at not catching a fish.

The party finds a lake they determine has clean water and decides to set up their new homes there. Again one of their party is killed by a mutant animal - this time a giant skunk and once more the one guy had killed a baby skunk for no reason before. Is Nature trying to send them a signal?

On a hunting trip, the guy comes back to camp to tell them that his partner tripped on his gun and shot himself in the chest. Before he dies, he remembers that the guy was angry that he had missed a shot at a fawn and had shot him out of anger. The group decides to expel the man from their group, but first they must confiscate the guns and ammunition he has so wait for him to leave his cabin. He and another man go fishing and while out in the boat, he pulls out a bottle of whiskey which he drinks, then when they get back to shore, he urinates into the waters of the lake. His partner objects to this fouling of the waters they drink but the man ignores him and finishes.

The group meet him at his cabin door and deliver the news that he is expelled. They have made up a pack of food, clothing and other items he will need on his trip back to the cities. He orders his wife to accompany him, but she’s had enough of his bullying and abuse and tells him she’s staying. He storms off to the canoe to leave and when he reaches the beach, the sands where he had urinated turn black and oily and suck him down to his death. The rest of the group stand horrified at what is transpiring before their eyes.

It’s then that they realize that the Earth has finally awoken and is taking steps to rid herself of the despoilers.

The Dawning by Hugh B Cave
Published by Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc. July 2000
ISBN 0-8439-4739-X

Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway are an awesome team of writers who took this great idea of writing about an historic bed and wove tales around it that have delighted me with their characters, the intertwining of the 4 stories that make up this book and the humor and drama within. That I’m getting 4 romance novels for the price of one is icing on the cake.

These awesome ladies each take two periods each from the Medieval, Elizabethan, Regency and modern times and create these four tales that are centralized around the Masterson Bed. The bed is a huge piece of furniture originally built and carved by the medieval Knight and first Masterson, Nicholas who was given the manor of Trecombe as reward for serving Richard in the Holy Wars.

Titled “The Bed is Made“, the story of Nicholas and Jocelyn begins with a tourney between Nicholas and Guy Moore who seeks not only Nicholas’ land, but his lady as well. Married by proxy to Trecombe’s mistress, Jocelyn, Nicholas must now win the heart of his bride and do battle to keep the lands he’s already won.

“The Bed Unmade” is set in 1583 and sees Lady Helwin, a poor relation of the current Earl of Smythwick who is used by her conniving cousin to thwart the unwanted attentions of Rion, the current Masterson Lord who has fallen on bad times and seeks a wealthy bride to shore up his finances. Helwin has long held a secret attraction for Rion, but he has been unaware of her until Berthilda’s machinations bring Helwin to his castle as Rion attempts to force a wedding between himself and Berthilda to secure his fortune. He falls in love with Helwin and they must find another way to secure the fortunes of the Mastersons.

In “The Lady Makes Her Bed“, Phillipa and Ned Masterson have an undeniable desire for each other, but will it turn into a love that will transcend them? You’ll have to read how.

“The Bed Wins All” brings us to contemporary times and our heorine is the American museum director Laurel Whitney who is currently responsible for caring for the Masterson Manor’s antiquities and leading the tours through the home. Her reincarnation of Lord Masterson is the illegitemate son of the last lord. Despite being born on the wrong side of the blanket and in humble circumstances, Max Ashton has reversed his fortunes and purchased the Manor back from it’s current owners. Laurel is unaware of this because there’s also someone stealing the Masterson antiquities and selling them on the black market and Laurel is a suspect!

I hope you’ll be as charmed by this novel as I was! I laughed and cried with it’s characters and delighted in their banter with each other. All four sets of heroines and heroes quickly won their way into my heart although the “bad guys” didn’t always earn my total contempt even when they threatened the hero or heroine’s life.

Once Upon A Pillow by Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway
Published by Pocket Books a division ofSimon & Schuster, Inc., Inc. 2002
ISBN 0-7434-946-6