'Annamanda' novel set in time of New Madrid quakes

Former columnist Jo Houser Haring's book "Annamanda" took years to be published -- although everyone who read it found it compelling and wanted it in print.

Subtitled "A Novel of Courage," it finally made it into print when Southeast Missouri State University Press published it in June.

Haring finished "Annamanda" shortly before her death from leukemia in 1993. Her agent, who had sold her first book, "The Founding Father," returned the manuscript, saying publishers would not consider a work by a deceased author, her husband, Bob, wrote in an email.

It languished until her son, Robert, returned to Cape Girardeau after residing in Tennessee for about 15 years.

He found the manuscript among her effects and made a few copies for relatives and friends, all of whom said "This book has got to be published," Haring wrote in an email.

Robert Haring, who has an extensive background in newswire services and newspapers, heard about Southeast Missouri State University Press, which had published a book by another late author.

It also was a natural fit, Haring wrote, because "Annamanda" is set in this part of the country around the time of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. He's delighted it's finally out.

Jo Houser Haring finished "Annamanda" before her death in 1993. But the novel didn't find a publisher until this summer. (Submitted)

The novel is about the determination and courage of a young woman married to a fundamentalist preacher as she and her family cope with settling in new territory.

The book deals with the struggle between good and evil, as men like Annamanda's husband, Cyrus, confront frontier malcontents and evildoers while Annamanda struggles with her beliefs and inner demons.

In the character of Eremus Lodi, one can find this good-and-evil struggle embodied in one person.

Many reviewers on Amazon.com enjoyed the writing, storytelling and characters. Publisher Susan Swartwout agreed, and the novel was published June 30.

"... It fits an adult or young-adult audience, has thrilling action and historical veracity, and the characters are so well written you can hear them and you care what happens to them. There are some books that a publisher must take despite a risk, because the world needs the strength in them," Swartwout said in a university news release.

Haring wrote that Swartwout also appreciated the novel's look at the part religion played in early settlement and the effects of the earthquakes, still the most powerful recorded in America.

Jo Houser Haring began writing humorous pieces for The Associated Press, which led to her newspaper column, "Pocketful of Wry." After moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1975, she graduated to novels, the release said.

The book is available directly from Southeast Missouri State University Press, its website at www6.semo.edu/universitypress/, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.com.

The press will publish six or seven books in 2014. A couple of its top sellers are "New Madrid," a nonfiction book by Mary Sue Anton, and "The Gold of Cape Girardeau," a novel by former Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Morley Swingle.

The press also conducts a yearly novel contest, publishes an annual military service literature anthology and has two biannual journals.