Jannifer Powelson

Jannifer Powelson

About

Born and raised on a farm in West Central Illinois, Jannifer Powelson's interest in conservation and the natural world was sparked at an early age, and she always enjoyed writing stories. Powelson's education in nature continued at college, and she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and a Master's Degree in Biology from Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville. She conducted thesis research in Northern Illinois, where she also practiced identifying and photographing prairie plants. Many of these plant photos are featured in the first book in the Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk Series, Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairie. The main characters, Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk, were derived from Powelson's wildlife research on raccoons, when she also experienced a few interesting and stinky incidents with skunks.

Rachel and Sammy Visit the Forest - A Guide to Spring Woodland Wildflowers is the second book, and Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees is the third book in the series. The fourth of these fun and educational books, Rachel and Sammy Learn to Conserve was released in the spring of 2013.

Jannifer is employed as a conservationist and resides in Princeton, Illinois with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys reading, writing, photography, nature, and travel. In 2012, she co-founded Progessive Rising Phoenix Press, and they are busy publishing and promoting a wide variety of children's and young adult books.


 

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

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