Pioneering Computer Game Designer, Roberta Williams, releases her first novel, Farewell to Tara
This is a dramatic account of the Great Famine and the ordeals of the Irish in mid-nineteenth century Ireland, but with a twist: Though written as an historical novel, she is portraying her actual ancestors as the protagonists in this emotionally charged story of catastrophe, survival, and escape.
Sierra On-Line was one of the very first consumer software companies, and, at one time, dominated the personal computer industry. Roberta co-founded Sierra On-Line with her husband Ken and was the designer of many of the company’s best-selling games, including the King’s Quest series, Phantasmagoria, The Colonel’s Bequest, and many others. In 1996, Sierra was sold, and Roberta retired — though her storytelling and writing skills did not!
Roberta has loved history and historical tales since a child, and over the last decade has devoted herself to researching her own Irish heritage. After ten years of intensive research and crafting her novel, Roberta has finally released it. Farewell to Tara is based on a true story, telling the tale of two families, the Clintons and the Loughrans. Though they reside in divergent social strata, they each find themselves in life-or-death struggles through the grimmest famine in living memory.
Farewell to Tara – A brief look at the book:
Farewell to Tara is an historical novel taking place in mid-19th century, Ireland, during the Great Famine. This is one of the most catastrophic events in history that set in motion great cultural changes in the British Empire, the United States, Canada and Australia. It was a time of turbulence, and this story is told through the experiences of Roberta’s real-life ancestors — two families, the Clintons (poor Irish laborers) and the Loughrans (middle-class farmers). Roberta uses these families as the protagonists in her fictionalized story of poverty, hardship, deprivation, disease, and death, but also reveals birth, love, Irish lore, legends and religion, along with cattle grazing, horseracing and inheritance. The culture and history of Ireland is long, rich, and complex, and the Irish people are strong and enduring. This is the story of these two families, fictionalized and told through their eyes and experiences in a way that only a natural storyteller can do!
Reviews:
5.0 out of 5 stars
“A fantastic love letter to Ireland. In this book the author, best known for King’s Quest games, writes a fictional account about her ancestors in Ireland from both sides of her family. This book takes place mostly during the Irish famine of 1845 to 1850 and tells how the families lived and survived in that time. We get to know a lot about what life was like back then including some Irish customs and rituals. At times it’s a tough read but it’s not all grim. There’s quite a bit of humour thrown in throughout as well. This book also goes into some detail about how the Irish famine had such a huge impact on the world at the time.
So if anyone has any interest in Irish culture or history this is a must read. All in all this is an excellently paced novel that should appeal to anyone who wants a good story in an interesting and not much discussed time period and shin particular for anyone who has an interest in Irish culture or history this is a must read.”
– Seoirse Dunbar (Goodreads.com)
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful
“What a powerful book. I don’t usually get emotional reading books (unless it involves animals) but I was in tears reading of all the hardship and sadness in the families and Ireland. Roberta’s description of the characters draws you in and makes them so believable that you are right there with them (not somewhere I would like to be). It’s obvious that she put her heart and soul into researching every aspect of the book.” – Amazon Customer (Amazon.com)
5.0 out of 5 stars – Don’t start this book if you need a good night’s sleep. It’s addictive.
“I’ll give this book a 6star rating, but the site won’t allow me to. Ms. Williams gives you an incredibly good read, especially if you have relatives who went through similar journeys. It’s the “Roots” for the Irish. Coming myself from a very Irish neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, I had heard Stories of ancestors affected by the Great Famine but Ms. Williams allowed me to live the stories.
I highly recommend this book to young and old alike.” – William Harrington (Amazon.com)
Available now from Amazon.com in Print and Kindle formats.
Front cover: https://robertasbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Front-Cover.jpg
Back cover: https://robertasbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Back-Cover.jpg
Picture of the book (with transparency):
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Author (Roberta Williams) Picture:
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Video about the book:
Author Roberta Williams is available for interviews.
For more information about the book, please visit https://www.robertasbook.com.
Contact info:
Roberta may be contacted by emailing Ken Williams, ken@kensblog.com