KAMUELA, Hawaii, Oct. 30, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- With her husband's death, Sarah Pardee Winchester became the lone heiress to the Winchester rifle empire. When she consulted a medium, she was told her family was being killed by evil spirits and she must surround herself with benevolent spirits to save her own life. Her superstitious beliefs, coupled with a number code she received during a seance, eventually led her to build one of the largest homes in the world, California's historic Llanda Villa. Roger Rule examines Sarah's unique life in his historical novel, "Sarah" (now available through 1stBooks).
Sarah grew up in the eastern United States during the early 19th century and met her future husband, Willy Winchester, during a prep school drama play. With a booming business, the Winchesters essentially monopolized the rifle industry, and strange things began happening shortly thereafter.
A number of the family members begin dying, including Willy and his father, which leaves the company and all the wealth to Sarah. Being a spiritualist, Sarah consults a Bostonian medium, who enlightens Sarah about her family's rampant deaths. Sarah believes she must build a large home to house the many benevolent spirits needed to save her life. Based on a number code, she figures that she must build 156 rooms in 26 years. She purchases property in California and begins building.
Sarah tells of the hardships this woman endures to protect her business and her well-being. The house construction is not easy, and Sarah faces a paparazzi serial killer, the ghosts that haunt her, and even Teddy Roosevelt's efforts to break up her company. She is also trapped for 13 hours after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake collapses 32 rooms of her home.
A deeply researched novel, Sarah is a historically textured character study of a powerful woman ahead of her time.
A graduate of the University of Missouri, Rule has published several texts, including The Rifleman's Rifle, Twentieth Century Winchester Repeating Arms, No Money Down Financing for Franchising and The Franchise Redbook. A Winchester expert and builder, Rule became interested in Sarah Pardee Winchester after visiting the Winchester Mystery House in the 1970s. Sarah is his first novel.
ABOUT 1STBOOKS
The oldest and most successful print-on-demand and eBook publishing company of its kind, 1stBooks was founded in 1997 and has helped more than 13,000 people worldwide realize their dreams of becoming published authors. For more information, visit www.1stBooks.com.