Jacksonville author waited a lifetime to publish his first novel

Jacksonville, Oregon resident Thomas Withenbury is a retired journalist and educator who recently released his debut novel, "The Color of Indigo." After a career in journalism and higher education, Jacksonville resident Thomas Withenbury has published the novel he says he wanted to write since childhood. "I have wanted to do that all my life, even back to the sixth grade," Withenbury said. "But I never had an opportunity to do it." "The Color of Indigo (https://jacksonvillereview.com/tag/th...) " is Withenbury's first novel. It follows multiple generations of one family, beginning on a fictional Mississippi plantation before shifting to 1972, when a Vietnam veteran and a young journalist uncover a long-buried mystery. The story explores ancestry, race, family and resilience across nearly 150 years of American history. The idea began with his own family history. Withenbury said he drew inspiration from the logbooks of an ancestor who worked as a Mississippi River pilot, as well as genealogy research compiled by his mother's family. "I was inspired mostly by my ancestors," he said. The novel's opening chapters center on Major, a skilled blacksmith, and Indigo, a laundress, who risk everything to prevent their child from being born into slavery. Withenbury said he intentionally gave his enslaved characters identities rooted in their work and relationships rather than reducing them to their legal status. "I thought it was important because he was a master of his craft," Withenbury said. "I just thought it was important to give him some identity other than just being Major the slave." Writing about slavery presented another challenge. After discussing the manuscript with an African American college administrator, Withenbury decided not to try to recreate the dialect of enslaved people. "I'm an old white man," he recalled thinking. "I can't do this." Instead, he chose dialogue that modern readers could understand while remaining respectful of the characters and the period. The novel's second half shifts to 1972, drawing on Withenbury's own experiences graduating from college and beginning a career in journalism during the Vietnam War era. Withenbury said he hopes readers come away with an appreciation for the resilience of families who preserve their history and identity through generations. "They've survived with dignity," he said. "They've hung on to their ancestry. They've hung on to their culture." "The Color of Indigo" is available at Rebel Heart Books and Art Presence in Jacksonville. Guest • Thomas Withenbury, retired journalist, educator and author of The Color of Indigo (https://jacksonvillereview.com/tag/th...) .