Confederate Like Me is a sensual historical novel that tells the tale of Winnie, a pale complexioned, teenaged, black woman who comes of age in rural southeastern Virginia in the years right after the Civil War. The novel is loosely based on actual events and contains part of my own family history. Due to financial pressures caused by the Civil War, Winnie’s father (a mulatto, ex-slave named Thornton Sr.) tells her that he has arranged for her to marry a local black farmer named Carpenter. After some initial anxiety, Winnie is actually excited by thoughts of being married and finally achieving the status of an adult woman. She secretly hopes that her bridegroom will be the man of her dreams, and that she will be able to raise a family of her own and live happily ever after. However, Winnie’s dream becomes completely unhinged by a wedding night surprise.