Sherman is especially skilled at building bigger-picture thinking between characters that come to life in their conversations as they age and adapt to new times. The result is a vivid story of slavery's impact, social changes, and one family's legacy that succeeds in changing the hearts, minds, and experiences of those who follow generations later. - D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review


Ervin James overcame great odds, pain, loss, and suffering to leave a legacy when he managed to purchase over 100 acres of land and found a community for freed blacks in 1870. It’s a story of hope, love, and the family we make - including the unexpected. Ervin begins his journey as a slave walking from Virginia to South Carolina to stand in a slave market with his mother.


Their lives are a reflection of the many lives lived and lost during slavery in the United States. However, this story is also of the strength and resilience of those who lived through these times and continue to live through their descendants today.


The story takes readers through Ervin's life beginning in childhood in 1815 until the purchase of land made in December 1870. Ervin's story is told against the backdrop of a pre-civil-war era and then through it, gracefully incorporating history and culture into the experience of reading about his life.

The Story of Ervin James is a carefully crafted, yet fictionalized, full length historical novel inspired by the life of Ervin James, a Black man and slave, who lived in the 1800s. It is written by his great-great-great granddaughter.

About the Author
Bernette Sherman is a multi-genre author and best-selling Amazon author. Her books include science-fiction, inspiration, self-help, poetry, and now historical fiction.