What if “emancipation” didn’t mean freedom—only removal? In this alternate history of early America, the 1816 Emancipation Proclamation declares that all formerly enslaved people must be repatriated to the new colony of Liberia. Freedom and exile become the same decree. Those who refuse are hunted.

But some choose to stay. (This is a spinoff book to the 3-part Repatriated series)

Hidden in the mountains of Tennessee, Amos Jackson guides the last remaining “stragglers” through the wilderness—men and women who will not abandon the only home their families have known for generations. With government patrols tightening and Repatriation Rangers sweeping the countryside, Amos leads his people through Cherokee trails, limestone ridges, and secret hollows carved into the earth.

Yet the greatest danger is not the hunters behind them—it is the weight Amos carries within himself. Guilt. Duty. Conscience. And the knowledge that one wrong step can doom them all.

As storms gather, alliances form, and betrayals cut deep, the refugees discover a hidden network of maroon settlements—Black Americans who refused deportation and built a shadow nation beneath the forests. Here, “skinfolk” and “kinfolk” are not always the same, and survival demands choices no one is ready to make.

STAYED is a gripping reimagining of American history—part survival thriller, part historical drama, part moral reckoning. It asks the question few dare to explore:

If America had forced its Black citizens to leave… who would have fought to stay?

Perfect for fans of alternate history, historical fiction, African American survival narratives, and character driven epics.

Step into the world that might have been—and the people who refused to disappear.