September Member News

Donna Baier Stein, The Silver Baron's Wife traces the rags-to-riches-to-rags life of Colorado's Baby Doe Tabor (Lizzie), who worked in the silver mines and had two scandalous marriages, one to a philandering opium addict and one to a Senator and silver baron worth $24 million in the late 19th century. Hers is the tale of a fiercely independent woman who bucked all social expectations by working where 19th century women didn't work, becoming the key figure in one of the West's most scandalous love triangles, and, after a devastating stock market crash destroyed Tabor's vast fortune, living in eccentric isolation at the Matchless Mine. An earlier version of this novel won the PEN/New England Discovery Award in Fiction."

Paty Jager, Reservation Revenge: A Shandra Higheagle Mystery (Book six of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series). Upon learning a cousin is suspected of murder, potter Shandra Higheagle travels to the Colville Reservation to support her family and use the insight she receives from her Nez Perce grandmother in dreams. Detective Ryan Greer soon discovers his own hidden secrets could be as dangerous as century old feuds, jealousy, and the drug running that is connected to the murder. ​

Brigid Amos, A Fence Around Her. Having a mother with a past is never easy. For Ruthie Conoboy it becomes the struggle of a lifetime in 1900, the year Tobias Mortlock arrives in the gold mining town of Bodie, California. Ruthie is suspicious of this stranger, but her trusting father gives him a job in the stamp mill. Soon, Ruthie suspects that her mother and Mortlock have become more than friends. Can Ruthie stop this man from destroying her family?

Marion Mutala, Ukrainian Daughter’s Dance. A poetry collection that speaks to the heart as they document a woman's life journey, as a Ukrainian-Canadian, and as a prairie woman, and her voyage of self-discovery. Her story can be anyone's story. Poems explore issues of immigrant identity and voice in the prairies, and celebrate a cultural heritage expressed through song, dance, art, work and life.

Sarah Byrn Rickman, Finding DorothyScott: Letters of a WASP Pilot (Texas Tech University Press) .WASP Dorothy Scott perished in a midair collision at age 23, one of 38 Women Airforce Service Pilots to die serving in World War II. Dorothy’s extraordinary voice, as heard through her lively letters home and the author’s accompanying narrative, offer a window into the mind of a young, patriotic, funny, and ambitious young woman who was determined to use her piloting skills to help the US win that war. 

 AWARDS

Linda Shuler, HiddenShadows, has won or placed in numerous awards. Winner: Willa Literary Award for Original Soft Cover; 2016 Global Ebook Award for Fiction - Popular Literature; NABE Pinnacle Book of Achievement Award for Fiction Finalist. Finalist: Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice Contest, Long Contemporary category; Will Rogers Medallion Award, for Romance Fiction; NERFA (National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award) sponsored by First Coast Romance Writers, for Novel with Romantic Elements; WFWA (Women's Fiction Writers Association, Shining Star Award), for Best Debut Finalist. Short-listed for Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize; Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award (highest scoring books by debut authors); Honorable Mention, General Fiction, Eric Hoffer Award; Da Vinci Eye, Eric Hoffer Award for the cover; NIEA (National Indie Excellence Award) for Literary Fiction; Top Ten Finisher, Best Other novel: Predators & Editors Readers' Poll 2015.

Nancy Godbout Jurka's illustrated poetry book, The Bright Star of Palmer Lake, recently won the 2016 Colorado Independent Publishing Association 3rd Place EVVY Award in Poetry.  The Bright Star of Palmer Lake is a beautifully illustrated in watercolors by artist Kay LaBella celebrating the historic Palmer Lake Star shining each holiday season for 80 years in the small town of Palmer Lake, Colorado where Nancy Jurka resides.

Nancy Bo Flood, SoldierSister, Fly Home won The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators 2016 SCBWI Book Launch Award. Thirteen-year-old Tess is having a hard enough time understanding what it means to be part white and part Navajo, but now she's coping with her sister Gaby's announcement that she's going to enlist and fight in the Iraq war. Gaby's decision comes just weeks after the news that Lori Piestewa, a member of their community, is the first Native American woman in US history to die in combat, adding to Tess's stress and emotions. While Gaby is away, Tess reluctantly cares for her sister's semi-wild stallion, Blue, who will teach Tess how to deal with tragic loss and guide her own journey of self-discovery.