Gardenia Transplanted

Gardenia Transplanted is a carefully researched historical novel that tells the compelling story of an Alabama Southern belle, Lorinda Parker, who falls in love with a handsome young farmer struggling to survive along with his sister, Kate, in the harsh Texas Panhandle in the late 1800s. Both brother and sister have a troubled past that they would rather forget. Kate initially despises her new sister-in-law whom she considers a parasite until both sisters are confronted with a throat-slashing rapist. Lorinda hates the primitive life on the prairie but is held captive by the love for her husband. She often wonders if God consigns sinners to live in the Panhandle as a foretaste of Hell.

The story records the dramatic evolution of the Texas Panhandle from buffalo slaughter fields to large cattle ranches that slowly morph into huge grain fields, soon to be spotted with oil derricks. The story graphically depicts tornadoes, blinding dust storms, stampedes, deadly prairie fires, a bizarre murder, and raw human emotions. This page-turner is hard to put down as the story speeds along to a shocking conclusion.