Karen Casey Fitzjerrell

The Dividing Season Karen Casey Fitzjerrell

The Dividing Season is a well researched retrospective tale of how one group of people coped with the pitfalls of living on the cusp of a new era in American History. Trail riding days are all but dead, the Mexican Revolution has crossed the border into West Texas, drought nearly choked the life out of the cattle industry and oil has been discovered in East Texas. Nell Miggins, the central character, realizes she can no longer manage her ranch as it had been for the last three generations. She doesn't know which way to turn, feels something vital missing from her life even though she's felt blessedly happy up until that one springtime when everything in her life gets turned upside down. As a result, she makes the guilt-ridden decision to sell her ranch. While organizing her last cattle round up and sale, a group of men attacked by Mexican bandits show up in need of shelter, a windmiller arrives to repair a windmill essential to ranch operations and Nell is forced to hire a shady character from Alabama for help in herding her cattle to town. Plot twists are chock full of action and will hold readers spellbound. Characters are as unique as the country they live in. Early comments: "...the story is unpredictable...can't wait to turn the page to see what's next..." "...characters come to life with those small, intimate details only a practiced eye detects..." "...an extraordinary landscape and time and people who loved experiencing both in spite of the hardships.