"Study of the writing life, works, impact, and landscape of a West Texas writer. Though Rushing considered herself a regionalist, her seven novels of the Texas Rolling Plains, published between 1963 and 1984, enjoyed a wide national audience"--Provided by publisher.

Walnut Grove, the first of Jane Gilmore Rushing's six West Texas novels, is the story of John Carlile's passage into manhood when the twentieth century was young. His story is intimately connected to the growth of the town of Walnut Grove and to the good and evil that are always present. In those days cotton was taking the place of cattle, and farmers like John's father gambled that they could live off the soil. When a prolonged drought threatens to make the struggle hopeless, John's passionate attachment to the land is underscored by the fear that he might have to leave it. The establishment of the first school opens new horizons for John and also sharpens his sensibilities. The building of the railroad brings the greatest change of all. For some it means prosperity. But with the arrival of the work gangs come temptation, tragedy, and conflict, all touching John closely. On the very day that Walnut Grove celebrates the opening of a through line, a culmination of heroic and disillusioning events forces John to a crucial decision about his life and his future.

"Reared in isolation by her father and now completely alone on the prairie, Mary Dove fears one thing. When the inevitable stranger rides in off the Plains, she does what she always promised - she shoots. As remorse and compassion overcome fear, Mary Dove tends to the wounded stranger. What follows is their tentative discovery of each other and a story groundbreaking in its day. The mother Mary never knew was African-American. And so completely has she been sheltered that she has no inkling of what society would so cruelly teach her. Archetypal in their blamelessness and suffering, and yet so credibly West Texan, Mary Dove and her cowboy, Red, are no less than mastery of character and place."--BOOK JACKET.

Granny Albright's time has come and relatives have gathered to say goodbye to the matriarch. Linda Kay has recently married into the family, and tries to do her part to help. But when Cousin Herman arrives, feelings of resentment and heartaches from the past come to the surface.

A collection of 22 stories by Texas women writers that weave a story of their own: the story of women's writing in the Lone Star State, from 1865 to the present. Authors include Berverly Lowry, Carolyn Osborn, Annette Sanford, Denise Chavez, Katherine Anne Porter, Judy Alter and Joyce Gibson Roach.