Came across a wonderful short short story in the June 2013 eldering blog, The Best Times - Matters of the Heart, by Niki Lewis Shepherd. What a lovely read, about an older father & his visiting daughter, out on an early morning walk. Printing it out for a grannie clients, an avid reader.
Niki Lewis Shepherd is a freelance writer out of Johnson County, Kansas. Merriam, to be exact. Matters of the Heart was first published - in slightly different form - in Beginning from the Middle, a 1994 collection of fiction, poetry, and essays from the Kansas City Writer’s Group.
Ya hooo! Niki has a book! Giving a shout out to Facebook friends who love posting from our S.D. rancher gal, Sharon - - Niki's The Wintering, is a gotta order, must read. Fiction based on fact, it's just the sort of story my bookworm grannie client loves.
Published in 2012, it looks at life on the Kansas prairies, 1885-86. That winter, the Central Plains were slammed with a series of storms that brought heavy snow & winds to match. Picturing my g.c. getting drawn deeper & deeper into the story, a character study of the breed of men & women - especially women - who settled the prairies & the American West; the challenges they faced, first taming the untilled land, then establishing their spreads, then experiencing progress change it all again. While it is a story about Kansas of over a century ago, it hits close to home. Caveat: it may hit too close, for readers still broken-hearted over the October 2013 snows that devastated Sharon's own South Dakota.
Not surprised that Niki grew up on a western Kansas cattle ranch, homesteaded by her great-great-grandfather. Like our Sharon, the seasonal rituals of cattle raising left its brand on her heart.
Tell you what - read the short story today, then order the book - money so well spent. A great choice for a book club discussion - great writing, strong story, a new author to get to know. If you can afford it, order one for yourself & one for a friend (you'll want to discuss!) or a local library.
BUT skip ordering it from a Big & Bigger online site. Order it from Watermark Books & Cafe, in Wichita, KS. A great book depicting real life on the prairies deserves the honor of coming from a real-life book store perched on the Central Plains!
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