Book Talk
Our Book Talk for West with Giraffes will take place
on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 9:15 a.m at Fabiano's
located at 104 W. Grand River Ave., in Portland
Current Book
September/October 2023
New Mercies
by Sandra Dallas
Natchez, Mississippi, in 1933 is a place suspended in time. The silver and china are still dented and cracked from Yankee invaders. And the houses have names…and memories.
Nora Bondurant is running away—from her husband’s death, from his secrets, and from
the ghosts that dog her every step. When she receives a telegram informing her that she
has an inheritance, Nora suddenly has somewhere to run to: a house named Avoca in Natchez, Mississippi. Before, she knew little about her father’s people. Now she’s learning
that the lure of Natchez runs deep, and that, along with Avoca, she’s inherited a
mystery. Nora’s aunt, Amalia Bondurant, was killed in a murder/suicide, and the locals
are saying nothing more—except in hushed, honeyed tones.
As Nora becomes more and more enmeshed in the community and in her family’s
history, she learns surprising things about the life and death of her aunt. She also
learns that kinship isn’t always what it seems, loyalty can be as fierce as blood relations, and every day we are given new mercies to heal the pain of loss and love.
About The Author
A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as
a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine’s
first female bureau chief,) she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development tocontemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels.
While a reporter, she began writing the first of her nonfiction books. They include
The Quilt That Walked to Golden, recipient of the Independent Publishers Assn.
Benjamin Franklin Award, and Sacred Paint, a biography of artist Ned Jacob.
Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published 18 novels, including Westering Women, and four young adult books, the latest Someplace to Call Home. Sandra is a six-time recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, The Bride’s House, True Sisters, A Quilt for Christmas, Hardscrabble and Someplace to Call Home.
She is a three-time winner of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s Wrangler Award for Sacred Paint, The Quilt Walk and Hardscrabble and has won
the Western Writers of American Spur Award four times, for The Chili Queen, Tallgrass,
The Last Midwife, and Someplace to Call Home. The audio version of Tallgrass won
two Audio Publishers Assn. Audie Awards. Prayers for Sale was given the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Historical Fiction. She is the recipient of the 2014 Eleanor Gheres Award from the Denver Public Library and the 2014 Frank Waters Award from the
Pikes Peak Library District.
Sandra lives in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado, with her husband, Bob. She is the
mother of two daughters, Dana, a lawyer in New Orleans, and Povy, a photographer
in Golden, Colorado.
Book Talk
Our book club is very casual and welcoming.
Please plan to join us whether you read the book or not. The more the merrier!
Please feel free to contact us to confirm the date/time/location
for our Book Talk, as sometimes we do have to change it on short notice. Our contact
information can be found by clicking on the Contact tab at the top of the page.
Click on the Book List tab near the top of the page for a
complete list of the books that Book Talk has read.
Information about the book and author taken from the author's website: www.sandradallas.com
This web-page updated 9-17-2023
Our Book Talk for West with Giraffes will take place
on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 9:15 a.m at Fabiano's
located at 104 W. Grand River Ave., in Portland
Current Book
September/October 2023
New Mercies
by Sandra Dallas
Natchez, Mississippi, in 1933 is a place suspended in time. The silver and china are still dented and cracked from Yankee invaders. And the houses have names…and memories.
Nora Bondurant is running away—from her husband’s death, from his secrets, and from
the ghosts that dog her every step. When she receives a telegram informing her that she
has an inheritance, Nora suddenly has somewhere to run to: a house named Avoca in Natchez, Mississippi. Before, she knew little about her father’s people. Now she’s learning
that the lure of Natchez runs deep, and that, along with Avoca, she’s inherited a
mystery. Nora’s aunt, Amalia Bondurant, was killed in a murder/suicide, and the locals
are saying nothing more—except in hushed, honeyed tones.
As Nora becomes more and more enmeshed in the community and in her family’s
history, she learns surprising things about the life and death of her aunt. She also
learns that kinship isn’t always what it seems, loyalty can be as fierce as blood relations, and every day we are given new mercies to heal the pain of loss and love.
About The Author
A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as
a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine’s
first female bureau chief,) she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development tocontemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels.
While a reporter, she began writing the first of her nonfiction books. They include
The Quilt That Walked to Golden, recipient of the Independent Publishers Assn.
Benjamin Franklin Award, and Sacred Paint, a biography of artist Ned Jacob.
Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published 18 novels, including Westering Women, and four young adult books, the latest Someplace to Call Home. Sandra is a six-time recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, The Bride’s House, True Sisters, A Quilt for Christmas, Hardscrabble and Someplace to Call Home.
She is a three-time winner of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s Wrangler Award for Sacred Paint, The Quilt Walk and Hardscrabble and has won
the Western Writers of American Spur Award four times, for The Chili Queen, Tallgrass,
The Last Midwife, and Someplace to Call Home. The audio version of Tallgrass won
two Audio Publishers Assn. Audie Awards. Prayers for Sale was given the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Historical Fiction. She is the recipient of the 2014 Eleanor Gheres Award from the Denver Public Library and the 2014 Frank Waters Award from the
Pikes Peak Library District.
Sandra lives in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado, with her husband, Bob. She is the
mother of two daughters, Dana, a lawyer in New Orleans, and Povy, a photographer
in Golden, Colorado.
Book Talk
Our book club is very casual and welcoming.
Please plan to join us whether you read the book or not. The more the merrier!
Please feel free to contact us to confirm the date/time/location
for our Book Talk, as sometimes we do have to change it on short notice. Our contact
information can be found by clicking on the Contact tab at the top of the page.
Click on the Book List tab near the top of the page for a
complete list of the books that Book Talk has read.
Information about the book and author taken from the author's website: www.sandradallas.com
This web-page updated 9-17-2023
