Spit of a Minute

by Linda Dickson

"Spit of a Minute" is one of those books that draws you in and doesn't let go until the very end. The heartfelt story is one that painstakingly draws every emotion out of you that it can from anger to sadness, joy, despair, agony, envy, and more. It's a story about Queenie, a Southern woman who lives a life that isn't always perfect, happy or easy, but it's the life she's got and she's going to make the best of it. Queenie is a strong, independent woman who forges her own path and that path takes her from the average life of a young innocent farm girl to the life of a New York mother with a world of troubles and problems. The story is written in an evocative, smooth writing style that rings true to the reader, allowing them to get pulled into the heartfelt journey of Queenie through her ups and downs, from an alcoholic husband who causes more problems than he's worth to an absent lover off fighting in the war. The book is amazingly complex and authentic, remaining true to the time and to the spirit of a strong, independent woman.

Genres: Historical Fiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 11, 2013

About the author

Linda Dickson aka Dixie Burns was born in Nashville, Tennessee, a fifth generation native Tennessean, grew up in Nashville and retired to Florida in 2010. Began a career in Children's Protective Services eventually pursuing a Nursing Certificate, became a pharmaceutical rep for twenty seven years. Her first book, Spit of a Minute, is a fictional account of a grandmother she never really knew.
Since writing Spit of a Minute, Linda has acquired a nickname (Dixie) and a husband (Ernie). If women over forty have less chance of romance than being struck by lightning… Looks like lightning got her!

Reviews

[Conchita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dysfunctional

I gave this book 2 stars because the characters in this story where all unlikable. I know that poverty can cause dysfunction but Eli and Queenie where complete failures as parents. I can not completely blame poverty on how they lived. They both should of wanted to better parents because they came from horrible parents themselves. Also, the ending was not complete, it leaves you hanging. I would not read a sequel, if there is one.

But on the other hand, it does keep you turning the pages. It holds your interest, hoping that someone in this story turns out ok. It is a quick read, so it is not torture trying to finish it.

I read the reviews on this book and I am wondering if some of these reviews are fake. One person said it was a southern
quirky story. Quirky is not a word for this book. A couple reviews stated it had bad language. None I can recall. I figured the abortion part would freak out the holy Christian folks, not the language. All the 5 stars, did we read the same book?

If the people in this story woke up and turned their lives around and the ending was complete, then it would of been 3 stars. 4 and 5 stars are for outstanding books.

All-in-all, its a so-so book.

[Boon Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost every turn of a page brought memories of my own struggle to have a life; not just surviving but also fulfillment. Fulfillment in love, fulfillment in Motherhood, work, play and fulfillment of the dreams I cherished. So the time and place are different, but little else as I came to know the characters were all striving for all these things and more. I don't remember hearing the phrase that serves as the title. But I certainly had an instant appreciation for the use of it. I reflected on my many 'spit of a minute" moments. Leaping before I looked brought many consequences that a reflection of a minute would have better served me. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written story that possibly might bring the reflection on their own life.
Motherhood

[Vicki Scullion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked by Queenie's story from the beginning and found myself caring deeply about her and the events that happened to her in her difficult life growing up in rural Tennessee during the depression. Her working class family struggles simply to put food on the table, and the choices she makes, although limited by her poverty and the low status of women during this time period, add to the tragedy that makes up her life. The story is compelling and often uncomfortable to read, but I found it to be worth the time.

[judy calibani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spit of a minute

This was free to me as an amazon prime member. And what a gift! I wish you well with your writing, Dixie, and hope someday I will find the courage to finish my own writing. Life is full of hardships, but they make the very best stories. Best of luck to you and your future books. I'm from oklahoma, and actually understand your character's speech! Thanks again for your writing. It rings (in a western way) of Pearl Buck.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a Surprise

I loved this book. I really loved the characters, even the rascals. The story was even and pulled me along with every page. I wanted to know more about the dirt farmers, and their family dynamics. I can tell the author, Dixie, loved them too. So much soul and caring went into the writing of this book. Keep writing, Ms. Dixie. I'll be waiting on your next one. Pam from Bellingham WA

[Tammy Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things Can Change in a Spit of a Minute..

Excellently written with characters that draw you in. Sad situations occur throughout the book that push this family apart. Can they work through these hard times? It's worth the read to find out.. I was pulled into the time era and felt apart of it myself. I enjoy it




..

[Susan Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excruciatingly heart wrenching

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a touching tale of a family torn by circumstances beyond their control. Innocence lost, struggle to exist day to day, and love still winning in the end. No matter what your circumstances it is possible to rise above it all. Good summer read!

[Erin Truxell · Rating 5 out of 5]

coming of age

Think of yourself in a family at home in the south while world war 2 was going on. You will meet a family that sees the worst and what you could call nice. Queenie, Eli, Abb Gee and you become part of their family. Easy reading, well done story line, and a family you will remember for a long time.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad story

We never know what a person is thinking, has gone through, has effected them and made them the person they are today. This story looks at two families and their struggles to survive in pre world war ll.

[Jim Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done story line

Nicely done story line ,just seemed a bit too clutter with transitions between family member .E enjoy the book -- the author did well ...Will purchase additional stories to . See if they are easier to follow

[BONITA BARGEL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life is never predictable, and this is the story of life in rural Tennessee

The characters are well portrayed and believable. The southern jargon brings a touch of reality to this story about the lives of the Fox family,as seen through the eyes of individual members.

[Margaret Gallaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I found the characters very real. They reminded me of people I knew as a child. The way Queenie was treated when she was a girl was common during that era. It sure is good we have come a long way. I would recommend this book.

[Michael Gevedon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book !!!

This book is one you don't want to lay down. I read at night when in bed and they were nights I lost sleep because I couldn't wait to see what happened. Keep writing and keep it real. Great job .

[Theodora Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book was well written and easy to follow. A boring middle but then finished with what I expected.

[Aunt Meanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPIT OF A MINUTE ****
By: Dixie Burns
Great historical fiction of rural Southern life during the Depression
What a great story! It is set in a small rural southern town in Tennessee, starting back in the 1930's Depression era. The author does well describing the landscape with both vegetable farming and the ever important Darkfire tobacco fields. This gives the reader even better insight, background and understanding of the book's many colorful characters. Being a Southerner myself, I absolutely loved that the book was narrated in a fabulous southern dialect. The only problem I had with the author's dialect is that it is a southern BLACK dialect and the characters were (I think) white. Being a Southerner born and bred, I recognize the very subtle differences in the two. Use of the word “is” instead of “are” being a big difference. (I was born, raised and remain in North West AL just 200 miles from the author's native Nashville, TN. The AL and TN venacular are pretty much identical, even for the Depression era setting when the dialect was even MORE Southern. ( < Lawdt tha yankees are laughin' at that. Bless they hearts.)
I was confused and kept looking back for racial identity of the characters. Although rare, I do think the author gave descriptive details of caucasion characters. I gave up and just let the characters be black in my mind. It simply fit the venacular for me. The lives, circumstances and choices could easily be either black or white.

15 year old Elizabeth Abigail Lane, Queenie to family and friends, is full of dreams of her future. She knowns she's not meant for this small town or these dirt poor farmers. She plans to live in a big city and go dancing every night! Life seems to get in the way of Queenie's dreams and she finds herself decades after her “shotgun wedding” saddled with 3 children and a ne'er do well drunkard of a husband. But things can change in the spit of a minute.

The book is told from the point of view of Queenie, Eli (her husband) and her 3 children, Abba Gee, Willy and Bud. All of their experiences in life add to this fascinating story. The story is full of suspense, anticipation, excitement, and you are drawn into the lives of the characters, even if you want to jump into the book and jack slap some sense into them at times. There are also heartbreaking moments where you feel so bad for the way life treated these characters. I rooted for Queenie and she did TRY to better her life circumstances, she just fell into a habit or making bad choices. I am now left rooting for Abba Gee. She is making better choices and seems destined for a brighter future, even if it's still a hard and difficult life.

When the author can make you want to jump into the characters lives and intervene, then the author has done an excellent job making the story and characters “real”.

This is an excellent book for Young Adults and up.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R9DY6S7...

[Erin Truxell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became part of this family

I cried, argued had the children and moved to NewYork with Queenie and Abba Gee. I saw here from the next room and wanted to hug Leigh, laugh with Phyllis. I saw Ben walk down the aisle to get his diploma. I saw him become a doctor and helped find a cure. I saw Leigh and Joe finally settled down with the goats and chickens. I cried at Abba Gee's funeral. I remembered stories of the Davis Grocery store and peeking around the corner to see who was sneaking to Lee's house. I stood in the back as they went home to Heaven one by one. I was greeted there when it was my turn to go home. For the first time in along time, a book took me home.

[dollie ledford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book

I enjoyed this book immensely. It was a sad story but it gave hope for a better life for her daughter. I can't wait to read the next book. Very well written and fast paced. I didn't loose interest, only sad for the book to end.. please keep writing you are an excellent story teller.

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!!

This book set, showed what happens when the unexpected happens. Queenie had to marry her rapist, shotgun style. Those were the times, that being pregnant & unmarried was a major sin. The stories go on, with Queenie and her children, and their lives. How the children were affected by the Father raping the Mother.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

So well written it made one feel they were right there in the story. The scene at the cemetery had me rolling on the floor and then I was crying when Willie shot himself. Looking forward to your next book Dixie.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good story

But probably these things did happen, I love Jesus with all I am but people like the ones in this book were so misguided and ignorant of His love. Instead it was condemnation. 2 innocent girls, one destroyed , but one saved. Very good thank you

[cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and drama

I love stories like this. They strike a chord in my heart. I really enjoyed following Queenies life it made me want more.

[Tisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pros: The characters were multi-faceted and made you keep reading to find out what happened to them. The flow of the book was good for me; not too fast and skipping important details, not too slow and making you want to put it down. It kept me reading to the end. The cons: The characters, to a one, were unlikable. Forever bouncing between bad luck and bad choices, they couldn't get out of their own way long enough to catch or give a break. There was no one to root for, no one who rose to a conflict, handled it well and used it to better their life. Without that person to root for, the book is a dismal and depressing read about how low the human character can sink without any thing to counter-balance it. So one is left feeling....well, ....dismal and depressed after reading it.

If there were likable characters, or even one really likable character, who had managed to pull him/herself up by the bootstraps and effect positive changes for him/herself and those dependent on them, this book could have been a 5 star book

[Lynda Yeates · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I began to read Spit of a Minute I thought I had made a poor choice and found the story hard to follow, reading on however, by the end of the first chapter I was hooked. I am so glad I continued reading because the story grew stronger and the characters came alive with each chapter. It is hard to imagine this was the first book for Ms. Burns, it is so well written. The story is sad, the characters deal with poverty, alcoholism, child abuse and neglect, but the spirit of Eli, and Abba Gee stand out, and their strength becomes evident in the final chapter. Queenie was my favorite character, innocent, yet wise beyond her years, at times naïve and blissfully ignorant, I could not help but feel sympathetic towards her. I gave the book five stars, and Spit of a Minute earned each one. Kudos Dixie Burns.

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

GA Spit of a Minute is an excellent historical tale, covering 1928 in the deep south through the end of the European Theatre of World War II. Hot summer in 1928 Tennessee, 14 year old Queenie, daughter of a dirt farmer with a truck garden and a few acres in Dark Fire tobacco, was raped by her gimpy, drunk twenty-something neighbor Eli. Raped and pregnant. And by the time she is showing, married. To that same drunk gimpy neighbor.

Spit of a Minute follows Queenie through the droughts and farm foreclosures, her move to town, the births of her daughter and two sons, the day to day of living in the depression. Sounds like a real downer, but Queenie has heart, and sand, and learns to stand up for herself. And then, of course, there was the divorce, the war, the move to New York City....

not available at B&N


Kindle unlimited

[Fran Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our choices in life make or break us. This book reveals the heartache of poor choices and how
casually people choose. Innocence is part of the equation, but children of the '30's and 40's did
not have much luxury of innocence.
Spit of a Minute is about the results of life without guidance and care. It is about how life chews
you up and spits you out when you aren't careful. It as about a family struggling to live poor
during the Depression and in the following years.
Characters were well developed and the story line never gets dull. Linda Dickson is a skillful
writer telling a compelling story.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book....the characters are definitely captivating and you find yourself cheering for them during every adventure, but there is just so much sadness it almost makes it unbelievable. This is a book of choices and how life and people can change in the Spit of a Minute, but the way it is written you never get the opportunity to follow one character far enough to understand their choices and results. I really would suggest reading it because there are so many situations, the average person may find one or even two they can relate to...maybe this is 3 1/2 stars. Enjoy.

[Linda Caward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing book, to say the least. Rather dark, but what can you expect Formica book that begins with a rape? Amazing lesson in denial...each of the main characters fully believed that he/she was virtuous and the bad things that happened were attributable to actions not of his/her own doing, but rather the actions of a mother, father, brother, or someone else. Would probably have given the book 4 stars were it not for two things: (1) the all-too-abrupt ending, and (2) the extremely poor editing of the ebook edition.

[Diane Hage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storytelling

This story pulled me in and never let go. The character growth and development throughout the book was believable and heartbreaking at times The characters seemed so real, I could relate them to people I know and love. What a journey to make a family. I would love a sequel. Queenie was so scarred yet so brave in her final decision as a mother. I wish her well. So often as women we make decisions for our children knowing the pain we as mothers will endure.

[Erin Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and true to the dialect. Dickson moves between characters and the narrator in a way that makes the reader feel like taking the side of all the characters. The story was easy to follow and left nothing to the imagination. The moral of the story is that lives can change entirely in the spit of a minute and the domino effect of one incident can result in cesspool of horror for many. I would have given it a 5 if the ending hadn't been a disappointment.