Long Road Turning

Women of Paragon Springs #1

by Irene Bennett Brown

Brown, Irene Bennett

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

238 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

I was born in Topeka, Kansas but from the age of nine, Oregon’s Willamette Valley has been home. As a child in one-room schools where I was often the only student in my class, I read, reread, and lived vicariously books like HEIDI, CADDIE WOODLAWN, MAMA’S BANK ACCOUNT, and LITTLE WOMEN. Jo in LITTLE WOMEN and Katrin in MAMA’S BANK ACCOUNT, writing away in their dusky attics, fueled my own dream to be a writer.

Author William Least Heat Moon is surely correct when he says “our passions at age 12 will always be with us and indicate our intended career.”

A writer who can’t not write, I pounded out my first seven books on a manual typewriter borrowed from a neighbor. Payoff for sore arms from throwing the carriage was national publication of my children’s books: in hardcover by Atheneum, E.P. Dutton, Thomas Nelson and David McKay, and in paperback book club editions by Viking Penguin, Scholastic, and Junior Literary Guild. Awards and honors include a Spur Award from Western Writers Of America and nomination for the Mark Twain Award for BEFORE THE LARK, the Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award for significant contribution to children’s literature, and inclusion on several best books’ lists.

THE PLAINSWOMAN, published originally by Ballantine, was my first novel for adults and a Western Writers Of America Spur Award finalist. Other novels include my Women Of Paragon Springs series from Five Star Cengage: LONG ROAD TURNING, BLUE HORIZONS, NO OTHER PLACE, and REAP THE SOUTH WIND. A love story set in Oregon’s Hells Canyon, HAVEN, a single title, was also published by Five Star. My historical novel, THE BARGAIN, was released by my own company, Riveredge Books, in 2007. WHERE GABLE SLEPT, the first book in my Celia Landrey mystery series, followed in 2010 and WHERE DANGER DANCED in 2012. All are now published by Riveredge Books and are also available as Kindle and Nook ebooks.

When not following my favorite pursuits, writing and reading, you’ll find me enjoying travel and exploring historic places with my husband, Bob, a retired research chemist, and spending time with our growing and busy family.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful story of a century gone by.
At first I was afraid it would be similar to "Little House on the Prairie". Nothing but trials and tribulations. But soon into the book the tenor changed and I became quite attached to the cast of characters. I am now reading book 2 of the series.

Branch out... you might like it.

[Gerald Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story about a woman who had to flee an abusive husband in the 1800s and her struggles to build a new life homesteading in Kansas. It was easy to care about the characters and to want to know what was going to happen. And happily, there are three sequels.

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a romance, as this says, but a woman's western, using half western tropes and half those of family saga. Very pleasant read and it's too bad it's being advertised as a romance; I fear it won't find its correct audience.

[Bea]

I could not put this book down! This historical fiction features strong female characters and intersting historical information. I can't wait to read the rest!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

1873 settlement of SW Kansas. A persevering woman, escaping domestic violence in St. Louis, settles a homestead with a ragtag assortment - orphans, a grandma, a finicky widow with four young children, ... With ingenuity, hard work, and business acumen, she makes a home for them. Grasshoppers, weather, sexism, bullying, and illness slow them down, but they are stronger together. History is interesting; story is engaging. It's 'Little House on the Prarie' for grown-ups.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author. I am humbled by how the writer involves the reader in her writing. Such vividness in all the hardships the homesteaders went through. Each character was well written and was special in their own way

[Hannah Gerberding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

[Robin (Saturndoo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this series on my TBR for a long time. I read the first one and really enjoyed it and now wonder why I waited so long to read it :)

Definitely liked the characters and the author's writing style. I would recommend this to anyone who likes historical fiction.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read on Women Pioneers!

[Caroline Clemmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

LONG ROAD TURNING and the follow up book BLUE HORIZONS are wonderful reads for anyone who loves history, especially western history.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of a series on the life of women in central Kansas in the later 19th century. Easy read....

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book made you know what people went through back then. Going to try to find the other books.

[Linda Craft]

This is a slow moving rather boring book. I like westerns but this one has no zip.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good pioneering story.