Erika Shepard- Fireflies in Paradise

Kansas, 1872. For Jane Hardcroft, the prairie has taken everything: her husband, her daughter, her future. Left with only her faithful hinny Molly, a hand-dug grave and a sagging sod homestead, she is a recent widow adrift in a harsh world with few choices. Her only hope lies in Paradise, a dusty frontier town where she finds an unlikely ally and mentor in Nellie Cashman, a woman as steadfast as the land itself.

Developing themes of female resilience, grief, found family and the nature of community, Fireflies in Paradise is a powerful exploration of the lives of two widows who make their way in the patriarchal world of the 1870s amidst the backdrop of the unforgiving Kansas prairie and American expansion across the frontier West.

Erika Shepard is a retired geologist and transgender woman. This is her third book. The first, a memoir titled Trans-formations: From Field Boots to Sensible Heels, and the second, a coming-of-age novel titled Abomination Child, have each won first place awards in their genre from Chanticleer Book Reviews.

Erika lives in Bellingham, Washington, with her dog Finn (who is a Good Boy). You can learn more about her books on her website at www.ejshepardwrites.com.

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