Land of Sun and Flowers

..".family saga that honestly depicts life in Oklahoma during the days just before statehood. Homesteading was...not an easy life and Shipley shows the good and the bad. Shipley...combines deft characterizations and a fine use of vernacular.... "This Raw, Red Land" entertains and informs."
-- Patricia Ann Jones, "Tulsa World"

..".story could be one you heard at your grandmother's knee. Shipley incorporates the mores of the period, the clothing, the language, acceptable behavior, taboos and wonderful old frontier traditions. Her descriptive writing and colorful dialogue draw the reader in and keep the pages turning."
-- Larry Russell, "Wynnewood Gazette"

Follow the Conover family from 1908 through 1919 as they and their neighbors experience birth, death, natural disasters, and deprivation as well as good fortune. Their pioneering spirit and hospitality guide them to bury their bitterness and assist others in dire need. As Lillie says, "When people have no place else to go, we have to take them in."

Ben's debts and loss of income force him to postpone his dreams for the future as he becomes the mainstay of his family. His love for Esther sustains him when she agrees to walk out with him even though he realizes she does not feel the same about him.

Jed must live with his hurry-up marriage and try to forget Esther but his love for his children and expression of his artistic abilities make life bearable. Esther tries to put her heartache behind her and make a good life for herself until the night she must face her suppressed feelings for Jed and make decisions that can change her whole life--and Jed's and Ben's.