On Kelsey Creek: A Novel
by Phyllis Whetstone Taper
Category: Fiction

This rich and powerful work of historical fiction tells the stories of several families in Lake County, California (Clear Lake area) shortly before the Great Depression. With her first novel published at age 90, Taper vividly illuminates the thoughts, feelings and hearts of her characters lives in the summer of 1927. Most folks struggle for a livlihood in Kelseyville, a tiny farm town where pears ripen beneath theslopes of Mount Konocti, and everyone readies for the long days of the harvest. The young and brash are hopeful of success in love, in business -- while their elders wish only for what is reasonably hard won. The promise of the harvest and the hopes of Kelsey Creek's women and men come up hard against the tragic events of this summer. With precise descriptions of mell, sound and sight, Taper brings us into these hot days and nights, rendering the pivotal moments of these lives vividly and with grace. This enthralling first novel has already captured the attention of reviewers.