title: Southern Fire
author: Looper, Grace W.
description: This romance novel, winner of the 2010 ThomasMax "You Are Published" Contest from the Southeastern Writers Assocaition, takes place in Rock Hill, South Carolina. After Cheryl Ann King lost her husband in a trucking accident, she got a degree in machine tool technology to be able to support her four-year-old son, Timmy. On her first day at work, she is greeted by a wolf whistle and stares from the men. Cheryl is determined to show everyone at the plant that she is as capable as any man. She is immediately attracted to her supervisor, Mitchell Douglas. He seems interested in her, but is violently opposed to her hobby, stockcar racing, and refuses to explain why. Sadly, she makes an enemy of Tom Caldwell when she dates Mitchell and refuses to date him. Susan Haverty, one of the office workers takes an immediate dislike to her because Susan is interested in Mitchell. These two harass Cheryl with pranks and more serious threats, but she takes it all in her stride. Despite their differences, Cheryl and Mitchell fall in love and plan to be married. .