Miracle in a Dry Season

In 1954, rumors swirl when beautiful Perla and her five-year old daughter, Sadie, arrive in small-town Wise, W.Va., during a terrible drought. Not only does Perla lack a husband, but her unusual “way with cooking,” which turns meager rations into abundant feasts, also comes under suspicion as witchcraft. Church elder, carpenter, and community pillar Casewell Phillips tries to maintain a balance between friendship and distance with Perla because of her obviously sinful past. Cruel gossip, inflamed by hypocritical Pastor Longbourne’s Sunday morning tirades against harlots, interferes with the townfolks’ willingness to accept Perla’s culinary gifts as the miracle they are, even at the threat of their own survival. Casewell’s struggle to discern whose behavior is truly Christian leads him to examine his own judgmental nature, while Perla’s suspicion “that God wasn’t really all that interested in her” inhibits her ability to accept her own worthiness to be loved. Thomas’s fiction debut offers sympathetic, wholesome protagonists seeking to live faithful, prayerful lives and engaging supporting characters in subplots that explore the overarching themes of forgiveness, redemption, and the wideness of God’s love. [em]Agent: Wendy Lawton, Books & Such Literary Management. (Aug.) [/em]