Return to Taylor's Crossing
Summer, 1959, a small Georgia town, Taylor’s Crossing. Dairy worker Abednego Harris, 19, stands out, not only because he’s African American, but because of his skillful handling of bulls. When Lola James, 17 and African-American, arrives to do day work for a nearby family, Abednego is smitten. As the young couple falls in love, racial attacks targeting African-Americas come closer, threatening their world. A violent attack tears the couple apart and spins their lives in different directions.
This is their story, and the story of four others whose lives are forever changed by the attack. One of them will return to Taylor’s Crossing, seeking answers.
"Janie Dempsey Watts is a fine storyteller, weaving her tale of love and loss with scenes from a landscape she knows well. Return to Taylor's Crossing is a bold and brave story, whose characters you will love."--Cassie Dandridge Selleck, author of The Pecan Man
About Janie Dempsey Watts (Chattanooga, Tennessee Author)
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but in Janie’s case led to a writing career. After receiving her B.A. in journalism from U. C. Berkeley, she wrote for newspapers and television before turning to fiction. She enjoys creating stories and sees this peculiar occupation as a chance to bring order to a chaotic world, and of course as a good reason to eavesdrop in order to write dialogue.
In addition to her new children’s picture book, Pap Pap Goes to Paris, Janie authored two novels set in the South, Moon Over Taylor's Ridge, nominated for Georgia Author of the Year, and Return to Taylor's Crossing, an Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree and third place winner in the Frank Yerby Literary Competition. She also published a short story collection, Mothers, Sons, Beloveds, and Other Strangers.
After living in California for many years, Janie returned to her native South. She now lives in North Georgia near her family farm and Taylor’s Ridge, a real place featured in her two novels.
