Staff Pick
Stoner's debut story of a young woman trying to find her way in the world is both light and profound. Dara falls in love with her best friend, and the bliss she feels is like nothing ever before. Events occur which derail her future plans, so Dara regroups and tiptoes her way into a different kind of life. Sweet and serious, Sugar Land is a great coming-of-age story that looks at both the euphoria and the despair of first and all-consuming love. Fans of Fannie Flagg will be thrilled with Sugar Land. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
It's 1923 in Midland, Texas, and Miss Dara falls in love with her best friend — who also happens to be a girl. Terrified, Miss Dara takes a job at Sugar Land Prison for men, hoping to keep her secret attractions under lock and key. Once there, she befriends inmate and soon-to-be legendary blues singer Leadbelly, who sings his way out (true story) — but only after he makes her promise to free herself from her own prison. Sugar Land is a triumphant, beautiful debut novel about the heart's refusal to be denied what the heart wants.
"With Sugar Land, Stoner creates a captivating story for the ages'a young, southern girl in the 1920s who becomes a ballsy broad in a double-wide, and on the journey learns about love the hard way. This heartbreaking and hysterical book inspires us with a brave and unusual life. Sugar Land is for anyone who still believes in love."
— Jillian Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem and Everything You Ever Wanted
Review
"The love child of Fannie Flag and Rita Mae Brown...a ravishing debut." Kirkus (Starred Review)
Synopsis
Sugar Land is a southern fried novel about love, Lead Belly, and liberation. According to a starred
Kirkus Review,
Sugar Land "is a postcard of small-town Texas life from Prohibition through civil rights, tracing the treatment and awareness of gay people through these decades. The love child of Fannie Flagg and Rita Mae Brown... a] ravishing debut."
It's 1923 in Midland, Texas, and Miss Dara falls in love with her best friend―who also happens to be a girl. Terrified, Miss Dara takes a job at the Imperial State Prison Farm for men. Once there, she befriends inmate and soon-to-be legendary blues singer Lead Belly, who sings his way out (true story)―but only after he makes her promise to free herself from her own prison. Sugar Land is a triumphant, beautiful novel about the heart's refusal to be denied what the heart wants.
Synopsis
Sugar Land is a southern fried novel about love, Lead Belly, and liberation. According to Lambda Award winner Kate Carroll de Gutes, this debut "stacks up with some of the best Southern storytelling out there and should have a place on the bookshelf next to Fannie Flagg and Rita Mae Brown." It's 1923 in Midland, Texas, and Miss Dara falls in love with her best friend―who also happens to be a girl. Terrified, Miss Dara takes a job at the Imperial State Prison Farm for men. Once there, she befriends inmate and soon-to-be legendary blues singer Lead Belly, who sings his way out (true story)―but only after he makes her promise to free herself from her own prison. Sugar Land is a triumphant, beautiful novel about the heart's refusal to be denied what the heart wants.
About the Author
Tammy Lynne Stoners work has been selected for more than a dozen anthologies and literary journals. She was nominated for a Million Writers Award and earned her MFA from Antioch University. Stemming from what her grandmother calls her gypsy blood, Tammy has lived in 15 cities, working as a biscuit maker, a medical experimentee, a forklift operator, a gas station attendant, and a college instructor, among other odd jobs. She is the creator of Dotties Magic Pockets and the Publisher of Gertrude, based in Portland, OR, where she lives with her lady-friend, Karena, and their three kids.