Dakota Blues [Paperback]

Lynne Spreen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2012

While visiting her Midwestern hometown after many years, workaholic Karen Grace risks a few extra days away from the office, to get reacquainted with her extended family and childhood friends. She visits the crumbling homesteads of her prairie ancestors, and rediscovers their immigrant dreams and sacrifices. When her tyrannical boss fires her, she's fifteen hundred miles from home, just one more middle-aged worker out of a job in a tough economy. To make matters worse, her husband just left her for his pregnant girlfriend.

At a crossroads, Karen must find the courage to change. Needing time to think, she agrees to take an elderly neighbor on one last road trip, but on a deserted highway in Wyoming, Karen is forced to make a lethal and life-changing decision.

I wrote Dakota Blues because I'm fascinated by the idea that the second half of our lives could be more powerful than we've ever imagined, but there's a problem: Our culture teaches us that our youth is the good half, and once that's over, forget it. In Dakota Blues, I try to show a woman who breaks free at midlife and struggles to win her freedom. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lynne Morgan Spreen enjoyed a career as a human resources professional before becoming a professional writer. She has freelanced for Palm Desert Magazine, and produced a weekly column for the Business Journal. Dakota Blues is her debut novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1475191332
• ISBN-13: 978-1475191332
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Great news! Dakota Blues just won Next Generation Indie Book Finalist Award! More than an honor, it's validation that people want to read about the midlife experience, and triumphing over age! See below right for book trailer.

Although Dakota Blues is a work of fiction, much of it is based on the real lives of my ancestors, German immigrants who settled in North Dakota in the late 1800's. Dickinson, my fictional character's hometown, is real. My mother grew up there and hauled us kids back to visit my extended family almost every summer. Many of my relatives still live in and near the town. Dakota Blues is full of descriptions of beautiful vistas and the richness of smalltown life, a scenario which sadly no longer exists due to the oil boom. My story is an homage to Dickinson as it was in the verdant Spring of 2008.

About me: after spending a career in human resources, I was able to start writing fulltime. I wrote a bi-weekly newspaper column and did freelance work for magazines for a couple of years. Then, joyously, I was able to pursue my lifetime dream of writing a novel. In addition I have a VERY busy blog, at AnyShinyThing.com ("Midlife Magic"), and I invite you to join us there, as we explore the second half of life. Here's what we talk about: At a certain point are we too old to start over? Should we be winding down or blowing things up? How best to travel this later-in-life pathway?

Come sit around our electronic campfire. Let's figure things out together.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A heart-warming winner! July 27, 2012

By Leslie H James

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Karen Grace is your typically successful, career-driven perfectionist, a seemingly indispensible superwoman: she is also your typically `Why can't I get a life' crazed, slightly neurotic middle-aged female. When life throws her a curve ball, she discovers that perhaps her goals in life have been skewed - perhaps there is more to life than constantly banging one's head against the ever-present glass ceiling. How she resolves this contradiction is the basis of this story.

In her debut novel, Dakota Blues, Lynne Spreen weaves an uber-believable tale of how a seemingly perfect life can be upturned in the blink of an eye. Returning to her Midwestern roots upon the death of her mother, Karen discovers many truths about herself and what is important in life, and in the process offers many insights for the reader. The characters are interesting and fully-drawn and Lynne's descriptive narrative is superb. One can practically taste and feel the flavors and sensations that Karen experiences throughout her journey to self-discovery and ultimate happiness. I found myself identifying with Karen's emotions and choices, to the point that I couldn't put the book down. The consistent theme is that life is too short and too precious to go mindlessly through the paces. To truly live and enjoy life, it is important to be present in the here and now, being mindful of all that happens and making decisions based on that viewpoint.

This novel is a must-read for any woman who has questioned her life choices and is searching for ways to make her fall and winter years the best of all! I am looking forward to a second novel from this insightful and witty author.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely August 14, 2012

By Peggy Wheeler

Format:Paperback

Lynne Spreen writes masterfully and lyrically, so it is no surprise that her debut novel, Dakota Blues is a beautiful book that both entertains and inspires. Karen Grace embarks on a classic hero's journey surviving betrayal, heartbreak, and disappointment to discover her real power. Her journey, both metaphorically and literally, is a story that every woman of a certain age can relate to, although Dakota Blues is more than a woman's book. The fifty-something Karen is an elegant, smart, and gutsy survivor, and demonstrates the courage most people, no matter their gender, wish they had to shed an existence that no longer serves them. This book is not only powerful, but a good read with a little something for everybody. Turn the pages and find a hot love interest, fast moving adventure, quirky and admirable characters, and a chase scene that will stop your heart. I cannot wait to see what Lynne comes up with next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ FOR WOMEN IN ANY STAGE OF THEIR LIFE! December 5, 2012

By Dodie Cross

Format:Paperback

Karen Grace is a hard-working executive who gets fired while attending her mother's funeral in her Midwestern hometown - and this on the heels of her husband having left her for his pregnant girlfriend. Now Karen's adrift, and she's beginning to realize her life lacks meaning and purpose. Having just turned fifty, she can find a truer path, but how? And does she have the courage? Is it too late? Every woman will identify with the issues raised in Dakota Blues. It's a fast, funny, sexy, and empowering read that'll leave you feeling like you have a new friend, and that the world is just a little bit more beautiful of a place. Buy it, ladies!
Dodie Cross, author of: A Broad Abroad in Iran

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Star Debut for Dakota Blues August 8, 2012

By Carol Mann

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

We all reach crossroads in our lives. In Dakota Blues by Lynne Morgan Spreen, protagonist Karen Grace has more than her fair share of struggles ... with the loss of a parent, betrayal in the corporate world, an unusual invitation from a 90 year old, the end of a marriage, a new man in her life, and a life-threatening situation born in a remote camp ground in Wyoming. You'll be kept guessing how she deals with each. The ultimate crossroad is her choice of self. Who is she? What will she become? What paths will she choose? Will she change?

Set before the reader are situations with which women of all ages can relate. In addition, Spreen textures the book with meaning by setting it in North Dakota on lands rich with Karen's family history, lands which both test and build a person's character. The landscape's harshness is contrasted with the rich beauty of the plains: its flowers, wildlife, birds, scents. It seems a metaphor for finding beauty and light in the harshest of situations.

The book displays the author's passion for women in the second half of their lives ... for them to live life to the fullest, on their terms. If you're looking for inspiration, this is the book. You'll want to follow Karen Grace as she faces life head-on, ready or not.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read June 17, 2013

By Sallie Bailey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This first novel by Spreen held my interest from beginning to end. The author was brought up in North Dakota but this doesn't mean it's a memoir. It does mean that she has a fine sense of the place and its people. The main character is Karen, a fifty year old woman, who goes home for her mother's funeral in North Dakota. Karen has a high pressure job and while there she is informed that she has been 'let go'. To make matter worse, she's in the throes of a divorce.

When she is about to return home to California, she is persuaded to drive a camper belonging to a ninety year old woman, who is in ill health and who wishes to see her new great granddaughter. Reluctantly she agrees to sidetrack to Denver and leave the woman with her daughter, with the promise that then the camper will become her property and she can proceed to California.

Gradually her impatience gives way to a curious bonding with the woman. At that point, it turns briefly into a 'road trip' story with this unlikely duo. The two meet assorted people at the various campgrounds and even have a narrow escape in one instance. After finally depositing her companion in Denver Karen drives on to California, faces what awaits her and makes a decision - a surprising resolution to her problems.

I look forward to another book by this author.