Whippoorwill [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Sharon Sala (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2005

A New York Times Bestselling Author

Sleeping with men for money was not what Leticia had planned on, but neither had being orphaned at twelve, or winding up in a place like Lizard Flats. Then one day, word spread that a preacher from back East was coming - and Letty couldn't help but think a change was coming for her, too.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Masterfully crafted . . ."
-- Romantic Times Book Club (Romantic Times )

From the Publisher

"Sleeping with men for money was not something Leticia Murphy had planned on doing when she grew up, but then, neither had she planned on being orphaned at twelve, or winding up in a godforsaken place in the Kansas Territories like Lizard Flats. But here she was, like most of the other lost souls who’d come West, looking for something better, and in her case, wishing for a second chance. She knew the odds were against her, but it didn’t stop her from yearning.

There was a ritual from her childhood that she performed each evening as the sun was going down. She would step out onto the balcony off her bedroom, lift her face to the heavens to search for the Evening Star, then stand quietly in the growing shadows and listen for the call of the whippoorwill.

It came from a memory of her mother who had died when she was ten. Always, she was sitting in her mother’s lap outside their clapboard house watching night fall over the land. They would sit on the front step with their bare feet planted firmly in the still warm dirt while enjoying the first cool breezes of evening. As they sat, they would search for the first star and wait for the whippoorwill’s call. Her mother had told her the bird was searching for its mate, but Letty had yet to meet a man who was worth the call. However, the memory was one of the few good ones she had left. Two years after her mother’s untimely death, her father was killed by a Comanche hunting party. Letty survived by hiding in a hollowed out badger hole. That was the last time fate showed her any kindness. At twenty-seven, she was well past the marrying age and nearly too used up to care. Yet, she didn’t stop wishing, and she didn’t stop dreaming about a different sort of life.

Then one day, something happened in Lizard Flats that had never happened before. Word began to spread throughout the area that a real preacher from back East was coming to perform a wedding. The news set off a whole series of unforeseen events. Caught up in the excitement of the occasion, Letty couldn’t help but think that a change was coming for her, too. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 463 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (April 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786274611
• ISBN-13: 978-0786274611
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,763,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Sala is a long time member of Romance Writers of America writing as Sharon Sala and Dinah McCall. She writes romantic suspense, Young Adult, and Women's Fiction. First published in 1991, she's a seven-time RITA finalist, winner of the Janet Dailey Award, four-time winner of the Career Achievement award from RT Magazine, five time winner of the National Reader's Choice Award and five time winner of the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence as well as the Bookseller Best Award. Her books are New York Times, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly mass market best-sellers. Writing changed her life, her world, and her fate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something a little different, April 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Whippoorwill (Paperback)

When you start reading this book you are fully prepared for something a little different. Both the publisher and the author both have forward pages which warn you that this book is a different from Miss Sala's previous works - and correctly, it is a little different, but not that much.

The structure of the story is more complex than in other Sala books. Small vignette's built around a cast of characters who all have one reason or another to anticipate the arrival of a real preacher to a desolute frontier town. In some of the stories we see the classic Sala touch coming through - a tender touch with a bit of humour and romance - in others Sala is obviously enjoying a bit of freedom.

Overall, this book is not actually as daring as the publishers and Sala seem to think. In some ways it reads like a cast of secondary characters left to carry on alone. Even Letty, the town whore, who fills the role of "heroine" seems to be somewhat remote from the reader and considerably less gritty than you'd expect for the sole whore at the only pub in a middle-of-nowhere town miles from anywhere.

I enjoyed reading this book because it still has the elements of Sharon Sala's storytelling that I enjoy most. It has some genuinely funny lines and a cast of interesting characters - and in the end good guys do OK and the bad guys don't. I like that in a book! But that's not too formulaic is it?

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sharon Sala fans beware!!!, June 21, 2004

By 

M. Nix - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whippoorwill (Paperback)

I bought this book without really looking at the storyline because Sharon Sala's name was on the book. What a mistake that was! I HATE writing a negative review so I have to really be disappointed to write one. This book is a total departure from what made me love Sharon Sala as an author. I have always looked Sharon Sala's romances but I could never get into this book. It was more like Historical Chick Lit. There was no "happy ending" that romance lovers look for. In fact, I couldn't find any real romance in this book. It's just my opinion but I believe when an author puts out a book that is so different from what her fans have come to expect from her that a pen name would probably be the way to go. Instead I was left feeling cheated by one of my favorite authors because now I can never have Sharon Sala on autobuy again. Also, I feel slightly insulted as a romance fan. I have noticed a trend by several romance writers to change their format. As a fan it makes me wonder are they ashamed to write romance?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could not really get into it, July 8, 2004

By 

Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whippoorwill (Mira) (Mass Market Paperback)

I usually love Sharon Sala's books. However, in the prologue she tells us this is not one of her usual books. And it is not.

This is a different type of book for her. It has very well drawn characters but I just did not come to care for them as much as I usually do.

Of course it is set in the west at a time of struggle and fighting as well as many decievers.

A saloon girl, a fraudulant preacher, a gambler and a drunk, each has his or her life changed in a split second. When the unscrupulous preacher dies in the lady's bed.

There is humor and irony aplenty in this book. Somehow where there is a will there is a way.

At the end each is redeemed by their experiences. The ending is somewhat ambiguious and did not really satisfy me.

Everyone should be able to stretch their wings and Ms Sala certainly changed from our usual expectations.