Kass Fogle

MIDWESTERN AUTHOR

What is Midwestern Fiction?

The characters in my novels are Midwestern to their core. Here’s what you’ll find about the Midwest in Ruth’s Garden and her sequels:

It's the Setting...

Lightning Bugs

Thunderstorms & Lake Effects

Four Seasons

Corn & Beans

Sunrises that are Spectacular as the Sunsets

Bonfires

Magnificent Skies, day or night

It's the People...

Whether they have a little or a lot, their hearts are filled with gratefulness.

They are self-aware and mindful of the effect their behaviors, decisions, and actions have on others.

They are neighborly, and look out for each other, whether across the street or across the county.

They are hard-working in mind, body, & spirit and will work diligently to make sure their loved ones and neighbors don’t go without.

They know how to rest. Whether the Lord’s Day, an evening on the front porch, a long country drive, or a program on television, they take great pleasure in and appreciate the power of rest.

It's the Attitude...

Don’t know a stranger, but you’re not considered ‘from’ a town unless your granddaddy was born there.

Anything can be fixed with biscuits & gravy or a casserole/hotdish.

Holding doors for anyone and not caring they’ll beat you in line because of it.

The two-finger wave as you pass another vehicle on a country road is considered proper etiquette.

Friendly to their core, Midwesterners smile as they walk through the aisles, let other cars over into their lane, and insist someone with five items checkout ahead of them.

You Know You're From the Midwest If...

You’ve had a genuine argument over whether dogs belong in the house or not.
You drag the lawn chairs into the driveway when the storm sirens sound.
Dinner is at noon.
You’re either boating, floating, camping, or having a bonfire this weekend.
The sunrise is as spectacular as the sunset.
It’s always allergy season.
At least once during the summer, you’re heading to “the lake.” Each state has its own.
You give and get directions around landmarks that no longer exist. “Turn where Charlie’s barn used to sit.”
Casual Friday means wearing your favorite Big Ten gear.
You have a relative who's driven the lawnmower to the bar or the Dollar General.

Books & Other Works

Catch up on The Tanner Sisters in my Victory Series

Ruth's Garden

Meet Karen

Karen Tanner finally escaped the claustrophobia of her small town to enjoy her immersion in the flash of San Antonio high society. But after she faces heart-breaking betrayal and sudden job loss, Karen flees home and reunites with her sisters to uncover secrets in her grandmother Ruth’s garden.

Tucked behind an old shed on the family farm, in a small garden dotted with plaster angels protecting the secrets buried underneath, Karen finds a secret that could devastate their family and even change its history.

Karen will have to determine how to keep the family together while she struggles with her faith to recognize God's plan for her life. And when Jacob, her high school
sweetheart struts back into town; her world is turned upside down again.

Will she finally learn the key to loving others is to first face the truths in her own
heart, or will she run away yet again? And can she convince Grandma Ruth that peace can indeed flourish where grace and forgiveness have taken root?

The Prodigal Ring

Meet Tara

Tara has lived under her sister, Karen's shadow for long enough.

If she wants to enter into a relationship with Todd and make him baby daddy number 3, that's her business.

But she knows she wants more than that.

Todd can provide stability, financial support and masculine energy in a household that needs it desperately.

Todd has doubts about whether a relationship will help him through his PTSD, or merely distract him, but Tara seems worth the risk.

Together they embark on finding the owner of a military ring that belongs to a marine with similar memories to Todd but from a different war.

Will Tara join Todd a difficult journey to heal someone else's wounds before she can conquer her own? Or will she move on to easier but less fulfilling ways to fufil her needs?

And why is God yelling in her ear in the middle of it all?

Girl, Underground

Meet Heather

The ideas for Heather's story are still brewing...

I want to tell a story that brings the horrors of sex trafficking to light. I want to honor those healing from past atrocities and provide information to the public so they are inspired to take action.

When Heather agrees to foster a young woman who's escaped from a sex trafficking nightmare, she uncovers a den that has taken root in her hometown of Victory, Illinois.

Is taking on the evil an act of bravery, or does it bring more danger to her small town and herself?

Want to Reach Kass?

kass@kassfogle.com

@kassfogleauthor