FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

War on Their Own Soil

Fort Lauderdale, August 2006:  It’s not often that a historical novel captures the tone, mind-set and perilous mood of the age it portrays, but Lois Glass Webb’s, The Spectre of Death Rode the Land, does it in spades. One feels involved, almost part of the action, and the characters seem like a branch of one’s own family.

     When Civil War comes to the wilderness of Southeast Missouri, John Gordon decrees the family will remain neutral and go on raising corn and hogs. Out of family duty, sons Stuart and Riley stay at the plow while friends ride off to find Confederate General Price.  Frustrated, Stuart leaves in the night to join a local guard unit.

     Peace is not to be had. The Union Army’s martial law drives independent farmers to organize into partisan rangers. The State Guard is tagged guerrilla. Union troops pour in from border states bent on control or annihilation of resisters. Richmond’s hands are full. Missouri and Arkansas must protect themselves. Ripley and sister counties become no-man’s-land.  

     Interwoven with war, the line between honor to the father and duty to country blurs. Son Riley disappears, leaving his plow in the ground. John and his daughters, Kate, Emely and Ritty, try to hold the farm together. Old men must hide in thickets or be hanged or shot. Yankee invaders torch mills, cornfields, homes and barns. Refugees flee south. The farm disintegrates, as does the family, society and law. Surrender is inevitable, but the war in Southeast Missouri is far from over, as the Gordons struggle to survive.

About the Author:

Lois Glass Webb began writing stories as a child. Multi-talented, she studied architecture, practiced house design and earned a BFA in painting. But inspired by her love of American history and the wonderful stories handed down from a Confederate great-grandfather, Lois was compelled to put all else aside to write. She has been writing full-time for twelve years. Her recent debut novel, The Judge’s Daughter, was awarded five stars from ForeWord.com Reviews. She lives with her husband, Jim, a retired Air Force officer and college professor, on a mountaintop in southeastern New Mexico.