Daily news article about Karen Ross Epps new book Corn Rose: A Novel

The third new book that I heard about this week is by Karen Ross Epp of Newton. In 2008, I wrote about her first book, With Love, Stan. which tells the story of her brother who lost his life in the Vietnam War. Most of the story is told in his own words using letters he wrote from Vietnam. Corn Rose is Karen’s new book, a historical novel. I haven’t read or even seen her new book yet, but here’s a brief synopsis: Rose Calamia is a first generation Italian American working girl in a 1945 aircraft plant, when she meets Iowa farm boy, Jack Conner. Jack has recently been discharged from the Army and is still licking his wounds from an all too familiar war time casualty–a “Dear John” followed by divorce. When their love affair leads to a wedding and a move to Jack’s home community, Rose is totally unprepared for the life that awaits her in rural Iowa. Ever the sheltered daughter and sister in a family steeped in old world traditions, Rose is exposed to Jack’s world which is the polar opposite. Living with her in-laws for the first few months of marriage, Rose is homesick and unsure of her hasty decision to move back to the Midwest with her husband of three months. On top of all the other adjustments (no modern conveniences like electricity and indoor plumbing) Rose harbors a secret, her pregnancy. Corn Rose is available on Amazon and will soon be available as a Kindle e-book.