When Haze Evans first appeared in the small-town newspaper, she earned fans by writing a story about her bachelor uncle who brought a Queen of the Rodeo to Thanksgiving dinner. Now, fifty years later, when the beloved columnist suffers a massive stroke and falls into a coma, publisher Susan McGrath fills the void (temporarily, she hopes) with Haze's past columns, along with the occasional reprinted responses from readers. Most letters were favorable,...

"No one steps up to life's banquet, holds out her tray, and orders, "Grief, please!" Yet as a child, Candy Pekkala was served a heaping helping of it. But every buffet line has a dessert section, and when a cousin calls with a Hollywood apartment to sublet, it seems though Candy is finally offered something sweet. It's good-bye to Minnesota and hello to California, where a girl who has always lived by her wits has a real chance of making a living...

"With its corn by the acre, beef on the hoof, Quaker Oats, and Kraft Mac n' Cheese, the Midwest eats pretty well and feeds the nation on the side. But there's more to the midwestern kitchen and palate than the farm food and sizable portions the region is best known for beyond its borders. It is to these heartland specialties, from the heartwarming to the downright weird, that Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie invites the reader. The volume brings to the...