Set amid the windswept prairies of Wyoming and rounded mountains of southwest Virginia, Shadows of Flowers is a debut novel about love, loss and the power of place from award-winning journalist Holly Kays.

“When I moved to Wyoming after a lifetime of living and playing in the Appalachian Mountains, the grandeur and beauty of the Rocky Mountain landscape left me dumfounded on a daily basis. It would have been impossible to leave Wyoming without the urge to somehow memorialize that place in writing. Pairing that setting with a powerful fictional story like Dana’s lends a strength to this novel that I enjoyed writing and I hope others will enjoy reading,” Kays said. “Dana’s situation is particular, but the themes it unearths are universal — the unrelenting need to reconcile past with present, the search for God and the innate desire for community.”

Thoughtfully developed characters that bring to vivid life the severe beauty of the Rocky Mountains, rough-and-tumble charm of the small town of Buffalo and Dana’s place on this landscape make this book a must-read. Fueled by an economy of words and eye for detail honed during her years as a reporter, Kays writes with a deliberate and original voice where every word counts.

Holly Kays is a writer and journalist living in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Having earned more than 20 state and national awards during her news reporting career thus far, she covers a range of topics for the regional newsmagazine The Smoky Mountain News and explores the area’s many hiking trails with her four-legged best friend whenever possible. Originally from Williamsport, Maryland, she is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s creative writing and natural resources programs, and a former reporter for The Buffalo Bulletin. This is her first book.

Shadows of Flowers is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shadowsofflowers and the first chapter is posted on the author’s blog.