Spotlight: Unspoken (The Dust Series #1) by Jann Alexander
- Merissa
- Jul 11
- 2 min read
Book details:
Book Title: Unspoken
Series: The Dust Series
Author: Jann Alexander
Publication Date: July 3, 2025
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 368
Any Triggers: Two deaths from dust pneumonia in first chapter, 1935; inhumane treatments in an asylum setting, pre-1950; maltreatment in a state home for children, pre-1945; a botched abortion where a woman nearly dies, 1940s
@JannAlexanderAuthor @cathie.dunn1 @thecoffeepotbookclub
@jannalextx @thecoffeepotbookclub
A Farm Devastated. A Dream Destroyed. A Family Scattered. And One Texas Girl Determined to Salvage the Wreckage.
Ruby Lee Becker can't breathe. It's 1935 in the heart of the Dust Bowl, and the Becker family has clung to its Texas Panhandle farm through six years of drought, dying crops, and dust storms. On Black Sunday, the biggest blackest storm of them all threatens ten-year-old Ruby with deadly dust pneumonia and requires a drastic choice —one her mother, Willa Mae, will forever regret.
To survive, Ruby is forced to leave the only place she's ever known. Far from home in Waco, and worried her mother has abandoned her, she's determined to get back.
Even after twelve years, Willa Mae still clings to memories of her daughter. Unable to reunite with Ruby, she's broken by their separation.
Through rollicking adventures and harrowing setbacks, the tenacious Ruby Lee embarks on her perilous quest for home —and faces her one unspoken fear.
Heart-wrenching and inspiring, the tale of Ruby Lee's dogged perseverance and Willa Mae's endless love for her daughter shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who bravely lean on one another, find comfort in remade families, and redefine what home means.
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Jann Alexander writes characters who face down their fears. Her novels are as close-to-true as fiction can get.
Jann is the author of the historical novel, UNSPOKEN, set in the Texas Panhandle during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression eras, and her first book in The Dust Series.
Jann writes on all things creative in her weekly blog, Pairings. She's a 20-year resident of central Texas and creator of the Vanishing Austin photography series. As a former art director for ad agencies and magazines in the D.C. area, and a painter, photographer, and art gallery owner, creativity is her practice and passion.
Jann's lifelong storytelling habit and her more recent zeal for Texas history merged to become the historical Dust Series. When she is not reading, writing, or creating, she bikes, hikes, skis, and kayaks. She lives in central Texas with her own personal Texan (and biggest fan), Karl, and their Texas mutt, Ruby.
Jann always brakes for historical markers.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.jannalexander.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jannalextx/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jannalextx/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jannalexander
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jann_alexander
Tour hosted by: The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thank you so much for hosting Jann Alexander today, with such a detailed review of her evocative tale, Unspoken.
Take care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club