Gone to Green by Judy Christie

I had never heard of this series or author until this book popped up on Amazon as a freebie for Kindle. Once again, I love freebies.. not just for the obvious financial reasons, but because I find myself snatching up books I might not even consider otherwise... and with Kindle freebies, I often find books I have never seen sitting on the shelf of a bookstore.  I have discovered new series and new authors along the way, many that are on my to-read list for other books they have written or will write. Christie is one such author. I have since loaded the entire Green series on my Kindle and look forward to reading it in the days ahead.

Lois is on the fast track to becoming Managing Editor of a mid-size corporate owned newspaper when life throws her the curve ball of all curve balls... The Green News-Item... a small town weekly newspaper in the not-so-metropolitan town of Green, LA.  There is a stipulation that Lois keep the paper a year and then, at that time, she can continue on or sell. So off to Green she goes.

Green is far from the quaint little charming town full of warm friendly folks Lois expects. Instead she find unemployment and poverty, a downtown essentially deserted, big opinions, good ole boys, strict expectations and a overall wariness about strangers.. especially those who are not Southern.

Over time, Lois finds a friend or two...  a wayward teen,  an up and coming reporter and a lady preacher to name a few. As she gets to know Green and its inhabitants, Lois sees the possibilities here.  Greed and Politics are ruling Green and it is time for a change. Lois sets out to present not only the standard warm-heart small town news folks look forward to reading (who is marrying who etc) but also some hard hitting looks at the truth to stir civic pride and effect change in Green.

A year passes quicker than expected.  It is obvious that Lois has been accepted by the citizens of Green, who praise her to the spark she has lit.  How will she ever be able to sell The News-Item and leave these people? But she has to, right? There is a job waiting for her at a larger paper... time to get back on track with her dream.. or maybe it is time to create a new one.