Janis Owens Books in Order

Approaching forty, Gabriel Catts recounts the betrayal that fractured his Florida family and his lifelong love for his brother Michael's wife, Myra. Their shared history exposes conflicts between passion, loyalty, and the possibility of reconciliation.

Myra Sims retells the Catts family's story from her own perspective, tracing a violent childhood and her relationships with brothers Gabe and Michael. Marriage and psychological struggles complicate her search for stability in a Florida mill town.

After his father's death, Claybird Catts finds reassurance in his close-knit Southern family, until his long-absent uncle returns. As Gabe assumes a central role, buried family history challenges Claybird's understanding of the people he loves.

Janis Owens combines Southern recipes, seasonal menus, and family stories with an exploration of the term Cracker and its cultural history. The cookbook portrays working-class traditions through shared meals, celebrations, local memories, and the people behind them.

Jolie Hoyt falls for visiting anthropology student Sam Lense in a Florida town protective of its secrets. His investigation into local racial violence threatens their relationship, leaving unresolved history to haunt them when their paths cross again.

This narrative history examines the 1916 mass lynching in Newberry, Florida, reconstructing the community and families affected by racial violence. It follows the event's suppression and later efforts to confront the past through remembrance and reconciliation.