Crazy For Trying

In the cramped bar car lavatory on a westbound train, Tulsa Bitters faces the mirror, chubby and freshly heartbroken. She scrubs the makeup from her face, chucks her padded bra in the trash and makes the conscious decision to become herself.

Six months later, in the cab of his road-weary pickup truck, grizzled Vietnam vet Mac White Wolf MacPeters, half Blackfoot, half raging Irish, hears an unfamiliar - and unforgettable - voice, and before he can remind himself that he doesn't fall in love, he does.

In Montana in the 1970s, people aren’t accustomed to hearing a woman’s voice on the radio. But to Tulsa, far away from all the people who loved and hurt her, midnight rock’n’roll feels like home, especially once she finds out who's out there listening. Crazy for Trying is a brave debut novel that fairly explodes with love-struck energy and sharp-tongued tenacity. Joni Rodgers loads up a tight circle of lovers, adversaries, dysfunctional family members and comically flawed friends, driving them down a fresh road through hard-earned love, a dangerous western solitude, and the old sexual politics.

Barnes & Noble Discover Award finalist (1997)

“Think Jane Eyre with rock’n’roll.” Houston Press

“Terrific…a rollicking ride through emerging feminist sensibilities.” Billings Gazette

“A fresh pleasure…Rodgers writes unconventional love scenes that scorch the pages.” Orlando Sentinel

“Refreshing and provocative…” Houston Chronicle

“Truly captivating…Rodgers’ prose and style are unique.” Texas Books in Review

“Joni Rodgers can write sex scenes that’ll make your toes curl and your hair stand on end. At her best, her prose is dazzling, risky, and intoxicating, and at its heart, Crazy for Trying is an inspired debut.” Pam Houston, bestselling author of Cowboys Are My Weakness