Which is worse: being a victim or being a bitch?
This is a question Rose Voss has been asking herself since her husband died, leaving her with a storm-wrecked house, four kids to raise, and an alcoholic brother-in-law living in a trailer in her backyard.
Being a single working mom is never easy, but it’s downright painful in Luscious, Missouri, where cattiness is a local pastime. For years, the neighbors have been watching and judging Rose’s every move, and giving her a failing grade at every turn. In their minds, her son is a terrorist-in-training, her hydroponics farm is really a front for a large-scale marijuana operation… even walking from the car to the grocer’s is bound to throw someone’s nose out of joint. Whatever it takes to be popular here, Rose just doesn’t have it.
Things begin to change when a GoBuy superstore moves in and starts killing off the competition. Families are leaving, stores are closing, and time is running out. Luscious is desperate, and survival depends on recruiting help from the most successful business owner in town: Rose Voss.
Now Rose has a decision to make: forgive past wrongs and work with her neighbors to rebuild the community, or leave everyone to reap what they’ve sown while she savors the sweet taste of revenge. What would you do?
Read a sample chapter from The Empress Rose.