Rich with vivid details, this meticulously researched action adventure transports the reader to an 1849 wagon train. Not a formulaic romance. A must-read for fans of historical westerns or women's fiction. Born of Indian blood, Lydia is the adopted daughter of a poor white farmer. Viewed as a savage, she is ostracized by the isolated Ozark community. Outcast from social events, she lives in the shadows of society. When violence against Lydia’s family escalates, she realizes that attempts to live by her mother’s teachings, ‘being a lady so society would accept her’, had been a failure and her presence was now endangering her adoptive parents. She does not belong in Possum Hollow. She is tied to another land. In the summer of 1849, Lydia sets out on the California Oregon trail with her neighbors and Joe, the blue eyed gun-slinging trail boss, hoping to find the Indian family she does not know, a home, and a place of acceptance. The moccasins her mother gives her, saved since childhood, are the only clue to her heritage. The emigrants must endure a precarious existence of river crossings, cholera, stampedes, and a new kind of prejudice. Despite the challenges, Lydia’s strength and courage grow. Romance blossoms. Although a sharp-tongued red head also lays claim to the trail boss. When fierce Sioux warriors visit camp, not once, but twice, specifically to trade for her, having heard of her heroism for rescuing a drowning boy, tensions between the two sides increase. Lydia has always been unafraid of Indians, despite stories of massacres and scalpings, but even she becomes uneasy. Not being truly white nor truly Indian, Lydia belongs to neither world. To find happiness, Lydia must choose between life with her Indian family and the white man she loves. Linda Chalk grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio where she graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in chemistry. She dreamed of becoming a published author since she could first write. Some of her earliest stories were romances. Of course, studying chemistry left little time for creative writing or reading fiction of her choice. But the premise of Torn Between Worlds was born during this time. The old west had been subjects of interest since early childhood and days of watching Gunsmoke and Bonanza. After college graduation, she gave up studying weighty text books to read fiction of her choice and to research her book. Since she lived near the university with access to their library, she could spend evenings combing through personal diaries written by actual immigrants who had traveled the overland trail to Oregon and California. Over the next few years, while she worked for a major consumer products company, married and raised two daughters, Linda continued to hone her craft, networking with other authors and those in the publishing industry. She published her short story, "Titanic Love", (based on a real story with real people, during the sinking of the Titanic) in collection of short stories, Love's a Beach, with her local writers' group. Meanwhile, the book of Linda's dreams sat on the back burner unfinished until she retired, and her two daughters were grown. Linda lives in a suburb of Cincinnati with her husband and Shetland Sheep dog. She enjoys retirement and travel in their RV, golfing, sightseeing, photography and writing.