Effie Crackalbee (a.k.a. Jane Croy), the loving, daring, and generous protagonist of Crane Spreads Wings, is a self-proclaimed T'ai Chi warrior who practices the ancient movements that center her spirit even as she sets out to re-create her life.

When we meet her, she is Jane Croy, and she has just decided to run away from Alan, her husband of one month, because, as she says, he has misrepresented himself. He's full of hot air--always spouting off--and Jane hates spouters. Nevertheless, within hours, she too, is misrepresenting herself. When she runs into Gled Saltonstall, the...

The Holy Woman
After Joe's benign death and sacred burial, his chosen successor, Anna, is abandoned at the storm-ravaged hermitage as the others, including her husband, are wooed away by the masterful Chen. Loyal Jacob, the holy bodyguard, goes to Austria to raise money to care for Anna and her children and takes the holy man's teaching with him. A Dutchman with his band of thugs pillages what is left in the hermitage, holy man artifacts to sell at auction. After a summer alone on the mountain, where she struggles with the idea of her appointed role, Anna moves to the town...