Willa Cather is an author whose work is so inextricably linked to a specific time, place, and culture; even though I really enjoy her writing, I always wonder if a more diverse audience appreciates it as much as I am able to. Her novels are really the ultimate Great Plains fiction, providing a fictional account of the Scandinavian immigrant experience in the Midwest. For fans of Karen Russell, recall her utterly sinister story "Proving Up" from Vampires in the Lemon Grove, which I loved as it immediately brought to mind Willa Cather, albeit a more macabre version.