A Private Piece of Sky

About the Book

The day after her college graduation, Laurie Davenport is abandoned by her college sweetheart, David, who abruptly leaves her to accept a lucrative position in New York. The next day, Laurie learns she is pregnant with David’s child. In desperate emotional turmoil at being deserted by the man she had confidently expected to marry, Laurie drives to Carmel hoping to discuss her plight with a close friend. When she finds her friend away from home because of a family emergency, Laurie feels distraught and desolate at being so alone. As she sits on the rocky shore weeping about her predicament, she is suddenly swept into the sea by a rogue wave. She is heroically rescued from the roiling surf by Rob McKenzie who hears her screams for help. Laurie is rushed to the hospital where she is told she has miscarried. Even worse, the doctor informs her that because of her internal injuries she might not be able to have children in the future.

Six years later, following her father’s death in a violent traffic accident, Laurie reluctantly returns to Sacramento at her mother’s entreaties to manage the small family-owned weekly newspaper. She is surprised — and delighted — to meet Rob again after arriving in Sacramento. Now the time is right, the energy between them is electric, and they fall deeply in love. Soon they are separated, however, by Rob’s assignment to an intensive language program in Monterey. Rob is torn between his motivation to advance his career and his eagerness to be close to Laurie. She is reluctant to tell Rob about the possibility she might not be able to bear a child but finally finds the courage to divulge her secret.

Eventually, the newspaper is offered for sale and the most-persistent prospective buyer is Laurie’s former Stanford lover, David, who now wants to buy a West Coast newspaper to expand his business interests. Thoughts of revenge tempt Laurie to thwart the sale of the paper, but she realizes it is to her own advantage to let it proceed. She would then be free of the newspaper and free to be with Rob.

Caught in a catastrophic earthquake in Southern California, Laurie and Rob are wracked with panic and anxiety as they search for Rob’s sister in a building demolished by the quake. Laurie comforts a dying woman in the shattered ruins and learns the secret that solves a troubling mystery involving her father. Laurie and Rob manage to escape from the terrifying destruction, realizing more keenly than ever how tenuous and precious life is, and how unwavering their love for each other. What they yearn for now is their own private piece of sky so they can begin their life together at last.

About the Author

Peggy Blackman has had a life-long interest in writing and is the author of several short stories as well as A Private Piece of Sky, her first published novel. A descendant of early Scottish emigrants to Australia, she has traveled extensively and now makes her home in northern California. She is currently at work on her next novel.