Calumet Editions

Black Dirt, Bright Stars

Author:

Book 2 of 2: The Haugen Saga

In Black Dirt, Bright Stars, Will Weaver continues the Haugen saga into the rugged Midwest of the 1940s. After loss, injustice, and the ruin of their farm, four siblings fight to survive. Jenny, the youngest, finds hard-won power at the county courthouse and becomes a leader no one can dismiss. But when revenge goes wrong, she binds the family to a vow of silence. As the Haugens rise to prosperity, their buried secret threatens everything.

A marvelous work of art… deserves to be read and celebrated.

—Larry Watson, Montana 1948

Description

In Black Dirt, Bright Stars, Will Weaver continues the Haugen family saga begun in Power & Light, carrying the story into the rugged Midwest of the 1940s. Shaken by loss, injustice, and the destruction of their farm, the four Haugen siblings must find new ways to survive.

At the heart of the struggle is Jenny, the youngest, who discovers both opportunity and harsh truths while working at a county courthouse. Determined, calculating, and fiercely loyal to her family, she grows into a leader who refuses to be underestimated. When a chance at revenge goes horribly wrong, Jenny binds her siblings to silence with a vow that will shadow them for decades. Rising from ruin to prosperity, the Haugens build a new legacy—yet at the height of their success, the buried secret threatens to undo everything they have built.

Weaver’s novel explores not only the cost of ambition and survival, but also the heavy burden of family loyalty when silence becomes its own kind of betrayal.

Product Details

PublishedSeptember 25, 2025
ImprintCalumet Editions
LanguageEnglish
Print length432
ISBN-139781962834582
Dimensions6 x 1.08 x 9 inches

With Black Dirt, Bright Stars, Weaver firmly establishes himself as the essential writer of prairie and pioneer literature. Weaver leaves no open wound unexamined or family bond escaped.

—Nicole Helget, Stillwater, and The End of the Wild, a New York Times Editor’s Choice

Black Dirt, Bright Stars is a joy to read. Weaver, an accomplished writer, provides the necessary elements to a superb novel arc. His honed craft blazes with assessable dialogue that advances the compelling plot. With seamless narration, he furrows neat rows of concrete details, a history of pop culture, and riveting events, rooted in historical backdrops, present in generational increments. This novel flexes the Midwestern muscle of stubborn family loyalty. Read Weaver’s devotion to the sort of characters who built this country out of dirt and beneath stars. Relish a great yarn!

—Robert C. Luke, verified review on Amazon

A great read…I couldn’t put it down, read almost 200 pages on the first run! History that needs to be remembered, romance, drama, family ties, plus an intriguing story of crime and punishment that just wrenches at your soul!

—Connie, verified review on Amazon

A perfect book two. The Haugen story is a story of immigration, struggle and persistence. I felt I knew each of these characters wonderfully created. Composites from memories of my childhood. Weaver is a master storyteller of life in the Midwest with a keen eye to the people of the plains. A book to be savored.

—Mike Gould, verified review on Amazon