Ms. Dixon is the author of the novels, A Taste for More, Intermission, Down Home Blues, Forty Acres and the forthcoming Something in the Water. She is also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul. Intermission was selected for the 2023 Richard Wright Award - Fiction by the Memphis Public Library. She is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has lived in Texas and Arkansas, and now resides in Memphis, Tennessee. She is a former bank regulator and has also owned a bookstore. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is a former board member of Greater Memphis YWCA. When not reading or writing, she enjoys sports, classic movies, and chocolate. Visit www.phyllisrdixon.com for additional details.
 
Something in the Water: Small Town, Troubled Waters, A Mother's Choice.
 
Climate change, opioid abuse, contaminated drinking water, misspent government money, Pulitzer Prize reporting – these ripped from the headlines topics form the background for a story about the Jordan family. When family and financial challenges arise, radio personality and investigative reporter Billie Jordan reluctantly agrees to leave her beloved Oakland, California and relocate to her husband’s small hometown in Texas for a fresh start. Instead of enjoying sweet tea, short commutes and a lower cost of living, they run into boil water notices and long lines for bottled water.
Billie Jordan has always been a community advocate and believes grassroots efforts will help resolve the water crisis. But in her new job, she learns decades old connections between money, power and family are just as dirty as the water, and she’s warned to mind her own business. The warning includes threats related to her son’s addiction struggles, and could be related to the mysterious death of a long-time community activist. But after a devastating storm leaves even more people impacted by the town’s water woes, Billie’s findings could be the key to turning things around, if a conspiracy doesn’t drown her first.
Flint, Michigan’s water crisis made national news ten years ago, when residents complained of rashes, hair loss, foul smells and discolored water, after being assured the water was safe. While no longer headline news, contaminated drinking water remains a pervasive problem affecting urban and rural areas, large cities and small towns. Despite being banned since 1986, millions still receive water through unsafe lead pipes.  Aging infrastructure, weather events and forever chemicals contribute to this continuing and growing crisis. Inspired by the author’s own experiences (some of which are shared in the Author’s Note), Something in the Water weaves these serious subjects into an entertaining, and relatable story.