Hello, Friday Fiction Family! Today, I wanted to take a moment to mention two books that are very dear to my heart. I realize that often I pick up new readers who might not have heard of these books, so I’ll just share my first two novels in the genre of Southern fiction:
Jessie’s Hope
Years ago, an accident robbed Jessie Smith of her mobility. She also lost her mother and became alienated from her father. When Jessie’s high school sweetheart Matt Jansen finally proposes, her excitement turns to worry. Those she loves she loses. With their wedding fast approaching, Jessie’s grandfather, Homer, searches for the perfect dress for “his Jessie” — one that would allow her to forget, even if for a moment, the boundaries of her wheelchair. But finances and one unexpected disaster after another thwart his plans. Determined to heal from her past, Jessie seeks to find her father. Perhaps the pair can reconcile their differences. Can a sliver of hope lead to everlasting love? Or is it enough to accept that sometimes grace and faith allow us to live with joy, regardless of our circumstances?
My debut novel, Jessie’s Hope, was written to honor my parents: my dad, who lived life bravely in a wheelchair after contracting an unknown crippling disease, and my mother, who took care of him. Jessie’s Hope was a nominee for the Selah Award for First Novel.
Smoking Flax
Who Is He–Really?
Almost nineteen-year-old Reed Anderson wants to belong in a world where he hasn’t always fit. Three days after graduation, he decides to ride a bus back to Louisiana and deal with the events of his thirteenth summer once and for all. Back then, he’d stood up to his abusive Pa, protecting Momma and his sister, taking control of his life. But who was the faded image of the child he saw that day? Aunt Lula predicted his life would shift and change. Something about space-time-continuum and the fourth dimension? He tucks her words into his heart. If he survives the shift, this could be his chance to start over. But the ghost child haunts his dreams. Even though six years have passed, does he want to confront the lies he’s always believed?
Smoking Flax was first a short story and grew to be a novel where I tried to work out the struggles of living in the 70s in the rural South. Add in a little otherworldly time-travel, and you’ll find an intriguing novel with a deeper message.
