Well May is just marching right along isn't it?
Today's guest has been featured once before here on our blog but please give a great big welcome to Judy Ann Davis!
Although the rose has always been my favorite flower, it is also the
flower of June, my birth month. Growing up on a farm in northeastern
Pennsylvania, I cherished the intoxicating fragrance of the antique rose bushes
growing around the stonewall foundations of old razed houses on our property
where early settlers lived, but later moved westward for reasons unknown. Every
June, like a birthday present from the earth and heaven above, it was a delight
to see the many bushes, growing wild, bursting into riotous pink blossoms, and spreading
over an entire knoll of our pasture.
Old roses, also called “old-fashioned roses,” “heirloom roses,”
“antique roses” and “old garden roses” are those plants introduced in America
prior to 1867. Although there are hundreds of old rose varieties, they are best
known for their hardiness and fragrance.
The oldest rose planted today was in existence some 2,000 years before
the birth of Christ. It migrated from Persia (Iran) through Turkey to France
and finally into England Later, clippings of these old garden roses were often
hand-carried to America by early immigrants from Europe.
In my novel, Four White Roses,
I chose to have the heroine try to save the last white Austrian rose that the
hero’s great-grandmother brought with her stateside just prior to World War I.
Sometimes writers don’t know where they get ideas for writing a novel.
Sometimes thoughts and ideas just pop into our heads. To be honest, only when I
started writing Four White Roses did mental sparks erupt—and
I was able to draw an eerie connection to my own life. I have actually saved
the last old roses bushes planted on my family farm and dating back to the 1800s.
Luckily, I took cuttings after my husband and I were married. With the
passing of my parents, the rose bushes eventually died out, probably succumbing
to harsh winters, the elements and wildlife, and lack of nourishment and care. Now,
more than ever, I find it humbling when I realize I possess the very same roses
planted by the hands of our first settlers. And, the lineage is still alive for
over a hundred and fifty years.
Ralph Waldo Emerson best reflects my feelings about these beautiful
flowers with those prickly thorns:
“There is simply the rose; it is
perfect in every moment of its existence.”
Wow Judy, I don't remember that quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson but it really made me think of my devotional Love is a Rose that parallels the love of God and the Christian life to the words of the song, The Rose. Thanks for sharing your sentiments on roses with us! Now tell us a little more about Four White Roses and yourself.....
When
widower Rich Redman returns to Pennsylvania with his young daughter to sell his
deceased grandmother’s house, he discovers Grandmother Gertie’s final request
was for him to find a missing relative and a stash of WWI jewels.
Torrie
Larson, single mom, is trying to make her landscape center and flower arranging
business succeed while attempting to save the lineage of a rare white rose
brought from Austria in the 1900s.
Together,
the rich Texas lawyer and poor landscape owner team up to rescue the last rose
and fulfill a dead woman’s wishes. But in their search to discover answers to
the mysteries plaguing them, will Rich and Torrie also discover love in each
other’s arms? Or will a meddling ghost, a pompous banker, and an elusive stray
cat get in their way?
BUY LINK for Four White Roses: https://www.amazon.com/Four-White-Roses-Judy-Davis-ebook/dp/B06XPBKY7F/
Judy Ann Davis began
her career in writing as a copy and continuity writer for radio and television
in Scranton, PA. She holds a degree in Journalism and Communications and has
written for industry and education throughout her career.
Over a dozen of her
short stories have appeared in various literary and small magazines and
anthologies, and have received numerous awards. She has written four novels to
date, one novella, and an anthology of short stories.
When Judy Ann is not
behind a computer, you can find her looking for anything humorous to make her
laugh or swinging a golf club where the chuckles are
few.
She is a member of
Pennwriters, Inc. and Romance Writers of America, and divides her time between
Central Pennsylvania and New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Visit her on:
Her blog: www.judyanndavis.blogspot.com
The web: www.judyanndavis.com
Facebook: Judy Ann Davis Author https://www.facebook.com/JudyAnnDavisAuthor/
Twitter: JudyAnnDavis4 https://twitter.com/JudyAnnDavis4
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.com/judyanndavis44/
Author Page:
Goodreads:
Other
Judy Ann Davis titles
RED
FOX WOMAN
UNDER STARRY SKIES
KEY
TO LOVE
SWEET
KISS
Thanks again Judy!
And Thank YOU dear friends for dropping by. I hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll visit each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT
11 comments:
Thank you, Pamela, for hosting me today.
What a nice informational post! It's wonderful that you were able to connect your family history to your story. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful informational post. I love roses, but alas, mine are covered in snow. AGAIN! Best of luck with your latest release.
Patricia, thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.
Tena, snow again? And I thought Central Pennsylvania was never going to move into spring. All our flowers and trees are now in bloom. Crossing my fingers for "no more frosts." Thanks for stopping by.
Great post, Judy. Fascinating about the lineage of the roses. That must be so cool to trace your garden back.
Judy, I love your story about saving roses from your family farm. I have lilies of the valley from my grandmother's farm. Gram had given some to my mother when we moved into our first house. Since they're so prolific, Mom insisted I take some for my first (and subsequent) houses. I brought some to my current house along with some of Mom's tiger lilies, irises, and Shasta daisies. Both Gram & Mom are gone now, but their flowers remind me of them and their green thumbs. Best wishes on your new release.
I enjoyed the back story for your novel and the lore about roses. You have a great cover for your mystery as well. Good luck with your new book.
Roses are so special, and so many of the older types have died away with time. It's great when some of the vintage roses are saved.
Wow...fascinating info about roses. And how special, how wonderful that you have that cutting. Your book sounds like an excellent read. Best wishes!!!
Thank you, everyone, for stopping by. I had so much fun with FOUR WHITE ROSES that it almost wrote itself. The only problem was the ending and my husband convinced me to delete the last chapter and end with the second to the last one. I'm so glad I listened to him!
Diane B, I also took lilies of the valley from my farm. What a wonderful spring frangrance--but they can really get out of hand!
Much luck to all who stopped by! A big THANK YOU.
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