Arletta Dawdy‘s strong writing skills are evident as she gives life to the fictional characters in Rose of Sharon.
Arletta deftly weaves scenery and characters, using her extensive vocabulary to create a vivid backdrop for lives unfolding in this novel that reads like a true story.
From the back cover:
Mark Wiederanders, author of Stevenson’s Treasure: “Arletta Dawdy’s Rose of Sharon is a delightful, wonderfully-imagined prequel to John Steinback’s The Grapes of Wrath. . . Depression, racism, forbidden love, birth, death, heartbreak and lots of hard ranch-work are all part of Rose’s daily experience.”
Susan Nunn, author of Song of the Earth: “Characters are born out of the fabric of their landscape, and when a writer has a sense of place, knows place like none other, it all comes together so well.”
Kay Mehl Miller, Ph.D,, author of Love Comes At Twilight: A Love Story for Seniors: “Whether it’s with shadows coating the mountain or a shower of clear snowmelt and water tumbling down a cliff and pooling into a basin glinting with colors of gold, silver and copper, or a host of brilliantly-crafted descriptive passages, Arletta Dawdy brings as much life and character to the environment of this entertaining book as she does to the humans who people it.”
Arletta Dawdy
Dear Marlene,
Thank you for this great review. I had a wonderful, sometimes agonizing, time bringing this story to life. Steinbeck was a strong influence in both of my careers so it was important to show that in my writing. Reviews are so very important but it often takes another writer to understand that!
Hugs, Arletta
mcullen Post author
It is a strange phenomenon how long it takes a writer to research, write, revise, and edit a novel length manuscript and how quickly a reader can read it.
Arletta Dawdy
You are so right, Marlene. ROSE OF SHARON had been in my thoughts early on in the trilogy; it took finishing and publishing the first two, HUACHUCA WOMAN and BY GRACE, before I could give ROSE my full attention, close to five years in the process…
mcullen Post author
Even though you may have wondered if Rose of Sharon would ever see the light of day, your patience and persistence paid off. All three – Huachuca Woman, By Grace and Rose of Sharon are novels you can be very proud of. So glad to see this part of your writing journey accomplished. I highly recommend all three in the trilogy.