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Little sister Hannah…
I’d like to introduce you to Hannah, if you’ve read my book New Parish, you’ve already met Sarah her older sister. Hannah is the epitome of the sassy Southern girl. Oh, she is respectful and kind, but she has a fiery temper that flares up every now and then. Hannah loves horses she’s ridden horses since she was 9, and used to love watching old cowboy movies with Sarah when there were kids.
Now she’s going to live in a place where there are real cowboys, lots of horses, and maybe something wonderful for her… if she can get over the bad thing that happened…
You can find out all about Hannah, her sassy ways, and the bad thing that happened, in Return to New Parish. Return to New Parish will be out this summer, more details soon!
Until then you can always get acquainted with her sister Sarah in my book New Parish available now on Amazon.com. Brigham Tea Magazine is also available now in digital form on Amazon.com. (Links below)
Excerpt from Return to New Parish:
Chapter 2 – Cowboys and Horses
“The rest of her road trip was peaceful and full of anticipation to see Sarah and her family. She was no longer plagued by the pain of her past. She felt at peace, although she knew the Nathaniel thing was simmering just under the surface, she was determined to cling onto the peace, even if it was temporary.
As she neared the small community Hannah saw some men and a small boy riding horses across the prairie next to the main road. She also saw that they had a purpose, they were moving a herd of about thirty cows away from the road. One man, an older cowboy, who seemed to be in charge was sitting on his horse, a large impressive palomino, and pointing while the other men were gathering the cows in the direction he wanted them to go in. The sage cowboy made Hannah think of Sam Elliot, whom she had loved in several westerns.
The boy stayed near the cowboy in charge until the old truck in front of Hannah made a huge bang! It was a very loud backfire, Hannah jumped and shouted, “Dang!” She looked back to the scene she’d been watching to see the boy’s beautiful blond palomino suddenly dart toward the fence opposite the road she was traveling on. The old cowboy was suddenly on the move, his horse quickly caught up with the one the boy was on. He grabbed the reins of the other horse slowing, then stopping the horse. After steadying the boy on his saddle, he patted him on the back reassuringly.
Hannah smiled, “I’m gonna like it here.” A right turn took her into the community, a few more turns and a couple of miles later and she was pulling up in front of Sarah’s home. It looked like the pictures Sarah had sent her, beautiful gardens surrounding the huge rock face house. She saw the barn, across the drive from the house, and longed to just go out there for a bit. She sighed and decided that saying hello to her sister would be more appropriate, so she got out of her car and stretched. Then she walked up the short walkway to the front door.”
New Parish:
New Parish on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
Brigham Tea Magazine:
Brigham Tea Magazine!
Brigham Tea Magazine is finally available in digital form on amazon.com! (Print copies are not available yet).
It’ll be free this weekend! May 4-5th only. The Brigham Tea Magazine website is still in the works and will offer lots more (soon), but till then you can enjoy the magazine on amazon.com.
Inside the magazine you’ll find some old and new western history, culture, places, and a short story (fiction) that gives a peek into Sarah’s life in New Parish. So if you want to know what she’s been up to while you’re waiting for Return to New Parish, here’s your chance to find out.
Get your digital copy here:
Did you ever wonder what would happen…
So many times in life we make choices or have them thrust upon us, but have you ever wondered what might have happened if things had been a little different, or we’d made a different choice?
One of my favorite movies is, “You’ve Got Mail.” Perfect actors, almost perfectly written, an absolutely wonderful story. A story that makes us wonder what things could have been like if in our own lives if we’d made a different choice or had a different circumstance…
Quote from You’ve Got Mail:
“Joe Fox:
You know, sometimes I wonder…
Kathleen Kelly:
What?
Joe Fox:
Well… if I hadn’t been “Fox Books” and you hadn’t been “The Shop Around the Corner,” and you and I had just met…
Kathleen Kelly:
I know.
Joe Fox:
Yeah, yeah. I would’ve asked for your number. And I wouldn’t have been able to wait 24 hours before calling you up and saying, Hey, how about… oh, how about some coffee, or drinks, or dinner, or a movie… for as long as we both shall live?”
He wondered, she wondered, and things eventually became wonderful. In my book New Parish, Sarah wonders about things a lot, so does Max… but something happened to intervene in the possibility of a relationship between them. Find out if they can go from wondering to wonderful like Joe and Kathleen did.
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
A Box of Chocolates
Forest Gump made the old saying, “Life is like a box of chocolates,” famous. I agree that life is that way, but I also think people are like a box of chocolates too. I’ve long been a people watcher, maybe all writers are, anyways, I’ve discovered so many variations of chocolate that it’s blown my mind at times. When I’m working on developing a character for my books, New Parish, I often reflect on that wide variety of chocolate I’ve discovered over the years. In the first book, New Parish, the main character, Sarah, is a well educated, independent, young single woman who wants not be so single. Her character grows in depth as she discovers just how much she really wants to be a mother, and what she’s willing to explore to obtain her goal. Sarah of course is surrounded by many other characters who are also growing and discovering more about themselves as they journey to, and through New Parish.
My characters are a box full of chocolates, each with many layers, just like us real people. I hope you enjoy getting to know each of them, as you journey to and through New Parish…
Excerpt from New Parish:
Chapter 1 – Bad Date
“When the files had sent properly and she’d received confirmation from her supervisor, her mind went back to the conversation with Mary… “Why am I doing this?” she questioned herself. She could tell from Mary’s expressions, it had sounded out there. “But still, according to Mary, there were people living that way, and they were happy. Were they really happy or was it pretense? Could I be happy in that type of marriage? What if I couldn’t get along with the other wives? What if they wanted to boss me around? What if they were so jealous that they couldn’t do anything other than be mean?” The questions kept coming, and running over and over in her mind for the rest of the day. The fears, doubts, and worries from her research into this lifestyle were mounting to an incredible height. The distraction of the questions lasted all through her night of restless sleep, which caused really odd dreams where women were chasing her with broomsticks and iron skillets.”
New Parish is out now! Return to New Parish will be out in a few months!!! You can get a copy of New Parish here:
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Barnesandnoble.com
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
Grits
If you say the word grits, everyone knows its going to be about something southern, whether it’s about eating them, or kissing them. There are so many rich, amusing, and wonderful things about the southern culture till one’s mind does ponder them often. I think of those hot summer days of childhood, filled with outside adventures, watermelon, and friends. I can remember waking up to the smell of bacon cooking, country music playing on the radio, and family chattering away about the plans of the day…
In thinking about those good ol’ southern things, I like to focus on the positives, maybe that’s another southern thing, anyways, my thoughts this morning have been on the southern things that have been strong influences in my life.
Music – This was mostly country, I later added some variety to my listening like Dean Martin, The Beach Boys, Bing Crosby, and even some Bach. Very eclectic, yes, but I think the south is very eclectic.
Food – Grits of course, but good down home southern cooking also included many other foods such as fried chicken, hamburgers, salmon patties, and whatever vegetables you grew in the garden (or found at the market) that year.
Manners – We were taught respect for others from infancy, so it almost seemed that everyone knew how you were supposed to deport yourself in whatever situation you were in. Rudeness was never tolerated, the old saying, if you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything at all, was the expected norm.
Friendly – Upon meeting new people one was expected to smile, shake hands (firmly), and be friendly. Upon meeting people you already knew, whether you liked them or not, you were expected to do the same.
Hospitality – Southern hospitality, is or should be one of the most famous things about the south. When company comes, they are always greeted warmly. Whether they are friends or family they are invited in and offered food and beverage. A southern home when and where I grew up was always a very welcoming place.
With all this in mind how could I not make my main characters from the south? I also love the western culture, so being me, I had to have the two cultures collide. You’ll find these collisions often in my book New Parish, and soon, Return to New Parish.
Excerpt from New Parish:
Chapter 3 – New Parish
“Michael!” shouted a lady’s voice from across the park.
They all looked as a herd of cows came into view at the edge of the park. The cows progressed toward the party with speed and destruction.
“Head’em off! Head’em off!” Brother Michael shouted as he recruited several of the men at the party to help direct the cows away from the party.
Sarah was quite impressed at the cowboy aptitude of Brother Michael and the other men present. They were able to drive most of the cows toward the entrance of the park and contain them there, but there were three cows that would not cooperate with Brother Michael’s agenda, they were still stubbornly rampaging through the park. Then Sarah saw something she had to do a double take to realize was really happening. It was so surreal, a man on a horse came quickly and proficiently riding into the park after the cows and was expertly gathering them up. The man looked every bit like a cowboy right out of a western movie and immediately made Sarah think of Tom Selleck sitting on his horse, he was tall and tan, with dark hair and mustache with a three or four day showing of whiskers on his face. His hair was a little long and shaggy for this community, where every guy she’d met was sporting short very controlled hair. He was wearing a dingy grey cowboy hat, faded blue button up shirt, a blue paisley bandanna, jeans covered with shotgun chaps, and worn cowboy boots and gloves.
Sarah had been so mesmerized by the cowboy and what he was doing that she stood there in a stunned daze… she didn’t see the cow coming toward the table she was standing near. Brother Michael shouted to the cowboy, “What’s going on here Max?”
The man on the horse shouted back, “I had a few heifers break down a fence and get out, sometime last night. I didn’t know it till this mornin and was rounding ‘em up when some stray dog started yippin at ‘em and they got ahead of me.”
Brother Michael smiled and said, “Max I’d like to introduce you to, Sarah, from Georgia.”
Max pulled on the reins of his horse and stopped a few feet away, he smiled and drawled, “Howdy, ma’am.”
Sarah was completely captivated by this cowboy, she thought his smile was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, his deep blue eyes sparkled – she felt like her head was filled with something sweet and gooey which was slowing her thought processes down. Her brain was stuck on, “Oh my gosh, he’s so gorgeous…”
Before she could reply to the cowboy’s greeting she heard someone shout, “NO!” The next sound she heard was a dog barking… This inspired the cow that was getting near her to jump, and run, bumping into the table and with a sort of bounce, trip, and run action. It landed on the table with a bang collapsing the legs of the table. At the same time of the table collision the cow bumped into Sarah knocking her to the ground as it ran off toward the playground. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but what happened next made Sarah think of a sitcom situation on a TV show, because this sort of thing doesn’t happen in real life… not in her life.
Sitting on the ground where the cow had knocked her, Sarah saw the table legs fold under as the table hit the ground with a thud from the weight of the cow and very large metal container that held the hot chocolate – it instantly poured out all over the ground where she was sitting. But Sarah’s main focus was on the punch bowl that had been catapulted into the air from the other end of the table, it was coming right at her with all the red punch it held. The step ladder that had been placed underneath the table for support had worked as a fulcrum to create the catapult for the punch bowl.
Sarah’s mental faculties returned to her in time for her to put her hands up to prevent the large plastic punch bowl from hitting her head… she was drenched in red punch and the hot chocolate had soaked into the skirt of her dress along with turning her shoes a new color of brown. She felt as though everything had been turned off for a few seconds or slowed to a slow motion state and now it was all back on in vivid living color. She was completely soaked through with hot chocolate on the bottom of her and red punch from her head down to her feet. She was shivering from the cold, and becoming more and more angry, and humiliated, by the second. Sarah couldn’t comprehend what, why, or how something like this could happen. She thought, “Of course, Max the cowboy had taken off after the cow incident without a word of apology.” Sarah was processing this, she’d been so awe struck with his stunningly irresistible, beguiling, captivating appearance, but now she could see him for what he was, “Just another macho, self centered, inconsiderate, blockhead of a man who only thought of himself and what he wanted… Just like so many other ignoramuses that have strolled through my life over the years,” she thought as Mary brought a blanket and wrapped it around her.”
New Parish is out now! Return to New Parish will be out in a few months!!! You can get a copy of New Parish here:
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
Challenges…
I think in life we all have challenges. Challenges come in all shapes and sizes. Some challenges lead to other challenges that come along because of the original challenge… In my book New Parish Sarah finds that her challenge of becoming a mom is complicated by several other challenges. Challenges such as finding a good man to marry, moving west to live in Arizona, overcoming some predisposed prejudices about a certain cowboy… I hope you’ll enjoy Sarah’s challenges, and her journey to solving those challenges, in New Parish.
Excerpt from New Parish:
Chapter 5 – The Storm
“Looking out the window Sarah could see the wind blowing wildly as the rain pounded the windows and everything else outside. The storm outside was gaining strength…
Sarah wanted desperately to distract her mind from the thoughts and feelings she was having so she went into the kitchen to fix some hot chocolate. She grabbed a warm blanket to wrap herself in on her way, the chill from earlier was still lingering deep inside her.
With hot chocolate made, she sat on the mismatched cushions of the wicker sofa and watched the storm outside. The storm inside her raged on as well, she felt like her whole life was in turmoil, not just because of another bad date with a man who really, in the big scheme of things, didn’t matter – but because she had allowed herself to be in that situation, “So, what’s the next situation I’m going to allow myself to get into?” she wondered. She decided to go back to an earlier strategy and consider the pros and cons of plural marriage because now that she had definitely decided that dating was never happening again, plural marriage with its matching system seemed her only option. “Well either that or live my life completely alone and never have the kids I’ve always dreamed of having,” she spoke this thought aloud – she thought her voice sounded sad and angry at the same time.
Sarah took a sip of hot chocolate and thought, “Cons, umm, Brother Michael’s wives covered a lot of those – jealousy, unfair treatment, possessiveness, controlling sister wives, husbands not doing what they should or allowing the new wife to be excluded… “Ah,” she said aloud, “It all sounds like a bunch of “mean girl” stuff! I don’t want to live the rest of my life that way!” She wrapped the blanket tighter around her and listened to the storm outside. The rain beat on the balcony like hundreds of miniature drums beating, the lightning and thunder joined in often to round out the show.
Sarah felt like her mind was going numb from too many thoughts – like when you get an injury, it initially hurts then it goes numb and then hurts like crazy later… she welcomed the numbness, but she could still feel the turmoil and conflict of her inner storm just under the surface of her emotions. She sipped her hot chocolate again and braced for impact. Then a memory suddenly and clearly came to the forefront of her thoughts and she could hear Brother Michael’s voice repeating the advice he’d given her when she was in New Parish.
He said, “The last thing I want to suggest to you is to take some time to ponder and pray about this decision. This is your life. Is this really what you want for your life? This lifestyle has many blessings but it can also be considered a curse to those who don’t have the capacity to accept it in all its varied and sometimes complicated components. I want you to understand that I only want the best for you. If this is truly what you want to do then I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen for you. But, if you have doubts about it, then take the time to find the answers you need to put those doubts to rest, before you make your decision. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said aloud to this vivid memory, “I’ll pray, I’ve done the “pondering” well, I’ve mostly done the struggling, agonizing, and suffering.”
Sarah determinedly sat her hot chocolate down on the old wooden end table beside the sofa and pulled the blanket tightly around her. Bowing her head, she poured out all her thoughts, doubts, and questions in sincere prayer. When she finished the long tearful appeal she sat there on the sofa quietly wondering what to do, then the memory of how she felt when she went to church in New Parish filled her with the peace and sense of belonging she’d felt when she was sitting in that place. She began to feel a new calm come over her heart and mind. Memories flowed now of how happy Brother Michael’s wives were and the things they said about accepting each other without requirements or expectations came to her memory’s surface. Next she remembered how happy the kids were and how Mary had described her family.
The thought dawned on her, “I was only focusing on what could go wrong. There’s a lot that can and does go right…”
Sarah began to smile, she wanted to keep this feeling, the storm inside was gone as the thunder outside was now sounding far away, she felt peacefully happy inside and had a peace and calm she hadn’t felt in a very long time… “Yeah,” she said, “I know what to do and what I want.”” New Parish is out now! Return to New Parish will be out in a few months!!! You can get a copy of New Parish here:
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
Old Friends…
Sometimes when we haven’t done something we really enjoy for a while, we miss that activity, like an old friend. Old friends can be a book, a movie, holding a baby, making a craft, or watching a basketball game… at least with me they can be. These old friends can give us happy moments similar to the happy moments we experience with people. They are even a bit easier to deal with than people, because there’s no worries about awkward moments, tensions, or stresses… they are easy.
In my book Return to New Parish Hannah finds one of her old friends – horses. She’s always loved horses, and learned to ride at the age of nine. This old friend always gave her comfort, peace, and of course, joy. She finds it much easier to admire horses, or ride them, than to deal with an ornery old cowboy…
Excerpt from Return to New Parish:
“In a few minutes they were driving under a rustic archway made of roughly hewn cedar and wrought iron that said, “Lucky A Ranch” with two horses on either side of the words. Pulling into the paradisiacal looking ranch, Hannah was blown away. It had a huge mansion type house with rock face like the one Max had built, only much bigger. There were three above ground levels, balconies were on the second and third levels with a large wraparound porch on the ground level which had desert landscaped gardens surrounding it. A huge classic red with white trim barn sat directly across from the house, about a hundred feet away, with three long stables on the right side of the house also about a hundred feet away in the other direction. There were two fenced in paddocks or corrals next to the stables, with beautiful palominos frolicking about in them. All the fences around the ranch, including the one around the large pasture to the left of the driveway, where the green grass was knee high, were painted white giving the whole place a fresh crisp look.
Hannah had to do a double take, to realize this amazing place was really real. It was like the opulent ranches shown in the old westerns she and Sarah used to watch when they were kids.
“So does Louis L’Amour live here?” she asked trying not to giggle out of sheer delight.
Sarah laughed, “Nope, but a real cowboy hero does. Wait till you meet Uncle Alex, he’s great! He used to ride in rodeos, herd cattle on long trail drives, and do all that cowboy stuff. You’ll love him!”
“I love those palominos!” Hannah said excitedly, “They’re gorgeous!”
Sarah pulled the car up near the house and got out, “You can go ahead out there and see them if you want. I’m going to pop inside to see the ladies of the house then I’ll join you.”
“Cool,” Hannah replied and headed toward the palominos. Reaching the corral fence she climbed up on the bottom of the three wooden rails and held onto the top one while reaching out to touch the nose of an approaching blonde horse. The horse nuzzled her hand as though they were old friends. Hannah smiled and let the honest friendship flow between them.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty little sorrel filly?” a deep melodious voice said from behind her.
Turning quickly to see who was talking Hannah saw a tall, slender, older cowboy, dressed in full cowboy regalia. From the top of his dusty cowboy hat to his dust covered cowboy boots, Hannah couldn’t believe it, she might have been very happy to meet this guy, if he hadn’t just called her a red headed horse.
Looking that old cowboy up and down she could see the weathered tanned skin on his face, the graying mustache, the cowboy hat that covered his graying unkempt hair, the worn pale blue cotton button up shirt, the worn leather chaps that wrapped snuggly around his blue jeans, and his very worn cowboy boots. He was carrying a lasso in one gloved hand and a tool to remove rocks from a horse’s shoe in the other hand – Hannah recognized the tool from her stable days as a kid.
He was smiling at her in a friendly sort of way, which annoyed her, she knew why but didn’t want to admit it to herself. She did admit to herself that a guy smiling friendly at her was still not something she was ready for.
“I’m not a horse,” stepping down from the rail, the anger in her voice was evident as she spoke to the man who looked like he was the beach-bum of ranch hands. He made Hannah think of the old guys on the beach who forgot they grew up so they were still out there acting like kids, “What does he think he’s playing at?” she thought. He had no right to call her a filly or approach her like that. The anger was gaining ground as he stood there looking confused at her comment.
When he finally spoke again, Hannah thought he sounded like he was excused from the “normal” etiquette that everyone else had to adhere to.
Smiling broadly underneath his mustache he drawled, “Yes ma’am.”
“Who does this guy think he is?” Hannah thought angrily. Looking toward the house where Sarah had gone, she didn’t see her. “Come on Sis,” she continued to think, “rescue me or him, this isn’t going to be pretty.” All the while she continued to give the old cowboy an annoyed look that would have made most guys leave whimpering. He didn’t leave, he kept smiling like he was enjoying himself, this made Hannah even angrier.
“Do you like the horses?” he asked still smiling.
Instead of saying they’re absolutely gorgeous and I love them, which was the truth, Hannah looked at the dusty old cowboy and said, “I’m waiting on my sister and I don’t need company to do that.” She hoped that would be blunt enough to let him know to leave her alone.
“Aw, you’re much to pretty to have that much venom,” the old cowboy smiled at her with one eye closed as though he were sizing her up.
“Listen here you ornery old codger! I don’t put up with any crap from men like you nor do I need your passive aggressive comments!” Hannah unloaded on him with full force, and would have kept going if Sarah hadn’t intervened.
“Hey,” Sarah said with an awkward, let’s calm down, tone in her voice, “What’s going on, Hannah? I see you’ve met Uncle Alex,” she gave Hannah a look that told her to cool it. Then turned to Uncle Alex and said, “Hi, this is my sister Hannah, Uncle Alex.”
Uncle Alex smiled broadly and said, “It’s very nice to meet you Hannah,” removing his glove and holding out his hand to shake hands with her.
He still looked like he was enjoying himself, which kindled Hannah’s anger even more, she took a deep breath and said, “Yeah,” as she took his hand, but only because of years of her mother droning it into her to have manners. She pulled her hand away quickly so as not to prolong the experience or give him any ideas about forgiveness or friendship. The soft gentle touch of his hand lingered in her mind but his next comment synched her dislike for him.
“I can see that your hair and temperament are in perfect alignment,” he smiled pleasantly at her.
Sarah gave Hannah a look that she recognized immediately, it said, behave, but she wasn’t sure that was going to happen. “This guy is asking for it!” she thought as she leered at him. Looks passed back and forth between Hannah and Sarah with no words being said, Hannah’s final look told Sarah she wasn’t going to put up with Uncle Alex’s comments.
Sarah quickly said, “I came over to see your ladies about the party prep we’re going to be helping with and get an idea of what we’re going to be doing tomorrow. So I guess we’ll go now, I need to get back home and you know, hurl,” she smiled awkwardly at Uncle Alex and pulled Hannah along with her toward the car.”
New Parish is out now! Return to New Parish will be out in a few months!!! You can get a copy of New Parish here:
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
Snow Days
I don’t know if the reason is that I was born in a snow storm, or that the snow makes everything look new and clean, or that the snow makes me dream of Christmas… whatever the reason is, I really do love snow. We’ve had a goodly amount this winter, and it’s so pretty outside. The mountains out back look as though they’ve been sprinkled heavily with powdered sugar. I went exploring a bit the other day and saw some prickly pear cacti, mostly covered with snow, but still peeping out from under as though they were giving a little warning sign just to let people, or animals know, they’re still there and not to get too close. A snow storm out here is a sight to behold. You can see the storm coming from miles away, then everything gets white, the mountains are completely hidden, and the magic begins. In my book New Parish, they get some of the white and fluffy too. I don’t think I could ever write about winter and not include that most important element.
Excerpt from New Parish:
Chapter 4 – Girl Talk
“On Christmas morning Sarah and Mary were up early because Mary said Sarah, “Didn’t want to miss this!” Entering the main sitting room, it looked to Sarah like a magical place of happiness. The tree was full of colored lights and was filled to the brim with ornaments that depicted children, toys, and candy, and all sorts of Christmas paraphernalia. The tree had been there when Sarah first arrived and she’d immediately loved it. Mary had complained that she missed the decorating and explained to Sarah that the whole family gets in on the event, they put the tree up together, place the lights together, hang the ornaments together, make homemade things like popcorn and cranberry garland together and put it on together. She’d given Sarah the whole run down on Christmas at her home.
The presents that had been added over night were covering a third of the room and there was a table with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cool-whip. The table, with hot chocolate, made Sarah think of that “incident” she had been trying not to think of. The room looked and felt like Christmas, the best part of Christmas, you could feel it when you walked in… the kids were all filing in with excitement in their eyes and big smiles on their faces. Everyone was in their pajamas. This made Sarah think of her own childhood and the wonderful feelings she’d on Christmas morning. This made her both happy and sad, as a deep longing to share this type of experience with her own children filled her heart.
Brother Michael came in last and as the kids excitedly jumped up and down pleading with him for permission to open presents he laughed and said, “Okay, have at it.” They did just that, there was a present opening frenzy the likes of which Sarah had never seen. She watched as Brother Michael slowly walked over and put his arms around two of his wives and kissed each on the cheek. Sarah smiled thinking she might like something like this, “It could really work… maybe,” she thought. The rest of the morning was spent with hot chocolate and viewing the gifts the kids had received. Mary shouted looking out the window, “It’s snowing! How perfect is that?” Everyone crowded around the windows to see the Christmas magic falling down in large fluffy feathery flakes outside.”
New Parish is out now! Return to New Parish will be out in a few months!!! You can get a copy of New Parish here:
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
Sisters…
All sisters have some things in common, and some very distinct differences. My sister likes the color purple, I’m more inclined towards blue. She doesn’t like Winnie the Pooh (when she was little, she was scared to death in a department store by someone wearing a Pooh costume), he’s one of my favorite characters. She likes pigs. I had to feed them as a small person and discovered I didn’t like them at all. We both love to watch Dancing with the Stars and Downton Abbey. I love to ponder the things we have in common and the things we are so very different in. Our biggest thing we have in common is that we love being sisters! Sisters are always there for you, no matter what, and that’s my very favorite thing about sisters. In my New Parish series readers meet Sarah, Hannah, Brenda, and Beth – all sisters, with very different likes, dislikes, and ways of doing things – but you’ll find that they all love being sisters too.
These southern girls each make a journey that’s very different, even though all the journeys have a common destination – New Parish. In the first book, New Parish, Sarah makes the maiden voyage, discovering a new way of living out west that leads her to her very own happily ever after. In the next book, Return to New Parish, Hannah makes the journey. Yes, it’s the same destination, but the journey is very different for Hannah. Hannah isn’t just looking for her happily ever after, she’s running from something that she needs her sister to help her escape from…
Excerpt from Return to New Parish:
“…Now I’m scared, I don’t trust my own feelings about things. Maybe I’m damaged, maybe I’ll always be.”
“No, you’re not damaged,” Sarah defended her little sister, “You’re hurt and shaken, but you’re not damaged. Just like any other wound this needs time to heal, take the time you need to heal and feel better. You’re strong and smart and you’re going to be okay!”
Hannah heard the firmness in her sister’s voice, it gave her some strength and a little peace. Telling Sarah about what happened helped, but it also made the event very real in the now once more. A whirlwind of emotions tried to engulf her, anger, embarrassment, fear, and an overwhelming sadness that felt like it would never leave. She had kept it a secret, and tried desperately to bury it deep inside herself but now it was on the surface and flooding her with pain.”
New Parish is out now! Return to New Parish will be out in a few months!!!
You can get a copy of New Parish here:
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com
Also available at:
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
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