Skip to content

Honeysuckle and Sagebrush… again…

This week I’ve been thinking about the culture and traditions of my youth, in the “South”. Back in those days families stayed close, not just in the heart, but in proximity. The only time my grandmother ever left the state of Georgia was when I took her to Florida to see the ocean one year, other than that she never did. It was a culture of, you were born here, so you live here, and stay close to your family. It was like the “place” was not just a town, city, or a state, it was part of who you were. There were rich traditions of cooking, hunting, and manners that were carried out and respected. Everyone knew what to expect from everyone else, what was accepted and what wasn’t. I have one brother who still lives in my old hometown, the rest of us have ventured out to other places, I’m the only one who’s moved to another state. We still keep in touch, but probably not as much as we should. Our grandparents would be appalled at our distance. Things have changed…

Out here in “cowboy land” where I live now things have changed too. There are still wide open incredibly amazing scenes of prairies, mesas, and the most beautiful sunsets you’ll ever see, but… there are towns and cities, along with all sorts of development that has changed the way things are. The lonesome cowboy days, where you could ride a horse for days and not see anyone are just about gone. That culture is still celebrated, there are activities and celebrations of what things were like… but it’s not like that anymore.

It’s good to remember the good about the past, there are very rich cultures out here and back home… I love to remember mine and learn about these. It helps me infuse that rich culture into my stories and characters. It also helps me stay true to who I am, and where I’m from.

Honeysuckle and Sagebrush Continued…

I’ve been pondering Spring time this week. Spring in the South and Spring in the Western desert have their differences and similarities. Spring time in the south always seemed to be very sudden, things could change literally overnight from cold and blustery to warm and green. I’ve known years when Spring got skipped altogether, the seasons would just go from winter to hot sticky summer in just a few days.

Out here in the desert Spring happens slowly, you get little subtle signs that things are changing. I think the doves are one of the first signs I’ve noticed out here, of spring. They get an early start on their work. Each year I’ve lived here, there have been a pair of doves that try to build their nest between a drainpipe and the house. Each year they fail, there’s nothing there to actually hold the sticks they bring to build with, so they leave a pile of sticks on the deck to be swept off for a few weeks, till they finally, once again, figure out that it won’t work.

It’s funny to me that they try so hard, for so long to accomplish something that just isn’t possible. And, that they repeat the same error in judgement in the same place every year. I suppose it’s the proving of the old saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.”

I do laugh at their futile efforts, but I also ponder the meanings for us “other birds” who have learned or are learning the next part of the lesson. The doves eventually go off and build a nest somewhere else and raise their family. Us “other birds” need to remember to try something different when what we’ve been doing isn’t working.

That’s what the characters in my books do… they try something very different when what they’d been doing didn’t work…

More Honeysuckle and Sagebrush

One thing I’ve found to be a certainty, is that things always change. The honeysuckle of my youth has become the sagebrush of my now… but in my mind, they both have a special place. I look at them a bit metaphorically, the sweet smell of the honeysuckle has become the useful wisdom of the sagebrush.

In quiet moments of pondering and staring off into the distance, memories of growing up in the “South” invade my mind. I remember my grandmother teaching me how to make biscuits, and teaching me to never devalue myself. She would tell me, “You’re just as good as anyone else, not better than them, but just as good.” We’ve all had someone in our lives who’s built us up and encouraged us. You know that voice that stays with us, the voice we hear repeating what was said, long after it’s said…

I’m drawn to that sage wisdom that sticks with you, and have found it in different places and people throughout my life. This is something I try to infuse into my characters as I write. Everything from “Don’t sit on your spurs,” to, “Don’t let a bad situation define who you are,” are included. With loads of humor of course!

We all have a journey to take, mine has been full of challenges that have helped me to become the person I am now. There have always been ways for me to find happiness on this journey, even if it was to stop and smell the honeysuckle or ponder the uses of sagebrush.

Honeysuckle and Sagebrush

Growing up in Georgia was full of lush green trees, honeysuckle and kudzu everywhere, and full of warm humid days and nights. Living in Arizona has some stark contrasts to my place of origin. Not many trees, there is a bit of honeysuckle growing in the back garden, (it has to be watered a lot), there is heat out here too, but, it’s not the humid sticky heat I grew up with. I’ve often pondered the commonalities and the differences between here and there when I’m writing my books. There are quite a few of both.

The south I grew up in was full of life, manners, and vivid culture. I try to infuse that into my southern ladies as they come to life in my stories. The ladies are spunky, feisty, and usually well mannered, most of the time. They do show the southern temper flare on occasion, but always seem to rein it in before things get too far out of control… well, except for Hannah, sometimes she seriously wants to punch someone.

When a southern lady meets a cowboy gentleman many odd things can happen…. And in my stories the odd things do happen. If that were the only differences between the girls and the boys it would still present loads of fun and lots of stories… but, that’s not the only difference. The girls grew up on a totally monogamous lifestyle and move to Arizona to meet the cowboy gentlemen and live in a polygamous lifestyle. This provides so much more opportunity for humor, culture shock, and exploration.

As I have asked before… have you ever wondered what polygamy would be like without the villains or media hype? In my books I explore what it’s like when normal people are simply living their lives in a normal way, polygamously.

Freedom of Choice For All

 

Did you ever wonder what it’s like? Without the villains or the media hype? Polygamy? Just regular everyday people, living their normal everyday lives in a plural way? You’ve all heard about the bad that can happen. Just like the spousal and child abuse that happens in regular monogamous societies that can happen in polygamous societies as well.

But… in a community or family that is trying their best to be their best selves, it’s very rare.

It’s wonderful that the Brown’s (Sister Wives), Darger’s (Love Times Three), and the Centennial Park Group (Polygamy USA) have stepped out of the shadows to show how happiness can be had living a polygamous lifestyle.

In my book New Parish, the reader will get to follow 27 year old Sarah, as she investigates living plural marriage and finds her own happiness living her normal life, a bit differently. The story is filled with so many realisms that you just might forget it’s fiction.

Christmas!

Once again Christmas is upon us. There’s so much about this time of year that I love, the tree with colored lights, the presents that cause children to have anticipatory anxiety, and the feel of the whole thing. I remember when I was young, Christmas was what every kid waited for all year, you always watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas, and The Little Drummer Boy, along with whatever other Christmas specials were on TV. It was a bit limited back then but we have a myriad of choices now. I’m still drawn to the old sentimental ones but I’ve found that some of the new stuff is okay too.

Just like when I was a kid, Christmas brings hope, happiness, and dreams of how wonderful things will be when our Christmas Wishes come true.

I hope that all our Christmas Wishes come true this year…

Beautiful Places to Create Scenes Around

?
These pictures are the inspiration for a scene in my next book, Return to New Parish, the sequel to New Parish. 
?
It was so very quiet in this place, the only noise I could hear was a soft trickling sound from the stream.
?
My characters sit on this bench like rock and share a special moment. 
?
Special places bring life into a story. 
?
I can’t wait to share the whole story with everyone!

New Parish Review

A recon trip to Vegas found this at the conference site.
A recon trip to Vegas found this at the conference site.

Review of New Parish

“I did two reads of the book.  The first time in January and then I just read it again and made comments. Honestly, most of my comments were simply wanting more information. It sounds like a second book is in the works that it covers more culture which will be fantastic. Julie is a captivating author. After the first six chapters I spent more late nights reading than I should have. I found that I made comments in the first few chapters and then as I got caught up in the story I had less to say because I was just truly enjoying the story line. This story captured the magic of your community, it’s the kind of hometown we wish we all had, and the kind of community where we wish all of our children could be raised. I’ll be first in line to buy anything she publishes.”

Jaclyn Knapp, M.S., ED.S – Weber State University, Ogden, UT

 

Now all I need is an agent and a publisher…. Going to Las Vegas April 29th for the writer’s conference. Wish me luck!

#LVWC

http://lasvegaswritersconference.com/

One of my favorite poems…

Good Timber

by Douglas Malloch

?

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

Query – New Parish

WagonS

 

 

My book New Parish, is a literary fiction, light romantic comedy, with an intriguing polygamous twist, it’s very different and diverse from the run-of-the-mill romance novels flooding the market these days.

The story follows Sarah from bad dates to total frustration as she explores her thoughts, fears, and feelings while contemplating plural marriage as an alternative to dating the losers she’s had to deal with. She asks the hard questions of her new friends, and even asks herself if she’s nuts or desperate for considering this option. All factors are explored, but the better side of living this unique social arrangement is truthfully told through the voice of its lovable characters.  The story reveals happiness, fulfillment, and safety in this lifestyle. The manuscript is 92,000 words.

Review of New Parish by Jaclyn Knapp, M.S., ED.S Weber State University, Ogden, UT:

“Julie is a captivating author. I spent more late nights reading than I should have. This story captured the magic of your community, it’s the kind of hometown we wish we all had, and the kind of community where we wish all of our children could be raised. I’ll be first in line to buy anything she publishes.”

This is a work of fiction but it has a lot of real life experiences that I’ve encountered as I moved west to live in a small polygamous community in Arizona. The realisms I use in the book are ones I’ve either experienced or heard about from others I’ve interviewed.