The Gardens at Monticello

By Becky Lower

My father, being the enterprising man that he was, planted a vegetable garden every year, in order to help feed his growing family. My mother grew the beautiful flowers that surrounded the vegetables and entered her award-winning irises each year in the township fair.  It’s from them and their early instruction on how to care for and grow things that I became familiar with the joy of sinking my hands into the dirt. 

I already had a love of roses, having spent several years in Texas and paid annual visits to the Antique Rose Emporium (https://www.antiqueroseemporium.com). https://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/flower-gardens).

 Then, I moved to Virginia and discovered Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, near Charlottesville, VA. (

I especially loved the fact the plantings on Jefferson’s estate produced seeds and cuttings that were available to the public. I took a bit of Thomas Jefferson home with me each year. Over time, my backyard grew into a miniature version of Jefferson’s, with roses, hyacinths and bottlebrush plants, as well as seeds from a myriad of plants. I carefully cultivated each, calling them my “TJ” collection, after Thomas Jefferson. I cried more at leaving my plants than I did at leaving my house, when I moved away.

Thomas Jefferson

I’ve relocated again, this time to balmy North Carolina, and am trying  to find new roses that are heat-tolerant, to brighten the little spit of land surrounding my condo.  After eight years of suffering through the harshness of Ohio winters, finding roses that prefer warmth is a welcome challenge, but a challenge, nonetheless. My first two attempts have been unspectacular. Maybe I need a TJ rose instead of an Antique Emporium one. 

Author Bio: Amazon best-selling author Becky Lower has traveled the United States in search of great settings for her novels and picking up a love for plants along the way. At various times, she’s cultivated bonsai plants, cacti, roses and various herbs she’s never found a way to use. She loves to write about two people finding each other and falling in love amid the backdrop of a great setting, be it in America on a covered wagon headed west or in Regency England. Winning Violet, her first Regency, is mildly spicy, but what else can be expected when discussing the propagation of roses? And Thomas Jefferson's love of them? Becky loves to hear from her readers at beckylowerauthor@gmail.com. Visit her website at www.beckylowerauthor.com

My home: deep porches, Billy Graham, Black Beard—we got pirates in NC! by Sarah J. McNeal #PrairieRosePub

I’m in transition right now…what to write next? I started off my writing career writing paranormal stories like The Legends of Winatuke trilogy and then the time travel story, The Violin followed by the beginning of my western series about the Wildings starting with the time travel western Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride. I'm presently working of revisions for the Winatuke trilogy...let me rephrase that; I am rewriting the Winatuke trilogy. After I finish those revisions I am eager to get on to something new.

But where do I go from here? Among some of the ideas to which I have given thought, I’ve considered writing stories based here in my state of North Carolina. North Carolina has a colorful history ranging from pirates like Black Beard 

Black Beard's House in North Carolina

to Christian evangelists like Billy Graham. 

Rev. Billy Graham

We also have a unique southern culture that exists even here in Charlotte where people from other states have migrated in significant numbers over the last few decades and brought their culture with them. Charlotte wasn’t always metropolitan. In fact, it barely qualified as a city when my family first arrived back in 1952.

One element that has been present from the beginning is deep front porches, not those modern narrow porches in recent times that are supposed to represent deep porches, but the real thing. Porches were our social media. 

Families used to sit on their porches after supper and visit with friends, some of whom were just passing by on the sidewalk out front. Neighbors would share in the wonder of fireflies and the constellations as the kids played games in the yard. Sweet tea or lemonade loaded with ice quenched the thirst of the occupants of the porches as they shared news and gossip. Soft drinks original to the south like Cheerwine or Royal Crown Cola were sometimes served after my generation came along.

To deter the mosquitoes that are quite the nuisance in the hot, humid summers here, and to provide a cool breeze, people installed ceiling fans on the porch ceilings or used hand held fans—the same kind of fans used in church with a broad cardboard attached to a wooden stick. In church the fans usually had the face of Jesus or a person from the bible like Moses printed on the cardboard. Air conditioning was not a staple in the 1950’s like it is now.

Southerners talk with an accent and they use some words unique to the south. It's a slower, easier way of talking than my northern relatives use. But don't let that smooth molasses accent fool you; the south is filled with innovative people, artists, musicians, and thriving businesses. Duke University and Carolinas Medical Center are leaders in the medical community. Charlotte is the second largest banking city in the U.S.

North Carolina has its fair share of famous celebrities who were born and raised in North Carolina and those who have made immense contributions and accomplishments both personally and professionally. 

Famous people from North Carolina:

The Oscar winning Julianne Moore, 

Julianne Moore, Actress

the hilarious Zach Galifianakis and the gorgeous Ava Gardner, were all born in North Carolina. The state is particularly renowned for creating remarkable musicians such as Grammy winner Roberta Flack, Max Roach, Eric Church, Ron Milsap, and others. The state has produced several athletes as well such as NBA player Chris Paul, Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard, and baseball player James ‘Catfish’ Hunter. The controversial Edward Snowden also hails from North Carolina.

Edward Snowden

Famous Literary Writers:

Thomas Wolfe

O. Henry

David Sedaris

Charles Frazier

Reynolds Price

Novelist, Nicolas Sparks

Singer, Roberta Flack

Attorney General for President Obama, Loretta Lynch

 So, I'm giving a great deal of consideration to writing stories from my home state. I can't imagine how comfortable it might be to write about the things I am familiar with in my stories.

Do you write stories that take place in your home state? If you wrote about stories that take place in places that are unfamiliar to you, how would feel about doing that? Would it be easy, uncomfortable, or maybe exciting doing research for such a project? What would be your first choice of states in which to place your story if it weren't your own state?

The Violin, my first time travel story, starts off in North Carolina.

THE VIOLIN (time travel/paranormal novel)

by Sarah J. McNeal

Can the heart live inside a violin case? Can a message reach across time?

Genevieve Beaumont is haunted by dreams of a drowning man she is helpless to save. When she buys a violin and discovers news clippings and pictures of its owner who died from downing inside the case, she realizes he is the man in her dreams.

She travels to the little town where he died 90 years before to investigate who he was and how he came to drown that day. Little does she know how her own life will be tangled in the mystery…until she steps through the threshold of time to 1927.

Excerpt:

She heard him take in a slow breath before he spoke to her in a more relaxed, quiet tone. "I beg your pardon, miss, I didn't mean to curse. What's your name?" The younger man’s voice soothed her as he knelt beside the couch where she lay. He wrung out a cloth in the bowl of water beside his knee, folded it, and applied it to Genevieve's brow.

"My name is Genevieve Beaumont. I was just standing at the window and now…I'm here." She lifted a shaky hand to her brow. "My head is pounding."

"You bumped your head when you fainted. Is that a French name?"  He lifted a quizzical brow and smiled.

She lifted her eyes and got a good, close-up look at him then. Her heart almost stopped beating in her chest. She sucked in a deep breath. What was happening to her? How could any of this be possible? The man holding the cool cloth to her head was the man in the pictures she found in the violin case!

She would not have guessed he had auburn hair, or that his eyes were such a vivid, bottle green. He wore a collarless, khaki shirt with the sleeves rolled up and suspenders instead of a belt held up his tan, canvas trousers. Oh, but he was handsome—so much more than his pictures ever allowed. She didn't have time to admire the young man's good looks because her mind swirled round and round with the unfathomable implications of her situation.

Excerpt 2:

The music began again and the carousel began to move.  Slowly, Genevieve’s horse began its first ascent.  Her dress rose above her knees in the breeze created by the movement but she didn’t care.  She felt free and filled with golden happiness.

John stood watching her with his hand clasped gently, sensuously around her ankle.  When her horse descended, John let his hand slide up to her knee.  He gazed at her in that way he had earlier that day when she met him on the road.  His eyes were dark green and filled with mystery and something that looked like longing.  He bent his head and kissed her knee tenderly just as he had in her dream.  The electrifying feel of his full mouth on her sensitive flesh sent heat to her very core.  She shook her head as the moment of déjà vu passed over her.

With his hand still resting on her knee, John lifted his head and kept his eyes pinned to hers as she ascended once again.  As her horse began to lower her toward him, John reached up and clasped the back of her head to pull her toward him.  She leaned forward and met his kiss with a racing heart.  His kiss told her more than his words ever could that he was falling in love with her.  It was bittersweet knowledge to know it, to feel it.  They had so little time left.

“This was my dream,” she said barely audible over the music.

“I know.”  He ran his hand back down her leg to her ankle and kissed her on the lips once again…

Buy Link:   AMAZON

Sarah J. McNeal

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WRITNG WESTERNS FROM AFAR

Okay, I admit it; I’m a south easterner who writes westerns. I’d be the first to tell ya I have to research everything—and I do mean EVERYTHING about the stories I write which take place in the fictional town of Hazard, Wyoming. I confess I have only been to Wyoming once, but I was so awestruck by its beautiful landscape I knew I wanted to use it for the place where all my Wildings live.

My reality is, however, that I have been raised and still live in the beautiful and diverse state of North Carolina where folks speak with a smooth southern drawl and fan themselves while they sit on big porches in the summer while they fight off the heat and mosquitoes. We talk to our neighbors who drop by, usually unannounced, while we enjoy the smell of gardenias in spring around May and Carolina jasmine that blends with honeysuckle and roses in the summer.

We have our own celebrities like Billy Graham who lives just up the road in the mountains in a rather modest house. It’s uplifting just to know he’s there. I know his time is limited on this Earth, and that just makes me appreciate him even more.  We also have the lovable actor, Andy Griffith, who recently passed away and the towns of Mayberry, Mount Pilot and Mount Airy so often mentioned on his show. Of course we have the glamorous movie stars, too, like Ava Gardner and Julianne Moore. Singers are among North Carolina famous—Roberta Flack, John Coltrane, Kelly Pickler, Ronnie Millsap, Earl Scruggs, Arthur Smith, Randy Travis and, of course, James Taylor among the many who hail from North Carolina.

Pepsi Cola, Cheerwine (my personal favorite for road trips), and 

Bojangles all originated in North Carolina. There’s nothing quite as delicious as 

some Cheerwine and a Moon Pie while traveling on a road trip. Some people prefer and RC Cola with their Moon Pie.
One more thing I would like to clear up: Texas Pete hot sauce is not a creation from Texas; it's from North Carolina. Just sayin'...

          The North Carolina Coast

The Smoky Mountains of North Carolina 

And speaking of road trips, I am in the perfect place here in Charlotte to take a day trip to the mountains and get back home before bedtime or I can travel to the beach and spend the weekend listening to the surf and whiling away the time under an umbrella with my toes in the sand. My favorite place is Wilmington where time seems to have stopped about a hundred years ago.

I’ve taken it in my stride when some folks from other parts of the country have insulted my southern roots. I’ve been asked ridiculous questions like, “Do you wear shoes when you’re not at work?” or “Do you people have televisions?” or one of my favorites, “Do you have accredited schools down there?” Well, yes, we do wear shoes, but not in the house so much. Since we have the Technology Triangle and North Carolina ranks #1 across all 50 states for IT Sector Employment Growth at 28.4% between 2010-2015 (double national average), I think we can muster up some television sets, and finally, yes we do have accredited schools like Duke University, one of the four largest medical centers in the United States.

(My Pinterest Board about North Carolina:  https://www.pinterest.com/sarahmcneal9/north-carolina/ )

But I don’t write stories that take place in North Carolina. I’m not certain why that is except that my first western, HARMONICA JOE’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, and the sequel novel, FOR LOVE OF BANJO were so well received, I just sort of got into western writing. I don’t mind having to research everything about the west and Wyoming from its wildlife, to its geography, and even its plants and trees because I find it rather interesting. I know Hemingway said once a writer ought to write about what they know, but Hemingway said a lot of things that spoke more of his ego than reality. I know Wyoming because I have studied the heck out of it and I’ve seen it. I know it would be easier to write about stories that take place in North Carolina without having to look up anything, but I don’t mind because research is fun and I love the Wildings I’ve created. I like Wyoming and the tough pioneer spirit of the people who live there. Maybe someday I’ll write some stories that take place in the Southeast, but for now, I am very happy writing westerns.

Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride

A haunted plantation… A trunk… And a date with destiny.

Lola Barton’s life has been chaotic and uncertain. When she inherits a rundown plantation, she believes her life has finally taken a positive turn. But, when she finds a mysterious trunk in the attic, it takes her into the past and to a man with dark secrets—and she’s married to him.

Joe Wilding carries his shame in his pocket in the form of a harmonica. The woman he thought he married to save her life, is beginning to break through his stoic wall and find the secret he hides. Loving her could be his ruin. Only time can tell.

Excerpt:

            Terrible thoughts crossed her mind that she might be dying.  The unbearable noise pierced her eardrums.  She couldn’t catch her breath, her heart pounded against her ribs and her nerves shrieked against the unknown.  She felt herself falling and falling into the great dark void, certain that she would lose consciousness, and wishing she could.  Then, just as suddenly as it started, it all stopped.

            She heard bursts of laughter and the clank of glasses bumping together as she tried to open her eyes.  Someone played a piano in discord and feet stomped in time to the music.  The smell of stale beer, old wood and body odor assailed her senses.  Lightheaded and disoriented, it took a moment before her blurred vision focused.  She straightened from her crouched position and stood on a wooden plank floor covered in sawdust, peanut shells and bits of refuse.  The card that had dropped from her grasp lay on the floor at her feet.  She reached down and clutched it in her hand as she heard a man speak in a ceremonious voice. “I now pronounce you man and wife.  Harmonica Joe, you may kiss your bride.”  Laughter resonated and cheers went up around the room. 

            Lola clasped the card tight in her fist and glanced up just in time to see an angular face with mesmerizing coffee brown eyes framed in sandy hair move toward her.  A day’s growth of beard graced his jaw but it only enhanced his handsome features.  She backed away a step only to have someone push her forward.  She collided with the solid body of this imposing stranger.  The stranger’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close as his head dipped down, his mouth capturing hers.  The bristles of his chin scraped her tender flesh that caused a thrill to scamper down her spine. 

AMAZON

A COWBOY'S BRAND is a sensational boxed set from Prairie Rose Publications! This collection includes five full-length novels from some of the best western romance writers in today's field, including Livia J. Washburn, Meg Mims, Gail L. Jenner, Kristy McCaffrey and Sarah J. McNeal. This set makes a wonderful gift for someone else, or for yourself, and at only .99 you can't go wrong!

MENDING FENCES by Livia J. Washburn is a riveting story of the Texas frontier as well as a touching romance between a heroine trying to find her place in the world and a hero whose past may destroy them both.

Meg Mims’s Spur Award-winning novel DOUBLE CROSSING is the story of mystery and intrigue as Lily Granville heads west, determined to track down her father’s killer. But who can she trust? Will Lily survive the journey and unexpected betrayal?

HARMONICA JOE’S RELUCTANT BRIDE by Sarah J. McNeal is a wonderful time travel story of unexpected love. When Lola Barton inherits a rundown plantation, she believes her life has finally taken a positive turn. But, when she finds a mysterious trunk in the attic, it takes her into the past and to a man with dark secrets—and she’s married to him.

In Kristy McCaffrey’s story, Kate Kinsella has no choice but to go after Charley Barstow and talk some sense into him. Ethan Barstow is hot on his younger brother’s trail, too. All hell breaks loose when they discover Charley—not wishing to be found by anyone! Can Ethan and Kate find their own love and happiness with one another through the deception and hurt? Or will they both return INTO THE LAND OF SHADOWS…

This 2002 WILLA AWARD WINNER by Gail L. Jenner is the story of Liza Ralston, a young woman who leaves her settled existence to travel to Montana with her father—a decision she regrets. With her father severely wounded, the Pikuni tribe takes them in. But Liza wants nothing more than to return to St. Louis, despite her growing attraction for Red Eagle, a handsome young Indian warrior. Will Red Eagle and Liza find the love they’ve been waiting for? Beauty, treachery and danger lie ACROSS THE SWEET GRASS HILLS.

Buy Link:  A Cowboy’s Brand

THE WILDINGS (in order of publication)

Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride (time travel/paranormal)

For Love of Banjo (sequel to Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride)

Fly Away Heart (novella)

A Husband for Christmas (short/also for sale as a single) included in Wishing for a Cowboy anthology

Hollow Heart (short Valentine theme) included in Hearts and Spurs anthology (now in single)

Unexpected Blessings (short) included in Lassoing a Bride anthology

Beast of Hazard (short) included in Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico vol. 1 anthology

When Love Comes Knocking (short) included in Present for a Cowboy Christmas anthology

Home for the Heart (1950’s era novel)

To see all my Wildings, click on The Wildings

Sarah J. McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a retired ER and Critical Care nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Prairie Rose Publications and its imprints Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press. Some of her fantasy and paranormal books may also be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery and Victory Tales Press. She welcomes you to her website and social media:

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