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People often ask me if I have a favorite book among the ones I’ve written. I sometimes tell them that is sort of like picking a favorite child. It’s difficult to do because I feel blessed each time I’m gifted with a story. But if I have to absolutely choose one to be a book of my heart, then that book would have to be Angel Sister. The dedication in the front of the book might explain why.
“To my mother, Olga, and in memory of her sisters, Evelyn, Margaret and Bill.”
When the book was published in 2011, Mom was still alive, but she was already having memory problems and unable to enjoy reading any longer. I had let her read the book in manuscript when it appeared that it was going be put on hold for a while before being published. By then Mom’s sisters had all passed away and she was the only Hawkins girl left. She did miss her sisters, especially in those last years when in her dementia she often was a young girl again.
The reason Angel Sister is so special to me is that the story was inspired by the memories Mom shared of growing up during the 1930’s. Mom and her sisters loved to talk about when they were kids. They would tell stories about this or that person or event they remembered and often they laughed and sometimes a tear would come. This picture is one of my favorites of them since they are all laughing. My mom is the one on the left.
Angel Sister is fiction. It’s not my mother’s story, but her memories of growing up in the little community of Alton that I renamed Rosey Corner are threaded throughout the background and setting of the story. Then I also modeled my young character, Kate, after how I imagined my mother might have been at fourteen. Mom was the second oldest sister and always had a can-do attitude that made her feel as though she needed to take care of those she loved. So I’m sure you can understand why the story is special to me.
Here’s a snippet of an early scene in Angel Sister that introduces Kate and shows her can-do attitude. My grandfather did actually have a drinking problem and Mom did tell me that sometimes she was the one to help him when he had too much to drink. While Mom and her sisters didn’t talk too much about that, they did have some family struggles when they were young before their father overcame his alcohol addiction.
One thing sure, Kate had sense. She hadn’t ever shut her eyes and tried to hide from anything. That was because she was the middle sister. The middle sister had to learn early on to take care of herself, but Kate didn’t stop there. Half the time she had to take care of Evie too and all the time Tori who was only ten. In the cot across the room, Tori’s breathing sounded soft and peaceful. So Tori hadn’t been what woke Kate, but something had. Kate raised her head up off her pillow and listened. The middle sister had to make sure everything was all right.
Kate didn’t mind. She liked being responsible. She might only be fourteen, but she knew things. She listened and she heard and she did what had to be done. Of course sometimes it might be better to be like Evie who somehow managed to simply ignore anything that didn’t fit into her idea of how things should be or Tori who didn’t worry about much except whether she could find worms to go fishing. Neither one of them was staring into the black night, holding her breath, and waiting for the next sound to see if what had jerked Kate awake was their father trying to sneak in the house after being out drinking too much.
Then this next paragraph kind of wraps up the end of the story without giving away any spoilers.
She twirled out in front of him. She looked so happy she was almost sparkling. No wonder Lorena called her angel sister. Victor wouldn’t have been a bit surprised to see angels dancing right along beside her as they walked down the road toward home.
If those snippets make you think you might like to read the rest of the story, then now is a good time to grab it if you like to e-book read. It’s only 99 cents on some internet book sites and 79 cents on Amazon and Christianbook.com. You can find more information about the book and more links to e-book sites on my book page for Angel Sister here on my website. I would love it if you decide to take a trip to Rosey Corner to meet my Merritt sisters.
Wednesday, if I don’t forget it’s Wednesday the way I did last week, I’ll share one of my favorite characters from the Rosey Corner books.
Have you been to Rosey Corner? If you haven’t, would you like to visit there for a story or two? If you have, what’s something you remember about the book?
Comments 17
I’ve been to Rosey’s Corner and certainly enjoyed the visit. I believe my favorite past supervisor lives in the general area of the “real” Rosey’s Corner. 🙂
Author
I based my setting of Rosey Corner on what was called Old Alton when Mom was a kid. They did have the stores across from one another in the wide place of the road when I was a kid. When Mom was young there was a blacksmith shop and a mechanic shop too and maybe a restaurant besides the stores. Now the area is mostly residential with one motorcycle shop and what used to be a car dealer but now is something else. Things change, Sherri, but my mom’s memories of her little community will live on in my Rosey Corner books.
Thank you for the link I have ordered two of your books to read that my church doesn’t have, so when I finish reading them I will donate them to my church library. I love your books very much.
Author
How very nice of you, Marjorie. I really appreciate you reading my books and wanting to share them with your church family. Thank you.
I liked that book as one of my favorites of all the books you wrote, I have so many of your books but liked the Rosey Corner books the best. I also grew up in that era late thirties and early fortys as a child, they were happy times.
Author
Thank you, Donna. I’m glad you enjoyed visiting Rosey Corner. My mother and her sisters had many happy memories from that time too.
Ann, you’ve sparked my interest again !Its been a few years since I read Angel Sister and I know I’d enjoy reading it again.
Author
If you do decide to read the story again, I hope you’ll like it again, Evelyn.
Angel Sister is one of my all-time favorites. Of the many things you brought to light–I can relate to the overbearing father Merritt. Yes, these old-timers really existed.
Author
Thanks, Debra. I’m glad you thought my character was somebody who could have been real. That’s what I like best about writing stories – making my characters come to life. I always smile anytime somebody tells me they read my Rosey Corner stories.
I’ve been to Rosey Corner and loved it enough to take my granddaughter Hannah Grace there. When my granddaughter Courtney is a little older I’m sure she’ll love it even more…she’s also a middle sister and a voracious reader.
I loved all the books in the series, but my favorite part is when Lorena says, “My mommy said that if I sat here and didn’t cry, an angel would come take care of me…”
Author
You know, Lavon, that might be the best compliment a writer can get about a book. Loving it enough to invite friends and loved ones to take the same story trip. And to invite your granddaughters on that trip is as good as it gets. Thank you. In that scene you mention, I like how Lorena tries to pull her dress down over her knees to cover up her toes. That’s what I think helps you actually “see” Lorena and Kate sitting there on the church steps.
Hands Down,Angel Sister is my favorite book you’ve written, Ann! 💜 Psalm 150💜
Author
Thank you, Emily. You helped bring about a special gift for my book, Angel Sister, when you decided to give a copy to your Dream Team. My publisher, Revell, was so gracious to help out with that.
This is one of my favorite books ever! I like when Lorena says “My name is Lorena Birdsong”, , every night as her mother told her to.
Author
That’s a really special compliment coming from you, Paula, because you read many books. So thank you for that. Lorena saying her name is threaded through all three of the Rosey Corner books and plays a special part in the end of the last one, Love Comes Home. So thank you for mentioning that.
My book has a red jewel ❤️ on the front-does this have a meaning?