As a southern woman who moved to California when I was twenty-five, I understand now why they say you can’t take the south out of the woman.

My second chance romance series Where The Old Roses Grow, was born from a kernel of thought, a remembrance, an idea germinating over decades as a psychotherapist, formed from overlapping stories.

The seed idea is growing old roses. This idea showed up in two experiences in the course of a year. The first was when I attended a party of a prominent neurosurgeon, head of a top neurosurgery program in the country. On the grounds of his estate, he grew old roses. He showed me around his garden and I was struck by the tenderness he expressed towards his roses in contrast to his reputation as a formidable head of department.

And then an auspicious thing happened. One morning I perused the San Francisco Chronicle and was smitten by the arresting image on the cover of a book being reviewed: Ava by Carole Maso. It was a classic image of three graces dancing. I knew I had to purchase the book, just from the cover alone. It helped of course to discover that the book was experimental fiction a sort of prose in poetic form, ala The Canterbury Tales.

It wasn’t long before I came upon the lines: “and he grew old roses”.

That line from the book combined with the night at the neurosurgeon’s party haunted me in the sense that it never let go.

The book covers for the Prequel and the book series are oil paintings by Jesus Leguizamo. Jesus painted these after discussions with me about the main characters, Rose Aberdeen and Jahi Adams. The paintings are inspired by the famous Renaissance artist, Sandro Botticelli and his iconic painting The Birth of Venus that hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

I’m drawn to themes of loss, abandonment, and redemption (and laughter and joy too) and how we make meaning as we grapple with the exigencies of life.

Love,

Gracie, aka GG