The Garden Path

The Garden Path


This book is the sequel to The Wishing Garden. Initially I had intended to make it more of a series, but I was told (carefully and kindly but still not to be mistaken) that this story was not the “favorite” of mine among those who were publishing it. Was it his tattoos, his gang-affiliated family members, the interracial marriage, the age difference? I don’t know, but I confess that it knocked what little wind out of my sails that was left. For those of you who have followed my work, you know that there was a long gap between the publication of these two books, and after this one I went into more than three years of complete burnout out that made it impossible for me to write at all. My creative brain just flat-lined. It wasn’t the issues of this book that did it; I was already at the edge with my health getting worse and the fact that I’d continued to put out four books a year in spite of it. But this did feel like that straw that broke the camel’s back.


Anyway, personal issues aside, I do love this story. It’s about redemption and fresh starts and forgiveness. The journey that Whit and Mary take to start a new life—both literally and metaphorically—is close to my heart.