One cold day in March I walked through the sunroom where my granddaughters often play. I stopped as the real world touched my writing world. There the girls were, wearing their hand-me-down ladies hats and gloves having tea and cookies. The tea cups might have been full of juice and the cookies were raided from my stash of Girl Scout cookies, but the ritual was there.
For a moment I didn’t see two little girls, I saw them in college having tea and talking about their lives. I saw them as mothers relaxing on the patio as their kids play. At that moment I realized that the simple rituals we share bind us together.
Their tea set was an old one I found at a garage sale, but my little Harper pointed at the fine English tea set on the top shelf. “When I’m thirteen, I’m getting that one down, Gram.”
And she will, I have no doubt.
As I wrote THE LITTLE TEASHOP ON MAIN, I realized how lucky a few of us are if we have a one or two friends we keep for a lifetime. My three little girls in the book form a bond at five that shelters and grounds them in good times and bad. So, walk with me through Laurel Springs. Get to know my people. Stay a while. I promise, when you close the book and leave my little town in Texas, you’ll smile.
Have a cup of tea and enjoy!
Jodi
_______________________________________________________________
THREE WOMEN. THREE LIVES. ONE UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY.
A rainy-day ritual—a tea party between three little girls—becomes the framework of not only their friendship, but their lives.
Redheaded, curly-haired Zoe is openhearted, kind and free-spirited, and dreams of becoming a famous actor in New York City. Shy Emily struggles with mental health but has the heart and soul of a writer. And Shannon—tall, athletic, strong—has a deep sense of loyalty that will serve her well when she heads off to military college.
As Zoe, Emily and Shannon grow into women—forging careers, following dreams and finding love—they’ll learn that life doesn’t always unfold the way they want it to, but through it all, the one constant is each other, and their regular tea parties. And when the unthinkable happens, the girls must come together to face the greatest test of all.
A deeply moving novel about the family that raises us, the hearts that nurture us and the great friendships that define our lives.