The Summer of Grace
The new book from Karen Jones
The Summer of Grace
Ten-year-old Gracie sits on the backyard picnic table hugging Brown Hound, the dog’s fur soaking up her tears. It’s early summer 1951 and her daddy is sending them to her grandmother for a while. They have gotten to be too much for her high-strung mother to handle.
On the North Carolina family farm, Gracie and Brown Hound meet the family. Great Granny Jane smokes a pipe and is fast with her cane, Miss Emily proves to be loving but firm, and Jane, her cousin of the same age, has a swashbuckler’s heart.
It is wild and heady freedom, far from her mother’s scorn and her father’s indifference. The girls hunt through ancient cemeteries, sneak visits to the conjure woman, team up against the town gossips, fight, make up, and sleep in the same bed, tangled like puppies.
But there is also Marcell, the solitary woman who keeps the house. Her dark skin shines in contrast to her eyes, their light dimmed by memories and secrets. Her history is mysteriously entwined with the family and for some inexplicable reason she hates dogs. Now she has Brown Hound in her sights. Gracie and Jane must fix this before the dog gets sent away.
Can the girls heal old wounds, or could their stubborn determination make matters worse? Are Marcel’s secrets tied to the injustice and bigotry of the past, and will the girls push through present-day prejudices to find out? Should the girls expose the truth of that one missing grave? And what timeworn promise, still steeped in segregation, will reveal the families’ hidden past?
Meet the Author: Karen Jones
Latest Updates
“Who are your characters REALLY based on?”
That’s a question I get frequently – especially from people who know my family. Even the occasional aunt or uncle gives me a knowing side-glance when talking about The Summer of Grace. My answer is always an angelic smile followed by the words “I just have a terrific imagination.” Well, this leaves everyone unsatisfied. Why?Readers […]
How Long Does It Take to Write a Novel?
I love it when readers ask, “How long did it take you to write this book?” It never fails to make me laugh. Should I include the years I thought about the story? How about the nights spent staring at the ceiling? And then there are the months I left the draft in the drawer, […]
Summer Of Grace On Sale Now
Well The Summer of Grace comes out today and I feel like a cat with nine tails – all held straight up in the air as I prance about the house! This is such a fun time, following the long hours writing, the second guessing, and the agony of having to edit. I look at […]