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Sisters…

All sisters have some things in common, and some very distinct differences. My sister likes the color purple, I’m more inclined towards blue. She doesn’t like Winnie the Pooh (when she was little, she was scared to death in a department store by someone wearing a Pooh costume), he’s one of my favorite characters. She likes pigs. I had to feed them as a small person and discovered I didn’t like them at all. We both love to watch Dancing with the Stars and Downton Abbey. I love to ponder the things we have in common and the things we are so very different in. Our biggest thing we have in common is that we love being sisters! Sisters are always there for you, no matter what, and that’s my very favorite thing about sisters. In my New Parish series readers meet Sarah, Hannah, Brenda, and Beth – all sisters, with very different likes, dislikes, and ways of doing things – but you’ll find that they all love being sisters too.

These southern girls each make a journey that’s very different, even though all the journeys have a common destination – New Parish. In the first book, New Parish, Sarah makes the maiden voyage, discovering a new way of living out west that leads her to her very own happily ever after. In the next book, Return to New Parish, Hannah makes the journey. Yes, it’s the same destination, but the journey is very different for Hannah. Hannah isn’t just looking for her happily ever after, she’s running from something that she needs her sister to help her escape from…

Excerpt from Return to New Parish:

“…Now I’m scared, I don’t trust my own feelings about things. Maybe I’m damaged, maybe I’ll always be.”

“No, you’re not damaged,” Sarah defended her little sister, “You’re hurt and shaken, but you’re not damaged. Just like any other wound this needs time to heal, take the time you need to heal and feel better. You’re strong and smart and you’re going to be okay!”

Hannah heard the firmness in her sister’s voice, it gave her some strength and a little peace. Telling Sarah about what happened helped, but it also made the event very real in the now once more. A whirlwind of emotions tried to engulf her, anger, embarrassment, fear, and an overwhelming sadness that felt like it would never leave. She had kept it a secret, and tried desperately to bury it deep inside herself but now it was on the surface and flooding her with pain.”   

New Parish is out now! Return to New Parish will be out in a few months!!!

You can get a copy of New Parish here:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

A Morning Filled With History, Gardening, and Writing…

The title says it all. My morning has been spent with history, gardening, and writing. A morning well spent, I think. I’m working on a new project that includes, of course, history. I’m quite enjoying it, and seeing it all come together is always very fulfilling. The gardening is my inside gardens – I have a garden window in my kitchen and a garden room that’s just getting organized, with lots of new little babies just peeping up to greet me. The writing aspect of my morning is edits for Return to New Parish, I’m almost finished and getting very excited about getting all the other things done so I can share it with everyone. I have to tell you that the book cover is going to be wonderful with a new picture to represent the new story, Hannah’s story, as she discovers New Parish for herself…

Excerpt from Return to New Parish:

Chapter 2 – Cowboys and Horses

          “As she neared the small community Hannah saw some men and a small boy riding horses across the prairie next to the main road. She also saw that they had a purpose, they were moving a heard of about thirty cows away from the road. One man, an older cowboy, who seemed to be in charge was sitting on his horse, a large impressive palomino, and pointing while the other men were gathering the cows in the direction he wanted them to go in. The sage cowboy made Hannah think of Sam Elliot, whom she had loved in several westerns.

            The boy stayed near the cowboy in charge until the old truck in front of Hannah made a huge bang! It was a very loud backfire, Hannah jumped and shouted, “Dang!” She looked back to the scene she’d been watching to see the boy’s beautiful blond palomino suddenly dart toward the fence opposite the road she was traveling on. The old cowboy was suddenly on the move, his horse quickly caught up with the one the boy was on. He grabbed the reins of the other horse slowing then stopping the horse. After steadying the boy on his saddle, he patted him on the back reassuringly.             Hannah smiled, “I’m gonna like it here.””

Remember to find out all about New Parish by reading my book New Parish!

You can get a copy of New Parish here:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

First Page…

I think the first page of a book tells a lot about what the reader is heading into. The first page can excite, entice, or make the reader wonder what’s going to happen in the story they’re thinking about reading… The first page can also introduce a character the reader might want to become friends with or give insights into the character’s motives. I look at the first page of a book and sometimes that’s the deciding factor if I read the book or not. So today I decided to share the first page of Return to New Parish with everyone. I think it gives some insights to the story and the main character, Hannah. I hope everyone will become friends with Hannah, she’s a young energetic, vibrant, feisty southern girl just leaving college to begin the rest of her life…

Remember to read New Parish! You’ll meet Hannah in there as well…

You can get a copy of New Parish here:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

Excerpt from Return to New Parish:

Chapter 1 – The Drive

            “Hannah’s car was packed to the brim with her stuff, she sent some of it home to her parent’s house, the rest of her things filled every nook and cranny of her red Prius. She took a deep calming breath to relieve the stress of the morning rush. Then she checked her list of to do items once more before she started the car – cleaned and emptied her room at the Wymont Terrace, turn in her key, packed snacks for the drive down, and Christmas shopping done. She had checked off everything on her departure list so she pushed the power button to start her car and selected her play list. Bach’s sixth was one of her favorites, it was first, she loved the classics. She could usually find peace and solace in her music during times of needing peace and solace. She’d been having these times a lot lately.

            Hannah smiled at the light dusting of snow on the tops of surrounding mountains which had happened overnight. There were some things she would miss about Provo, but there were others she was going to be very glad to put behind her. Her mind went to when she first came to this place, she was excited at the prospects of learning, getting a degree, immersing herself in the lifestyle and culture, and, maybe, finding a great guy to spend the rest of her life with. She turned that thought into a checklist – she often did this. She had learned a lot, check, she had gotten two degrees, check and check, she had enjoyed the lifestyle and culture, check and check. Although there were many possibilities and opportunities for the great guy, she hadn’t found him, so a big red X was placed on her mental checklist for that item. She quickly swiped the checklist from her mind and thought, “This is a new beginning, I’m going to Sarah’s for Christmas and checking out what she did. She found a really great guy, so why not me?””

Cowboy Party

This time of year, there are many parties going on everywhere. Whether it’s a Christmas party, a New Year’s party or a just for fun party. Have you ever wondered what a cowboy party might be like? I think there would be a lot of good food, good music, some dancing, some horses – and yeah lots of cowboys!

I do love a good party… In New Parish there’s a fun cowboy party I want to share with you.

Excerpt from New Parish:

Chapter 8 – The Social

“It was a short trip in Brother Michael’s SUV to the edge of the community where Sarah saw a rustic archway made of rough cedar that said, Lucky A Ranch, with two horses on either side of the words. Sarah thought, “It looked like those ranches she used to see on the old westerns,” an automatic smile came across her lips. When the SUV was parked in what looked like a hayfield across from a huge pasture they walked toward the festivities that were already under way.

            “I feel like I’ve stepped into a Louis L’Amour novel,” Sarah said looking around at all the cowboys and horses.

            A cowboy band was playing and there was a square dance going, Mary said, “Come on let’s go!”

            Sarah said, “No way, I’ve never dosey doed in my life. I don’t know how,” trying to excuse herself from this activity.

            Mary grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the dance area in front of the wooden stage the band was on, “I’ll show you, it’s fun!” she said laughing.

            Sarah had an inner dread that she was not only going to dosey doe for the first time, but that Mary had much more confidence in her abilities than she did.

            Mary had her twirling around the grassy dance area in no time. They were both laughing at her many mistakes, and having so much fun. Then Sarah saw one of cowboys on the stage… it was Max, he was playing the guitar, and smiling at her. He was wearing a black cowboy hat with a silver and turquoise band around it, a white shirt with a bolo tie, and a black leather jacket. Her mind had inventoried him quickly and then lost all cohesiveness. After that she lost her footing, causing her right foot to trip over her left foot – she landed on the ground with a thud. “Oh, I hate him,” she thought picking herself up from the ground quickly. Mary tried to help her up while trying to hide the fact that she was almost doubling over laughing at her.

            “Seems you’re always falling for him,” Mary teased.

            Sarah was even more embarrassed to know that Mary had seen the cause of her fall, “Thanks, that helps,” she replied half way laughing too.

            “Food?” Mary suggested, trying to suppress her laughter. She was pointing to two long tables brimming with food across the driveway from where they were, “It’s on the other side of things.”  

            “Good,” said Sarah, “I need to be on the other side of things.”

 

If you’d like to visit New Parish for yourself and see what else happens the free autographed paper back contest will be going on all this month (December, see other post – Free Books, for details) or the ebook will be available for free today on amazon.com.

You can get a copy of New Parish here:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

Free Books!!!

One free book each week in December. What better way to gear up for Christmas! Keep it for yourself or give it as a gift, either way get your very own copy of New Parish this month.

This is how it’ll work: all you have to do is use the contact form on my website – www.julieworthington.com to submit your name, address, and email. Each week one name will be drawn for the free book. You’ll receive an email from me letting you know that you’ve won and the free book will be autographed and sent to you free of charge.

Good luck! I hope you enjoy your visit to New Parish…

You can always get a copy of New Parish here:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

 

Thanksgiving Jetlag

My son and I had loads of fun cooking this year. We made messes and cleaned them up while enjoying the fruits of our labors. We discussed the philosophy of peeling boiled eggs and deciding that sometimes it just doesn’t work out well. There was Christmas music playing in the background and many wonderful aromas to enjoy as the cooking progressed. There was lots of smiles and a bit of laughter…

Two days after Thanksgiving when the cooking is done, the eating is still going on, and the fatigue it still going on… it’s still not over. It’s only the beginning! I’ve always thought of Thanksgiving as a pre-Christmas celebration. I of course don’t mind if others feel differently about it, but to me it has always been that. Two days after Thanksgiving is a time for family and food, and making plans…

So now Christmas plans will be made, well, after the food is gone and we’ve recovered from all that fun…

Here’s a little bit of the end of Sarah’s Thanksgiving from my book New Parish. She’s making plans too…

Excerpt from New Parish:

Chapter 2 – Undecided

“All the food was ready by two o’clock and everyone was seated. Sarah’s father offered a prayer and the family feast began. The conversations were the completion of many different catch up stories for each of them. Sarah listened quietly and was glad the inquisition on her investigation of plural marriage wasn’t the main topic of their conversations.

            By the end of the meal, when everyone was trying to shove more desert down on top of all the other food Sarah’s dad said, “Sarah, your mom and I talked last night about what you are looking into.”        

            Sarah’s heart sank. She’d hoped the subject would be skipped over… She looked her dad in the eye and braced for impact.

            He continued, “We don’t think it’s a good idea at all, but we love you and always want to be a part of your life, and always want you to be in ours. So, we’ve decided to be conscientious objectors to your choice to live that way, if you choose to do so.”

            Sarah saw the resolve and concern in his face as he talked and was very grateful that he was willing to love her and not cut her off because she might want to be different. Her love and respect for her dad grew at that moment far beyond what it had ever been. With a tear in her eye she said, “Thanks Dad, that really means a lot to me.”

            He nodded and smiled warmly at her. The feast continued with lots of family stories past and present, then on to future goals and wishes. The rest of the time Sarah spent with her family was filled with feelings of uneasy calm. No one else said anymore about her plural marriage research, which was a relief, but for Sarah it had become a constant backburner thing in her mind.

            Trying to settle back into her apartment and routine in Atlanta, Sarah thought it all seemed very empty. Her thoughts turned more and more to New Parish and the things Brother Michael had told her. She was planning on going out there for a few days over the Christmas holidays but was still very unsure of what to expect.”

New Parish available now:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is a wonderful reason each year for us to remember to be grateful for all we’ve been blessed with. Gandalf taught us a truly great lesson, “I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” It’s not the big things, but the small everyday things, not just what we get, but what we give as well… There’s so much to be grateful for this year, family, friends, and New Parish.

The traditional Thanksgivings in the south have always been full of family, food, and cooking for at least two days. This special time together is of course included in my book New Parish. Sarah’s Georgia family and her new Arizona family get together for Thanksgiving and things get very interesting. Here’s a small peek into their Thanksgiving…

 

Excerpt from New Parish:

Chapter 12 – Home

“The next morning Sarah and Hannah were back in the kitchen early, preparing the cinnamon rolls that would call everyone to action. The morning frenzy of cooking and mixing was in full on assault. Sarah smiled as she watched her mom and thought, “She’s so loving this.” Then she heard her dad shout, “Hot stuff coming through!” which was his usual battle cry when he took the turkey out of the oven. It always made everyone laugh as he feigned innocence as to why they were laughing.

            By four o’clock the tables were set, and everyone was seated. David said a prayer of gratitude for food and family, then the feast began.”   

 

From all of us in New Parish to all of you, we hope you all have the best Thanksgiving ever!

 

New Parish available now:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

 

 

Desires and Decisions

Desires often persuade us to take unusual journeys and convince us to make different decisions. Some desires are much stronger than others, and some decisions have longer lasting consequences than others – we inevitably follow our strongest desires and hope beyond hope that we make the right decisions to reach those desires. At least that’s what Sarah hopes for in my book New Parish…

Just like the Wright Brothers had a desire to fly, and Thomas Edison had a desire to see in the dark, Sarah had a desire to be a mother – the quintessential soccer mom who mostly lived for her family… the problem was she didn’t have a husband or children to fulfill that desire with… After many stumbles the Wright Brothers flew and Thomas Edison saw in the dark. Sarah has her own stumbles before finally finding the way to fulfill her desires…

Excerpt from New Parish:

Chapter 1 – Bad Date

            “Sarah slammed the door to her apartment as she entered, then slowly let out a growl, she’d held the anger, embarrassment, and hurt in until she got home. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Men!” she whisper shouted so her neighbors wouldn’t hear her aggravation. 

            The evening had been another dating disaster. Sarah always thought, or hoped with each new guy that there might be potential for the future, but each time she’d been completely disappointed.”

Excerpt from A Day in the Life of a Sister Wife:

“Much later as she was sitting on the balcony star gazing, Max joined her, “Hi,” he

smiled warmly.

            “Hi,” she returned his greeting.

            “You had a rough day,” Max stated. “You okay?” he asked sitting down next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

            Sarah smiled, sinking into his arms, “Yeah, actually, I’m really good. A few years ago, I longed to be married and have kids – you know, a big family. I hadn’t thought about plural marriage of course, but, I longed to be where I am now. I’m living my dream,” she chuckled.”

 

New Parish available now:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!

A Day in the Life of a Sister Wife coming soon in Brigham Tea Magazine

 

Life Happens…

Sometimes we can’t figure out why things happen in life…  but they always seem to happen… In my book New Parish, Sarah couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t find a wonderful man to marry, and have her wonderful family with. She couldn’t figure out why her plans weren’t going the way she thought they should…

Albert Einstein tried to figure out why things happened and how. He spent years going down a path just to find out that it didn’t work and then finding a new one that did. He tried to explain the great mysteries of everything, but even he couldn’t figure it all out. He did discover in his theory of relativity that things move relative to each other. He also theorized that in time dilation, time can slow for one person if there is more length between things, and that all objects are in motion and have gravitational attraction to each other. I’m not sure he could have helped Sarah with all her problems but he might have been able to shed some light on things for her. He might have been able to explain to her how when one idea doesn’t work it’s time to move on to a new way of doing things. He might have been able to explain to her a bit about when time slowed down as she was introduced to a certain cowboy. He might even have been able to explain to her about the gravitational attraction that was happening between her and that certain cowboy… But, sometimes even the greatest minds can’t explain why life happens the way it does. We each have to travel the roads in front of us and find out where they take us and live the life we’re meant to live… Sarah finds that out on her own in New Parish…

Excerpt from New Parish:

Chapter 3 – New Parish

“Sarah was quite impressed at the cowboy aptitude of Brother Michael and the other men present. They were able to drive most of the cows toward the entrance of the park and contain them there, but there were three cows that would not cooperate with Brother Michael’s agenda, they were still stubbornly rampaging through the park. Then Sarah saw something she had to do a double take to realize was really happening. It was so surreal, a man on a horse came quickly and proficiently riding into the park after the cows and was expertly gathering them up. The man looked every bit like a cowboy right out of a western movie and immediately made Sarah think of Tom Selleck sitting on his horse, he was tall and tan, with dark hair and mustache with a three or four day showing of whiskers on his face. His hair was a little long and shaggy for this community, where every guy she’d met was sporting short very controlled hair. He was wearing a dingy grey cowboy hat, faded blue button up shirt, a blue paisley bandanna, jeans covered with shotgun chaps, and worn cowboy boots and gloves.

            Sarah had been so mesmerized by the cowboy and what he was doing that she stood there in a stunned daze… she didn’t see the cow coming toward the table she was standing near.        Brother Michael shouted to the cowboy, “What’s going on here Max?”

            The man on the horse shouted back, “I had a few heifers break down a fence and get out, sometime last night. I didn’t know it till this mornin and was rounding ‘em up when some stray dog started yippin at ‘em and they got ahead of me.”

            Brother Michael smiled and said, “Max I’d like to introduce you to, Sarah, from Georgia.”

            Max pulled on the reins of his horse and stopped a few feet away, he smiled and drawled, “Howdy, ma’am.”

            Sarah was completely captivated by this cowboy, she thought his smile was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, his deep blue eyes sparkled – she felt like her head was filled with something sweet and gooey which was slowing her thought processes down. Her brain was stuck on, “Oh my gosh, he’s so gorgeous…”

            Before she could reply to the cowboy’s greeting she heard someone shout, “NO!” The next sound she heard was a dog barking… This inspired the cow that was getting near her to jump, and run, bumping into the table and with a sort of bounce, trip, and run action. It landed on the table with a bang collapsing the legs of the table. At the same time of the table collision the cow bumped into Sarah knocking her to the ground as it ran off toward the playground. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but what happened next made Sarah think of a sitcom situation on a TV show, because this sort of thing doesn’t happen in real life… not in her life.

            Sitting on the ground where the cow had knocked her, Sarah saw the table legs fold under as the table hit the ground with a thud from the weight of the cow and very large metal container that held the hot chocolate – it instantly poured out all over the ground where she was sitting. But Sarah’s main focus was on the punch bowl that had been catapulted into the air from the other end of the table, it was coming right at her with all the red punch it held. The step ladder that had been placed underneath the table for support had worked as a fulcrum to create the catapult for the punch bowl.

            Sarah’s mental faculties returned to her in time for her to put her hands up to prevent the large plastic punch bowl from hitting her head… she was drenched in red punch and the hot chocolate had soaked into the skirt of her dress along with turning her shoes a new color of brown. She felt as though everything had been turned off for a few seconds or slowed to a slow motion state and now it was all back on in vivid living color.”

New Parish available here:

New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com

Also available at:

Barnesandnoble.com

Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)

Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ

Coming soon to many new bookstores!