About the Book
By 1933, the Great Depression has reached its tentacles into the small town of Red Fork, Oklahoma. There, following her oil-magnate father’s fortune-loss and subsequent suicide, Lucie Patton is struggling to discover who she is and where she fits. Wesley, her airplane-flying brother, has no such problem.
The purchase of a combination store and filling station thrust them into a new world of commercial enterprise. Meanwhile, the folks of Red Fork aren’t sure what these two former rich kids are up to.
Readers of the Tulsa Series books will recognize characters who, in this sequel, surround Lucie and Wesley with friendship and encouragement as they transition from millionaire status to slogging it out with the rest of the country.
When a hobo, named Nathan Anderson, chooses to cease “riding the rails,” and remain in Red Fork, interesting past connections to the town begin to weave him tightly into the lives of the Patton siblings.
That’s when things start popping for Lucie.
About the Author
Norma Jean Lutz’s writing career began professionally in 1977 when she enrolled in a writing correspondence course. Since then, she has had over 250 short stories and articles published in both secular and Christian publications. The full-time writer is also the author of over 50 published books under her own name and many ghostwritten books. Her books have been favorably reviewed in Affair de Coeur, Coffee Time Romance, Romance Reader at Heart, and The Romance Studio magazines, and her short fiction has garnered a number of first prizes in local writing contests.
Norma Jean is the founder of the Professionalism In Writing School, which was held annually in Tulsa for fourteen years. This writers’ conference, which closed its doors in 1996, gave many writers their start in the publishing world.
A gifted teacher, Norma Jean has taught a variety of writing courses at local colleges and community schools, and is a frequent speaker at writers’ seminars around the country. For ten years, she taught on staff for the Institute of Children’s Literature. She has served as artist-in-residence at grade schools, and for two years taught a staff development workshop for language arts teachers in schools in Northeastern Oklahoma.
As co-host for the Tulsa KNYD Road Show, she shared the microphone with Kim Spence to present the Road Show Book Club, a feature presented by the station for more than a year. She has also appeared in numerous interviews on KDOR-TV.
Qn 1: Can you tell us more about your book What is it about?
Years ago (1990s), I wrote a 4-title series for Barbour’s Heartsong line. My readers loved the series. A few years ago I retained all rights and brought them out with fresh new covers. While in that process, ideas for a sequel began to form in my mind. I set to work writing Red Fork Roots.
What fun to take the characters from the Tulsa Series and bring them to life once again in a new time era and new setting. Each one seemed to take on a life of his/her own.
Qn 2: Who do you think would be interested in this book, is it directed at any particular market?
First of all, the readers of the 4-title Tulsa Series will love Red Fork Roots. Additionally, all those readers who love history and romance, and long for a story with strong characters and captivating plot, while being clean and wholesome. A story that will never compromise values.
Qn 3: Out of all the books in the world, and all the authors, which are your favourite and why?
Oh my. What a powerful question. I am a voracious reader and have several books going at once. A book that affected me deeply while I was a mere sixth-grader was The Secret Gardenby Frances Hodgson Burnett. My teacher read it aloud and I was smitten. I truly believe that book lit a “writing” spark within my heart.
In today’s fiction, I love and admire Rosmunde Pilcher. That woman knew her craft inside and out. I “study” her writing.
Qn 4: What guidance would you offer to someone new, or trying to enhance their writing?
For many years during my career, I taught at writer workshops, writer conferences, as well as being on staff for the Institute of Children’s Literature for almost 10 years. My mantra was always the same: Read. Read. Read. And write. Write. Write.
You must write a lot of bad in order to write good. (Bad grammar but great advice.)
Qn 5: Where can our readers find out more about you, do you have a website, or a way to be contacted?
www.beanovelist.com
https://njnotations.myshopify.com/
My store has a plethora of blogs that discuss the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot which is the backdrop of the Tulsa Series.)
normajean@beanovelist.com
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