JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS! Johnnie Come Lately by Kathleen M.
Rodgers is AVAILABLE
NOW!
He was her savior and she was his saint. But
sometimes, even saints kept secrets.
In an effort to save her son, Johnnie Kitchen
exposes a deeply hidden secret that tears her family apart. Still haunted by
her mama’s disappearance and her father’s death in Vietnam, she turns to the
comfort of her journal, penning irreverent letters to the missing… and the
dead. Her youngest son enlists in the military as the United States is involved
in two bloody wars; fear grips her soul on all fronts. Rebuffed in her efforts
to repair the damage she’s inflicted on her marriage, Johnnie finds herself trapped
in a terrifying emotional spiral that threatens to trigger a relapse of the
bulimia that almost killed her. A midst sightings of her mysterious mama, an
odd new neighbor, a granny who knows all yet tells nothing and Bubba Dog who is
her constant companion and best friend, will Johnnie succumb or survive?
“With Johnnie Come Lately,
Kathleen Rodgers has crafted a story that hits every emotion and is, in many
ways, cathartic. This deeply-felt family drama resonates on multiple levels,
ultimately leaving you inspired.”
— Angela Ebron is a former magazine editor and the
author of Blessed Health: The African-American Woman’s
Guide to Physical and Spiritual Health
“Johnnie Come Lately is a thoroughly compelling story of a
family in crisis. Rodgers has combined humor, tragedy and ultimately love, in
what is an uplifting story of the human spirit. There were times that I laughed
and cried and shouted for joy, and I am not ashamed to say it.”
— Dwight Jon Zimmerman, New York Times #1
bestselling and award-winning author, Lincoln’s Last Days,
radio show host, producer, and president of the Military Writers Society of
America;
“Kathleen M. Rodgers captures several
life-changing events in Johnnie Come Lately with
empathy, seriousness and humor. Her characters are well-defined; her plot
is very credible and her use of schemes to further her story all combine to
make this a completely entertaining read.”
— Katherine Boyer, Retired
Librarian and Book Reviewer
“Johnnie Come Lately evokes
the pathos of family life—secrets, betrayals, misunderstandings, heartbreak,
and just enough love and forgiveness to make it all worth it. Kathleen M.
Rodgers treats her haunted characters with keen insight and empathy, offering
them the second, third, fourth chances that all of us flawed human beings
need.”
“Johnnie Come Lately is
why humans have gathered for eons around the fires to listen to the
Storyteller. Kathleen M. Rodgers masterfully unfolds the faded, damaged
petals of her flawed characters to reveal their glorious essence in this
gripping story about the soul’s risk and its inevitable redemption.”
— Parris Afton Bonds, New York Times bestselling
author of Deep Purple &
cofounder of Romance Writers of America and Southwest Writers Workshop
“A beautifully crafted story about family
secrets and second chances, Johnnie Come Lately is
a guaranteed book club favorite. Former bulimic, Johnnie Kitchen, battles
insecurity and doubt but never lets failure win. I loved her imperfections; I
marveled at her strength. Reminding us of the true nature of courage, Johnnie
is one of the best heroines I’ve met in years.”
—- Barbara
Claypole White, author of The In-Between Hour, The Unfinished Garden and Easy to Love, but Hard to Raise
