Tidewater Summer: A 1950s Sweet Southern Romance

By Jo Huddleston

Description:

A compelling story of one woman’s pursuit of restoration from physical abuse at the hands of her fiancé. Rose Marie Henley’s Great-Aunt Clara convinces Rose to spend the summer at her South Carolina beach house. Aunt Clara’s handyman sends his nephew to repair Rose’s water heater. Last year Rose would have been excited to see his over-the-top handsome nephew, Frank Sutton. But now she doesn’t want any man in her life again. Frank has an instant attraction to Rose. Can he break through her defenses? He’ll do anything to protect her, but will she open her heart to trust him?

Book Takeaway:

While I wrote Tidewater Summer, and my heroine, Rose, confronted her abuse and fears, I drew strength from two scripture verses. Then, in turn, Rose brought one of these verses into her pursuit of restoration and it helped her to draw closer to God. I would hope readers of this novel will identify with Rose and also see the need to draw closer to God and friends when struggling with any problems. (The two verses are: Ecclesiastes 4:12 and Galatians 6:2).

Why the author wrote this book:

I’ve loved being at the beach-any beach-since the first time my parents took me when I was preschool age. Time at the beach always makes my troubles lighten while there. I wanted to set a story on a beach and thought about a heroine who might go to the beach for restoration from whatever problem she had. I write novels set in the 1950s, so I came up with my heroine’s problem of physical abuse at the hands of her fiancé. In the 1950s, the attitude toward abuse was often to ignore it or to blame the victim. I started with the above and my characters grabbed the story and ran with it.