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Amy K. Sorrells | A Time in Seasons
March 7, 2014
"No! It's not time—you gotta go back!" I wanted to wrap my hands around
the tender green, pointed tops of the crocuses and daffodils poking through last
year's mulch, intent on emerging despite the six inches of show that fell on
them last week. They're not the only ones impatient for flip-flop and jacket
weather, for planting pansies in pots on our front door stoops, for dogs and
kids to fill the streets with laughter after this unusually severe and
relentless Midwest winter.  A recent reader of my debut
novel, HOW SWEET THE
SOUND, commented on how she felt like one of the more prominent themes of
the book is about emergence, and indeed, the characters in my novel have a lot
to say about emerging: emerging from pain, emerging from the past, emerging from
strongholds and insecurities and long untended soul wounds. For many, discarding
woolen socks for flip-flops is the bravest sort of emergence manageable when
we've been hurt and betrayed. Stretching toward the warmth of the spring sun
feels more like yanking too hard on swollen, arthritic joints when grief causes
us to hunker down in dark isolation for too long.
In spite of all they go through, some of the characters in HOW SWEET THE SOUND do
realize the possibility of emerging from tragedy. Some of them don't. Whether or
not a character realizes this depends partly on their willingness to push up
through the darkness and reach toward hope. Others need the help of friends who
never give up on them. Still others don't at all. Brokenness and grief can feel like the coldest, loneliest of winters, until we
realize we aren't alone. The friends and characters you'll meet in HOW SWEET THE SOUND do just
that, even as the tulips and narcissus, peony and hyacinths push up all around
our homes in the next few weeks. Even the snow can't contain hope. Especially in
the pecan-laden, rolling hills of southwest Alabama, the setting of HOW SWEET THE SOUND. Bio: An Indianapolis native and graduate of DePauw University, Amy lives with
her husband and three sons in central Indiana. A former weekly newspaper
columnist, her award-winning book, HOW SWEET THE SOUND,
released March 1. Are you seeing signs of spring in your gardens yet? What is a favorite literary
character of yours who has demonstrated the possibility of hope, either to
supporting characters in the story, or to you, the reader? One commenter will
win a copy of HOW SWEET THE
SOUND, along with a pecan sampler just like the ones they grow in Bay
Spring, Alabama!.
Comments
20 comments posted.
Re: Amy K. Sorrells | A Time in Seasons
mine goes way back to an old book the secret garden..the little girl was mary lennox..and if you remember it all worked out well for her..and many years later i had my own secret garden and i always thought if you wished hard enough..sometimes it does come true...
(Mal Kaplan 7:55am March 7, 2014)
Where I live, I have not seen any signs of life yet, other than the new birds who have been migrating to our area, which we feed every day!! As for characters of hope, the best one who I have patterned my life after would be Helen Keller. I read her Autobiography when I was a young girl, after seeing The Miracle Worker on tv, and wanted to learn more about her. She truly was a remarkable woman, who didn't let her disabilities get in her way. Little did I know that, years later, I would be facing health issues of my own. I think back to obstacles that she faced, and that gave me strength to face my own issues!!
(Peggy Roberson 8:15am March 7, 2014)
My sign of spring? I left the house without a coat this morning! I was tempted to forgo the socks as well, but I'm not that brave...or young.
(Amy Magan 8:46am March 7, 2014)
Spring is here since winter never arrived. Atticus Finch is
my character of hope and resolute bravery.
(Sharon Berger 11:10am March 7, 2014)
I know that Spring is here when I smell the sweet fragrance
of flowers!
(Maria Proctor 11:48am March 7, 2014)
The signs of spring have not yet begun here. Usually it's crocus this time of year, but with 10 feet of snow piled all over the place it's hard for them to poke through. OK, I might be exaggerating about the height of the snow, but it seems like 10 feet.
(Vennie Martinisi 1:08pm March 7, 2014)
My grand daughter saw a robin in the yard this morning. Yea spring is here!
(Denise Austin 2:24pm March 7, 2014)
The ice is melting so Spring cannot be far away - the daffodils are starting
to pop up :)
Favorite literary character who demonstrated hope is John Baxter
(Sharon Timmer 4:29pm March 7, 2014)
No signs of spring here yet unless you count the freezing drizzle we got this morning as a sign of spring.
(Sue Farrell 6:28pm March 7, 2014)
It just so hard to see spring in Los Angeles. The weather here most of the time is nice and sunny.
I would have to say the Knights of the Round Table. They uses might to right the wrong and to bring hope and justice to Camelot. They are what legends describe them to be.
(Kai Wong 10:11pm March 7, 2014)
Yes to Spring, I spent the day outside with my grandsons and I didn't need to wear a sweater.
(Rita Wray 11:22pm March 7, 2014)
No signs of Spring here in Michigan, but I look forward to the daffodils and the bird songs.
(Marcy Shuler 12:01pm March 8, 2014)
I'm seeing lots of trees blooming out.
(Theresa Norris 7:50am March 8, 2014)
No signs of Spring here in Wisconsin, but it is warming up and slowly melting down some of our 4-5 ft. piles of snow in our yards and at the end of our driveways. It was 40 degrees yesterday and 30 today, so that's helping. Once, we can see the ground again, there may be hope to see flowers popping out of the ground! I've seen plenty of cardinals in my backyard all winter and a couple days ago, a woodpecker, but no robins yet!
(Linda Luinstra 4:24pm March 8, 2014)
I do love it when the flowers begin to bloom. I can't think
of a literary character off hand that fits the description.
(Mary Preston 6:28am March 9, 2014)
I am looking forward to the flowers coming up. I have Easter Lilies coming up now.
(Judy Ferguson 10:17am March 9, 2014)
I live in South Florida and Spring is a time of the re-awakening of the big puffy summer clouds! The greens get greener and the flowering plants once again gain our attention!
(Betty Hamilton 12:46pm March 9, 2014)
My daffodils are poking up and the dogwood buds are swelling.
My favorite hopeful character is Scarlet O'Hara--tomorrow is
always a new opportunity for her.
(Janet Martin 1:47pm March 9, 2014)
when the grass start getting green and my mother in law
starts asking about mowing the lawn XD
(Sarah Hansrote 2:44am March 12, 2014)
Spring is hiding, but I saw a few bright flowers that were
mysteriously caught on a log in a brook at the Nature Center
today. At first, I thought they were crocus, but then one
looked like a white aster. I can't wait for the bluets to
come up in my front lawn - hate to cut the grass and their
heads off. My favorite hopeful character is Anne Frank and
her patch of sky and the birds she watched fly freely.
(Alyson Widen 6:54pm March 14, 2014)
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