In this chapter, Reta describes the genesis of her first novel My Thyme is Up. She relates its surprising success and its winning of the Offenden Prize a year previously. It was widely hailed as a "sunny" novel, but Reta dislikes the idea of being perceived as a sunny person. She feels a greater sense of affinity for Danielle Westerman's belief that everyone has a dark side and that truth is the fruit of acknowledging the presence of that darkness. Reta has some difficulty rejoicing in the success of her first novel.
During a short book-signing tour in Washington, D.C. that year, Reta had decided to go shopping in the tiny boutique district of Georgetown. Her daughter, Norah, would be celebrating her seventeenth birthday a week later and had expressed her desire for a.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 579 words. This
study guide contains 22,893 words (approx. 76 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our Unless Access Pass.
