While I attempt to get my novel published, I wanted to go ahead and invite you into the story. Many people ask me what the story is about, or ask what inspired it. I intend to use this page to answer some of those questions.
What the Story’s About
Eighty-year-old Eddie Jo Johnson thought she’d buried the past until the past came knocking.
Haunted by the tragic death of her cousin Maddie, Eddie Jo has spent a lifetime trying to keep the guilt and regret at bay. On the day of her eightieth birthday, a series of unsettling events herald the arrival of Enoch Young, presumed dead for sixty-five years, forcing her to relive the past and confront the truth about love, betrayal, and a long-hidden crime. As memories and revelations collide, Eddie Jo must decide if it’s ever too late for redemption and hope.
Fifteen-year-old Eddie Jo has never felt more uncertain of the future than in the summer of 1933. Amid bank closures and farm failures, the citizens of Marcoot, Alabama are eager to accept the lifeline provided by President Roosevelt’s Agricultural Adjustment Act. Everyone, that is, except Eddie Jo’s father, Jack Odom. Labeled a holdout by neighbors and family alike, Jack struggles with the morality of plowing under a viable crop in exchange for a government check. Life on the farm is all Eddie Jo has ever known. What will happen to their way of life if her father doesn’t sign?
Maddie has always been Eddie Jo’s confidante and source of strength until she sets her sights on Gray Brown. As the sweltering days of summer pass, Maddie spends more time with Gray and less with Eddie Jo. Gray’s good looks and charm are only skin deep though, and Eddie Jo worries that Maddie’s infatuation with him will lead to nothing but trouble.
When the girls find the fugitive responsible for a rash of food thefts hiding on the property, they must decide whether to turn him in or show compassion. Eddie Jo’s actions set in motion a chain of events that will alter the course of her life, and Maddie’s, forever.
Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, this story follows Eddie Jo as she comes face to face with the choices that have defined her and discovers it’s never too late to begin again.
The Historical Setting - The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933
The signing of the AAA into law on May 12, 1933, marked a turning point for agriculture in the cotton producing regions of Alabama. After a decade of overproduction and waning markets, the collapse of agricultural prices appeared imminent. As part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal program, the AAA was an attempt to boost the downward spiral of commodity and the failing economy in general.
Eastern Alabama was an area notable for fertile, cotton-suitable soils, making its participation vital to the success of the program. Chambers County was considered among the best cotton counties because of its “gray lands”, soil especially productive for cotton growth.
Farmers were asked to reduce their planted acreage by at least 30% in exchange for subsidies. For the most part, the response among landowners was positive. Many welcomed the federal subsidies, seeing the program as a lifeline, but the enthusiasm wasn’t universal. Those suspicious of federal intervention or dependent on maximizing acreage, hesitated or resisted participation. Other opponents included businessmen, political conservatives, and consumers fearing higher prices. In addition, some ministers denounced the destruction of a maturing crop, believing it to be against God’s will.
Throughout the cotton belt, extension services, county agents, and local committees organized publicity campaigns urging farmers to sign the agreement. Pressure was applied to those who refused to sign. Still, one problem was how to deny benefits of the production control program to non-participating farmers. While they could not receive cash benefits or get loans from the CCC, the resulting higher prices of the government’s actions benefited both those who participated in the program and those who did not.
While the AAA proved successful in raising prices and bringing relief to landowners, it negatively impacted tenant farmers and sharecroppers. In an effort to reduce labor-costs, farmers displaced these workers who made up more than half the farming population in eastern Alabama. Subsidies were paid directly to landowners, allowing them to buy tractors and other equipment that reduced their need for human laborers. Many of Chambers County’s unemployed sharecroppers migrated to nearby cities like Opelika or Lanett in search of mill work reshaping rural demographics and permanently reducing the number of agricultural jobs.
These are the circumstances that plunge my characters into never before experienced situations where their loyalties, their beliefs, and their character is tested. How will they respond?
Podcast Interview
I was recently invited by friend and fellow author, Larry Ninas, to talk about my writing journey on his podcast, “The Writer’s Path”. I also had the opportunity to share a little about this novel, something I love to do.
Click here to hop on over for a listen. While you’re there, check out some of the other author interviews.
If you’d like to learn more about Eddie Jo’s story and receive updates on the journey to share it with the world, be sure to subscribe.