“Seven Wings to Glory,” by former ENMU student Kathleen M. Rodgers, will be released by Camel Press on April 1. The author, whose maiden name is Kathy Doran, grew up in Clovis and now resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
“Sometimes small towns harbor big secrets. And sometimes things just can’t be explained,” Rodgers said in teasing the book.
The book follows Johnnie Kitchen from Rodgers’ second novel, “Johnnie Come Lately.”
Kitchen is finally living her dream, attending college and writing a column for the local paper. She adores her husband, Dale, and chocolate Labrador, Brother Dog, and they reside in a comfortable home in the small town of Portion in North Texas. Their three children are thriving and nearly grown.
But Johnnie is rattled when her youngest boy, Cade, goes to fight in Afghanistan. The less frequent his emails, the more she frets for his safety. On the home front, Johnnie learns that Portion is not the forward-thinking town she believed. A boy Cade’s age, inflamed by a liberal bumper sticker and the sight of Johnnie’s black friend Whit, attacks them with the N-word and a beer bottle.
After Johnnie writes about the incident in her column, a man named Roosevelt reaches out with shameful stories from Portion’s untold history. More tears and triumphs follow, as Kitchen’s eyes are opened to man’s capacity for hate and the power of love and forgiveness.
Ann Hite, award-winning author of “Sleeping Above Chaos,” wrote of “Seven Wings to Glory”: “Johnnie Kitchen is the kind of character all fiction writers dream of creating. Kathleen Rodgers is a master at writing women’s fiction and proves it in her new novel, Seven Wings To Glory. A rich, timely story of love and strength.”
The print edition will be available on Amazon, B&N, and other online retailers on April 1. The Kindle and Nook editions are out now.
Rodgers is giving an informal talk and reading at Clovis’ Carver Library from noon-1 p.m. on Friday, May 12. The public is invited.
The Clovis Municipal Schools Foundation and Alumni Committee are honoring her at a banquet on May 13 in the Sports & Entertainment Category.
Rodgers enjoys hearing from readers. Please visit her website at (www.kathleenMRodgers.com).
