Rose Mae Lolley is a fierce and dirty girl, long-suppressed under flowery skirts and bow-trimmed ballet flats. As “Mrs. Ro Grandee” she’s trapped in a marriage that’s thick with love and sick with abuse. Her true self has been bound in the chains of marital bliss in rural Texas, letting “Ro” make eggs, iron shirts, and take her punches. She seems doomed to spend the rest of her life battered outside by her husband and inside by her former self, until fate throws her in the path of an airport gypsy—one who shares her past and knows her future. The tarot cards foretell that Rose’s beautiful, abusive husband is going to kill her. Unless she kills him first.

Hot-blooded Rose Mae escapes from under Ro’s perky compliance and emerges with a gun and a plan to beat the hand she’s been dealt. Following messages that her long-missing mother has left hidden for her in graffiti and behind paintings, Rose and her dog Gretel set out from Amarillo, TX back to her hometown of Fruiton, AL, and then on to California, unearthing a host of family secrets as she goes. Running for her life, she realizes that she must face her past in order to overcome her fate—death by marriage—and become a girl who is strong enough to save herself from the one who loves her best.

BACKSEAT SAINTS will dazzle readers with a fresh and heartwrenching portrayal of the lengths a mother will go to right the wrongs she’s created, and how far a daughter will go to escape the demands of forgiveness. With the seed of a minor character from her popular best-seller, GODS IN ALABAMA, Jackson has built a whole new story full of her trademark sly wit, endearingly off-kilter characters, and utterly riveting plot twists.

Joshilyn Jackson writes real, raw and emotional stories about flawed women and the powers of faith. In her latest novel, Backseat Saints, Rose Mae Lolley has lived a bleak life. Abandoned by her mother and raised by an abusive father, Rose has become hardened and tough. When a gypsy tells her that she is going to be killed by her abusive husband unless she kills him first, Rose has no choice but to act. When her plans backfire, Rose is forced to run. As the saying goes, women are like tea bags, you don’t know how strong they are until you put them in hot water. This is exactly what Jackson does with Rose Mae. The strength of Jackson’s characters lie in their ability to overcome obstacles, rise above difficulty and hardship and stay true to themselves. Her novels are riveting, emotional and passionate and this one is not to be missed.

Great advice for aspiring writers – Ask Allison

Fantastic review site with personal anecdotes mixed in – So Many Books, So Little Time

Began as a resolution to read 52 books in 52 weeks turned into so much more – Literate Housewife

(she’s also planning on starting up her book club again!)

Sweet tidbits of the literary world – The Things We Read

Great author blog – Joshilyn Jackson

Great YA author blog – Meg Cabot

For short and thoughtful reviews – Literary License

For the bibliophiles – Devourer of Books