Introducing Beth Dotson Brown

Rooted in Sunrise - hold on to your hearts

This month, we welcome our newest guest Debutante, Beth Dotson Brown and her gripping debut novel of a woman whose life is literally blown away in Rooted in Sunrise.

The Siren

As a tornado siren blared from the center of town, my husband and I ran down to our cellar for shelter. I grew up in Indiana in tornado alley and have lived in Kentucky where twisters also appear out of nowhere. I was familiar with the safety protocols. I had also seen the damage and knew what I could lose.

In the musty cellar, I thought about how I didn’t want my house to blow away. But I also thought: what if I were a different woman, someone who had another reaction to a tornado? What if losing a house freed that woman in a way she could never have predicted? Immediately I knew her name was Ava, and I had to write about her to find out what kind of person would feel that way.

And so, the heroine in my debut novel, Rooted in Sunrise, was born.

Answering the Biggest Question in My Life

A number of years earlier, I answered a question that set me on a serious path to become a novelist. I’d been writing and publishing articles, essays, short stories and poetry for years. However, finding the time to devote to writing a novel had eluded me.

Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A friend told me about a group of complementary care practitioners who offered free services to cancer patients and their families. The first step to using their services was to complete a nine-page intake form Then I made an appointment to meet with the holistic nurse, Hunter.

Before she addressed the intake form, she asked me a question.

If you could do anything with your life, what would you do?

No questions allowed. Anything is possible.

What would you do?

My answer was immediate. I would write novels.

It’s the same answer I would have given ten years earlier, maybe even back when I was in my twenties. What made the question different for me on that day was that I was facing an aggressive, fast-growing cancer. I didn’t know how long I might have to fulfill that dream.

So, I wrote. Ten days after my surgery, I went to an artist’s residency. I worked on turning a short story into a novel.

I returned home feeling renewed. I wrote from my chemotherapy chair during the next several months. I wrote about seeing my grandmother in my own hands and feet that were ravaged by the drugs that were supposed to keep me alive.

I wrote and dreamt and imagined the future and continued forward with the support and prayers of family and friends. When I finally made it to recovery, I continued to write.

Five years and six manuscripts

In five years, I worked on six manuscripts. It felt wonderful and when I was writing, I knew I was doing what I was created to do. I also had to earn a living.. That limited the time I had to devote to my writing.

Then came idea number seven—Ava and the tornado.

Tornado source: Pixaby

During lunch hours and weekends, writing retreats, and time saved from commuting when the pandemic forced us all to stay at home, I worked on the new manuscript. I considered why I hadn’t yet succeeded in publishing a novel and tried to do things differently. I focused on plot. I made sure my characters had flaws. When it was ready, I gave Rooted in Sunrise to my three most trusted readers for their feedback.

I absorbed their comments then identified priorities for the next revision. I continued with energy and optimism because they all said it was a story women would embrace. With that hope, I dug into revision after revision after revision. When I felt like I couldn’t take it any farther on my own, I queried a few agents.

I’ve been at this for so many years that with queries for my first manuscript, I sent self-addressed stamped envelopes with my letter through the mail. The good thing about that system was that I knew I would eventually receive an answer, even if it was a standard rejection note. I’ve been at this for so long that querying has changed significantly. Today, I have to interpret nonanswers from electronic submissions as a no.

In the spirit of doing things differently, I didn’t query agents for months. I began studying small publishers who I could submit to without an agent. I read novels those small publishers had put out and created a list of who might be interested in my novel, and who put out a good product. Then I queried those publishers and in November, I signed a contract with Koehler Books.

My books arrived this month!

It’s a surreal experience to work so hard for so long and finally see my dream come to life. Rooted in Sunrise is the story of Ava, a woman who huddles in the corner of her couch in the basement as a tornado carries her house away. It’s a moment of facing her mortality, something I related to because of my breast cancer experience.

Ava emerges from her home to a new reality. That reality includes questions about her future, plus tension with her daughter, a mysterious suitcase in her yard, and friends who require Ava to be brave. I see Rooted in Sunrise as a story of learning to change and discovering what is most important. Early readers have called it a tale of resilience and a coming-of-age story for women at mid-life.

I’m now 19 years cancer free, and I’m still thinking about that question: If you could do anything with your life, what would you do?

Part of my story came full circle at the beginning of September when my husband and I went to an evening with the Lexington Philharmonic at Josephine Sculpture Park in Frankfort, Kentucky. We’d only been in the park for a few minutes when I spotted Hunter, the holistic nurse who had asked me the question. I hadn’t seen her for years. That was my opportunity to share with her how her question had motivated me for years, and to celebrate Rooted in Sunrise with her.

She tells me it’s a question she still asks.

So be still. Ask yourself:  If you could do anything with your life, what would you do?

Now go do it.

Connect with Beth

Beth Dotson Brown

Insta:@writerbethadb

FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556252197701

Website: https://www.bethdotsonbrown.com