Amanda Cox made a splash with her well received debut novel, The Edge of Belonging. She returns with the wonderfully titled The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery, which is also one of my favorite cover designs of this season. It’s is mysterious, simple, and inviting.
I’m grateful to Revell for providing a copy to give away as we celebrate the release of Amanda’s novel with a character spotlight on the three generations of women who grace the pages of this story.
Thank you to Amanda for this story, and for introducing us to Glory Ann, Rosemary, and Sarah.
Over to you, Amanda…
After tragedy plunges Sarah Ashby into grief and unresolved anger, she decides to return to her hometown to follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces that she is planning on closing the store.
The present time line weaves with the past when Sarah tries to uncover the real reason behind her mother’s decision but instead stumbles across a love letter intended for her grandmother. Each woman must face how their lives have been altered by false information and secrets and discover the healing power of telling the truth.
Meet Glory Ann, Rosemary & Sarah
Glory Ann
The matriarch of Old Depot Grocery
Physical Stats
Height: Petite
Hair colour & style: As a girl, she had perfectly coiffed dark curls. Now that she is in her seventies, she wears her gray hair in a bun.
Eye colour: Brown
Dress sense: Growing up she was always taught to look her best and wear the right clothes for the occasion. Adult Glory Ann is far less concerned about what other people think and goes for function over form.
Resembles…
I picture young Glory Ann resembling actress Nannette Fabray
Can’t live without…
Old Depot Grocery
Strengths:
Refusing to quit when times get tough.
Vulnerabilities:
Doesn’t know how to be vulnerable. She’s long been taught to hide the “ugly” parts of life.
Passions:
Serving her community
What book would they recommend?
I get the feeling that Glory Ann would enjoy Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.
Your inspiration for the character
I would say that Glory Ann is a
composite of several strong-willed Southern women that I know.
Rosemary
Glory Ann’s daughter, Sarah’s mother
Physical Stats:
Height: Average
Hair colour & style: Blonde curls. She wore it long as a girl. In the present day, she wears it shorter to keep things simple.
Eye colour: Blue eyes
Dress sense: Practical. She keeps her feet comfy in her Keds.
Resembles…
That is a bit of a secret in the book…who she really resembles ;). I picture her looking a lot like actress Amanda Peterson as a teenager/young woman.
Can’t live without…
Making sure the people in her life are taken care of.
Strengths:
She has a high sense of duty.
Vulnerabilities:
She tends to try and control situations and push others into what she thinks is best for them.
Passions:
She’s always wanted to travel, but she never made that dream a reality.
What book would they recommend?
1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Though she’s never seen any of them, she’d want others to go on the adventures she’s never experienced.
Your inspiration for the character:
Rosemary is a product of the people who raised her and her life experiences. I spent a lot of time thinking through how her early childhood and perceptions about life would have shaped her.
Sarah
Glory Ann’s Granddaughter, Rosemary’s Daughter
Physical Stats
Height: Average height
Hair colour & style: Long blonde hair
Eye colour: Blue eyes
Dress sense: She’s used to wearing designer clothes, but finds she’s far more comfortable in her Old Depot Grocery T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
Resembles…
Her mother. Though she knows how to dress the part of a socialite she still has an effortless girl next door look about her.
Can’t live without…
Old Depot Grocery. If she can’t go back to the girl she was when she left Old Depot, how will she ever figure out her next steps in a life that has gone off the rails?
Strengths:
She doesn’t give up easily. She comes from a line of strong, stubborn southern women.
Vulnerabilities:
After the life she’d been building gets stripped away, she’s not quite sure who she is underneath it all.
Passions:
Old Depot Grocery. She left it behind years ago, but now sees what a mistake it was to believe her dreams were too small.
What book would they recommend?
Any good biography. She loves hearing people’s stories. There are a few stories from her family history she’d like to know more about, but her mother stays tight-lipped about them. She has a strong belief that if you know the past you can make better sense of the present.
Your inspiration for the character:
Sarah’s character was inspired by her heritage. The people who raised her have had a big influence on the choices she’s made in life, as well as her resilience when life doesn’t go as expected.
Background to the story
Old Depot Grocery was named after a real store my grandmother owned. I had a lot of fun bringing the store back to life in this book, allowing it to become a character in its own right as it changes through the years, bearing witness to the fictional lives of the characters I created.
Amanda Cox is the author of The Edge of Belonging. A blogger and a curriculum developer for a national nonprofit youth leadership organization, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Bible and theology and a master’s degree in professional counseling, but her first love is communicating through story. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband and their three children. Learn more at AmandaCoxWrites.com.
We had a small grocery store quite like the Old Depot Grocery about 2 blocks from us. I remember going there for penny candy–when we could actually get some candy for a penny!
We did really have any special grocery stores or anything that I really remember from childhood. I do remember a cute little shop that sold some of my favorite stuffed animals though.
When I was a young girl we lived on a farm outside of a tiny town. There was a small store with a little space in a front corner that served as the post office. I think it was mainly a grocery store but really can’t remember. After the owner retired, the store closed.
There was a Dutch imports “country store“ a few miles from where I grew up. It was always such a treat to go! They sold gorgeous porcelain figurines, cuckoo clocks, and other “touch me nots”, but they also had brightly wrapped candies in baskets down low for kids to find. We would usually get a ring of trail bologna and some cheese for a picnic or snack, but we could also count on a quarter to pick out some candies if we were especially good!
When we lived in Jordan, MT we used to stop at Baan Wille”s store on the way home from school sometimes and buy candy. He had groceries, household, and ranch items.
But that has changed little since January 2022, when the US was at the top of the Omicron surge.
And fewer than 3 in 10 adults (28%) have gotten their updated Covid-19 booster shot, in line with the KFF survey.
Groups at increased threat for severe outcomes from Covid-19 — including seniors,
folks with weakened immune techniques and Black and Hispanic adults — have been extra prone to
say that they’ve taken precautionary measures to protect themselves
this winter. Also, Democrats were about twice as probably as Republicans to take these
precautionary measures and to have gotten the up to date booster shot.
Of adults who’ve gotten the updated booster, the overwhelming
majority say that getting one other booster shot is
a precedence for them. Of those that haven’t gotten the updated booster, about
half say they’ve enough safety from previous shots or a prior infection. Federal information shows that
new hospital admissions for the three respiratory viruses have been trending down for weeks.
Regardless of the decrease, thousands of hospitalizations for Covid-19 and flu have been reported final week.
Enroll here to get The outcomes Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta each Tuesday from the CNN
Well being staff. Final month, a panel of unbiased specialists that advises the US Meals
and Drug Administration on its vaccine selections voted unanimously to update all
Covid-19 vaccines so that they comprise the identical substances as
the two-pressure photographs that are actually used as booster doses.
Total, data offered to the committee advised a bonus of the
brand new bivalent shots over the original single-strain photographs, convincing even skeptics on the
panel of their advantages.
RT @LynetteEason: FINAL DAYS to get Defending Honor for just $4.99 before the ebook increases to its retail price of $7.99 shortly after re…08:55:29 AM October 03, 2022
September 23, 2021 at 1:47 am
I always loved going into Woolworth’s. Grandpa always bought peanut clusters and would sometimes get us drinks from the fountain 🙂
September 23, 2021 at 3:55 am
We had a small grocery store quite like the Old Depot Grocery about 2 blocks from us. I remember going there for penny candy–when we could actually get some candy for a penny!
September 23, 2021 at 6:55 am
We did really have any special grocery stores or anything that I really remember from childhood. I do remember a cute little shop that sold some of my favorite stuffed animals though.
September 23, 2021 at 8:03 am
“Peery’s Store in Buell, Missouri, was a little grocery store in a town with about a dozen houses!
September 23, 2021 at 10:46 am
When I was a young girl we lived on a farm outside of a tiny town. There was a small store with a little space in a front corner that served as the post office. I think it was mainly a grocery store but really can’t remember. After the owner retired, the store closed.
September 23, 2021 at 10:53 pm
We had a small country store in our community that I loved to go to as a kid. It was also the post office.
September 24, 2021 at 8:50 am
My favorite book this year.
September 24, 2021 at 12:39 pm
There was a Dutch imports “country store“ a few miles from where I grew up. It was always such a treat to go! They sold gorgeous porcelain figurines, cuckoo clocks, and other “touch me nots”, but they also had brightly wrapped candies in baskets down low for kids to find. We would usually get a ring of trail bologna and some cheese for a picnic or snack, but we could also count on a quarter to pick out some candies if we were especially good!
September 24, 2021 at 9:03 pm
When we lived in Jordan, MT we used to stop at Baan Wille”s store on the way home from school sometimes and buy candy. He had groceries, household, and ranch items.
September 25, 2021 at 11:06 pm
Actually, my g-aunt and g-uncle operated a little grocery/dry goods store in a small town….this would have been in the 1940’s-1960’s.
September 26, 2021 at 9:37 am
cool
October 29, 2021 at 12:47 pm
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May 18, 2022 at 5:48 pm
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Thanks!
February 27, 2023 at 8:01 pm
But that has changed little since January 2022, when the US was at the top of the Omicron surge.
And fewer than 3 in 10 adults (28%) have gotten their updated Covid-19 booster shot, in line with the KFF survey.
Groups at increased threat for severe outcomes from Covid-19 — including seniors,
folks with weakened immune techniques and Black and Hispanic adults — have been extra prone to
say that they’ve taken precautionary measures to protect themselves
this winter. Also, Democrats were about twice as probably as Republicans to take these
precautionary measures and to have gotten the up to date booster shot.
Of adults who’ve gotten the updated booster, the overwhelming
majority say that getting one other booster shot is
a precedence for them. Of those that haven’t gotten the updated booster, about
half say they’ve enough safety from previous shots or a prior infection. Federal information shows that
new hospital admissions for the three respiratory viruses have been trending down for weeks.
Regardless of the decrease, thousands of hospitalizations for Covid-19 and flu have been reported final week.
Enroll here to get The outcomes Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta each Tuesday from the CNN
Well being staff. Final month, a panel of unbiased specialists that advises the US Meals
and Drug Administration on its vaccine selections voted unanimously to update all
Covid-19 vaccines so that they comprise the identical substances as
the two-pressure photographs that are actually used as booster doses.
Total, data offered to the committee advised a bonus of the
brand new bivalent shots over the original single-strain photographs, convincing even skeptics on the
panel of their advantages.
November 29, 2023 at 8:54 am
You actually revealed it perfectly.