The Gardin Women Return
An Interview with Rosey Lee
In this week’s author Q&A, Rosey Lee discusses her return to the world of The Gardins of Edin in her new sequel, A Gardin Wedding. Rosey shares why Martha Gardin demanded a story of her own, how collaborating with a mental health sensitivity reader brought authenticity to the novel, the personal meaning behind her pen name, and more insights from behind the book.
I was thrilled to get to revisit Edin and the Gardin women in this new book. How did you decide where to take the story next?
Thank you! I didn’t start off planning for a series. But as I wrote The Gardins of Edin, it became obvious that Martha wasn’t the type of character to learn lessons easily. While the other Gardin women made substantial growth by the end of The Gardins of Edin, Martha did just enough to get by. She required more than the space allotted for each woman in the novel, which meant Martha needed another book. Martha is a pretty demanding character, so getting to be the main character in a sequel is on brand for her personality.
I feel a bit like one of Martha's family members—she frustrates me at times, but I love her! Does it feel that way as a writer as you draft scenes where she sometimes gets in her own way?
Absolutely. Martha was my least favorite character to write in the early part of The Gardins of Edin. She became much more fun when I began to see her as an entertaining troublemaker, like someone on reality TV. As I leaned into it, her personality seemed to take on a life of its own. That made it easy to write her scenes, and it created a path to redemption for her character as well.
An essential element of the character growth in your stories centers around healing, therapy, and mental health. I read that you used a sensitivity reader for this thread of the novel. What was that process like?
I would use two words to describe our process—essential and smooth. My mental health sensitivity reader is a licensed professional counselor and an avid reader. We typically start with a conversation, where I provide an overview of the plot and ask questions to gain any clarity that I need before I start writing. Sometimes I have questions about how a therapist might respond during a counseling session or what signs a character would need to show in order to indicate progress. When I’m ready, I share the manuscript with her. Then I make revisions based on the feedback she provides.
Can you share why you decided to use a pen name and the significance behind the name you chose?
I chose my pen name to honor women in my family. It’s a daily reminder of their love, strength, and the example they set for me. And I try to channel that into my writing. My “alter ego” is a physician. She’s much more serious, and she doesn’t have as much fun as Rosey. While my books have health themes, their primary goal is entertainment. So, using a pen name helps me to focus on the differences in priorities.
I know I was eagerly awaiting A Gardin Wedding! What is one book releasing soon that you can't wait to read?
There are two. The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee and Jayne Allen releases this summer. It follows the characters from The Best Man movies and TV series. It picks up where the TV series left off, which is brilliant! The Stories We Carry by Robin W. Pearson comes out in October. It’s about a complicated Southern family, with themes around faith, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Robin’s books are different from The Best Man, but I’m no less excited. I love when authors set their stories in bookstores, and the main character in The Stories We Carry is a bookstore owner. That promises to be fun.
About the Author: Rosey Lee writes stories about complicated families and complex friendships, but a happy ending is guaranteed. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She grew up on the Westbank of New Orleans, Louisiana and carries the area and her loved ones in her heart when she’s away from them. She is the author of The Gardins of Edin and A Gardin Wedding.