Gods In Alabama

Gods In Alabama

Adult fiction
"I made a deal with God two years before I left there
[Alabama]. At the time, I thought He made out pretty well. I offered
him a three-for-one deal: all He had to do was perform a miracle. He
fulfilled his end of the bargain, so I kept my three promises
faithfully, no matter what the cost. I held our deal as sacred for
twelve solid years. But that was before God let Rose Mae Lolley show
up on my doorstep, dragging my ghosts and her considerable baggage
with her."
The deal that Arlene, protagonist of Joshilyn Jackson's Gods In
Alabama, has made with God is sort of unusual. The miracle she needs
the Almighty to perform is making sure nobody discovers the corpse of
the guy she killed her sophomore year in high school. In return she
promises to quit fornicating and lying and to stay away from her
Alabama home town.
She's kept her end of the bargain. She's been meticulously
truthful. She keeps boyfriend, Burr, very thwarted in his attempts at
intimacy. And in the nine years since high school graduation she's
never been home--not even for a weekend.
But her promises are about to be sorely tested. Her Aunt
Florence is nagging her to make an appearance at her Uncle Bruster's
retirement party. Burr decides he wants to accompany her, not really
such a good idea since he's Black. Then high school acquaintance Rose
appears on Arlene's door step in search of Jim Beverly, the guy Arlene
killed in a fit of anger. It turns out Rose is planning to drop in on
Arlene's cousin, Clarice, in her quest to solve the mystery of Jim's
disappearance. Arlene knows she has to somehow deter her.
Join Arlene and Burr on their road trip. As Arlene and her
kinfolkd wrestle with her changed identity, she learns a lot about the
people with whom she spent her growing up years. There are a lot of
surprises...
...including the possibility that she may not have been the one
who killed Jim Beverley.
On a purrrsonal note, this is a very special day for me. My beautiful
and super smart daughter (who just got her PhD and married her
undergrad sweetheart) turns 30. I hope it will be a good day for her
despite the less than ideal pandemic circumstances. Having this
wonderful, unique, amazing person in my life for three decades has
been such a blessing. Our daily phone calls in this time of so much
isolation really help keep my spirits up. (Jules)
Happy birthday to my hooman big sister! I hope I will someday see her
again in purrrson, not just on zoom. Zoom is confusing. Hoomans are
there but they aren't there. Where are they? (Tobago)
A great big shout out, with best wishes for a wonderful birthday, goes
out to our one and only Amber!!!
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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