when the morning glory blooms, by Cynthia Ruchti, 2013, Abingdon Press

when the morning glory blooms isn’t about morning glories. But they do thread through this novel. The morning glories represent life and seeds of life.

It’s about Single Mothers

The novel centres around unwed mothers from the 1890s to present times. Starting from the point of view of the mother of a teen mom in 2012, it jumps back and forth between that family and their friends, a young pregnant single woman in 1951, and an elderly woman telling her story of starting a home for unwed mothers in the 1890s. It’s interesting to see what has changed over time and what has stayed much the same.

The author

Cynthia Ruchti is an acclaimed author and speaker, and is now an agent with Books & Such Agency as well. I met her online a year ago when I attended the American Christian Fiction Writers Zoom conference, and I asked for an interview regarding the novel I’ve been working toward getting published. I didn’t know at the time that she had also written a novel centred around a teen mom. I’ve been meaning to read it ever since she told me about it. What a privilege and honour to have had that opportunity to communicate with her. Of course my first-time, as yet unpublished novel cannot compare with hers. But I so appreciate her feedback and tips, and am glad now to have read her novel along the same theme.

Sort of the same, but not exactly (as the saying goes)

when the morning glory blooms portrays lives of single mothers over three eras, whereas my novel sticks to the contemporary experiences of one particular teen mom. Both include the mother of the teen as one of the ‘pov’ (Point of View) characters, but in her novel the teen mother is not a pov character, whereas in my novel she is the Main Character. Both of our books portray the stress the family goes through, and the sometimes hypocritical reactions of the church.

While my novel begins with the Main Character as an adult reflecting back on her teen years, then goes back to tell her story, when the morning glory blooms jumps back and forth between three time periods and stories throughout the book.

I love desciption in a novel. Cynthia Ruchti uses many similes in this story to make the writing vivid. I’m not so adept at that; my description is pretty straightforward. Perhaps I need to use more similes, but they tend to throw my thoughts off the storyline.

We all got here through pregnancy

Since the beginning of time, pregnancy has been how the earth is populated, whether within the parameters of marriage or not. Every one of us has made mistakes and needs God’s grace. Unwed mothers and their babies particularly need the help and support of the church and their families. I recommend reading when the morning glory blooms to gain an inside view of such situations.

If you live here in Nanaimo and attend First Baptist Church, you can borrow when the morning glory blooms from the library. I asked if they had it, so they ordered it. Thank you Juanita.

To learn more about Cynthia Ruchti, visit www.cynthiaruchti.com.

Visit www.AbingdonPress.com to sign up for their fiction newsletter, read author interviews, and post a comment about when the morning glory blooms.

See my review and others on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4970713366.