About the Book

Book: Sylvia’s Mother

Author: Jennifer Lynn Cary

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: February 26, 2023

She’s an overprotective single mother…

…He’s a former protector who can’t give up the role.

But who will guard their hearts from scheming high school matchmakers?

Eileen Avery is determined her daughter Sylvia won’t experience the heartaches she did. Even if it means taking parenting lessons from her mother, the dragon lady. But she is not like her mother. Not even remotely.

If only Sylvia could see that.

But she wants independence. How much is a good thing? And how much is too risky?

Besides, Sylvia is in love and needing a little freedom. It’s not like she’s about to run away to a commune and become a hippy. However, she is willing to try about anything to get her mom to loosen up, even play matchmaker. Maybe if her mother had her own love life, she’d quite trying to put Sylvia’s under a microscope.

But will it all blow up in her face?

Seth Matthews thought he’d said goodbye to Kokomo until an on-the-job injury with the FBI changed his plans. This town holds more than his family, and those memories had better stay buried for all concerned. But how was he to put his honed instincts on the back burner and stop safeguarding the ones closest to him?

He was willing to help his family with almost anything. But pretending interest in some woman to help with his nephew’s romantic endeavors? That was one thing he couldn’t see himself doing.

Until he realizes there was more than coincidence at play.

Forget about Women’s Lib. Return to 1972 Kokomo, Indiana for the second installment of The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series—Sylvia’s Mother—and the fight for personal independence. Join Sylvia, her mother, Eileen, and the kooky mix ups that all point to romance in this small town romp. If you enjoyed the Weather Girls and Judy in Disguise, then this book is a must read.

You will love Sylvia’s Mother, inspired by the pop 1960s song by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, because everyone dreams of a second chance with a first love.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Historical Christian Romance author, Jennifer Lynn Cary, likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty plus years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small-town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren.

She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series, The Relentless series, and The Weather Girls trilogy as well as the stand-alone novel, Cheryl’s Going Home, her novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café, and her split-time novels The Traveling Prayer Shawl and The Forgotten Gratitude Journal. Sylvia’s Mother is the second book of her spin-off series The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue.

Author Interview with Jennifer

Q: What was the inspiration behind this novel?

Jennifer: The inspiration for the setting was my high school in my hometown of Kokomo, Indiana. We moved after my sophomore year, or I would have been in the 100th graduating class of KHS WildKats. I remember the buildings and activities and it was fun to contact classmates to ask them questions—“Do you remember?” My yearbooks sure got a workout.

Q: What was the most surprising thing you discovered while researching and writing this novel?

Jennifer: The biggest surprise happened before I started to write this book. I had an idea of doing a spin-off series from my Weather Girls trilogy. Each book would be a standalone but would have certain elements from the first series—the mansion, the sycamore, and of course, the cardinal. I also wanted to use song titles from the 1960s that had girls’ names in them to name the books. I got a lot of inspiration from oldies music and enjoyed looking up some of the DJs who worked for WLS in Chicago—that’s what I always listened to.

Anyway, Chuck Buell was one of those DJs and I found an interview where he told the story of hanging out with the lead singer of Dr Hook and the Medicine Show while in Monterey, California. The lead singer, Dennis Locorriere, asked him if he wanted to meet the guy who wrote the lyrics to “Cover of the Rolling Stone” and “Sylvia’s Mother.” Turned out the guy lived on a houseboat close by. Dennis introduced Chuck to Shel Silverstein. I couldn’t believe it. I was a teacher and had raised four kids. So, of course, I knew Shel Silverstein’s work—The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic. Then I learned he’d also written “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash. Yeah, that was my big surprise. Now when I hear any of those songs, I definitely hear Shel Silverstein’s cadence.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote from this novel?

Jennifer: I do. And it makes me giggle. “A whole lot of awkward going on.” I know, but it amuses me.

Q: Would you share something about yourself that most readers wouldn’t know?

Jennifer: I was not the easiest child. Those who loved me used terms like precocious or active. My cousin, who I adored, had started taking piano lessons and I wanted to do everything she did, even if she was four years older than me. So, the piano teacher said if I learned the alphabet, I could start. I did, and at the age of 4, I began lessons. Fast forward to kindergarten and that active precocious me was getting in trouble at school. The music teacher just happened to be married to my piano teacher so, to get me to behave, I was bribed. Yes. Bribed. If I remained quiet and followed the rules, I could go up on the dais where the piano was and play a song for my classmates. It worked. At least enough to get me through to first grade.

Q: Where can readers find out more about you and your novel?

Jennifer: The best place to find me is on my website. https://www.jenniferlynncary.com

All the links to my social media accounts are there PLUS you can join my newsletter family and get a free copy of Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café. I wrote this about my parents’ restaurant back in Kokomo. It is fiction with just a few facts tossed in from my faulty memory. Hope to see you there. Thanks so much, Jolene.

Thank you, Jennifer!

More from Jennifer

Do you remember your high school prom? The one in Sylvia’s Mother is based on an actual prom—the Stardust Ball at Kokomo High School. I didn’t attend it—I’d gone to the Autumn Prom, but not the Stardust Ball in 1972, so I had to contact fellow classmates to get the scoop.

The date in the book is actually when it really occurred. And there are a couple other real events and personalities added to this otherwise fictional dance. It was fun to have friends tell me of their memories and to find out what some of the nominees were doing now.

Something else I learned that made me want to write this story. I had been researching and found an old interview by Chuck Buell who used to be a disc jockey for WLS in Chicago. I’d always liked him so when I ran across the interview, I wasn’t too worried about getting anything specific—it was pretty much a stroll down memory lane.

And then he told a story about meeting up with Dr. Hook. They were hanging out in Monterey, California on the good doctor’s houseboat when he offered to introduce Chuck to the guy who wrote the lyrics for “Cover of the Rolling Stone.” Turns out the guy lived a couple boats down the marina, so they walked over and Chuck Buell met Shel Silverstein for the first time.

Yep, the man who wrote The Giving Tree and those childhood collections of poetry—Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Runny Babbit—got his start writing rock and roll lyrics. Among them are “Cover of the Rolling Stone,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and “Sylvia’s Mother.” And once I learned that, I couldn’t help hearing his style (“voice”) in the songs since I had taught from his books in my elementary classrooms for many years. The thought made me smile and I had to write a story from one of those. “Sylvia’s Mother” fit the plan for my new series, so I borrowed the title.

I hope you will enjoy the story, even if you’ve never heard the song. But if you do know that old pop hit, I think you will enjoy a couple Easter egg surprises I hid along the way.